Help!
Tags: cult

Plot synopsis:
The story is set in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1963. Aibileen Clark is an African-American maid who works for Elizabeth Leefolt, a white woman suffering from postpartum depression. Aibileen's best friend is Minny Jackson, a plain-spoken African-American maid known for her culinary skills who works for Hilly Holbrook's senile mother, Mrs. Walters. Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan, a young white woman, returns home after graduating from the University of Mississippi to discover that her mother, Charlotte, has fired Constantine, Skeeter's childhood nanny.
Much to her mother's chagrin, Skeeter aspires to be a writer. After spending time with Aibileen, Skeeter becomes increasingly disgusted with the shameful way her white socialite friends treat their "help", especially when Hilly forwards a letter to the Home Help Sanitation Initiative to install separate bathrooms for the help, and decides to write about the housekeepers' experiences. The maids are initially reluctant to comply, afraid of retribution from their employers, but Aibileen eventually agrees, becoming emotionally attached to the project as it allows her to find closure after the death of her son four years earlier. Minny also complies after Hilly fires her for refusing to go outside in inclement weather to use the help's toilet and subsequently makes false claims that Minny was fired for stealing, making it nearly impossible for her to find another job.
Minny eventually finds work with Celia Foote, wife of wealthy socialite Johnny Foote, Hilly's former beau. Celia is starved for friendship due to Hilly's efforts to ensure she remains a social pariah. Celia befriends Minny during cooking lessons and informs Minny that she is pregnant. Their relationship deepens after Celia miscarries.
Skeeter submits a draft of her book to Harper & Row. Her editor, Elaine Stein, advises her that more maids' stories need to be included. Following the assassination of Medgar Evers and the arrest of Yule May, the maid hired by Hilly to replace Minny, more maids decide to offer Skeeter their insights.
As the writing continues, Skeeter, Aibileen, and Minny worry that some maids and their families will be recognized in the book. Minny, as a form of insurance, reveals the "terrible awful thing” she did to Hilly. In a fit of pique over being fired and having her reputation damaged by Hilly's lies, Minny baked her own excrement into a chocolate pie for Hilly, who ate two slices before being informed by Minny of the pie's ingredients. Minny predicts the story will keep the maids safe from retribution, as Hilly will wield her influence to convince her social circle that the story did not take place. With the book almost finished, Skeeter confronts her mother about Constantine's firing. Charlotte reveals that during a lunch with the local chapter of the Daughters of America, Constantine's daughter Rachel arrived and embarrassed Charlotte by disobeying her order to enter through the kitchen. To save face, Charlotte fired Constantine and ordered her and Rachel to leave immediately. Rachel subsequently took Constantine to live with her in Chicago. Charlotte had every intention to bring Constantine back to Jackson, but Constantine died before she could do so.
The book, published anonymously, is a success. Hilly does everything in her power to protect her reputation after reading about Minny's “terrible awful thing”. She becomes unhinged when a check from Celia for one of Hilly's charitable works is made out to "Two Slice Hilly." She then drives intoxicated to the Phelan plantation to confront Skeeter and inform Charlotte about her daughter's "hippie ways". Charlotte implies she knows that Hilly is the subject of the pie anecdote and orders her off the property. Charlotte and Skeeter reconcile, and Charlotte offers to help her prepare to move to Manhattan, where Skeeter has been offered a job with Harper & Row.
Due to the friendship between Minny and Celia, Johnny tells Minny she has a job with them for as long as she wants. This kindness gives Minny the courage to leave her abusive husband and take her children to live with the Footes.
Because Hilly cannot expose herself as the recipient of Minny's excrement-filled pie, she attempts to frame Aibileen for theft and, after pressuring weak-willed Elizabeth into silence, fires her. Aibileen condemns Hilly as a godless, vindictive woman. Defeated and humiliated, Hilly breaks down in tears and leaves. After saying farewell to Mae Mobley, Elizabeth Leefolt's physically and verbally abused daughter, Aibileen leaves Jackson with the hope of becoming a writer.

Review: Of the Beatles, John and Ringo have most of the funny lines and the movie exaggerates the idea of George being tight with his money---playing poker with Ringo at Buckingham Palace, pilfering rings from a jeweler, pretending he can't find his wallet thus forcing Ringo to pick up the tab at a pub.
Okay, so "Help!" isn't quite as creative as "A Hard Day's Night", but the Beatles always were able to do something good.
His disappointment (and similar comments from the others) reflect that, in this film, the Beatles were playing characters rather than, as in A Hard Day's Night, imitations of themselves.Personally, I don't see the difference.
