Fluidr
about   tools   help   Y   Q   a         b   n   l
User / Truus, Bob & Jan too! / Sets / The Beatles
Truus, Bob & Jan too! / 43 items

N 17 B 7.1K C 1 E Feb 26, 2023 F Feb 26, 2023
  • DESCRIPTION
  • COMMENT
  • O
  • L
  • M

American postcard by Fotofolio, no. P318. Photo: Christopher Makos. Caption: Andy Warhol, 1978. Kissing John Lennon at the Factory.

English musician, singer and songwriter John Lennon (1940-1980) rose to worldwide fame with the Beatles, the most commercially successful band in the history of pop. He formed a songwriting partnership with Paul McCartney, which is one of the most celebrated of the 20th century. When the group disbanded in 1970, Lennon embarked on a solo career that produced the critically acclaimed albums John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and Imagine.

Andy Warhol (1928-1987) was the 'Father of Pop Art' with his silk-screened pictures of Campbell's Soup cans and distorted images of Marilyn Monroe. He started directing films and most of his early work simply consisted of pointing the camera at something (a man asleep, the Empire State Building) and leaving it running, often for hours. His films gradually grew more sophisticated, with scripts and soundtracks. They were generally performed by members of the Warhol "factory". In 1968, after a near-fatal shooting by an unstable fan, Warhol retired from direct involvement in filmmaking, and under former assistant Paul Morrissey, the Warhol films became increasingly commercial. Warhol spent the 1970s and 1980s as a major pop culture figure, constantly attending parties and providing patronage to younger artists.

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Tags:   John Lennon John Lennon The Beatles Beatles Pop Stars Actor Film Star Andy Warhol Andy Warhol American Artist Director Cinema Movies Film Kino Music Postcard Carte Postale Cartolina Tarjet Postal Postkarte Postkaart Briefkarte Briefkaart Ansichtskarte Ansichtkaart British European Kiss Gay Icon Fotofolio Christopher Makos Christopher Makos The Factory 1978

N 9 B 5.7K C 0 E Jan 4, 2022 F Jan 4, 2022
  • DESCRIPTION
  • COMMENT
  • O
  • L
  • M

British postcard by London Postcard Company, no YS 5314 (Series 2 set of 9). Photo: Subafilms Ltd. Film image of The Yellow Submarine (George Dunning, 1968). Caption: Up on the hill.

Yellow Submarine (1968) is an animated full-length film based on the music of The Beatles. It is also the title of the film's album of music, which is part of the Beatles' musical oeuvre. The film was directed by Canadian-born animation producer George Dunning, and produced by United Artists and King Features Syndicate. With over 200 employees, chief designer Heinz Edelmann and director Charles Dunning worked on the film for eleven months. The animators came from England, but also from the USA and other countries in Europe. The real Beatles themselves do not appear until the final scene of the film.

In 1963, the American film studio United Artists approached The Beatles' manager Brian Epstein for a contract to make a number of films around the group. Epstein saw the deal as a good way to promote The Beatles and sell their music. United Artists was particularly interested in the money that would come in from selling the music albums. The Beatles were under contract to Capitol Records in the US, but that agreement excluded music albums. The studio knew that album sales would always make money even if the film flopped, so they saw the film deal with The Beatles as one in which they could not lose. On the other hand, the deal United Artists made with Epstein was not very favourable to The Beatles. Epstein was not a good negotiator and was an amateur in many financial matters. Admittedly, The Beatles were not at their peak of popularity at the time (certainly not in the US), but even in that context it was a disappointing contract. He had no idea of the normal profit percentages that could be negotiated, so he proposed a 7.5 % share. The United Artists studio bosses couldn't believe their luck; they had been afraid of tough negotiations and perhaps a higher percentage than 25%, and now Epstein came up with the ludicrous 7.5%. They immediately made a deal for three films. Not long after, the Beatles' popularity shot through the roof (also in the US), and Richard Lester made the first Beatles film A Hard Day's Night one of the most successful films of all time. This did not only deprive The Beatles of millions in earnings. They were also stuck with a financially disappointing film contract that would hang around their necks like a millstone.

