Filming of “Magical Mystery Tour” • Day 16

Production of The Beatles’ “Magical Mystery Tour” TV special took place throughout September 1967, with some additional scenes filmed in late October / early November. The first leg of filming occurred from September 11 to 15 in and around Newquay. On September 18, filming resumed with the crew choosing the Raymond Revuebar strip club in London’s Soho district as the location for the day’s shoot. From September 19 to 24, the Beatles relocated to West Malling Air Station in Maidstone, Kent, where they filmed interior and exterior shots for the project.

On September 25, they immediately began the arduous process of editing “Magical Mystery Tour“. Despite initially believing that the editing process would take only a week, it took a total of 11 weeks to complete. During the editing process, they realized that some additional scenes were needed to enhance the film. These scenes were filmed on October 1, October 29, October 31, and November 3.

On this day, November 3, The Beatles gathered at Ringo Starr’s house in Weybridge to film supplementary footage for the “Blue Jay Way” sequence, which had been originally filmed on September 21. This supplementary session included the band playing a white cello in the rockery, engaging in a friendly game of football on the lawn, and watching previously recorded footage projected onto Mal Evans’ bare chest during the West Malling sequence. This session marked the completion of filming for the “Magical Mystery Tour” project.

From Wikipedia:

[…] At other times during the sequence, the four Beatles alternate in the role of a solo cellist. These scenes were filmed on 3 November, on the back rockery at Sunny Heights, Starr’s house in Weybridge, Surrey. Tony Barrow, the band’s press officer, recalled that as “a colourful conclusion” to the segment, they set off fireworks that had been bought for the upcoming Guy Fawkes Night celebrations. The version of “Blue Jay Way” appearing in the 2012 DVD release of Magical Mystery Tour is an alternative edit and includes some previously unused footage. O’Toole admires the “Blue Jay Way” sequence as “one of the film’s too-few bright spots” and “a perfect representation of the track’s hallucinatory qualities”. […]

BLUE JAYS IN RINGO’S GARDEN

The Beatles weren’t satisfied with the original way they filmed George’s song called “Blue Jay Way” for their Magical Mystery Tour. So, at the beginning of November, a camera crew went down to Ringo’s house in Weybridge and shot several new sequences, including the Beatles playing a white cello in the rockery, football on the lawn and a very close, close-up of Mal’s chest. I won’t explain that last one — just watch out for it when you see the finished show on T.V.

From The Beatles Monthly Book, December 1967

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