The Beatles’ Help! at 50: rare behind-the-scenes photos
Amazing shots of The Beatles larking around on the beach in the Bahamas and high in the Alps during production of their madcap fantasy Help!, released in UK cinemas 50 years ago.
Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney and George Harrison in the Bahamas for the filming of The Beatles' second film, Help!, released in UK cinemas on 29 July 1965
The Beatles on the beach. Though the Caribbean scenes come at the end of the film, they were the first to be shot. The band decamped with the crew to the Bahamas on 23 February 1965, filming on New Providence Island and Paradise IslandFilming the bike-riding scene on the Interfield Road, near to Nassau International Airport on New Providence Island
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The bike-riding scene was shot on the first day of the 14-day Caribbean shoot. Rock lore has it that during filming George Harrison was approached by a Krishna follower and given a book about Hare Krishna sparking his fascination with eastern spiritualismMuch of the film's beach footage was shot on Cabbage Beach, on the northern side of Paradise IslandMore frolics on the beach. Paul has said that the script was written around locations such as the Alps and the Bahamas purely so that the band had an excuse to spend time thereFilming Help! (1965) in the Bahamas. The film's working title was 'Eight Arms to Hold You'Director Richard Lester with the bandGeorge, Ringo and John. The Beatles left the Bahamas on 10 March, arriving back in London early the following day
In the Austrian Alps
Just two days after arriving back in the UK from the Bahamas, on 13 March 1965 the Beatles flew out to Salzburg, Austria to begin filming the film’s Alpine sectionThe Austrian scenes were filmed at Obertauern, where the band stayed until 22 MarchRingo Starr wearing the sacrificial ring that sets the plot in motion after Ringo accepts it as a gift from a fan, unaware that it belongs to a religious cultRingo and John in the Alps
On Salisbury Plain
With the Caribbean and Austrian scenes in the can, The Beatles travelled closer to home, to the Salisbury Plain, to film the famous sequence in which the band play George's song ‘I Need You’Ringo during the filming of the Salisbury Plain sequence. By this point in filming, the band's new single 'Ticket to Ride' was number one in the UK charts, offering the public their first taste of the upcoming Help! soundtrack and album
