Line #197 Film/Help


1	[[quoteright:349:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_help_beatles.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:349:From left to right: Ringo, Paul, John (playing piano), George. Just in case.]]
3	%%
4	->'''Superintendent:''' Oh come on now lads, don't be windy, where's that famous pluck? \
5	'''John:''' I haven't got any, have you George? \
6	'''George:''' Did have. \
7	'''Paul:''' I have had. \
8	'''Ringo''': I will have! Lead on!
9
10	In the mid-1960s, Music/TheBeatles were the hottest thing since sliced bread. The four guys from UsefulNotes/{{Liverpool}} not only topped the charts with their music, but they topped the box office with their movie ''Film/AHardDaysNight'' in 1964. So, in 1965, they, director Creator/RichardLester, and producer Walter Shenson got back together to make another movie for Creator/UnitedArtists. The result was ''Help!''
11
12	The plot involves a cult from "the eastern country" (presumably, but not definitely, UsefulNotes/{{India}}, and loosely based on the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thuggee Thuggee]]) who make sacrifices to their goddess, "Kaili". The person to be sacrificed wears a large ring with an enormous ruby in it. Unfortunately, the cultists find out at the ceremony that the girl who was supposed to be sacrificed mailed the ring to Music/RingoStarr, who is now wearing it. So, the cult scrambles to England to get the ring.
13
14	The problem is, nobody can get the ring off Ringo. Thus, the deadline for the ring going to its original sacrifice passes, and Ringo is now the official sacrifice for the cult. In their attempts to get the ring off Ringo, the Beatles approach two mad scientists. The mad scientists fail to get it off, and the Beatles cease co-operating with them. By this point, the scientists have decided that it's their ticket to world domination. This leads to a chase which leads the Fab Four and both sets of their pursuers to the Austrian Alps, Salisbury Plain (near Stonehenge), Buckingham Palace and UsefulNotes/TheBahamas.
15
16	The soundtrack album has [[Music/{{Help}} its own entry]].
17
18	[[SimilarlyNamedWorks Not to be confused with]] ''Film/TheHelp'' or with ''Film/Help2021''.
19
20	----
21	!!So these are the famous tropes, eh?:
22
23	* AccentUponTheWrongSyllable: Clang pronounces "Beatle" to rhyme with "UsefulNotes/{{Seattle}}".
24	* AchillesPowerCord: Algernon has a lab full of assorted devices, but keeps having to change the plugs to work with the power supply.
25	-->"All this American rig. Wrong voltage. That's what foxes me!"
26	%%* AffectionateParody: Of the Franchise/JamesBond films.
27	* AfraidOfNeedles: George passes out at the sight of a syringe.
28	* AgeProgressionSong: "Help" has Lennon sing that when he was younger than today he never needed any help, but nowadays when he's older he's more insecure.
29	* AppliedPhlebotinum: The shrinking potion, as well as the Mad Scientist's expander ray and "relativity credenzar".
30	* AllAnimalsAreDomesticated: The tiger that is sent to attack Ringo at the pub is actually from a zoo and won't attack Ringo if he has ''Music/OdeToJoy'' sung to him.
31	* ArtisticLicenseReligion: The film is sometimes erroneously taken to be an example of this trope, because it features the goddess Kaili which is "obviously" a misspelling of Kali. However, according to the DVD commentary, this was done deliberately as they wanted a goddess who sounded like Kali without actually being her.
32	* AsHimself: The Beatles play more comic versions of themselves.
33	* AsLongAsItSoundsForeign: Clang's conversation with Bhuta on the train.
34	* AudienceParticipation: The film has been called "[[Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow The Rocky Horror Beatles Show]]" at some conventions (most notably Beatlefest UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}}), where screenings are frequently interrupted by audience members counting the number of times John dials the phone and handing out sticks of Wrigley's spearmint gum during the "Paul on the Floor" segment.
35	* BadBadActing: The Beatles indulge in this occasionally, particularly any time they're supposed to be acting like they're having a carefree, fun time and instead just deliver the most stilted laughs humanly possible. (As mentioned above, they were usually [[TheStoner stoned]], to the point that many times they disregarded memorizing the script at all).
36	* BadHumorTruck: The Eastern death cult tails Ringo in a "Yippee! It's Mister Whippy!" ice-cream van. As thugs exit from the truck, one is eating an ice-cream cone.
37	* BadImpressionists: Superintendent Gluck does a bad impression of Ringo over the phone after boasting of his ability as a Creator/JamesCagney impersonator: "Hello, this is the famous Ringo, gear, fab. What can I do for you, as it were, gear, fab?"
