Help! (film)

Help!
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRichard Lester
Screenplay by
Story byMarc Behm
Produced byWalter Shenson
Starring
CinematographyDavid Watkin
Edited byJohn Victor-Smith
Music by
Production
companies
Distributed byUnited Artists
Release dates
  • 29 July 1965 (1965-07-29) (UK)
  • 11 August 1965 (1965-08-11) (US)
Running time
92 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1.5 million[1]
Box office$12.1 million[2]

Help! is a 1965 British musical comedy-adventure film directed by Richard Lester, starring The Beatles and featuring Leo McKern, Eleanor Bron, Victor Spinetti, John Bluthal, Roy Kinnear and Patrick Cargill. The second film starring the Beatles following Lester's A Hard Day's Night, Help! sees the group struggle to protect Ringo Starr from a sinister eastern cult and a pair of mad scientists, all of whom are obsessed with obtaining a sacrificial ring sent to him by a fan.[3] The soundtrack was released as the band's fifth studio album under the same name.

Help! had its Royal World Premiere at the London Pavilion Theatre in the West End of London on 29 July 1965 in the presence of Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon and the Earl of Snowdon. While not reviewed at the time with the same high level of admiration as their first film, Help! is now credited with influencing the development of music videos.

  1. ^ Box Office Information for Help! IMDb via Internet Archive. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
  2. ^ "Help!, Box Office Information". The Numbers. Archived from the original on 14 March 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  3. ^ "Help!". Beatles.com. Archived from the original on 15 September 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2011.