The Beatles - 'Help!'

Let’s take a trip down memory lane to the summer of 1965...

In June, I graduated from high school, and in September I would start my freshman year at Caltech.  In August, The Beatles released their second movie, ‘Help!’, which at the time was a pretty big deal.



One evening that August, my high school sweetheart David and I had a date to see ‘Help!’ in downtown Brooklyn.  David came to my house to pick me up, we were holding hands walking down Pierrepont street in Brooklyn Heights, to David’s car.  Walking towards us was Denise "The Grease's" older brother, Vincenzo, whose nickname was, Vinny "The One".  He was wearing a dark "sharkskin" suit, and looked as dapper as Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra rolled into one. 

I introduced David to Vinny, who looked David up and down, sizing him up, and said to me, "Excuse us for a minute, Babs, I need to talk to David in private". Vinny then put his arm around David’s neck and walked him a few yards away from where I was standing.  I tried to hear what was being said to no avail.  Vinny walked David back to me, and said to me, "Enjoy the flick, Babs" and gave David a playful punch on his arm and then said, "Davey boy and I are gonna be good friends, right Davey?"  David, who looked as white as a ghost, his hands shaking, gave a nervous laugh and shook his head in agreement.  This upset me, and I said to Vinny, "What did you say to him?  He’s a really nice guy!"  Vinny held up both his hands, as if I was pointing a gun at him, and said, "Whoa Babs, I told him where it’s at, that’s all!" and then put a five dollar bill in my hand.  As he walked away, he mumbled "Fuckin' A" to himself.  I tried to hold David’s hand, but he wouldn’t let me.  What also upset me was that I planned on sneaking David into my parent's basement later that evening, and it didn’t seem like that was going to happen.



When we got in David’s car, I asked him, "What did Vinny say to you?".  David told me, "He said, if I touch one hair on your head, both my arms will be broken, but he wouldn’t do it, so I’d never know when or when it was coming."  and then David said, "He's got a pistol under his suit jacket, and made sure I saw it!"  His eyes welled up, and said, "I think, I should just go home."  I told David that Vinny thought he was doing the right thing, meant well, and I assured him nothing bad was going to happen.  After a few minutes, David calmed down, and we went to see 'Help!'

After the movie, we went for a bite to eat, and I told David how Vinny looked out for me and his sister, Denise "The Grease", who David knew.  And also how whenever I saw Vinny he’d give me a five dollar bill (Based on 3.93% average inflation from 1965 to 2025, $5.00 in 1965 has the buying power $50.58 in 2025), and once when "The Grease" and I were going to by records, he gave us ten dollars each.  I left out that "The Grease" and Vinny's father was a Cosa Nostra Caporegime, so he wouldn’t stroke out right there in the restaurant.

In a few weeks, David and I were both leaving Brooklyn to further our education; I was going to Pasadena CA, and David was headed to New Haven CT.  That was our last date, 

I did, however, sneak David into the basement for our last tango on Pierrepont Street.

David went on to take over his family’s textile business in Manhattan’s Garment District, and is now retired, living in Boca Raton, Florida.


In his late twenties, Vinny "The One" took the Omertà oath of silence, was "made", given a "crew', and then spent the majority of his life in and out of incarceration. 

This past summer, "The Grease" had a cook out in her backyard out on Long Island.  When I arrived sitting at the picnic table was Vinny now in his mid-eighties, and recently paroled.  He looked totally haggard, walked slightly off kilter, and no longer "The One".  He was however still cocky as all hell.  




After a small seven-course Italian-American meal, we did shots of grappa, and reminisced about a Brooklyn that no longer exists.

Today's freeloads are:

This version was taken from The Beatles USB Stick, with 24 bit/44.1 kbps audio. 

The Beatles USB Stick, was released in December 2009 as a limited edition of 30,000 units.  Pictured above, it's a small metal Apple that contains a USB drive with all 13 of the band’s studio albums in stereo in both 24 bit 44.1 kbps FLAC format and 320 kbps MP3, plus all the 'Past Masters' songs.  It also includes the 13 album mini-documentaries which came with the remastered CDs, and the complete digital booklet artwork.

Next is

The Beatles - 'Help! - Deluxe Edition' is a 3CD collection from Purple Chick.  This collection has stereo and mono versions of the album, plus outtakes, movie and alternate mixes, and acetates. Overall, the audio is excellent.

This is Pop Music of a very high order.

For the freeload, what are your thoughts on the movie 'Help!'?  Have you seen it with 21st century eyes?