Hi-Hi-Hilfe!

A great movie. People here seem to complain the plotline was too silly. But keep in mind this was during the Bond phase(almost a forerunner to Get Smart). A sacrificial ring caught on the Famous Ringo's finger. A mad scientist trying to take over the world. An evil cult trying to kill our heroes. A girl from that cult secretly helping our heroes. Typical Bondish plotlines.

It also has great one-liners(Maybe it's that I'm just your average 14 year old American who loves British humor), and just weird ones that sound funny. "I don't subscribe to your religion." "He's out to rule the world if he can get a government grant." "Now, look here, Paul. I've had some great times with this finger. How do you know I wouldn't miss it?"

And, of course, greeeeeaaaaat music.

Okay, so "Help!" isn't quite as creative as "A Hard Day's Night", but the Beatles always were able to do something good. In this case, Ringo happens to have a sacrificial ring belonging to a religious cult. So, the cult sets about trying to get it back. When they fail, they decide to sacrifice Ringo. Meanwhile, a scientist (Victor Spinetti) wants the ring for his own purposes. And of course, there's plenty of great music along the way.

In a way, the whole movie is sort of an excuse to be wacky. Whether it's the seemingly separate apartments that turn out to be one big room, the trap door activated by a glass, the skiing tournament, or the whole Bahamas sequence, they've got something neat every step of the way. Leo McKern, as cult leader Clang, and Eleanor Bron, as cultist Ahme who tries to protect Ringo, provide cool supporting roles.

I guess that if I ever get a woman to watch "Help!" with me, I'll never "Lose That Girl".

God Bless the Beatles. They're one of the few musical groups that still remain as fresh and entertaining even today. And that applies to their films as well. "Help!" is a lot of fun. 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. The one-liners in this film are still very funny, with plenty of "groaners" and the typical quick British wit. 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.

The strangest thing in the film is when it abruptly veers away from the cult chase to numerous songs and the Beatles just playing around. Even with a few more attempts on poor Ringo's finger, it seems like everyone takes a break from the chase. It really doesn't matter, however. The Beatles seem to be having a good time, and you can't help but join in.

"Help!" is a great showcase of Beatles music, fun writing and clever visuals. While not as great as "A Hard Day's Night", those who enjoyed that movie will be hard-pressed to find anything wrong here.

This is an entertaining movie that serves its sole purpose very well---to showcase a bunch of terrific Beatles songs. Everyone knows the plot---a religious cult needs to retrieve a sacrificial ring which Ringo cannot get off his finger, consequently he has to be sacrificed. The lads go through various adventures in London, Switzerland and the Bahamas before it is all over.

It is easy to imagine this movie being an inspiration for Monty Python later on and it isn't surprising to learn that George Harrison in particlar became good friends with Michael Palin and Eric Idle of Python fame. Now imagine what a combined Beatles-Python movie would've been like!

One scene in "Help!" which I particularly remember is the Leo Mckern, the cult leader, dressed in his sari, drinking tea and collegially discussing his religious beliefs with an Anglican priest. 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. The caricature personas the Beatles adopted for this movie in particular became the way many fans viewed them which I think George found to be alternately ironic and irritating since he insisted he was nothing like the movie version of himself.

What a goofy, silly, wonderful movie! I used to watch this one all the time as a kid, so it may be the nostalgia talking, but it still holds up well. I was smiling almost the entire time. It was a bit slower than I remember, and my kids may not have enjoyed it as much as I did, but this is probably my favorite Beatles movie.