The second film that The Beatles made for United Artists was Help, also directed by Lester. Although the film was as successful as its predecessor, the Beatles were not very enthusiastic about the end result. They were afraid of getting stuck in the format of "the happy adventures of the Beatles". But Brian Epstein had signed a contract with United Artists in 1963, and the film production company demanded a third film. All sorts of ideas were floated, such as a film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings with Ringo as Frodo and John as Gandalf, but the third film did not materialise. In 1967, the four Beatles thought they could direct themselves and made the television production "Magical Mystery Tour". The TV movie was broadcast by the BBC in black and white and was received by viewers and critics with dismay. After this, The Beatles' interest in films dropped to a low point. Their manager Brian Epstein came up with the solution. He was approached by Al Brodax, the head of King Features Syndicate, with the idea of making a full-length animated film based on a number of Beatles songs. The idea was based on the animated series about The Beatles that had been broadcast since 1965. TVC produced this series, in which an animated adventure was always made around a Beatles song. The Beatles were excited because they did not have to contribute to the film. But for this very reason, United Artists rejected Yellow Submarine as the third film. It was only with the documentary Let it Be that the Beatles fulfilled their contractual obligations. However, Yellow Submarine was a hit in cinemas and the critics were also enthusiastic. They especially praised the innovations in animation. The drawn appearance of The Beatles was based on the appearance of the real Beatles at the time of the recording of the film that accompanied the single Strawberry Fields Forever. Only, Paul McCartney's moustache had disappeared from his alter ego in the film. The Beatles themselves, who had expected some kind of Disney film, were pleasantly surprised by the result of Yellow Submarine and decided to appear in the final scene themselves.

The starting point for the film was the song "Yellow Submarine". Paul McCartney wrote it as one of the songs that drummer Ringo Starr could sing with his limited singing voice. It was intended as a children's song with simple lyrics and melody. Subsequent accusations that "yellow submarines" were a code name for yellow pills, namely Nembutol capsules, so-called "downers" (hence "submarine": submarine) were dismissed by McCartney. Producer Lee Minoff based himself on the idea of a children's song and wrote the first draft of the story. Soon, several scriptwriters were working on the scenario. It was decided to include a number of recent Beatles songs alongside 'Yellow Submarine'. Some of these songs were taken from the album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. This Beatles album, released in 1967, caused a sensation in the music world. The idea behind the album was that The Beatles were transformed into the fictional pop group Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band. On the cover, they can be seen in satin military uniforms in bright colours. This was the impetus for the idea of including in the film a Sgt. Pepper who lives in Pepperland with his band. At one point, there were about twenty versions of the screenplay circulating. One of the writers was Roger McCough, a poet from Liverpool, who contributed much to the dialogues with their typical ambiguities, expressions from Liverpool, and private jokes from The Beatles. McCough received 500 pounds for his contribution, but no mention in the credits. Mention was made of Jack Mendelsohn and Erich Segal. Mendelsohn had worked on the Beatles' animated series, but Segal was unfamiliar with the film business in 1967. He was working at Yale as an assistant to the professor of Classics. He was brought to London by Brodax to put together a coherent script from the large amount of material, some of which consisted only of fragments. Segal worked on the script continuously for several weeks under the threat of a deadline. He was barely allowed to leave his hotel room to jog. However, Segal was able to take advantage of a brilliant suggestion by lead designer Heinz Edelmann. During a production meeting, the collaborators came to a disturbing conclusion: the screenplay lacked an enemy. Pepperland was a paradise without a snake. Edelmann came up with the concept of the Blue Meanies and their attack on everything that smelt of music. (Incidentally, the meanies were originally red, entirely in keeping with the Cold War. An error by Edelmann's assistant caused the colours to be switched and the meanies became blue). Despite all the creative contributions, Yellow Submarine's screenplay also suffered from the fact that the music overshadowed the story and the story was adapted to the songs. It did result in a modern fairy tale about the 1967 hippy generation.

