In Review: The Birth Of The Beatles (1979)

I know i haven't blogged in a couple of days and you all have lost interest (if you were interested to begin with) but i'm back and i'm going to review a TV Movie made in 1979 and produced by Dick Clark Productions and directed by Richard Marquand, who was later to go on and direct Star Wars Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi.

The film is The Birth Of The Beatles and is a biopic of the early history of 1960's Liverpool rock band The Beatles. This was possibly the first biopic of the band and was released only 9 years after The Beatles themselves had announced their break up. It also has the distinction of being the only biopic made while John Lennon was still alive. On another note, The Beatles actually tried to get this film stopped and never be released.

The Cast:
John Lennon - Stephen Mackenna
Paul McCartney - Rod Culbertson
George Harrison - John Altman
Ringo Starr - Ray Ashcroft
Pete Best - Ryan Michael
Stuart Sutcliffe - David Wilkinson
Brian Epstein - Brian Jameson
Cynthia Lennon - Wendy Morgan
Astrid Kircherr - Alyson Spiro
Rory Storm - Gary Olsen
George Martin - Nigel Havers

The film is entertaining but chock full of factual errors that even the most casual of Beatles fans would spot. For instance, in some legal loophole they were allowed to record Beatle songs for the film (that may be one of the reasons the Beatles tried to have it banned) and since this is a dramatization of the very early days of The Beatles career some of them just didn't fit. For instance in one scene at the Indra club on their first visit to Hamburg in 1960 we see George singing 'Don't Bother Me' a song he wouldn't write for 3 years. Also sung at the Indra was 'I Saw Her Standing There' which, while written in around 1961 wasn't premiered until 1962 and their last Hamburg Appearance before their worldwide fame. Original Beatles drummer Pete Best was listed as Technical Advisor on the film. So when the film deals with his sacking from the Band in 1962 it portrays it as a monumental affair that nearly gets The Beatles lynched on the way to a gig at the Cavern with new drummer Ringo Starr. Although there were a lot of Liverpool Beatles fans who were annoyed at the sacking of Best it wasn't enough to start a riot in the whole town. The film ends with their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show singing their American Number One Hit 'I Want To Hold Your Hand' and ends with John saying "Where we going fellas?!" and the others response "To the top! the VERY top!" While that is an actual Beatles quote, it went with John saying "Where we goin' fellas?" and the others answering in Psuedo American accents "To the Toppermost of the Poppermost!" In this film, it portrayed them as going slightly OVER the top.


This film is also notable as early acting gigs for some of Britain's best loved TV stars.

John Altman went onto find nationwide fame as 'Nasty' Nick Cotton in Eastenders BBC1.

Ray Ashcroft went onto become DS Geoff Daly in The Bill and was on Emmerdale for a couple of years.

Stephen Mackenna has played various bit parts on British TV over the years.

Rod Culbertson is probably best noted for starring as Bede Connor in the drama 'Our Friends In The North'

Nigel Havers went onto become a very familiar face on British TV and is currently starring in Coronation Street.

Alyson Spiro is best known for playing Sarah Sugden in Emmerdale.

Gary Olsen starred in early episodes of The Bill in the 80's before appearing as Ben Porter in the 1990's sitcom 2 Point 4 Children. Sadly, he died of Cancer in 2000.