Using popular rising stars in movies is very common when it comes to films. There can be mixed feelings about a musical film that is based on a band, and having those same band members starring in that film. The first feeling being these guys aren’t professional actors, so how good can the movie be? Most people would agree that bad acting can ruin a movie. The next feeling being, this movie is an obvious ploy to sell music albums. So how much thought would go into the screenplay and directing of this movie? A Hard Day’s Night is one of those movies that people questioned. This movie is about The Beatles starring The Beatles. The movie is written by Alun Owen and directed by Richard Lester. The film had a low budget of $500,000 and was finished filming in under seven weeks. The movie first premiered in London on July 6, 1964 at the Pavilion Theatre and premiered on August 11, 1964 in New York. A Hard Day’s Night grossed over $20,000 the first week in the London which was a new record for that time. In six weeks, the movie brought in $5.8 million worldwide and set an industry record for return in investment.

That same year in July 2, 1964, the Civil Rights Act legislation was passed. At the time, there was significant racism against African Americans especially in the South. This could be because of the Civil War and their role against the abolishment of slavery. The Civil Rights legislation is intended to end discrimination based on race, religion, color, sex, and national origin. The act guarantees equal voting rights by removing biased registration requirements and procedures which affected minorities abilities to vote. The act also stopped the segregation in public schools. The Civil Rights movement was led by Martin Luther King who dreamt that all individuals in the United States would one day be judged by their personal qualities instead of the color of their skin. 

Also in that same year, The Beatles made their first visit to the United States. On February 7, 1964, The Beatles land in New York Kennedy’s airport. They were greeted by thousands of screaming fans which was mostly comprised of female teenagers. A couple of days later, the band appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show and had an estimated 73 million American viewser. Sullivan booked the group when he noticed hundreds of eagerly fans waiting for the band while he passed through London’s Heathrow airport. The band, who was also known as the Fab Four, started a hysteria in the United States which people called “Beatlemania.” Their first hit in the United States, “I Want To Hold Your Hand”, sold one million copies in days. On February 11, 1964, The Beatles went to Washington D.C. to perform their first U.S. concert and they went to New York the following day to perform at Carnegie Hall. The streets around Carnegie Hall had to be closed off because of the hysteria they caused. Businesses profited off the hysteria by selling Beatles licensed products which grossed $50 million in America alone. The band couldn’t go anywhere without hordes of fans following them.

With all this popularity, it make sense for a “Beatles” movie at the time. But the question for everyone would be, “Will this movie be any good?” The movie, A Hard Day’s Night, end up becoming a critical success earning two Academy Awards nominations. On August 12, 1964, The New York Times wrote that the movie, “has so much good humor going for it that it is awfully hard to resist.” There’s also some mentions of how surprisingly good the movie is and is praised for its comedy style, theme, and technique. In a more recent review from Roger Ebert, he wrote “It is one of the great life-affirming landmarks of the movies.” Ebert mentioned it being smart, original, joyous, and filled with exhilaration. Both past and present reviewers gave this movie positive reviews. Going into the movie, I had high hopes. This movie definitely did not disappoint, it actually did quite the opposite. I was stunned by how much I enjoyed this movie and how both reviews were spot on.

The movie is a very simplistic documentary style film about The Beatles and the 36 hours before their televised concert. Right from the beginning, you see the band running from their screaming fans. The band had many comedic ways of getting away such as hiding in a telephone booth. They finally reached the train and that’s when you get to hear the dialogues. In the train ride, you get a glimpse of the band members personalities and they did I not disappoint. Their comedic performance and the delivery of their one liners is very authentic and smart. This movie is packed with plenty of laughs. One might think they had a team of comedy writers working on this movie.

The clip above shows most of the humorous scenes. The funniest scene for me have to be when Ringo Star helps a lady walk over a puddle by laying down his jacket for her. The third puddle actually being a hole on the ground and she falls right in. The characters in this movie are also good and delivered great performances. The one that stand out the most is Paul McCartney’s wacky grandpa. He gets into all sorts of antics such as stealing Ringo’s invitation to a gambling club and forging the bands autographs to sell to their fans. The music in this movie is spetacular which shouldn’t be surprising knowing that The Beatles sold millions of albums.