-Film bios provided by Miramax Films-

CAST and CREW

Wilfrid Brambell

One of the most unexpected stars to emerge from A HARD DAY'S NIGHT was veteran English actor Wilfrid Brambell who plays Paul's troublesome, but supposedly "very clean," grandfather. Brambell, who was 52 at the time of filming, took on the extraordinary role of playing a meek-looking old man who manages to incite all kinds of mischief, ranging from scaring a band of schoolgirls to inspiring proposals of marriage, to convincing poor Ringo to leave the band behind.

Brambell was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1912 and passed away in 1985. He made his feature film debut in 1948 in "Another Shore" and went on to star in such British features of the 50s and 60s as "Dry Rot," "The Small World of Sammy Lee," "What a Whopper!," "Flame In The Streets," "In Search of the Castaways," "The Lives of Thomastina," and "Go Kart Go." Other features include "Where the Bullets Fly," "Matthew Hopkins, Witchfinder General," "Lionheart," "Some Will, Some Won't," "Steptoe and Son" and "Steptoe and Son Ride Again." His later work includes "The Adventure of Picasso" and "Sword of the Valiant."

Brambell was also a star of British television, starring in "Quatermain's Experiment," the original "Steptoe and Son" and "Never Say Die."

Richard Lester

Director

With A HARD DAY'S NIGHT, Richard Lester joined the ranks of his generation's most influential filmmakers. The innovative style he developed became part-and-parcel of the language of the rock n' roll movie and its ancestor, the music video.

He was born in Philadelphia and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. In the beginning, Lester was strongly influenced by his youthful career as an editor - as well as a new brand of absurdist comedy. Combining jump-cuts with fast, slapstick jokes, he made an experimental film called "The Running, Jumping and Standing Still Film" starring Peter Sellers and

Spike Mulligan. Although never a commercial success, the extraordinary buzz surrounding the film enticed the Beatles to watch it and they instantaneously approved Lester to direct their debut feature film.

Lester went on to direct the Beatles a second time in the equally fast and furious "Help!" in 1965. In the same year, he broke into non-musical territory with the acclaimed comedy "The

Knack, and How To Get It." This was followed by the screen version of the hit Broadway play "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum," starring Zero Mostel, Phil Silvers and Buster Keaton.

The director next returned to working with one of the Beatles, John Lennon, in the searing parody of the madness of war entitled, "How I Won the War," before directing what was to

become his masterwork and another cinematic classic, "Petulia." Starring a cast that included

Julie Christie, George C. Scott, Richard Chamberlain, Shirley Night, Arthur Hill, Joseph Cotton and The Grateful Dead. "Petulia" was set against San Francisco's outrageous 60s scene and

captured the essence of a changing generation. Critics hailed it as one of the best films of the decade.

Lester went on to direct "The Bed-Sitting Room;" the most critically praised version of

Dumas' "The Three Musketeers," starring Oliver Reed, Raquel Welch, Richard Chamberlain and Michael York; its sequel "The Four Musketeers;" the ocean liner thriller "Juggernaut;";"Royal Flash;" "Robin and Marian," starring Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn in the leading roles; "The Ritz," "Cuba" and "Butch and Sundance: The Early Days."

In 1980, Lester directed the hit comic-book-hero classic "Superman II," with Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder and Gene Hackman, then made "Superman III" with Reeve, Richard Pryor and Annette O'Toole. Coming full circle, Lester re-teamed in 1990 with Paul McCartney for the

documentary "Get Back," which followed McCartney's 1989-90 World Tour.

Walter Shenson

Producer

A HARD DAY'S NIGHT may be a highlight of British cinema of the 60s, but it was produced by an American, Walter Shenson. In addition to bringing the Fab Four to the screen for the first time, Shenson is also known for bringing another leading British star to fame in the 60s -he produced "The Mouse That Roared" which introduced the offbeat comedy of Peter Sellers to international audiences.

Mr. Shenson was born in San Francisco and sadly passed away Tuesday, October 17, 2000 at 81 years old. He was educated at Stanford and began his career as a publicist at Paramount. During World War II, Shenson served in the Army Air Corps in China with the rank of a major. He returned to Hollywood and moved to Columbia Pictures where he was the publicist on such features as "From Here To Eternity" and "The Caine Mutiny." He was later sent to London to oversee Columbia's European publicity and advertising department.

It was while in London that Shenson went back to his original dream of becoming a motion picture producer. Based on his success with "The Mouse That Roared", United Artists asked Shenson to produce a film with the newest British sensation, The Beatles. Shenson brought Richard Lester on board to direct the film which garnered two Oscar nominations. Shenson, Lester and The Beatles reteamed a year later for the second film "Help!"

Shenson remained in England for 18 years, making a string of comedies starring Dudley Moore, Jim Dale, Margaret Rutherford and Terry Thomas. He also produced "Reuben, Reuben," starring Tom Conti and featuring the debut of Kelly McGillis, which won two Academy Award nominations; Steve Gutenberg's first film, "The Chicken Chronicles;" and the critically admired independent feature, "Echo Park.". Most recently, he produced "Ruby Jean and Joe" starring Tom Selleck.

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