Movie Monday: A Hard Day’s Night (1964)

In the mid-1960’s, while a slew of Elvis Presley films were dominating theaters all around the world, the United States experienced something of a British invasion. Beatlemania had taken over seemingly everywhere, and this band was considered a fad of it’s time. The decision to make a semidocumentary, semicomedy was an urgent one! In 1964, A Hard Day’s Night was made in six and a half weeks.

These photos are not mine.

Scenes like the one pictured above could only be shot once or twice before fans would cause them to have to move along. In the opening scene of the film, The Beatles were truly chased by fans to a train. The film on the streets were all very rushed for reasons like these.

John Lennon favored ad-libbing his lines in A Hard Day’s Night while his bandmates were more inclined to stick to the script. Alun Owen, who wrote the screen play for this film, was intensely interested in making it seem natural. Owen based the movie’s story around The Beatles trying to make it to a television studio in time to perform live. Often, Alun Owen would follow each Beatle band member around and try to sway what they would say in a scene, suggesting certain words that would seem akin to something they would say in real life.

These photos are not mine.

Songs like “Can’t Buy Me Love”, “And I Love Her”, “I Wanna Be Your Man”, and so many more of The Beatles’ song are featured in this film. Most of the songs played in A Hard Day’s Night are featured on the album released around the same time and by the same name. The Beatles’ “A Hard Day’s Night” album was a major success for the band, much like their film, and solidified them as a popular culture powerhouse.

These photos are not mine.

Watching this film was very reminiscent to me of a modern concert movie they would make today for a musical artist or band. The Beatles were always trailblazers, that is why their music lives on. As a huge Beatles fan, and someone who admires them in particular for their foresight, this band was never afraid of failure. They did the things they believed in and made music they enjoyed. With that kind of passion, you can’t go wrong.

Much Love,

Sarah

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