A Hard Day's Night

A Hard Day's Night was the Beatles first and most succesful film. The boys beganto film around March in 1964. It begins on a train, and follows the Beatles through a day in their hectic life of Beatlemania. Girls chase them, they rehearse for a television performance, and a few Beatley surprises. It helped that A Hard Day's Night had a great crew--Richard Lester, director; Walter Shenson, producer; Allun Owen, screen play, among others.

The film itself is filled with comedy and laughs. The Beatles are perfectly portrayed and every Beatle has equal attention. A Hard Day's Night has been called "a day in the life of the Beatles" and that is literally true. The Beatles perform several of their songs from the album A Hard Day's Night, such as "If I Fell", "Tell Me Why", "I Should Have Known Better", "I'm Happy Just to Dance With You", plus "She Loves You", "Can't Buy Me Love", and, of course, "A Hard Day's Night."

The film had two premeires: the world premeire on July 6, 1964, in London, and a "hometown" premeire on July 10, 1964, in Liverpool, England, the Beatles' hometown. All around the world this film was well-received and everyone loved it! How could they not? Critics even began to compare the Beatles to the Marx Brothers, but John claimed:"When people start comparing us to the Marx Brothers, that's a load of rubbish! The only similarity is that there were four of them and four of us."

However, it is true, the Beatles were very funny, and their humor makes this film very entertaining. I suggest that if you haven't seen this film yet, you should see it--even if you are not a Beatles fan! It's a funny film, and enjoyable. I've let some friends of mine borrow my copy of the film and they claim they can't understand what the Beatles are saying sometimes because they're accents are too "thick." Well, the new A Hard Day's Night DVD has subtitles in several languages...She also didn't like that they were picking up girls all the time and smoking. I think she was just jealous because she wasn't one of the girls, ha ha. A very funny film...a great adventure with John, Paul, George, Ringo, and...Paul's grandfather!

More About A Hard Day's Night
Lyrics to the Soundtrack Album
Quiz
Quotes
Links
Buy it at Amazon.com

Pictures and other goodies coming soon!

To the top, Johnny!

Here are some of my favorite quotes I scribbled down while I watched this movie last night...if I missed your favorite quote email it to me! Also include your name if you wish to be given credit for submitting the quote. Thanks!

Paul: He's nursing a broken heart.
John: Ah, poor old thing. Hey, mister, are you nursing a broken heart? He's a nice old man, ent he?
Paul: He's very clean.

John: Hello, grandfather.
Grandfather: Hello.
John: He can talk then, can he?
Paul: Of course he can talk. He's a human being, isn't he?
Ringo: Well, if he's your grandfather, who knows? Ha ha ha....

Shake: You got on all right then?
John: No.

Norm: Are you listening to me, Lennon?
John: You're a swine, isn't he George?
George: Yeah, a swine.
Norm: Thanks....hey!
ALL: WHO'S THAT LITTLE OLD MAN?

Man on Train: I suggest you take that damned thing down to the corridor, or some other part of the train where you obviously belong.
John: Give us a kiss.

Man: I fought the war for you sort.
Ringo: I bet you're sorry you won!

Paul: Hey, mister, can we have our ball back?

John: Hey, if you're going to have a barney can I hold your coat?

George: Eh, look at the talent.
John: Give 'em a pull.
Paul: Shall I?
George: Aye, but don't rush. None of your five bar gate jumps and over sort of stuff.
Paul: Now what's that supposed to mean?
George: I don't know, but it sounded distinguished, like, didn't it?
John: George Harrison, The Scouse of Distinction.

Norm: Eh, have you got Paul's grandfather?
John: Of course, he's concealed about me person.
Norm: No...he must have slipped off somewhere.
Paul: Have you lost him?
Norm: Don't exaggerate.
Paul: You've lost him!
Shake: Put it this way, Paulie, he's mislaid him.
Paul: You can't trust you with anything, Norm, if you've lost him, I'll cripple yeh!
Shake: He can't be far.
John: I hope he fell off.

George: What's the matter with you, then?
Ringo: It's his grandpa. I can tell he doesn't like me. It's 'cos I'm little.
George: You've got an inferiority complex, you have.
Ringo: I know, that's why I took up the drums. It's me active compensatory factor.

