wireshock
Joined Feb 2001
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This production, recorded at the start of November 1965 and broadcast 6 weeks later, was produced for Granada Television in an open television studio rigged up with corridor-like platforms suspended in space, reached by ladders and steep staircases, providing a compelling visual backdrop for the performances. Many of the numbers feature choreographed dancing by beautiful women, occasionally joined by men; the songs are all lip- synced.
The programme was presented in three parts, allowing commercials inbetween:
Part One
"I Feel Fine" | The George Martin Orchestra open with a medley which intersperses a number of "classic" musical works, such as the opening chords of Tchaikovsky's "Piano Concerto #1," with a brassy rendition of Lennon's "I Feel Fine." George Martin plays grand piano while perhaps a score other musicians are dispersed about the stage set .
Lennon & McCartney then begin serving as hosts, listening at first to brief snippets of recordings of their songs demonstrating the wide variety of artists who've covered their material. Recordings by The Rolling Stones, Ella Fitzgerald, Anthony Newley, Russ Conway, The Chipmunks and Honor Blackman are identified in a variety of comic ways.
"A World Without Love" | 20 months after the song first topped the UK charts, Peter & Gordon are still lip-syncing to it here.
"I Saw Him Standing There" | Lulu does a particularly raunchy-sounding version.
"A Hard Day's Night" | Alan Haven (on organ) and Tony Crombie (on drums) perform a jazzy instrumental interpretation, visually punctuated with shots of miniskirted dancers' legs, wearing tight white boots.
"I'll Get You" | A baroque chamber music take by Fritz Spiegl's Ensemble of Liverpool.
"Day Tripper" | The Beatles give a straightforward miming performance of their latest single release.
Part Two
"Yesterday" | Though the very first bars are begun by Paul alone with his guitar, this quickly segues to Marianne Faithful who had just released this recording as a single. The arrangement is reminiscent, despite the overbearing use of a female choir, of "As Tears Go By" which had been her breakout hit earlier in the year. At the time of this broadcast, "Yesterday" was the most-covered Beatles song ever.
Recordings of cover versions in languages other than English are the next area introduced by Lennon & McCartney, via brief excerpts again. Paul tries to guess the language, always wrong with John correcting him. The first of these, "Sie Liebt Dich" by The Beatles themselves with Paul's vocal quite prominent, Paul pretends he thinks is Italian. A recorded Spanish version of "She Loves You" is then danced to in the flamenco style.
"Things We Said Today" | Performed (in French) by Dick Rivers.
"Bad To Me" | Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas. By this time this recording was 2-1/2 years old.
"It's For You" | Cilla Black performs a song McCartney wrote specifically for her back in '64.
Part Three
"This Boy" | The instrumental arrangement by George Martin from "A Hard Day's Night" (released on the American soundtrack LP with the title "Ringo's Theme") is danced to.
"If I Fell" | Henry Mancini's sensitive piano interpretation of one of Lennon's most hauntingly beautiful melodies; unlike all other performances in the programme, this one's done live.
"And I Love Him" | Esther Phillips gets singled out by John Lennon in his introduction as having done "one of the best versions of one of our songs ever."
"A Hard Day's Night" | Recited by Peter Sellers, a satire as though performed by Richard III.
"We Can Work It Out" | The Beatles. Both this and "Day Tripper" were the latest single release by the group, and at the time of the broadcast both were #1 on the UK charts.
* Note: Marianne Faithful's last name is erroneously spelled as "Faithful" in the opening and closing credits of "The Music of Lennon & McCartney." Ironically, the IMDb's spellcorrect feature keeps substituting my attempts to spell it correctly (as "Faithfull") with "Faithful," preventing me from getting it right myself! Witness how it's spelled at the beginning of this note: I put two "l"s there, to no avail. Plus ça change
The programme was presented in three parts, allowing commercials inbetween:
Part One
"I Feel Fine" | The George Martin Orchestra open with a medley which intersperses a number of "classic" musical works, such as the opening chords of Tchaikovsky's "Piano Concerto #1," with a brassy rendition of Lennon's "I Feel Fine." George Martin plays grand piano while perhaps a score other musicians are dispersed about the stage set .