38	-->'''George:''' Not a ''bit'' like Cagney.
39	* BigDamnMovie: Granted, anything with the Beatles in at the peak of their power is fairly awesome anyway, but then you throw in the British Army's tanks surrounding the band playing near Stonehenge accompanied by StuffBlowingUp, the stadium of people singing 'Ode to Joy' to calm a tiger. That last one may just be a shot of StockFootage, but it's still epic.
40	* BiggerOnTheInside:
41	** The Beatles' house ''looks'' like 4 separate townhouses from the outside, but it is all one big room.
42	** The Eastern temple when it was brought to the Bahamas under a beach.
43	* BreakingTheFourthWall:
44	** When Ringo tries to escape from the tiger pit:
45	--->'''Ringo:''' ''[looks directly into the camera]'' [[CaptainObvious All the rungs have been neatly sawed through the middle]].
46	** As Ahme switches off the hand dryer/industrial strength vacuum cleaner:
47	--->'''Ahme''': ''[looks directly into the camera]'' [[TheMole I am not what I seem]].
48	* BrickJoke:
49	** About halfway through the film the scientists' bomb goes off and breaks a hole in an ice rink, with a cross-channel swimmer (played by the band's assistant roadie, Mal Evans) emerging from beneath and asking the way to the White Cliffs of Dover. He can be seen at the end emerging on a beach in the Bahamas, asking the same question.
50	** In one scene Clang is on a train discussing religion with an English vicar. The vicar can later be seen in the audience for the sacrifice.
51	* BritishRoyalGuards: A small battalion of marching guardsmen [[InstantSedation immediately collapses mid-march]] after inadvertently getting hit with KnockoutGas.
52	--> '''Ringo:''' It must be their tea break.
53	* BuffySpeak: "Hey, it's a thingie! A fiendish thingie!"
54	* BumblingHenchmenDuo: Secondary villains Foot and Algernon, a somewhat bumbling mad scientist and his assistant who are out to get the sacrificial ring in order to Take Over The World... [[StepThreeProfit somehow]].
55	* TheCallsAreComingFromInsideTheHouse: Played for laughs when John uses this to prank the other Beatles with an alarm clock.
56	* {{Caltrops}}: Parodied. The Kaili cult's disguised Harrods van has a front headlight which issues forth a stream of thumbtacks.
57	%%* CaptainErsatz: Kaili = [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kali Kali]].
58	* CaptionHumor: Comedic captions and intertitles abound in this.
59	* CaptainObvious: A tiger's appearance has the caption "A tiger".
60	* ClingyMacGuffin: The ring. It can only be removed if the person wearing it does something brave. Too bad it's on Ringo...
61	* ClothingDamage: A hilariously gratuitous version occurs when one of the villains attack the boys with a booby-trapped hand dryer that starts sucking away their clothes.
62	* CoconutMeetsCranium: In the Bahamas, one of Clang's mooks waits up in a tree and hurls a coconut at Ringo (actually Paul in a Ringo mask), knocking him out.
63	* ColourCodedCharacters: The Beatles' house, with John = red, Paul = white, George = green, and Ringo = blue.
64	* ComedicSociopathy: John, most notably, but really all of them; at some point, each suggests cutting Ringo's finger off (John does so holding a steak knife and says it would be like "having a tooth out"), and George, Ringo and John's complete non-reaction when Ringo supposedly [[ItMakesSenseInContext squashes Paul]].
65	* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Ringo, in a possible CallBack to ''Film/AHardDaysNight''. "What are you doing?" "Posting a letter."
66	* CoolHouse: The Beatles' BiggerOnTheInside house, with each Beatle having their own quirk to their own room: Ringo has several vending machines, John has a bookshelf and his bed is in a pit in the floor, Paul has an organ which surfaces from the floor, and George has a bed of grass complete with a gardener! There was also a deleted scene that showed that one of them also had a cow in a cupboard used for free milk.
67	* CrazyConsumption: There's a moment where The Beatles are hiding in an alpine brass band and George takes a bite out of a cymbal he's holding.
68	* CrazyPrepared: The cult dons (sometimes) elaborate disguises and rigs up ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo''-like traps in places they anticipate the Beatles will wander into.
69	* CreativeClosingCredits: During the end credits, a many-faceted gem filters the cast members into multiple images as they file past - on the soundtrack, "The Barber of Seville" overture plays as The Beatles hum, laugh, and talk over it.
70	* CrowdSong: ''Ode to Joy'' from Music/LudwigVanBeethoven's Ninth Symphony, in German.
71	* CoverVersion: ''Dizzy Miss Lizzy'', written by Larry Williams, which was ultimately not used in the film.
