Friday, July 25, 2025 | 7PM
In 1964, Fredonia’s Winter Garden Theatre was packed for The Beatles’ first feature film A Hard Day’s Night. For this year’s Fredonia High School Class of 1970 reunion, that theatre, now famous as the 1891 Fredonia Opera House & Performing Arts Center, honors the film on its big screen once again.
This will be an encore showing of the film, which returned to a full house last summer for the 60th anniversary of its release. In this classic of musical comedy, the baggage car gig on the train to London was still setting the bar for music videos more than 20 years later.
Starring John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, the film was nominated for two Academy Awards, including Best Original Screenplay by Alun Owen. McCartney later said, “Alun hung around with us and was careful to put words in our mouths that he might’ve heard us speak.”
Originally released by United Artists, the film also featured famous actor Wilfrid Brambell as McCartney’s unruly grandfather. Uncredited cast members included model Pattie Boyd, model/actress Charlotte Rampling, and singer/songwriter Phil Collins, all among the Beatles’ adoring fans.
British critic Leslie Halliwell described the film as a “comic fantasia with music,” and awarded it a full four stars. In 1999, the British Film Institute ranked the movie as the 88th greatest British film of the 20th century. In 2004, Time magazine rated it one of the 100 all-time greatest movies.
Nearly everyone in Dunkirk or Fredonia between ages 11 and 19 found their way to the Winter Garden for this film. According to 24/7 Wall St., the average movie ticket price in 1965 was $1.01! So, tickets to this screening of A Hard Day’s Night will be $1 (you keep the penny)! Tickets sold at the door only. Rated G, the film runs one hour, 27 minutes. The entire community is welcome!
A Hard Day’s Night is sponsored by The Wretched Group and the Fredonia High School Class of 1970