Paul: Excuse me but have you seen that little old man we were with?
John: We've broken out, oh, the blessed freedom of it all! Eh, have you got a nail file, these handcuffs are killing me! I was framed! I'm innocent! I don't want to go!
Paul: Sorry for disturbing you girls.
John: I bet you can't guess what I was in for! [John then cackles like a maniac...]

John: Aye aye the Liverpool shuffle!

Ringo: All mine!
John: It won't buy your happiness, my son.

Ringo: I don't snore.
George: You do, repeatedly.
Ringo: Do I snore, John?
John: Yeah, you're a window rattler, son.
Ringo: Do I snore Paul?
Paul: With a trombone hooter like yours it'd be unnatural if you didn't.
Grandpa: Now, Paulie, don't mock the afflicted.

Grandpa: Fans are funny that way--they'll pick on a nose.
Ringo: Ah, you pick on your own.

John [to Ringo, after he gets the invitation to the Circle Club]: It's got around you're a big spender.

Norm [to John]: Ooo, chatter on, son, chatter on.

Old Man [as all the Beatles are leaving to find Paul's grandpa]: But what about me?
John: You're too old.

John: We know how to behave, we've had lessons!

Grandpa: Who are these ruffians? I've never seen them before!

John: Ah, ze filthy Englander. Guten morgen.
Shake: Keep Britain tidy.

George: Put your tongue away it looks disgusting hanging there all pink and naked.
John: Help! Ich! Headphones! Help me!
George: Torpedoed again, eh?

John: Hey, I've got a suit just like him, you know! .. I don't like the handkerchief. I always have the handkerchief in me trouser pocket. You can't blow your nose on it up there, can you, mister?

Reporter: How about highbrow music?
George: I've always liked that question.
John: I never noted his nose till about six months ago.
George: And my mother asked me before we left for America if we wanted any sandwhiches.
John: When I plugged her in, she just blew up!
Reporter: Tell me, how did you find America?
John: Turn left at Greenland.
Reporter: Has success changed your life?
George: Yes.
Paul: I'd like to keep Britain tidy.
Paul: No, actually, we're just good friends.
Reporter: Do you think these haircuts have come to stay?
Ringo: Well, this one has, you know, it's stuck on good and proper now.
Reporter: What would you call that hairstyle your wearing?
George: Arthur.

Ringo: You so much as breath heavy on them [his drums] and I'm out on strike.

John: Gear costume.
Man: Swap?
John: Cheeky!

Norm: I'm going to keep you in even I have to put the lock in the key and turn it.
Ringo: We're out!

George: Sorry we hurt your field, mister.

Norm: He's out there somewhere--causing trouble...I"ve toyed with the idea of a ball and chain, but he'd just rattle them at me and in public, too.

John: Don't cane me sire, I was led astray.
Norm: Oh shut up John! They're waiting for you in the studio!
Ringo: Gear. I'm dying to do a bit of work.
Norm: Well, God bless you, Ringo.
Paul: Oh, listen to the teacher's pet.
George: Crawler!
John: Betrayed the class, eh?
Ringo: Aw, lay off.
John: Temper, temper!
Ringo: Well!

John: I now declare this bridge open.

John: Standing about, eh? Some people have it dead easy.

Music Director (Victor Spinetti): Run through your number and try not to jiggle out of position.

Shake: Hey, your grandpa's not talking to me. I think he's got a sulk on.
George: It must be catching on. I think he's given it to Ringo.
Norm: Stop picking on him, George.
Ringo: I don't need you to protect me, you know, Norm.
John: Got a touch of swine fever, haven't you?

John: My name's Betty.

Norm: John, behave yourself or I'll murder you! Shake, take that wig off it suits you! Ringo, what are you up to!??
Ringo: Page five.
John: You always fancied yourself as a guardsmen, didn't you?

Paul: ZAP!

John: He's reading the Queen. That's an injoke, you know.

Paul: SHAZAM!

John: I say, did you go to Harrods? I was there in '58 you know.

George: Ah, I don't like yours!

Ringo: I'm a drummer, not a wet nurse, you know.

Grandpa: Have you no natural resources of your own?

Ringo: Books are good.
Grandpa: Parading's better.

Ringo: You're a bit old for that sort of chat, aren't you?

Ringo: Yeah, a bloomin' book! I'm going parading before it's too late!

George: Hey, Ringo, do you know what just happened to me?
Ringo: No, I don't. You oughta stop looking so scornful. It's twisting your face.