72	* DartboardOfHate: The opening credits -- the Beatles are on a movie clip, and Clang throws darts at the screen whenever Ringo or the ring is visible.
73	* DeadpanSnarker: [[WorldOfSnark Each of]] Music/TheBeatles.
74	* DeathTrap: The cultists set up increasingly elaborate death traps to get Ringo. [[RunningGag Which, because of the requirements for the sacrifice, also involve painting the victim red.]]
75	* {{Dedication}}: The film is dedicated to Elias Howe, inventor of the sewing machine. It's an idiosyncratic film.
76	* DeliberatelyMonochrome: The film made a big deal of being in colour - then, at the beginning, the scene shifts from a death-cult sacrifice being cut short to the band playing the title tune in black-and-white...turns out it's a film the cult is watching.
77	* DeliberateValuesDissonance: It may seem disconcerting to see The Beatles (especially Lennon, although it's very obvious from his facial expression and tone of voice that he is mocking such attitudes) referring to "filthy Eastern ways" regarding their cultist pursuers, but all the deliberately stilted dialogue in the movie is meant to invoke old movie and adventure novel cliches.
78	* DenserAndWackier: Whereas ''Film/AHardDaysNight'' had a documentary-style realism (with the occasional bout of surrealism), this feels more like a cartoon, with the band having madcap adventures across the world.
79	* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: In the pub, Ringo orders "Two lagers and lime, and two lagers and lime." for themselves.
80	** After the fourth attempt in the bathroom, Paul says "Hey, my skin's soaked right through to the skin."
81	* DiegeticSoundtrackUsage: Clang and his thugs attempt to ambush The Beatles in an Indian restaurant, first nabbing the house musicians and replacing them, playing an instrumental medley of tunes from ''A Hard Day's Night'' on Eastern instruments.
82	* DistractedByTheLuxury: If one believes Clang, people selected for the sacrifice would go to the altar willingly just for the honor of wearing the ring for a day.
83	* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: John's line, "No doubt about it, we're risking our lives to preserve a useless member!" (In context, it's about Ringo's ''ring finger'', which isn't necessary to his drumming but which he refuses to part with; taken with the RunningGag of [[TheRuntAtTheEnd Ringo's reputation]], it sounds as if the line is meant to refer to Ringo himself as the useless member of the band.)
84	** At first, Ringo thinks that all the talk of "ugly hands" is about the poker game, until George bluntly clears it up for Ringo:
85	--->'''George''': They're talking about your finger, you know.
86	* DullSurprise: Played for laughs when The Beatles fall victim to a hand-dryer trap, Ringo declares "There's more here than meets the eye!" Over the caption "Everyone laughs at Ringo's sudden apprehension", John and George exchange a long run of flat ho-hos. They all retain this quiet reaction to most every bizarre event through the movie.
87	* EasyImpersonation: While the Beatles are at UsefulNotes/ScotlandYard, the bad guys telephone for them. The Inspector plays Ringo, bragging at being "a bit of a mimic, you know, Creator/JamesCagney..." and proceeds with a ludicrous impression peppered with 'gear, fab'...George smirks "Not a bit like Cagney!"
88	* EatingTheEyeCandy: During the opening musical sequence, the girl on the sacrificing table is staring rather appreciatively at John.
89	* EmptyPilesOfClothing: When Paul gets injected with a shrinking serum he [[IncredibleShrinkingMan shrinks out of his clothes]], leaving them behind in a heap on the bed he was sitting on.
90	* EnergyWeapon: Algernon has Foot turn a laser on the Beatles...but seconds later a fuse blows. The flunky stammers "...wrong plug. Just give me five minutes..."
91	* EverythingsLouderWithBagpipes: The Beatles once again run afoul of the pursuing Eastern thug cult at the London riverfront, disguised as a Highland band, with a bagpipe that spews sacrificial red paint.
92	* ExtremeOmnivore: Both John, who's not averse to a little seasoning in his soup (even if it's [[{{Pun}} a season ticket]]), and George, who at one point [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment takes a giant bite out of the cymbal that he's holding]].
93	* FakeOutOpening: The ColdOpen in which the cult is about to sacrifice the woman to ''Kalili''. It's this cool, solemn, proto-''Franchise/IndianaJones''-like bit with elaborate CostumePorn....[[MoodWhiplash but then the ring's discovered to be missing....cue the Beatles singing '"Help!"....]]
94	* {{Fanservice}}:
95	** Probably most blatant in the "hand dryer ripping off the boys' clothes" scene, particularly [[ShirtlessScene George's shirt]]...cue the fangirls screaming.