Source: Wikipedia (Dutch), and IMDb.

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Tags:   The Beatles Beatles John Lennon Paul Mc Cartney George Harrison Ringo Starr Pop Stars Actor Film Star Cinema Movies Film Kino Music Postcard Carte Postale Cartolina Tarjet Postal Postkarte Postkaart Briefkarte Briefkaart Ansichtskarte Ansichtkaart 1960s Sixties British European The Yellow Submarine 1968 Animation London Postcard Company Subafilms Yellow Submarine

N 8 B 5.8K C 0 E Jan 1, 2022 F Jan 1, 2022
  • DESCRIPTION
  • COMMENT
  • O
  • L
  • M

British postcard by London Postcard Company, no YS 5314 (Series 2 set of 9). Photo: Subafilms Ltd. Film image of The Yellow Submarine (George Dunning, 1968). Caption: Up on the hill.

Yellow Submarine (1968) is an animated full-length film based on the music of The Beatles. It is also the title of the film's album of music, which is part of the Beatles' musical oeuvre. The film was directed by Canadian-born animation producer George Dunning, and produced by United Artists and King Features Syndicate. With over 200 employees, chief designer Heinz Edelmann and director Charles Dunning worked on the film for eleven months. The animators came from England, but also from the USA and other countries in Europe. The real Beatles themselves do not appear until the final scene of the film.

In 1963, the American film studio United Artists approached The Beatles' manager Brian Epstein for a contract to make a number of films around the group. Epstein saw the deal as a good way to promote The Beatles and sell their music. United Artists was particularly interested in the money that would come in from selling the music albums. The Beatles were under contract to Capitol Records in the US, but that agreement excluded music albums. The studio knew that album sales would always make money even if the film flopped, so they saw the film deal with The Beatles as one in which they could not lose. On the other hand, the deal United Artists made with Epstein was not very favourable to The Beatles. Epstein was not a good negotiator and was an amateur in many financial matters. Admittedly, The Beatles were not at their peak of popularity at the time (certainly not in the US), but even in that context it was a disappointing contract. He had no idea of the normal profit percentages that could be negotiated, so he proposed a 7.5 % share. The United Artists studio bosses couldn't believe their luck; they had been afraid of tough negotiations and perhaps a higher percentage than 25%, and now Epstein came up with the ludicrous 7.5%. They immediately made a deal for three films. Not long after, the Beatles' popularity shot through the roof (also in the US), and Richard Lester made the first Beatles film A Hard Day's Night one of the most successful films of all time. This did not only deprive The Beatles of millions in earnings. They were also stuck with a financially disappointing film contract that would hang around their necks like a millstone.

The second film that The Beatles made for United Artists was Help, also directed by Lester. Although the film was as successful as its predecessor, the Beatles were not very enthusiastic about the end result. They were afraid of getting stuck in the format of "the happy adventures of the Beatles". But Brian Epstein had signed a contract with United Artists in 1963, and the film production company demanded a third film. All sorts of ideas were floated, such as a film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings with Ringo as Frodo and John as Gandalf, but the third film did not materialise. In 1967, the four Beatles thought they could direct themselves and made the television production "Magical Mystery Tour". The TV movie was broadcast by the BBC in black and white and was received by viewers and critics with dismay. After this, The Beatles' interest in films dropped to a low point. Their manager Brian Epstein came up with the solution. He was approached by Al Brodax, the head of King Features Syndicate, with the idea of making a full-length animated film based on a number of Beatles songs. The idea was based on the animated series about The Beatles that had been broadcast since 1965. TVC produced this series, in which an animated adventure was always made around a Beatles song. The Beatles were excited because they did not have to contribute to the film. But for this very reason, United Artists rejected Yellow Submarine as the third film. It was only with the documentary Let it Be that the Beatles fulfilled their contractual obligations. However, Yellow Submarine was a hit in cinemas and the critics were also enthusiastic. They especially praised the innovations in animation. The drawn appearance of The Beatles was based on the appearance of the real Beatles at the time of the recording of the film that accompanied the single Strawberry Fields Forever. Only, Paul McCartney's moustache had disappeared from his alter ego in the film. The Beatles themselves, who had expected some kind of Disney film, were pleasantly surprised by the result of Yellow Submarine and decided to appear in the final scene themselves.

