Footage of the Beatles on location for Help! to go on sale

 Footage of the Beatles on location for Help! to go on sale
The auction takes places at Warrington-based Omega Auctions on November 20.   





www.dailymail.co.uk
Footage of the Beatles on location for Help! to go on sale
By Press Association
PUBLISHED: 13 November 2017

Unseen footage of the Beatles filmed more than 50 years ago is to go on sale.
The Fab Four were caught on camera by actor Leo McKern while on location in the Austrian Alps for the 1965 movie Help!
McKern was cast as Clang, the leader of a mystical cult determined to recover a ring from Ringo Starr’s finger which would enable a sacrifice to proceed.


(Omega Auctions/PA)

The late actor was a keen amateur photographer who took images on the major locations of the film – Obertauern in Austria, the Bahamas and Salisbury Plain.
He also put together a reel of 8mm film, running time 14 minutes 55 seconds and with no sound, which captured the Beatles and fellow cast and crew members in March 1965.
The footage is bookended by shots of McKern’s then 10-year-old daughter, who grew up to become the actress Abigail McKern, sledging down a variety of inclines, taking a ride on a cable car and playing with her baby sister.


(Omega Auctions/PA)

The film captures the Beatles being transported by snowmobile to a rehearsal with a stuntman for the sequence in which Ringo is lassoed from a sledge and dangles upside down from a ski-lift cable.
The band also have a go at tobogganing and play brass instruments at the bottom of the ski run, while George Harrison and John Lennon play a game of curling.
The auction takes places at Warrington-based Omega Auctions on November 20.






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BEATLES UNSEEN FILM FOOTAGE FROM FILMING OF HELP! - shot on location by actor Leo McKern whilst



BEATLES UNSEEN FILM FOOTAGE FROM FILMING OF HELP! - shot on location by actor Leo McKern whilst filming at Obertauen, Austria during 1965. The 8mm reel of film runs for 14 minutes and 55 seconds and contains some fantastic footage of The Beatles along with various other actors and crew. The footage featuring The Beatles and other cast members runs from 1"45 through to 9"15 with footage of Leo's daughter's playing in the snow before and after.
Highlights of the film include snow mobiles carrying The Beatles, stunt scenes, The Beatles fooling around on toboggans, George and John having a comical and unorthodox game of curling, close ups of Paul chatting, smoking and taking photographs together with close ups of all four of The Beatles playing a variety of instruments in the band at the foot of the run (much to their amusement). In addition to the footage of The Beatles there are also excellent shots of other cast members including Eleanor Bron, Victor Spinetti, Roy Kinnear and John Bluthal.

Housed in a protective plastic case with the words "Snow Scenes" affixed on a label. 

PROVENANCE: Australian born actor Leo McKern enjoyed a high-profile stage career in the UK during the 1950s, taking leading roles at both the Old Vic and Stratford's Shakespeare Memorial theatres, as well as playing the Common Man in the first production of A Man For All Seasons in the West End, in 1960. By the time he appeared in the multi-Oscar-winning film version of that play in 1966, McKern's film career had become equally well established, having appeared in, among many others, A Tale Of Two Cities (1958), The Mouse That Roared (1959), King And Country (1964) -- and Help! (1965), the second Beatles film, directed (like the first, A Hard Day's Night (1964)) by Richard Lester. In Help!, McKern was cast as Clang, the leader of a mystical cult determined to recover a ring from Ringo's finger which will enable a sacrifice to proceed. Leo's career further developed in the 70's and 80's with him appearing in a number of films and TV dramas including most notably his long running appearance in Rumpole of The Bailey between 1978 and 1992. 

Leo died in 2002 at the age of 82 and ownership of the film passed to his daughters, with whom it has remained ever since. This incredible footage is being sold with copyright and the right to use this film commercially will transfer to the new owners upon its sale at auction. 

A short preview of footage will shortly be uploaded.

Live Auction:
20 Nov 2017 12:00 GMT to
21 Nov 2017 10:30 GMT
Estimate: 12,000 GBP - 15,000 GBP




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BEATLES HELP! TRANSPARENCIES - incredible collection of 19 previously unseen and unpublished colour



BEATLES HELP! TRANSPARENCIES - incredible collection of 19 previously unseen and unpublished colour transparencies taken by actor Leo McKern (who starred as Clang), whilst on set with The Beatles during filming for Help! in 1965. Leo was a keen amateur photographer (along with his good friend Peter Sellers) and used high-spec equipment which explains the resulting high quality images. The images themselves were taken at various locations whilst filming Help! including The Bahamas, Obertauern in Austria and Salisbury Plain. There are some absolute gems within the collection with highlights including John Lennon lying on a beach, George Harrison at a press conference and The Beatles on the beach fooling around for the camera.

The 19 colour transparencies are in glass holders, housed in a photo rack and box - two of the transparencies have cracked glass although are repairable and do not affect the images. The images are still bright and sharp having been stored very carefully by Leo and his family for the past 53 years. These transparencies are being sold with copyright and the right to exploit these images commercially will transfer to the new owners upon their sale at auction. 

PROVENANCE: Australian born actor Leo McKern enjoyed a high-profile stage career in the UK during the 1950s, taking leading roles at both the Old Vic and Stratford's Shakespeare Memorial theatres, as well as playing the Common Man in the first production of A Man For All Seasons in the West End, in 1960. By the time he appeared in the multi-Oscar-winning film version of that play in 1966, McKern's film career had become equally well established, having appeared in, among many others, A Tale Of Two Cities (1958), The Mouse That Roared (1959), King And Country (1964) -- and Help! (1965), the second Beatles film, directed (like the first, A Hard Day's Night (1964)) by Richard Lester. In Help!, McKern was cast as Clang, the leader of a mystical cult determined to recover a ring from Ringo's finger which will enable a sacrifice to proceed. Leo's career further developed in the 70's and 80's with him appearing in a number of films and TV dramas including most notably his long running appearance in Rumpole of The Bailey between 1978 and 1992. 

Leo died in 2002 at the age of 82 and ownership of the images passed to his daughters, with whom they have remained ever since.

Live Auction:
20 Nov 2017 12:00 GMT to
21 Nov 2017 10:30 GMT
Estimate: 25,000 GBP - 30,000 GBP