96	** The naked Paul from "The Exciting Adventure of Paul On The Floor". (In RealLife, though, he was wearing a pair of tan bathing trunks while filming the scene.)
97	** Paul on the beach in tight t-shirt and jeans qualifies.
98	** The beautiful girl who was going to be sacrificed at the beginning of the film (and who's later glimpsed enthusiastically watching the film of them singing, and later still in the bath being washed down by her mum) is this. Provided you can get over the whole red paint/sacrifice thing.
99	** And who can forget the moment Ringo's pants fall as Algernon tries to remove the ring.
100	** The variety of bondage Ringo is subjected to, originally meant to parody Franchise/JamesBond films, can easily be mistaken for this by modern viewers.
101	* Fiction500: Clang has a seemingly bottomless supply of resources to try to capture and killing Ringo.
102	* TheFilmOfTheSong
103	* {{Fingore}}: The others can't understand why Ringo won't let them [[JustEatGilligan just cut off his finger]].
104	* {{Flanderization}}:
105	** The film versions of the band were supposed to exhibit exaggerated versions of their own personalities: John as a snarky smartaleck, Paul as a smooth lady killer, George as a miserly cheapskate, and Ringo as... well, Ringo. Most of this gets lost in the finished version, though.
106	** Whereas ''Film/AHardDaysNight'' showed the band as individuals, ''Film/{{Help}}'' now shows them as one band living in the same house with four separate doors.
107	* FriendToAllLivingThings: Algernon claims to be this.
108	-->'''Algernon:''' I work better with animals. They trust me, you see. [[BaitAndSwitch I should have gone into vivisection]].
109	* FunnyBackgroundEvent:
110	** George spends most of the movie doing funny or awkward things in the background, like putting things in his pockets in the jewellery shop or eating his cymbals in the Alps.
111	** Audio version: after the cultists forcibly abduct the in-house musicians at the restaurant and take their places and their instruments, they begin playing... "A Hard Day's Night".
112	* GenreShift: ''Film/AHardDaysNight'' was a {{mockumentary}}. ''Help!'' is an action/adventure comedy.
113	* GetOut: A gang of death-cult thugs burst into the Beatles' home, and after a drag-out brawl are run out by a gun-wielding mad scientist, who turns the gun on the band, and it misfires. At this point John quietly growls "Get out." And they do.
114	* GrievousBottleyHarm: The Beatles hide from danger in a riverside pub, where a booby trap drops Ringo into the cellar. Clang, posing as a bartender, threatens the others with a broken bottle and they flee through the window.
115	* GroupieBrigade: Amusingly inverted - the Beatles pull up to their homes, and the only girls around are a couple of middle-aged housewives, one of whom needs to be coaxed to wave.
116	* HaveAGayOldTime: This happens after injecting the syringe into Paul's knee, which Ahme describes as "a dreadful miscarriage."
117	* HesGotAWeapon: "It's a thingie! A fiendish thingie!"
118	* HesitantSacrifice: The plot revolves around Ringo being marked as a cult's human sacrifice - after some narrow escapes, the others suggest over his objections that he should 'take one for the team'.
119	-->'''Paul:''' That bloke with Scott - I always admired how he went out into the snow for his mates.
120	* HighPriest: Clang, who at one point chats amicably with an Anglican priest about the importance of human sacrifice to focus the congregation.
121	* HiroshimaAsAUnitOfMeasure: As The Beatles record a song in the middle of Salisbury Plain with the Army protecting them, the bad guys burrow underneath, setting a massive amount of explosives labelled in military-grade stencil "Equal to exactly one millionth of the explosives exploded in one week of [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII the Second World War]]".
122	* HoistByHisOwnPetard: When Ringo finally gets the ring off, he puts it on Clang's finger, making him the next sacrifice. Clang does manage to get it off in time, but it was still a good try.
123	* HumanSacrifice: PlayedForLaughs. Spending the whole movie trying to kill Ringo, who has a sacrificial ring stuck on his finger, the cult leader muses to himself "Perhaps if we gave away free tickets to the youth organization annual sacrifice and dinner dance, all this could be avoided. It's a very real problem!" just before he turns a flame thrower on the band.
124	* ImprovisedClothes: After Paul accidentally gets shrunk, he improvises a wrap out of a discarded Wrigley's gum wrapper.
125	* IncredibleShrinkingMan: Getting accidentally injected with the shrinking serum results in "The Exciting Adventure of Paul on the Floor".
126	* InTheStyleOf:
127	** "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" is very [[Music/BobDylan Dylanesque]].
128	** "She's a Woman" (played on tape) is Paul's attempt at imitating Music/LittleRichard's vocal style.