And the Beatles played characters based on themselves in both A Hard Day's Night and Help!, it's just that the former film was staged in a more cine-verite manner.Help!, on the other hand, is pure escapist nonsense.
It's colourful, it has an actual plot (wildly improbable as it might be), the four Beatles discharge their responsibilities adequately, there are some lovely little throwaway bits of humour (check out Paul, Eleanor Bron, George, and the winking), and above everything, the music is great.Just take it as an opportunity to go back to the summer of 1965 and relish the Beatles providing fun at the height of their popularity!.
Take the fab four with a  goofy plot of Ringo being the target of religious sacrificial cult, add a handful of great songs, and that's the movie.
Really nice camera work, great sets (the Beatles' apartment showcases clever diversity for each member's personality) and just wild sub-plots throughout the film.
(Paul's tiny adventure and the tank chase comes to mind.)  As I said before, the film's main asset is the music, and one can't help but find themselves caught up in the songs.
This, of course, caught the Beatles by surprise and they quickly changed their music from the typical "love songs" and became more creative in their talents by releasing "Day Tripper" with "We Can Work It Out" as a flip side."Help!" is a remnant of the final days of "innocence", when Vietnam was just entering the nightly news night after night after night and when the domestic disturbances on college campuses and ghettos was coming to a head.This is what "Help!" represents to those who study this era.
It is filmed in color, and while it doesn't have the classic look of black and white "Hard Days Night", the script is better, and the Beatles appear more relaxed acting.
Many of the other jokes involve references that went over my head, such as the line "It's the brain drain: his brain's draining." Those sophisticated enough to know what the brain drain is are likely to be too old to appreciate such a pedestrian pun.The Beatles themselves do not emerge in this film as talented comic actors, to put it mildly.
The various methods in which the Beatles attempt to remove the dreaded ring from Ringo's finger is the best aspect of the film, plot-wise.
It actually has a better soundtrack, in my opinion, than "A Hard Day's Night." Among the songs that "Help!" popularized are not just the hits like "You're Gonna Lose That Girl," "Ticket to Ride," "You've Got to Hide Your Love," and the title song, but also lesser known tracks like "The Night Before" and "Another Girl." The earlier film appropriately focused on their dance music.
'Help!' is the second Beatles' movie, produced after 'A Hard Day's Night'.
Like 'A Hard Day's Night', the film contains the wacky humour , some good photography, and music clips.
This was their follow-up to their amazing "A Hard Day's Night," a classic that rates as the greatest rock-band movie ever made."Help" pales in comparison to its predecessor and often is criticized deeply for this failure.In the story, Ringo comes into possession of a holy ring that is the honorarium worn by the intended sacrificee of a sect of Khaili worshipers (Khaili is the Hindu god of death and destruction).
The movie could not decide which kind of a farce it was to be, and loses the battle when compared to the cohesive, Liverpudlian comedy of "A Hard Day's Night." Lastly, the movie is filmed during the height of Beatlemania, when the lads were already tiring of all the pressures and lack of freedom and time.
Though it lacks "Hard Day's Nights" quicksilver verbal wit; there areexcellent visual jokes to pick up the slack, and the Beatles acting, FAR from being bad, hits just the right tone of throwaway sillyness.
Lennon was later quoted as saying that the `best bits were left on the cutting room floor To suggest, however, that the Beatles were trying to `outdo A Hard Day's Night' is just unadulterated ignorance.
Although not as critically acclaimed as The Beatles' previous movie "A Hard Day's Night", "Help!" is equally as entertaining.
All of it is pulled off via Richard Lesters's direction with a full understanding of how this being silly, and the Beatles going for it, allows for so many possibilities, and almost all of them are realized.The soundtrack, by the way, is definitely a favorite from the early Beatles days, with the classics of the title track, Ticket to Ride, Got to Hide Your Love Away, and Lose that Girl among others.
Director Richard Lester opted for a plotted spy-caper spoof in glowing colour and if he sometimes piles on too many gags and the boys, if one was being honest, are out-acted by the surrounding talent, this is still an entertaining romp, accompanied by some sublime music as the Fab Four really start to hit their creative stride in their vibrant mid-period.Hanging on to the coat-tails of another of Britain's big entertainment success stories of the 60's, the James Bond movies (the "007" theme even gets an airing at one point), the episodic plot serves its purpose in taking the boys to far-flung exotic locations in which to clown and sing.
McCartney and Harrison contribute quality high-gloss pop of only slightly lesser standard and all these songs are given entertaining promo-video backings which work well independent of the surrounding whole.The four can hardly be said to be stretched in the acting stakes and more than in "A Hard Day's Night" seem a bit less individualistic here.
