Filming Help! in London and St Margaret’s

The Beatles filmed a number of scenes for Help! on this day, in London and St Margaret’s, Twickenham.

Sunday was the quietest day of the week in the 1960s, partly due to weekend trading laws which meant many shops and businesses were closed. As such it was an ideal time for The Beatles to film in the capital.

The day’s first scene was in New Bond Street, London, where the group walked past jeweller’s shop Watches Of Switzerland, before running into luxury goldsmith Asprey, situated across the road at numbers 165-169.

Afterwards they filmed the exterior of the Rajahama Indian restaurant – the interior scenes had been shot at Twickenham Film Studios on 5 and 6 April.

John Lennon and Ringo Starr were then taken to St Margaret’s, where they were filmed walking on South Western Road. Starr posted a letter, unaware that the postbox contained a villain keen to prise the ring from his finger.

Starr then filmed a solo scene outside 40 Winchester Road in St Margaret’s. In 1965 this was a sweet shop called The Tuck Shop, but has since been converted to a private residence. The scene was ‘attempt number three’ to extract the ring. Starr was filmed checking his weight, and almost getting his finger chopped off while waiting for the results to be printed.

Going further

The Beatles Diary Volume 1: The Beatles Years

With greatly expanded text, this is the most revealing and frank personal 30-year chronicle of the group ever written. Insider Barry Miles covers the Beatles story from childhood to the break-up of the group.

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