The starting point for the film was the song "Yellow Submarine". Paul McCartney wrote it as one of the songs that drummer Ringo Starr could sing with his limited singing voice. It was intended as a children's song with simple lyrics and melody. Subsequent accusations that "yellow submarines" were a code name for yellow pills, namely Nembutol capsules, so-called "downers" (hence "submarine": submarine) were dismissed by McCartney. Producer Lee Minoff based himself on the idea of a children's song and wrote the first draft of the story. Soon, several scriptwriters were working on the scenario. It was decided to include a number of recent Beatles songs alongside 'Yellow Submarine'. Some of these songs were taken from the album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. This Beatles album, released in 1967, caused a sensation in the music world. The idea behind the album was that The Beatles were transformed into the fictional pop group Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band. On the cover, they can be seen in satin military uniforms in bright colours. This was the impetus for the idea of including in the film a Sgt. Pepper who lives in Pepperland with his band. At one point, there were about twenty versions of the screenplay circulating. One of the writers was Roger McCough, a poet from Liverpool, who contributed much to the dialogues with their typical ambiguities, expressions from Liverpool, and private jokes from The Beatles. McCough received 500 pounds for his contribution, but no mention in the credits. Mention was made of Jack Mendelsohn and Erich Segal. Mendelsohn had worked on the Beatles' animated series, but Segal was unfamiliar with the film business in 1967. He was working at Yale as an assistant to the professor of Classics. He was brought to London by Brodax to put together a coherent script from the large amount of material, some of which consisted only of fragments. Segal worked on the script continuously for several weeks under the threat of a deadline. He was barely allowed to leave his hotel room to jog. However, Segal was able to take advantage of a brilliant suggestion by lead designer Heinz Edelmann. During a production meeting, the collaborators came to a disturbing conclusion: the screenplay lacked an enemy. Pepperland was a paradise without a snake. Edelmann came up with the concept of the Blue Meanies and their attack on everything that smelt of music. (Incidentally, the meanies were originally red, entirely in keeping with the Cold War. An error by Edelmann's assistant caused the colours to be switched and the meanies became blue). Despite all the creative contributions, Yellow Submarine's screenplay also suffered from the fact that the music overshadowed the story and the story was adapted to the songs. It did result in a modern fairy tale about the 1967 hippy generation.

Source: Wikipedia (Dutch), and IMDb.

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Tags:   The Beatles Beatles John Lennon Paul Mc Cartney George Harrison Ringo Starr Pop Stars Actor Film Star Cinema Movies Film Kino Music Postcard Carte Postale Cartolina Tarjet Postal Postkarte Postkaart Briefkarte Briefkaart Ansichtskarte Ansichtkaart 1960s Sixties British European The Yellow Submarine 1968 Animation London Postcard Company Subafilms Yellow Submarine

N 15 B 6.7K C 1 E Dec 28, 2021 F Dec 28, 2021
  • DESCRIPTION
  • COMMENT
  • O
  • L
  • M

British postcard by London Postcard Company, no YS 5314 (Series 2 set of 9). Photo: Subafilms Ltd. Film image of The Yellow Submarine (George Dunning, 1968). Caption: Up on the hill.

Yellow Submarine (1968) is an animated full-length film based on the music of The Beatles. It is also the title of the film's album of music, which is part of the Beatles' musical oeuvre. The film was directed by Canadian-born animation producer George Dunning, and produced by United Artists and King Features Syndicate. With over 200 employees, chief designer Heinz Edelmann and director Charles Dunning worked on the film for eleven months. The animators came from England, but also from the USA and other countries in Europe. The real Beatles themselves do not appear until the final scene of the film.