129	* {{Intermission}}: It's about seven seconds long and is entirely a BigLippedAlligatorMoment.
130	* {{Irony}}: While the Beatles were too stoned off their head most of the time during recording this film they do have a song aptly titled ''Act Naturally''.
131	* ItsAllAboutMe: Clang's true motive for retrieving the ring and/or sacrificing whoever has it is that he needs the ritual sacrifice to keep the Cult of Kaili going, and his power comes from leading the cult.
132	-->"Without the ring, there is no sacrifice. No sacrifice, no congregation. No congregation, no me."
133	* IveNeverSeenAnythingLikeThisBefore: [[NoNameGiven The Jeweler]] says the trope name after breaking all his tools trying to remove Ringo's ring.
134	-->"Jeweler, you've ''failed!''"
135	* JamesBondage: Parodied several times with Ringo, during the various attempts to remove the ring or sacrifice him. Much of the time, his restraints are quite sloppy and should be easy to break out of, but is still treated like a serious obstacle he needs to be rescued from.
136	** For example, being wrapped in a blanket and having plenty of time with the car trunk opened to jump out and run off, but instead waiting for George to take five minutes to sabotage the car so that when it takes off again, and then breaks down, ''then'' Ringo and George can jump out and flee.
137	** While StrappedToAnOperatingTable, basically every part of Ringo is restrained ''except'' his hands, which are right under the buckle of the strap going across his shoulders, and thus should be easy to undo and break out of. And he has enough energy to bite his captor, and run for it after someone else frees him, so we know he wasn't given any kind of paralyzing drug.
138	** FridgeBrilliance kicks in when you remember that the Beatles are all beyond baked (both in and out of universe), explaining...well everything.
139	* KnockoutGas: A sinister red gas takes out all of the Buckingham Palace guards in a matter of seconds.
140	-->'''Ringo:''' It must be their tea break.
141	* LargeHam: John Lennon is the hammiest of The Beatles, but the villains take the cake (Leo [=McKern=] as a Thuggee priest, Victor Spinetti's Mad Scientist...).
142	* LatexPerfection: The other Beatles for Ringo, to set traps for the cultist. How that was actually managed boggles the mind.
143	* LivingMacGuffin: Ringo when wearing the ring, since the cult are not so much trying to take the ring from him as trying to sacrifice him because he's wearing the ring. ([[ReligionOfEvil It's a different religion from ours. I think]].)
144	* TheLoad: After a series of events involving Paul getting shrunk, winter sports in the Austrian Alps, and being attacked by Clang, the rest of the group is getting weary of having their lives endangered because of Ringo, and they reason that he would still be able to play the drums with one less finger on his hand:
145	-->'''John''': Oh, why don't you chop it off, Ringo?\
146	'''Ringo''': Look John, I've had some great times with this finger. [''to Paul''] And how do you know I wouldn't miss it?\
147	'''Paul''': You're a rat underneath, aren't you?
148	* MacGuffin: The ring. Interesting it has no power in and of itself, other than that it can't be removed even with the aid of MadScience.
149	* MadScientist: Professor Foot. Lampshaded by John when he says "This is absurd! You're nothing but a trite, hackneyed mad scientist!"
150	* MagicPants: An odd variation occurs where Paul is accidentally injected with a short-term shrinking solution - he shrinks out of his clothes and uses a gum wrapper as a ModestyTowel, then he manages to grow back completely inside his suit without as much as a skewed tie.
151	* MindControlMusic: In an scene dropped from the final movie, Music/TheBeatles, at an acting school, are put into a trance by droning music played by Clang and his thugs. A scene that was used has them trying again, all crammed in a phone booth calling the band up while they're in Scotland Yard. Clang intones "Go... to... the... ''window!''... Go... to... the... ''window!''"
152	* MouseWorld: When Paul shrinks down he uses a discarded chewing gum wrapper to cover himself and he also uses an ash tray as a bathtub.
153	* MusicSoothesTheSavageBeast: Rajah, the famous Bengal tiger man-eater that corners Ringo, can be rendered completely calm by a performance of "Ode to Joy." Why? He was a gift from the Berlin Zoo where he was reared on "the classics."
154	* NoSenseOfDirection: The Beatles' road manager [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mal_Evans Mal Evans]], does a cameo as a swimmer who has this, looking for the White Cliffs of Dover while under some ice (in Switzerland -- [[MST3KMantra just roll with it)]] and again at the end in a BrickJoke in the Caribbean Sea.
155	* NonActionGuy: When the Cultists invade their home the Beatles attempt to fight them off. Except for Paul; he was shrunk to a few inches tall [[JustifiedTrope and is therefore unable to fight back]]. So he spends the melee just trying to avoid being stepped on.