There's strong support in the mainly British cast, with Leo McKern doing a good comedic turn as the chief "thuggee" and Eleanor Bron quietly effervescent, often riffing off Paul.The film does drag a little even over its short playing time as it draws to its end, this viewer feeling a little worn down with all the sight gags, changes of perspective and general pop-art enthusiasm of director Lester.
you will just want to sing along during every scene, and as random as this movie is, it is clever and enjoyable!this comment has to be 10 lines and i don't know what else to say except that you must see it and if you love the Beatles this is the most enjoyable way to see them IN COLOR!!
So, the Beatles weren't just singing mega-stars, they helped innovative some wacky comedy films.Musically, I much preferred "A Hard Day's Night" to this one where "Ticket To Ride" was about the only good song.
Unlike "Yellow Submarine" and "A Hard Day's Night," "Help!" is more a film for Beatles fans than outsiders.It's human-sacrifice time at an "Eastern" (read "Indian") temple, but the ceremony is halted when the angry Clang (Leo McKern) realizes his would-be victim has lost her ceremonial ring.
Turns out it's in the possession of a drummer named Ringo (Ringo Starr) who along with his fellow Beatles (John, Paul, and George) is soon being chased from A (Alps) to B (Bahamas) by Clang and his homicidal congregants."Help!" was how the Beatles followed up on the surprise success of "A Hard Day's Night", with a nod in the direction of that other British property of United Artists, James Bond, as it sends up a stream of glam, globe-trotting silliness.
Their moptops have sprouted into mushrooms, while Beatlemania itself was mushrooming in popularity (their August 1965 concert at New York's Shea Stadium would be the biggest in their career) and recognition (MBEs meant a real trip to Buckingham Palace, not the fake one seen here).The movie is a trip, in a good way mostly, as long as one doesn't try to follow the ever-vanishing plot line.
After the success of the low budget A Hard Day's Night with its classic soundtrack that after over 40 years is still a best selling item, the more expensive Help was made for the Beatles.
Eleanor Bron plays a fifth columnist in McKern's camp looks to help the Beatles because she's one of several million fans they have across the globe and she really does like the drummer with the honker.Like it's predecessor Help's soundtrack is still selling in the gazillions because it has several John Lennon-Paul McCartney songs still popular like A Ticket To Ride, You're Gonna Lose That Girl, You've Got To Hide Your Love Away and the title song.Also like it's predecessor it paved the way for the venue of the music video which today's musical artist seem to prefer more than records on which you can hear them.
You have to remember, in 1965, when "spy movies" were the genre of the day.A typical "British humor" satirical film (w/comedic shades of the future Monty Python), a decent script, decent actors, and The Lads weren't as bad at acting as I would have originally believed.
All in all, an entertaining film , for it's time period.One thing I must correct of IMDb's "Revealing Mistakes": "When Bhuta jumps out of the Good Year blimp to lay the plan to trap the Beatles,there is a wide shot of the stuntman playing Bhuta jumping out of the blimp.
The Beatles, an amazingly groundbreaking rock band of the sixties, made their silver screen debut in 1964 with "A Hard Day's Night", and the following year, that hit comedy was followed by another one starring the Fab Four.
Like its predecessor, "Help!" features the band members playing themselves in a fictional story, and was directed by Richard Lester, but this time, instead of exaggerating the band's real lives at the height of Beatlemania, the band was put into a James Bond spoof.
John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr all did a very good job portraying themselves in a comical manner in "A Hard Day's Night", and fortunately, they hadn't lost any steam by the time they starred in this follow-up.
There's some good humorous dialogue in "Help!", even if it doesn't get as funny here as it does in "A Hard Day's Night".
Like its predecessor, this film also features a good bunch of Beatles tunes to add to the entertainment."A Hard Day's Night" and "Help!" were apparently both successful back when they were originally released in the 60's, but it appears that today, the former is more popular.
If you're a Beatles fan and want to hear some of their songs with some wacky humour and adventure to go with them, this 1965 comedy is probably a good movie for you to check out, even if you find that it's inferior to the Fab Four's film debut..
I feel this movie was very funny and should be taken for what it was meant to be a way to showcase the Beatles and their music.
The absurdest plot presages the band's future flirtations with psychedelics and Eastern music.A great trip down memory lane with one of the greatest rock movie soundtracks of all time..
If you like this film, try Lester's wonderful "Three Musketeers", "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum", "A Hard Days Night", and "The Bed Sitting Room"..
A Hard Day's Night told the world that the Beatles could act and now Help!
The Beatles' first movie, "A Hard Day's Night," was acclaimed for it's smart humor and real-life feel.
"Help," on the other hand, was unfortunately filmed just after the Beatles had discovered pot, and thus they spent more time babbling and giggling than caring about the movie.
