Over two "typical" days in the life of The Beatles, the boys struggle to keep themselves and Sir Paul McCartney's mischievous grandfather in check while preparing for a live TV performance.
A day-and-a-half in the life of the Fab Four leading up to a televised concert gig. The lads are constantly on the run, from their crazed fans and from their manager, who is constantly trying to rein them in. However, Ringo is arrested and still isn't in the studio a half-hour before air time. With Paul's grandfather available for additional comical relief, the group performs a dozen or so songs.—garykmcd
John, Paul, George, and Ringo--collectively known as The Beatles--leave their Liverpool home-base to head to London where they are to perform on television. There they have a few official engagements beforehand, such as rehearsals at the studio and a press conference; otherwise they are stuck at the hotel. In addition, they want some free time out to just be lads, which could be difficult if not impossible, as throngs of adoring, screaming young female fans follow them wherever they are known to be. They also encounter a few people who would rather not associate with them because of different sensibilities; a few people who, when seeing only one at a time, wonder if they are who they look to be; and a few people who mistake them for other people. Sheltered Ringo, in particular, takes advantage of what little freedom they have, which could cause problems for them all in the end. Helping them navigate through all these issues but also ensuring that they do their work as celebrities are two of their managers, Norm and Shake, who are accompanying them on this trip and having a disagreement about height. Also along for the ride is Paul's paternal grandfather, John McCartneyl Paul's mum believes that he needs an outing to nurse a broken heart. Despite his outwardly-innocent appearance, McCartney Sr. ends up being a mischievous soul, and all four boys must help help get out of each one. But at least McCartney Sr. is clean, "very clean".—Huggo
The cult classic which captures John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr in their electrifying element is a wildly irreverent journey through this pastiche of a day in the life of The Beatles during 1964. The band must use all their guile and wit to avoid the pursuing fans and press to reach their scheduled television performance, in spite of Paul's troublemaking grandfather and Ringo's arrest.
The plot is a study of a day in the life of the Fab Four beginning with them running from their adoring fans to catch a train. Every plot point circles around the band getting to a television show in order to perform a live concert, and within this stream of action is a series of slapstick, zany, and otherwise wacky bits of funniness. One obstacle in the works is Paul McCartney's babysitting of his grandfather (Wilfrid Brambell), a first class mixer always getting into mischief. It becomes one of the running jokes in the film that Brambell is a "clean old man," at least physically (this contrasts with Brambell's most famous role as Albert Steptoe in Steptoe and Son where he was a "dirty old man" both physically and psychologically). Ringo Starr gets a sense of liberation and goes off on his own to find happiness only to land in jail for loitering. John Lennon fires playful barbs at TV director (Victor Spinetti), whose biggest worry is that if for some reason the Beatles stand him up his next job will be doing "news in Welsh." One great story line is with George Harrison, in which he is mistaken for an actor auditioning for some trendy TV show for some trend setter hostess. The earnest demeanor of the casting head and his associates is undercut by George's declaration that she is a well-known drag. Norman Rossington and John Junkin as The Beatles' managers are stalwart English character actors who fill out the cast and support the general lunacy of the film with a more traditional presence, but still sustain an on-going battle about one being taller than the other. Anna Quayle has a great bit with John Lennon about his being someone he's not. The whole thing ends with an ear-shattering concert and the band yet again running from the adoring fans.