156	* NonActorVehicle: The Beatles themselves, of course. Here it's a little more profound due to this film's DenserAndWackier storyline (compared to their more down-to-earth previous film ''Film/AHardDaysNight'').
157	* NoodleIncident: Ringo once got his head stuck in some railings.
158	-->'''Ringo:''' The fire brigade once got my head out of some railings.
159	-->'''John:''' Did you want them to?
160	-->'''Ringo:''' No. I left it there when not at school. You can see a lot of the world from railings.
161	* NostalgiaFilter: "Help", thinking about "when I was younger, so much younger than today. I never needed anybody's help in any way".
162	* NotAMask: After the cult members get rounded up in a snare knocking out who they think is Ringo (but is first Paul, then John in a latex mask) Algernon finds the ''real'' Ringo, first pulling at his face a few times before yanking him away by the nose.
163	-->'''Ringo:''' I can't understand - they kept pullin' at me nose! And mine of all noses!
164	* ObviousTrap: Several traps, particularly the last one, are [[ExaggeratedTrope comically obvious]]. The cast is cheerfully oblivious.
165	* OnlySaneMan: Ahme is the only person with any lick of competence in the movie, and she seems rather exhausted by it.
166	* TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou: When Clang sees Foot and Algernon make off with Ringo, having overridden his cage trap with a trapdoor, he does not take it well.
167	-->'''Clang:''' HE'S ''MINE!''
168	* OutsideRide: George climbs on the roof of Foot and Algernon's car to save Ringo, even managing to stay on after their repeated attempts to ram him off.
169	* PaperThinDisguise: The Beatles go to the airport in fake beards and mustaches to avoid being noticed by Cult members. John even went so far as to stay in a wheelchair to avoid recognition, far from simply wearing a cloth cap.
170	* PerformanceVideo: It's a musical, and we get to see most of the songs performed.
171	* PinballProtagonist: All four Beatles for much of the film.
172	* PluckyComicRelief: Ringo, sometimes aided and abetted by George.
173	* PoliceAreUseless: Subverted. While the Royal Guards at first seem to be a literal bunch of [[RedShirt Redshirts]] (who get knocked out by gas, [[ItMakesSenseInContext trapped in weightlessness]], etc), and seemingly play this trope straight (as also seen by the fact that they never turn up for such things as restaurants and private homes getting invaded), it all suddenly changes once the Beatles actually decide to go ''to'' the police. Indeed, in the third act the police actually ends up [[spoiler:saving the Beatles]]. ''[[spoiler:Twice (British and Bahaman police respectively)]]''!
174	* PortalPool: The boys escape capture by jumping into a hidden hatch within the temple, and wind up in the swimming pool of a nearby hotel.
175	* PottyEmergency: As Algernon makes his way to the Beatles in a motorized rubber raft he tells his lackey "You should've thought of that before we left!"
176	* ThePowerOfLove: Most of the songs are about this topic.
177	* PrimalChestPound: As John, Paul and George search for Ringo, George yells Ringo's name in a Franchise/{{Tarzan}}-esque manner, pounding his chest while doing so.
178	* ProductPlacement: John is seen reading his own book ''A Spaniard In The Works'' in his house. PlayedForLaughs, since the obvious implication is that he's a narcissist.
179	* PublicDomainSoundtrack: The film was a showcase for a lot of Beatles songs, and much of the soundtrack was their tunes done in a Franchise/JamesBond style—but then they also used Wagner's 'Lohengrin', Tchaikovsky's '1812 Overture', Beethoven's 'Ode to Joy', and Rossini's 'Barber of Seville'.
180	* PunkInTheTrunk: Ringo, courtesy of Foot and Algernon. Lucky, George is there to rescue him, having run away in terror earlier in the scene.
181	* RacialFaceBlindness: Swami Clang can't tell the Beatles apart: "They look all the same in their similarity and language!"
182	* RandomEventsPlot: The Beatles just run from one country to another and encounter surreal events.
183	* RealLifeWritesThePlot: The Beatles have admitted they more or less wanted a paid vacation, which is why they suggested some of the film's more exotic locations (The Bahamas, the Alps). Also, the song ''Help!'' perfectly summarized Lennon's feelings about the whole Beatlemania thing at this point, and filming the movie got them away from their fans for a while.
184	* ReliablyUnreliableGuns: The [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain idiot]] "[[MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate scientist]]" and his assistant have a [[RunningGag recurring problem:]] none of their equipment works when it needs to, leading the assistant to invariably blame whatever country the object in question came from. As a result, this trope pops up twice: once with a "cheap" English pistol, leading them to bemoan their lack of a Luger, and once with their American-built time-slowing ray, leading them to cause a short due to the difference in voltage.