John: Here he is--the middle-aged boy wonder!
[Ringo snaps a photo and leaves.]
Paul: We've only got half an hour to the final run-through. He can't walk out on us now.
John: Can't he? He's just done it, son.

Paul: Split up and look for him!
[George and John just follow Paul.]
John: We've become a limited company.

Ringo: Hello, there.
Girl: Get out of it, shorty.

Ringo: Hoop? That isn't a hoop! That's a lethal weapon--you got a liscense for it?

Charlie: Why aren't you at work?
Ringo: I'm a deserter, too.

Norm: Shake?
Shake: What?
Norm: Worry, will you?

Norm: Shut up, cheerful!

Norm: You dirty traitor!
Shake: Oh, yes, of course.

Norm: Lads! Lads! I could eat the lot of you!
John: Control yourself or you'll spurt.

Grandpa [Selling the autographed pictures of the Beatles]: Be the envy of your less-fortunate sisters!

Grandpa: You ugly great brute...

George: It's unlikely we'll be on--the averages of laws are against it. I mean if you get a juggler and a few more clubs that'd fill in a bit of time.

John: It's not his fault he's old.

John: I ain't, Norm!
Norm: Now there's only one thing I'm going to say to you, John Lennon.
John: What?
Norm: You're a swine.

Grandpa: Come on, you're holding up the parade!

John: Must have cost you a fortune in stamps, Ringo.
George: He comes from a large family.

Ringo: Any of you lot put a man in the cupboard?
George: Nah!
Paul: Don't be soft!
George looks in the cupboard and sits back down.
George: He's right, you know.
John: There you go.

George: Honestly! Me mind boggles at the very idea, a grown man and you haven't shaved with a safety razor.
Shake: It's not my fault. I come from a long line of electricians.

George: That's not your grandfather.
Paul: It is, you know.
George: But I've seen your grandfather, he lives in your house.

Norm: The place is surging with girls.
John: Please, sir, sir, can I have one to surge me sir, please sir?
Norm: No, you can't!

Man on Train: I shall call the guard.
Paul: Ah, but what? They don't take kindly to insults you know.

Ringo: There you go, hiding behind a smokescreen of bourgeois cliches.

George: He's very fussy about his drums, you know. They loom large in his legend.

TV Director: Get me a bottle of milk and some tranquilizers. I see it all now...It's a plot..a plot.

Shake: It's not my fault.
Norm: What?
Shake: I'm not taller than you. You're shorter than I am.

John: I bet he hasn't even got a wife--look at his sweater!
Paul: You never know, she might have knitted it.
John: She knitted him.

George: (Whilst having make-up applied to his face.) Hey, you won't interfere with the basic rugged concept of me personality, will you madam?

Grandfather: I thought I was supposed to be getting a change of scenery. But so far I've been in a train and a room, a car and a room, and a room and a room.

Norm: God knows what you've unleashed on the unsuspecting South. It'll be wine, women, and song all the way with Ringo when he gets the taste for it.

TV Director: You don't know what this means to me. If you hadn't come back it would have meant...the epilogue or the news...in the Welsh...for life!

Shake: Well, he just asked if he could have these photos, and Norm said no and I said, "Well, why not be big about it?"
Paul: Yeah, and?
Norm: And your grandfather pointed out that Shake was always being taller than me just to spite me!

Norm: Stop being taller than me!
Shake: I can't help it.

John: You're just a lonely old man from Liverpool.
Grandfather: But I'm clean.
John: Are you?

To the top, Johnny!

Kerry's Beatles/Paul McCartney Site--That's the link to the photo album of pictures from A Hard Day's Night. There's a few pages and all are worth looking at.

A Hard Day's Night--A web page all about the film with photos, trivia, quotes, deleted scenes, and much more!

The Beatles Feature Film Page--A very nifty site about the film, be sure to take "the tour."

The Reel Beatles: "A Hard Day's Night"--Read a film summary, learn about the soundtrack and recordings, and hear what the Beatles have to say about the film.

Marcos Beatles Page--Here there is a little bit about the cast, film summary, soundtrack information, and quotes about the film.

Beatles Movie Page--A VERY cool page!!

That 's all the links I have for now! I haven't been able to find very many about just a specific Beatles film so...if you have a good link send it to me!

To the top, Johnny!