I was big a fan of The Beatles almost as soon as I could walk, so in the summer of 1964 my father treated me to a visit to see ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ at the Colosseum in Gorleston (now the local branch of Boots).
Even at the tender age of five I was struck by the clarity with which the big screen showed up the irises of the cast. When six years later I saw it on TV it already looked like a period piece, and after nearly sixty years Lennon & Harrison are long gone, Ringo and Paul are in their eighties and Dick Lester is 91.
Seeing the young Lennon is a chastening sight since he become such a sour old cuss. Ringo makes up for being Ringo since his scenes easily rank among the film’s best and it was him who came with the title in the first place.
PEDANTS PLEASE NOTE: that the presence of Victor Spinetti was a favour to George Harrison’s mum. @RichardChatten