In 1963, the American film studio United Artists approached The Beatles' manager Brian Epstein for a contract to make a number of films around the group. Epstein saw the deal as a good way to promote The Beatles and sell their music. United Artists was particularly interested in the money that would come in from selling the music albums. The Beatles were under contract to Capitol Records in the US, but that agreement excluded music albums. The studio knew that album sales would always make money even if the film flopped, so they saw the film deal with The Beatles as one in which they could not lose. On the other hand, the deal United Artists made with Epstein was not very favourable to The Beatles. Epstein was not a good negotiator and was an amateur in many financial matters. Admittedly, The Beatles were not at their peak of popularity at the time (certainly not in the US), but even in that context it was a disappointing contract. He had no idea of the normal profit percentages that could be negotiated, so he proposed a 7.5 % share. The United Artists studio bosses couldn't believe their luck; they had been afraid of tough negotiations and perhaps a higher percentage than 25%, and now Epstein came up with the ludicrous 7.5%. They immediately made a deal for three films. Not long after, the Beatles' popularity shot through the roof (also in the US), and Richard Lester made the first Beatles film A Hard Day's Night one of the most successful films of all time. This did not only deprive The Beatles of millions in earnings. They were also stuck with a financially disappointing film contract that would hang around their necks like a millstone.

The second film that The Beatles made for United Artists was Help, also directed by Lester. Although the film was as successful as its predecessor, the Beatles were not very enthusiastic about the end result. They were afraid of getting stuck in the format of "the happy adventures of the Beatles". But Brian Epstein had signed a contract with United Artists in 1963, and the film production company demanded a third film. All sorts of ideas were floated, such as a film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings with Ringo as Frodo and John as Gandalf, but the third film did not materialise. In 1967, the four Beatles thought they could direct themselves and made the television production "Magical Mystery Tour". The TV movie was broadcast by the BBC in black and white and was received by viewers and critics with dismay. After this, The Beatles' interest in films dropped to a low point. Their manager Brian Epstein came up with the solution. He was approached by Al Brodax, the head of King Features Syndicate, with the idea of making a full-length animated film based on a number of Beatles songs. The idea was based on the animated series about The Beatles that had been broadcast since 1965. TVC produced this series, in which an animated adventure was always made around a Beatles song. The Beatles were excited because they did not have to contribute to the film. But for this very reason, United Artists rejected Yellow Submarine as the third film. It was only with the documentary Let it Be that the Beatles fulfilled their contractual obligations. However, Yellow Submarine was a hit in cinemas and the critics were also enthusiastic. They especially praised the innovations in animation. The drawn appearance of The Beatles was based on the appearance of the real Beatles at the time of the recording of the film that accompanied the single Strawberry Fields Forever. Only, Paul McCartney's moustache had disappeared from his alter ego in the film. The Beatles themselves, who had expected some kind of Disney film, were pleasantly surprised by the result of Yellow Submarine and decided to appear in the final scene themselves.

The starting point for the film was the song "Yellow Submarine". Paul McCartney wrote it as one of the songs that drummer Ringo Starr could sing with his limited singing voice. It was intended as a children's song with simple lyrics and melody. Subsequent accusations that "yellow submarines" were a code name for yellow pills, namely Nembutol capsules, so-called "downers" (hence "submarine": submarine) were dismissed by McCartney. Producer Lee Minoff based himself on the idea of a children's song and wrote the first draft of the story. Soon, several scriptwriters were working on the scenario. It was decided to include a number of recent Beatles songs alongside 'Yellow Submarine'. Some of these songs were taken from the album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. This Beatles album, released in 1967, caused a sensation in the music world. The idea behind the album was that The Beatles were transformed into the fictional pop group Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band. On the cover, they can be seen in satin military uniforms in bright colours. This was the impetus for the idea of including in the film a Sgt. Pepper who lives in Pepperland with his band. At one point, there were about twenty versions of the screenplay circulating. One of the writers was Roger McCough, a poet from Liverpool, who contributed much to the dialogues with their typical ambiguities, expressions from Liverpool, and private jokes from The Beatles. McCough received 500 pounds for his contribution, but no mention in the credits. Mention was made of Jack Mendelsohn and Erich Segal. Mendelsohn had worked on the Beatles' animated series, but Segal was unfamiliar with the film business in 1967. He was working at Yale as an assistant to the professor of Classics. He was brought to London by Brodax to put together a coherent script from the large amount of material, some of which consisted only of fragments. Segal worked on the script continuously for several weeks under the threat of a deadline. He was barely allowed to leave his hotel room to jog. However, Segal was able to take advantage of a brilliant suggestion by lead designer Heinz Edelmann. During a production meeting, the collaborators came to a disturbing conclusion: the screenplay lacked an enemy. Pepperland was a paradise without a snake. Edelmann came up with the concept of the Blue Meanies and their attack on everything that smelt of music. (Incidentally, the meanies were originally red, entirely in keeping with the Cold War. An error by Edelmann's assistant caused the colours to be switched and the meanies became blue). Despite all the creative contributions, Yellow Submarine's screenplay also suffered from the fact that the music overshadowed the story and the story was adapted to the songs. It did result in a modern fairy tale about the 1967 hippy generation.