Lennon & McCartney then begin serving as hosts, listening at first to brief snippets of recordings of their songs demonstrating the wide variety of artists who've covered their material. Recordings by The Rolling Stones, Ella Fitzgerald, Anthony Newley, Russ Conway, The Chipmunks and Honor Blackman are identified in a variety of comic ways.
"A World Without Love" | 20 months after the song first topped the UK charts, Peter & Gordon are still lip-syncing to it here.
"I Saw Him Standing There" | Lulu does a particularly raunchy-sounding version.
"A Hard Day's Night" | Alan Haven (on organ) and Tony Crombie (on drums) perform a jazzy instrumental interpretation, visually punctuated with shots of miniskirted dancers' legs, wearing tight white boots.
"I'll Get You" | A baroque chamber music take by Fritz Spiegl's Ensemble of Liverpool.
"Day Tripper" | The Beatles give a straightforward miming performance of their latest single release.
Part Two
"Yesterday" | Though the very first bars are begun by Paul alone with his guitar, this quickly segues to Marianne Faithful who had just released this recording as a single. The arrangement is reminiscent, despite the overbearing use of a female choir, of "As Tears Go By" which had been her breakout hit earlier in the year. At the time of this broadcast, "Yesterday" was the most-covered Beatles song ever.
Recordings of cover versions in languages other than English are the next area introduced by Lennon & McCartney, via brief excerpts again. Paul tries to guess the language, always wrong with John correcting him. The first of these, "Sie Liebt Dich" by The Beatles themselves with Paul's vocal quite prominent, Paul pretends he thinks is Italian. A recorded Spanish version of "She Loves You" is then danced to in the flamenco style.
"Things We Said Today" | Performed (in French) by Dick Rivers.
"Bad To Me" | Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas. By this time this recording was 2-1/2 years old.
"It's For You" | Cilla Black performs a song McCartney wrote specifically for her back in '64.
Part Three
"This Boy" | The instrumental arrangement by George Martin from "A Hard Day's Night" (released on the American soundtrack LP with the title "Ringo's Theme") is danced to.
"If I Fell" | Henry Mancini's sensitive piano interpretation of one of Lennon's most hauntingly beautiful melodies; unlike all other performances in the programme, this one's done live.
"And I Love Him" | Esther Phillips gets singled out by John Lennon in his introduction as having done "one of the best versions of one of our songs ever."
"A Hard Day's Night" | Recited by Peter Sellers, a satire as though performed by Richard III.
"We Can Work It Out" | The Beatles. Both this and "Day Tripper" were the latest single release by the group, and at the time of the broadcast both were #1 on the UK charts.
* Note: Marianne Faithful's last name is erroneously spelled as "Faithful" in the opening and closing credits of "The Music of Lennon & McCartney." Ironically, the IMDb's spellcorrect feature keeps substituting my attempts to spell it correctly (as "Faithfull") with "Faithful," preventing me from getting it right myself! Witness how it's spelled at the beginning of this note: I put two "l"s there, to no avail. Plus ça change
Franchot Tone and Maureen O'Sullivan are in love, but also enmeshed in unsuccessful marriages. The demands of their work together--he as a doctor, she as a nurse--draw them closer together as the plot unfolds, as do the failings in their personal lives, but these two noble healthcare professionals have enough on their hands and avoid straying into the messy business of an affair.