185	* ReportsOfMyDeathWereGreatlyExaggerated: When the Beatles notice a red smudge near Ringo's shoe they assume that Paul, who was shrunk earlier, has been [[UndignifiedDeath stepped on]]. However, it's just red paint and Paul soon returns to his normal size.
186	* RidiculouslyLongPhoneNumber: In a surreal comedy bit, John dials one of these from his below-ground resting area in the Beatles' house to set off Paul, George and Ringo's alarm clocks late at night.
187	* RunningGag:
188	** John: "[[MadLibsCatchPhrase Getting nowhere, are you, jeweller/mad scientist/superintendent]]?"
189	** People and things being referred to as "The ''famous'' X" ("the famous Beatles", "the famous Ringo", "the famous ring", "the famous temple", and so forth) primarily by the Superintendent, although the Beatles themselves as well as the written narration pick up on the trend.
190	* SayMyName: After Ringo is kidnapped in the Bahamas, the other three Beatles go about looking for him, shouting his name the whole time.
191	* SceneryPorn: The film does ''look'' good, with lush scenery from the Alps, the Bahamas, and Stonehenge.
192	* SdrawkcabName: In a deleted scene, the Beatles go to The Sam Ahab School of Transcendental Elocution. "Sam Ahab" is Bahamas spelled backwards.
193	* ShirtlessScene: The Beatles, taking refuge in a bathroom, get attacked by a hand-dryer that conveniently sucks up most of their clothing, George's shirt in particular. And that's not even getting into the part where Paul shrinks and his clothes don't...
194	* ShortDistancePhoneCall: Foot and Algernon are rigging up an exploding curling stone; Algernon describes his progress on a headset to Foot, who is standing right beside him.
195	-->'''Algernon''' ''(when walking):''"I am now moving my left leg....I am now moving my right leg...."
196	* ShoutOut:
197	** The version of "Help!" used in the movie's opening credits and on the American soundtrack starts with a snippet of a ''Film/JamesBond''-style theme; in the film itself, said theme plays as Clang and his cult prepare to pursue the Beatles in their car. In another scene, Bhuta distracts a chef by imitating [[Film/{{Goldfinger}} Oddjob's hat toss attack.]]
198	** One of the orchestral cues is [[SuspiciouslySimilarSong appropriately titled]], "Another Hard Day's Night".
199	** As John and Ringo walk down the sidewalk to mail a letter, John is heard reciting the first few lines to his ''In His Own Write'' poem, "I Sat Belonely". He also is shown reading his second book, ''A Spaniard in the Works'', at the beginning of the film.
200	** When Ringo is kidnapped and [[SayMyName the other Beatles are calling for him]], George beats his chest like Franchise/{{Tarzan}} while looking for him.
201	** "The Exciting Adventure of Paul On The Floor" segment references ''Film/TheIncredibleShrinkingMan''
202	* StepThreeProfit: The mad scientists never actually explain how an indestructible ring will let them TakeOverTheWorld. Sure it's neat and everything but...
203	* StepUpToTheMicrophone: "Yesterday", which was performed by Paul solo, without the other group members involved.
204	* StickyFingers: The Beatles visit a jeweller seeking help to remove a ring stuck on Ringo's finger - in the background, George casually pockets several bits of merchandise.
205	* StonerFlick: The Beatles were stoned off their asses during the making of it, and the non sequitur and other ridiculous bits are far more entertaining.
206	* StrangeSalute: Klang and Ahme do one on the airport tarmac involving sticking their elbows and wrists out at right angles.
207	* StrappedToAnOperatingTable: Parodied when the scientists attempt to amputate Ringo's finger to get the ring. The position of the straps should make it more than easy for Ringo to free himself (and he clearly has not been paralyzed in any way either), but it's played like he's completely restrained. (Justified, by the fact that he's stoned off his ass, both in and out of universe.)
208	* StuffBlowingUp: The cultists fire away and eventually do manage to take out the tank the Beatles were riding in. Luckily, the Beatles were no longer in it when it was hit.
209	* SuperWindowJump: The Beatles dive out the window in a pub to get away from bad guys. And earlier, bad guys dive in the window of the Beatles' flat, taking them by surprise.
210	* TakeOverTheWorld:
211	** The main reason the mad scientists want the ring. Exactly how they would take over the world with an indestructible but otherwise ordinary ring is unexplained. It's mad science, [[{{Webcomic/Narbonic}} common sense would be cheating]].