Source: Wikipedia (Dutch), and IMDb.

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Tags:   The Beatles Beatles John Lennon Paul Mc Cartney George Harrison Ringo Starr Pop Stars Actor Film Star Cinema Movies Film Kino Music Postcard Carte Postale Cartolina Tarjet Postal Postkarte Postkaart Briefkarte Briefkaart Ansichtskarte Ansichtkaart 1960s Sixties British European The Yellow Submarine 1968 Animation London Postcard Company Subafilms Yellow Submarine

N 5 B 4.4K C 0 E Dec 26, 2021 F Dec 26, 2021
  • DESCRIPTION
  • COMMENT
  • O
  • L
  • M

British postcard by London Postcard Company, no YS 5314 (Series 2 set of 9). Photo: Subafilms Ltd. Film image of The Yellow Submarine (George Dunning, 1968). Caption: Up on the hill.

Yellow Submarine (1968) is an animated full-length film based on the music of The Beatles. It is also the title of the film's album of music, which is part of the Beatles' musical oeuvre. The film was directed by Canadian-born animation producer George Dunning, and produced by United Artists and King Features Syndicate. With over 200 employees, chief designer Heinz Edelmann and director Charles Dunning worked on the film for eleven months. The animators came from England, but also from the USA and other countries in Europe. The real Beatles themselves do not appear until the final scene of the film.

In 1963, the American film studio United Artists approached The Beatles' manager Brian Epstein for a contract to make a number of films around the group. Epstein saw the deal as a good way to promote The Beatles and sell their music. United Artists was particularly interested in the money that would come in from selling the music albums. The Beatles were under contract to Capitol Records in the US, but that agreement excluded music albums. The studio knew that album sales would always make money even if the film flopped, so they saw the film deal with The Beatles as one in which they could not lose. On the other hand, the deal United Artists made with Epstein was not very favourable to The Beatles. Epstein was not a good negotiator and was an amateur in many financial matters. Admittedly, The Beatles were not at their peak of popularity at the time (certainly not in the US), but even in that context it was a disappointing contract. He had no idea of the normal profit percentages that could be negotiated, so he proposed a 7.5 % share. The United Artists studio bosses couldn't believe their luck; they had been afraid of tough negotiations and perhaps a higher percentage than 25%, and now Epstein came up with the ludicrous 7.5%. They immediately made a deal for three films. Not long after, the Beatles' popularity shot through the roof (also in the US), and Richard Lester made the first Beatles film A Hard Day's Night one of the most successful films of all time. This did not only deprive The Beatles of millions in earnings. They were also stuck with a financially disappointing film contract that would hang around their necks like a millstone.