There aren't any surprises in this picture, but there are exceptional performances from everyone involved and the script is tight and the plot engrossing. This picture is very similar to "Men In White" (1934), which starred Clark Gable and Myrna Loy, being about the dilemma a young surgeon can face making hard choices between personal and professional demands. But whereas the earlier picture sometimes came across as rather heavy-handed, with working in the hospital seeming unrelievedly oppressive, this picture is a bit lighter in treatment and makes good use of Leonard Penn's role as the irresponsible surgeon, Tony Woolcott, a dramatic foil to Tone's straight-and-true Meighan.
Virginia Bruce is perfect as the high society playgirl who at first falls madly in love with Tone, but soon tires of his dedication to his work. Her beautiful face--especially her eyes--are center stage when that's all we see of her in her hospital bed. Tone and O'Sullivan are beautiful together as they convincingly play at being apart--it is impossible not to fall in love with Maureen O'Sullivan!
Franchot Tone fans (myself included) who have been looking for a picture that allows this fine actor a starring role--finally!--to match his talents will enjoy this sentimental soap opera.
There aren't any surprises in this picture, but there are exceptional performances from everyone involved and the script is tight and the plot engrossing. This picture is very similar to "Men In White" (1934), which starred Clark Gable and Myrna Loy, being about the dilemma a young surgeon can face making hard choices between personal and professional demands. But whereas the earlier picture sometimes came across as rather heavy-handed, with working in the hospital seeming unrelievedly oppressive, this picture is a bit lighter in treatment and makes good use of Leonard Penn's role as the irresponsible surgeon, Tony Woolcott, a dramatic foil to Tone's straight-and-true Meighan.
Virginia Bruce is perfect as the high society playgirl who at first falls madly in love with Tone, but soon tires of his dedication to his work. Her beautiful face--especially her eyes--are center stage when that's all we see of her in her hospital bed. Tone and O'Sullivan are beautiful together as they convincingly play at being apart--it is impossible not to fall in love with Maureen O'Sullivan!
Franchot Tone fans (myself included) who have been looking for a picture that allows this fine actor a starring role--finally!--to match his talents will enjoy this sentimental soap opera.
The pacing and performances in this "varieties" package are just right: like a sumptuous buffet catered with style this packed entertainment serves up hot jazz, delightful dance, and considerable comedy along with the main course, splendiferous fashions. And all of it is seasoned with just a sprinkling of romance!
Those who have panned this picture as a "turkey" have decidedly missed the point: yes, the plot is as thin as some of the clothing on the models here on display--it's supposed to be! This rich mix demands a minimal story, since we're meant to enjoy the goings on with the same detached discernment which the tony patrons of the House of Curzon display in reviewing the season's outfits. The technicolor, as others have noted, is delightful (Joan Bennett's strawberry blonde hair being just one of the delicious shades on display) and the camerawork and direction are often quite innovative and at times inspired.
Like the opening sequence--a bevy of beautiful girls unroll the opening titles and credits on luxurious fabrics--Warner Baxter's first scene, where he improvises a fashionable hat for a demanding patron by sticking a feather into a rag he's plucked off the head of one of the cleaning ladies, sets the tone of the picture, as if to say: we've put together with panache and ingenuity a clever divertissement for you. Sit back and enjoy!
Those who have panned this picture as a "turkey" have decidedly missed the point: yes, the plot is as thin as some of the clothing on the models here on display--it's supposed to be! This rich mix demands a minimal story, since we're meant to enjoy the goings on with the same detached discernment which the tony patrons of the House of Curzon display in reviewing the season's outfits. The technicolor, as others have noted, is delightful (Joan Bennett's strawberry blonde hair being just one of the delicious shades on display) and the camerawork and direction are often quite innovative and at times inspired.
Like the opening sequence--a bevy of beautiful girls unroll the opening titles and credits on luxurious fabrics--Warner Baxter's first scene, where he improvises a fashionable hat for a demanding patron by sticking a feather into a rag he's plucked off the head of one of the cleaning ladies, sets the tone of the picture, as if to say: we've put together with panache and ingenuity a clever divertissement for you. Sit back and enjoy!