212	---> "With a ring like that I could, dare I say it, rule the world! I must have that ring! Algernon, the laser!"
213	** Later lampshaded, when Foot begrudgingly deduces that they probably couldn't interest anyone in the ring to begin with.
214	* TakeThat: Scotland Yard gets one.
215	-->'''Chief Superintendent:''' So, this is the famous ring? And this is the famous Beatles.\
216	'''John:''' So, this is the famous Scotland Yard.\
217	'''Chief Superintendent:''' And how long do you think you'll last?\
218	'''John:''' Can't say fairer than that -- Great Train Robbery, eh, how's that going?
219	* TitledAfterTheSong
220	* TitleThemeTune
221	* TookALevelInBadass: George in the Bahamas. After spending the entire time [[FunnyBackgroundEvent messing around in the background]], cheating at cards, and just sort of going with things, he fights off four cultists and very nonchalantly leaps on top of the scientists' car to rescue Ringo.
222	* ToplessnessFromTheBack: Ahme's sister taking a bath in Part Two.
223	* TrapDoor: Ringo falls through at least two trapdoors. One of them is in a pub and uses a beer glass (glued to its coaster) as a switch; fortunately for those trying to rescue Ringo, its seams are just visible. Another one is inside the area covered by an electrified cage somewhere in the Bahamas...
224	* TwoFacedAside: When Ringo is about to have his finger shrunk with a potion so a magic ring can be removed, George speculates that there might be some insurance they could get out of it. John indignantly says "I wouldn't think of such a thing!", before whispering "Find out, eh?"
225	* TwoScenesOneDialogue: In the restaurant, the Beatles encounter the Eastern cultists. Clang and Bhuta explain the ring's significance to Ringo, George and John, while Ahme does the same to Paul.
226	-->'''Clang:''' Pardon me, sir. That's a very fascinating ring you've got there. Unless I'm mistaken, is it...?
227	-->'''Ahme:''' ...the dreaded sacred sacrificial ring of the dread Kaili.
228	-->'''Paul:''' Please say no more.
229	-->'''Ahme:''' I can say no more.
230
231	-->'''Ahme:''' A victim is offered to the dread Kaili everyday. All are happy to go. He who wins is privileged to wear the sacred ring from sun to moon, from moon to sun. And at the end of the happy day, he is slaughtered jolly with a knife...
232	-->'''Clang:''' ...and sacrificed jolly with a knife, so I'm told, with that ring.
233	* UnusuallyUninterestingSight:
234	** The people in the Indian restaurant seem pretty undisturbed by the sight of a number of cultists strangling, kidnapping and replacing the staff.
235	---> '''Man (as his waiter is dragged off):''' Oh, rather a jolly place!
236	** The Beatles seem rather undisturbed as well, at least until they see Ringo's hand nearly get chopped off. Of particular note is John's complete nonchalance over finding items in his food, the result of the chefs being knocked out during its preparation.
237	--->'''John:''' What's this?\
238	'''Ringo:''' It's a season ticket. What did you think it is?\
239	'''John:''' Oh, I like a lot of seasoning in me soup.
240	* WeaponsThatSuck: A hand dryer in a washroom is rigged to vacuum at high intensity to pull the coveted ring off Ringo's hand - it rips off bits of the guys' clothing and pulls the plumbing off the walls before it's shut down.
241	* WhamLine: Algernon, assistant to the scientist Foot: "It's more than my job's worth to stop him when he's out like this. He's out to rule the world, if he can get a government grant." Following the revelation that the Beatles made a big mistake getting help from Foot, he saw what the ring that Ringo wore could do: "Fantastic! With a ring like that I could—dare I say it—rule the world."
242	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The gardener from George's room is not seen again after playing the flute in "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away".
243	* WhatTheFuAreYouDoing: Ringo during a fight scene. Everyone else pretty much ignores him, until he breaks down sobbing because [[ItMakesSenseInContext they manage to paint him red.]]
244	* WheresTheKaboom: Algernon hands a curling stone with an explosive charge into a game. When it's seen to be 'a fiendish thingie' everyone scatters...and the ticking stone clicks to a stop. The scientist fumes "Useless. Ex-army rubbish - I can't get the equipment!" and it explodes before he can finish talking.
245	* WraparoundBackground:
246	** In-movie variation - in the Bahamas, the police chief welcomes the Scotland Yard detective and presents a squad of policemen for inspection. The squad consists of only four men, the last in the row ducking and heading to the front of the row as the chief and inspector pass by the other three.
247	** A more standard version happens a little later when the Beatles decide they're tired of running and want to fight back. After a bit, the camera zooms out and reveals that they're going around in circles.
248

Context Film / Help