The second film that The Beatles made for United Artists was Help, also directed by Lester. Although the film was as successful as its predecessor, the Beatles were not very enthusiastic about the end result. They were afraid of getting stuck in the format of "the happy adventures of the Beatles". But Brian Epstein had signed a contract with United Artists in 1963, and the film production company demanded a third film. All sorts of ideas were floated, such as a film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings with Ringo as Frodo and John as Gandalf, but the third film did not materialise. In 1967, the four Beatles thought they could direct themselves and made the television production "Magical Mystery Tour". The TV movie was broadcast by the BBC in black and white and was received by viewers and critics with dismay. After this, The Beatles' interest in films dropped to a low point. Their manager Brian Epstein came up with the solution. He was approached by Al Brodax, the head of King Features Syndicate, with the idea of making a full-length animated film based on a number of Beatles songs. The idea was based on the animated series about The Beatles that had been broadcast since 1965. TVC produced this series, in which an animated adventure was always made around a Beatles song. The Beatles were excited because they did not have to contribute to the film. But for this very reason, United Artists rejected Yellow Submarine as the third film. It was only with the documentary Let it Be that the Beatles fulfilled their contractual obligations. However, Yellow Submarine was a hit in cinemas and the critics were also enthusiastic. They especially praised the innovations in animation. The drawn appearance of The Beatles was based on the appearance of the real Beatles at the time of the recording of the film that accompanied the single Strawberry Fields Forever. Only, Paul McCartney's moustache had disappeared from his alter ego in the film. The Beatles themselves, who had expected some kind of Disney film, were pleasantly surprised by the result of Yellow Submarine and decided to appear in the final scene themselves.

The starting point for the film was the song "Yellow Submarine". Paul McCartney wrote it as one of the songs that drummer Ringo Starr could sing with his limited singing voice. It was intended as a children's song with simple lyrics and melody. Subsequent accusations that "yellow submarines" were a code name for yellow pills, namely Nembutol capsules, so-called "downers" (hence "submarine": submarine) were dismissed by McCartney. Producer Lee Minoff based himself on the idea of a children's song and wrote the first draft of the story. Soon, several scriptwriters were working on the scenario. It was decided to include a number of recent Beatles songs alongside 'Yellow Submarine'. Some of these songs were taken from the album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. This Beatles album, released in 1967, caused a sensation in the music world. The idea behind the album was that The Beatles were transformed into the fictional pop group Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band. On the cover, they can be seen in satin military uniforms in bright colours. This was the impetus for the idea of including in the film a Sgt. Pepper who lives in Pepperland with his band. At one point, there were about twenty versions of the screenplay circulating. One of the writers was Roger McCough, a poet from Liverpool, who contributed much to the dialogues with their typical ambiguities, expressions from Liverpool, and private jokes from The Beatles. McCough received 500 pounds for his contribution, but no mention in the credits. Mention was made of Jack Mendelsohn and Erich Segal. Mendelsohn had worked on the Beatles' animated series, but Segal was unfamiliar with the film business in 1967. He was working at Yale as an assistant to the professor of Classics. He was brought to London by Brodax to put together a coherent script from the large amount of material, some of which consisted only of fragments. Segal worked on the script continuously for several weeks under the threat of a deadline. He was barely allowed to leave his hotel room to jog. However, Segal was able to take advantage of a brilliant suggestion by lead designer Heinz Edelmann. During a production meeting, the collaborators came to a disturbing conclusion: the screenplay lacked an enemy. Pepperland was a paradise without a snake. Edelmann came up with the concept of the Blue Meanies and their attack on everything that smelt of music. (Incidentally, the meanies were originally red, entirely in keeping with the Cold War. An error by Edelmann's assistant caused the colours to be switched and the meanies became blue). Despite all the creative contributions, Yellow Submarine's screenplay also suffered from the fact that the music overshadowed the story and the story was adapted to the songs. It did result in a modern fairy tale about the 1967 hippy generation.

Source: Wikipedia (Dutch), and IMDb.

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Tags:   The Beatles Beatles John Lennon Paul Mc Cartney George Harrison Ringo Starr Pop Stars Actor Film Star Cinema Movies Film Kino Music Postcard Carte Postale Cartolina Tarjet Postal Postkarte Postkaart Briefkarte Briefkaart Ansichtskarte Ansichtkaart 1960s Sixties British European The Yellow Submarine 1968 Animation London Postcard Company Subafilms Yellow Submarine


11.6%