Skip to main content

TL;DR:

  • The Beatles loved a Peter Sellers film that was helmed by a famous director.
  • Paul McCartney felt the band members’ enjoyment of the movie said a lot about them.
  • The director had an incredible impact on The Beatles’ career.

The Beatles were huge fans of a Peter Sellers movie that Paul McCartney called “zany.” The movie went on to inspire one of The Beatles’ most famous films. In addition, The Beatles worked with Sellers’ director multiple times.

Paul McCartney said The Beatles’ love of 1 Peter Sellers movie gave them ‘a personality’

During a 2020 interview with GQ, Paul discussed The Beatles’ tastes. “We liked people such as Stanley Unwin; we liked mad things,” he said. For context, Unwin was a comic actor known for creating his own language.

In addition, the members of the Fab Four enjoyed a short film that starred Sellers. “Like there was a little film called The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film that Dick Lester did with Spike Milligan and we were attracted to those zany little things, which I think gave us a personality as a group,” Paul recalled. “And we would have fun with this. The other groups were just not like that. They were like guys who might work in a factory or something.”

Paul McCartney explained why The Beatles had such amazing chemistry with each other

Paul had more to say about the Fab Four’s chemistry. “We had a lot in common and that’s just the musical aspect,” he said. “Then you go into all the other aspects. 

“One thing about The Beatles is that we were kind of like an art band,” he added. “John went to art college, so with him and Stuart [Sutcliffe] there was that connection,” he added. “I was very into art anyway and it wasn’t just art, it was, like, culture, with a small ‘c.’ So we all liked stuff.” Sutcliffe was briefly a member of The Beatles before they achieved their fame. He died of a brain hemorrhage in 1962.

Related

The Monkees’ TV Show Was Inspired by 2 Beatles Movies

How ‘The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film’ inspired the Fab Four’s movies

The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film had a significant effect on the Fab Four. According to the 2009 book Artificial Paradise: The Dark Side of The Beatles’ Utopian Dream, the gags in the movie inspired Lester’s most famous 1960s film: The Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night. Lester went on to direct the band’s followup film, Help! In addition, he helmed the comedy How I Won the War, which features John Lennon in his sole non-musical role.

Lester felt he and The Beatles chose each other because he understood them. He felt his previous work, including The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film and the rock ‘n’ roll musical It’s Trad, Dad!, made it clear he was on the band’s wavelength. In addition, the Fab Four liked Lester’s work on The Goon Show, which also starred Sellers.

The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film isn’t famous today but it had a considerable influence on the most popular band of all time.

Best in Entertainment