I've also found that while Beatles fans tend to appreciate "A Hard Day's Night" more, non-Beatle fans seem to like "Help" better.
Scattershot satire of spy flicks, screwball comedies and old-fashioned musicals has British rock group the Beatles on the run from villainous types who hope to steal one of the rings owned by drummer Ringo (ha ha).
While the Beatles were insidiously changing the face of rock 'n roll at this time, their films embraced a much more old-fashioned movie-structure; "Help!" could be an update of any number of '50s Hollywood teen flicks, and yet it started a trend of its own (followed in quick succession by Herman's Hermits and the TV series "The Monkees").
I remember watching this as a VERY little kid in the late 60s and thinking how cool they were and I played the absolute CRAP out of "Help!" (the US lp version with all the film score symphonic stuff and just the 7 (?) actual Beatle tracks), which I begged off of an older kid in my neighborhood.Even The Beatles said "We got a bit lost in that one" and "We were extras in our own film" but it was still a great movie for them.
It is difficult for us to give it a genre : it is an absurd and/or burlesque movie, like for example in England a few years ago with the Monty Python (Their influence in the comic field is compared to that of the Beatles in music.); or currently with film directors like Quentin Dupieux.
Of course it is difficult to do better than "A Hard Day's Night" which was beautifully made but still, it is a good movie.
This is not the kind of movie that I could see many times, but it was fun and it made me want to see the other Beatles' film "A Hard Days Night"..
The movie was the second film after "A Hard Days Night".
There are also a lot of songs in the film, so if you love Beatles' songs, this is a movie for you !
"Help !' released in 1965 and directed by Richard Lester, is the second movie of the Beatles.
A Hard Day's Night and Yellow Submarine often appear in lists of the best rock films of all time, Help less so despite it including 3 of John Lennon's best songs.
As Lester has just played "Help" as the film descends into Goon like fiasco, he can hardly repeat the same song for the end credits so he resorts to a shot of the ring with the Beatles imitating the Goons (I kid you not) before THE END title shows.
was the second Beatles movie, and it takes on a completely different direction from their first Rock Classic, A HARD DAY'S NIGHT (1964).
The Beatles never cared for HELP!, and John Lennon once dismissed the film as "crap", saying that the filmmakers forgot who The Beatles were, and that they were like guest stars in their own movie.
Still, much of the supporting cast seem to have some fun with their roles and the way director Richard Lester films many of The Beatles' song performances-perhaps bringing birth of the music video to fruition with his style-does provide some entertainment that make this tolerable to say the least.
The Beatles first film led to an Oscar nomination for best screenplay and it was wildly successful just like their songs.So they quickly followed it up with a bigger budget and some foreign location shooting.It is apparently inspired by the Marx Brothers film, Duck Soup and the James Bond adventures with lashings of the Goon Show and contains some things that might later inspire the Month Python team a few years later.Again we have more Beatles songs, zany humour, a plot involving an Eastern cult wanting to take a sacrificial ring from Ringo's finger.
Not only is it in color this time, a more definitive plot emerges, and the Beatles themselves (especially Ringo) are given more of a chance to act.The soundtrack was brilliant, and the scenes of the movie with music are highly entertaining.
The movie includes performances of Help!, The night before, You've got to hide your love away, I need you, Another girl, You're going to lose that girl, and Ticket to ride.
is a rather enjoyable film, with impressive jet-setting, vivacious colour (see the wonderfully restored print released in 2007 on DVD) and deadpan mop-toppery.The Beatles are even more at ease here than in the previous year's "A Hard Day's Night", and play off the great Leo McKern and the glorious Eleanor Bron to finely low-key comic effect.
I'm not sure I'd rewatch this film but I enjoyed it more than A Hard Day's Night thanks in large part to the comic timing of Ringo.
Ok, so it's not A Hard Day's Night, but in some ways I think this is the better film.
The Beatles' sequel to "A Hard Day's Night" is a relentlessly silly spoof of spy thrillers, with an Indian cult headed by a manic Leo McKern (his character's name is Clang) pursuing Ringo, who is wearing their sacred ring and therefore must become a human sacrifice.
Rating the Beatles' films, I place this third, behind Hard Day's Night first and Let It Be second (for sheer vitriol).And "Eight Arms to Hold You" was a great title....
I suspect that if this film had been made a couple of years later, during the Beatles' Transcendental Meditation period, they might have been more respectful about Indian religion."A Hard Day's Night" was a mediocre comedy, redeemed by its great music.
I think this movie can be a enjoyable to looking with friends or family, but especially the ideal film to watch if you are a big fan of the Beatles!