Good Ol' Freda

As a lifelong Beatles fan, it was both interesting and enjoyable to learn the story of the Beatles secretary and fan club organiser Freda Kelly, who amazingly, we learn got the job at age only 17.

A Liverpudlian like the group members, she started off as just a fan, regularly attending the group's Cavern gigs, thus falling into the orbit of not only the group, but their manager Brian Epstein who offered her the job a million Beatles fan would have craved. This simple, uncomplicated documentary tells her insider story. Don't expect any major revelations, now, as then Freda is the soul of discretion, even when hinting that she went out with one of the boys, but there are plenty of nice insights into the gathering maelstrom of their massive success and her special relationship not only with John Paul George and Ringo but also their families.

Related in the form of interconnected interviews with her, her daughter and other Liverpool contemporaries, interspersed with archive footage and a contemporary soundtrack mixing Beatles tracks with original versions of some of the band's early cover versions, she comes across as honest, faithful, discreet, hard-working and loyal. She seems to have benefited not a whit financially from the experience, although I bet her attic full of mementos is worth a few bob.

Of course it would have been nice if both of the surviving Beatles, Paul or Ringo, had actively contributed to the story, but Starr does at least pay her a glowing tribute over the end credits.

After the fan club disbanded in 1972, with Paul pointedly not wanting to be referred to as a Beatle anymore, she quietly resigned her position in a meeting attended by Ringo and George. Of the stories she tells, George seems to be the friendliest.

A pleasant low-key documentary then, sure to be of interest to Beatles fans around the world.

Oi, Freda Kelly. I feel lucky to have been alive enough to realize the truly important and exciting pivotal time it was for Liverpool and to experience The Beatles from the Cavern Club to the Magical Mystery Tour bus through Freda's generous and sincere recollections. This documentary is truly moving, funny, and exciting. Freda was a busy working girl, and loyal to the bone, entrusted to steer fans away from the band, fans of whom she does not once speak ill about (there had to be some crazies). The Beatle newsletter maintained and written by her captured not only Beatlemania (the new age of a fan base) but the culture of work for women (not real different to today). Really nice clip of Ringo today. Don't be shy anymore, Freda. THANK YOU!

There probably isn't much to know about the Beatles that hasn't already been revealed in the forty-odd years since they disbanded, and if there were, their former secretary Freda Kelly probably wouldn't tell you. There is some nice information on the Beatles' early career, most notably on their days at the Cavern Club, but this is not so much a documentary about the Beatles as a documentary about what it's like to run a fan club for a cultural phenomenon.

What makes the movie so enjoyable is Freda herself. The distinctly unglamorous woman is wonderfully likable, and it is charming to hear her talk about the pains she took to make sure fans got what they wanted (she continually emphasizes that she was a fan herself). She also tells a little of the Beatles' relatives and varying incidents such as one in which George drunkenly fires her.

But the heart of the movie is Freda, whose loyalty and caring make her surprisingly compelling.

There are a lot of sources for information on the Beatles; this movie is less an insider's view of them than a look at the experience of being an insider. And that turns out to be very interesting.

Wow, this is a gift to Beatles fans everywhere! I just had the pleasure of seeing the NYC premiere of this film at the Museum of the Moving Image, with Freda there in person along with the film's director, Ryan White. Freda intimately witnessed the Beatles saga from the beginning to the end, as the Beatles' secretary for her day job, and as head of their fan club during the rest of the day. Of course the beginning is the best part – in the Cavern Club with Pete Best, before Brian Epstein even came onto the scene. The Cavern Club photos are amazing! Freda's earnest devotion to the Beatles and their fans is truly inspiring. If a girl sent the Beatles Fan Club a pillowcase and said "Please have Ringo sleep on this and send it back to me," Freda would take the pillowcase to Ringo's mom and tell her to please make sure her son slept on it. If a fan asked for a lock of hair, Freda made sure it was truly Beatles hair. This film will make you relive the wonder of the explosion of Beatlemania through Freda's eyes. It also provides a wonderful glimpse into Brian Epstein's role in the Beatles' success ("Eppie" to Freda and the Beatles). I loved how Freda was totally unaware of Brian's homosexuality, until the day John told her that if she was ever stranded with Brian on a desert island, she would have nothing to worry about.

Thank you Ringo, Paul and Apple for assisting with this film. Thank you Freda.

I suppose people my age in the UK know Freda Kelly. She certainly seems to have received a lot of publicity as "the luckiest girl in the world" when she not only headed The Beatles Fan Club but worked for Brian Epstein.

Why Epstein chose her during the time she was hanging out at the Cavern listening to the group, she has no idea. But given his belief in the talent of the Beatles, I think he just had good intuition. I don't think he could have found anyone as discreet or as loyal as Freda.

Freda not only became friends with John, Paul, George, and Ringo, but also with their families and became a member of the Beatles family herself. They would come in for meetings with Brian Epstein and while they sat talking with him, Freda would come in with photos and autograph books for them to sign. She said none of them ever complained about any of it.

She was young and cute, so the interviewer (who was only heard once or twice) asked her if she had a more than friendly relationship with any of the guys. She wouldn't answer. "That's personal," she said. In fact she has never written a book or sold her story to a tabloid.

Freda made this documentary for her grandson, Niall. For so many years, as a secretary, wife, and mother, she never told anyone about her past life. With her son now passed away, she says she would like little Niall to be proud of her and to know she had done something exciting.

It's not everyday that a girl from Liverpool had Paul McCartney walking her to the bus, George Harrison driving her home, was able to attend formal events, and could refer to Ringo as "Ritchie". Quite a whirlwind - plus the fan club.

Friends would come over to visit and she'd give them a pile of fan letters to work on. She once fired a bunch of young women she had helping her with fan mail when one of them put her own hair in an envelope when a fan requested Paul's hair. "I can't trust any of you now," she announced. As a fan herself, she wanted to be honest with anyone who wrote to them.

She stayed with the Beatles until they broke up, working with them for a total of 10 years. At the end of the documentary, Ringo Starr spoke to and about Freda to the camera.

Interspersed with Freda's interview are interviews with her daughter, as well as Angie McCartney, author Tony Barrow, Billy Hatton, and others.

I have had the privilege of working with well-known people. And it is strange. To you, they're just people, and it can be a shock to have someone groveling at your feet because you know them.

Freda had no idea how big the Beatles would be, but she always knew they would be famous. I don't suppose she could have imagined what that experience would bring to her life. It sounds like it was a thrilling time for a teenager. Or anyone else.