Twickenham Film Studios, St. Margaret's, Twickenham
One of the first sequences in "Help!" has the Beatles performing the title song in what is supposed to be a television appearance (hence the black and white footage: British TV did not begin color transmissions until December 1967). It was also shown being projected onto a home-movie screen at which Clang, filmed in color, threw darts. The scene was shot this day at Twickenham.
The untouched B&W footage (that is, without McKern and his darts), as supplied to them by United Artists, was distributed to TV companies by NEMS to promote "Help!" when it was released as a single on July 23rd. BBC1's Top Of The Pops, for example, showed the clip in the programs on July 29th (7:30-8:00 pm) and August 19th (7:25-8:00 pm). (This latter edition also included UA-supplied movie footage of "Another Girl".) On commercial television, what has come to be known as "dartless" clip was included in the 200th edition of Thank Your Lucky Stars, this time titled Lucky Stars Anniversary Show, networked by ABC on Saturday, July 15th (5:50-6:30 pm), and on TWW's Discs A Gogo on Monday, July 26th.
Later in the day, the Beatles began shooting a long scene which did not make the finished print, in which they were joined by British comedian Frankie Howerd, playing the part of Sam Ahab, teacher of dramtic art, and - as Lady Macbeth, one of Ahab's pupils, - the then unknown actress Wendy Richard (later to play Miss Brahms in the BBC sitcom Are You Being Served? and more recently appearing as Pauline Fowler in the BBC soap EastEnders).
