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Work on the second Beatles movie ‘Help!’ began on 24th February 1965, with an eleven-week shooting schedule and double the funds of their first film. Initially, Dick Lester and Joe McGrath had written an original treatment. According to McGrath it had been based on an old film idea: A doctor tells Ringo that he is terminally ill. Depressed, Ringo pays £500 to a contract killer, who is a master of disguise. As he doesn’t want to face death directly, Ringo has asked the killer to murder him when he least expects it. The next day the doctor informs him that there has been a mistake, the X-rays he’d consulted had belonged to someone else, and therefore Ringo isn’t terminally ill. Not able to contact the contract killer, he panics and tells the other Beatles to track down the killer before he can carry out his assignment.
Lester’s recollection of that initial treatment is slightly different. He has Ringo complaining that he can’t cope with his stress-filled life any longer. Sitting in a bar he moans “I can’t go on any more”. The person sitting next to him says, “If you haven’t got the courage to put an end to it yourself, I’ll do it for a price. I’m a professional assassin”. Ringo gives him a cheque. The next day he wakes up and realises what he’s done and panics.

Never appreciated in the States.