IMDb RATING
7.4/10
2.1K
YOUR RATING
A documentary in which Freda Kelly looks back at her career as lifelong secretary for The Beatles.A documentary in which Freda Kelly looks back at her career as lifelong secretary for The Beatles.A documentary in which Freda Kelly looks back at her career as lifelong secretary for The Beatles.
- Awards
- 2 wins & 2 nominations
Paul McCartney
- Self
- (archive footage)
John Lennon
- Self
- (archive footage)
George Harrison
- Self
- (archive footage)
Elsie Starkey
- Self - Ringo Starr's mother
- (archive footage)
Linda McCartney
- Self
- (archive footage)
Niall Norris
- Self
- (as Niall)
Jane Asher
- Self
- (archive footage)
The Beatles
- Themselves
- (archive footage)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe first independent film to have successfully licensed original Beatles recordings.
- Quotes
Freda Kelly: I know Mama Cass tried to gate-crash, and she didn't get in.
[in reference to a small, inner-circle party that followed the premiere of "How I Won the War"; from one of the deleted scenes on the DVD]
- Crazy creditsA personal video message from Ringo Starr plays over the credits.
- SoundtracksAnna (Go To Him)
Written and Performed by Arthur Alexander
Courtesy of Geffen Records under license from Universal Music Enterprises
Featured review
Good Ol' Freda is a the story of one woman's fierce loyalty the four most famous men in the world.
The moment that I saw Good Ol' Freda listed in the Hot Docs program, without reading the description, I knew exactly who this doc was about. That's good ol' Freda Kelly, once called the luckiest girl in the world by newspapers and teen rags, because she was the secretary to a little band called The Beatles. The title comes from the 1963 Christmas message recorded by the Fab Four for their fan club, which Kelly also ran, in which they specifically mention "good ol' Freda." Early in the film, Kelly looks at the camera and says, "Who wants to hear the secretary's story?"
The answer of course is – We do, we do! All these years later, the world is still hungry for any piece of the story of The Beatles that has been left untold. And Freda Kelly is our last best hope. She has remained mum for years – she's never sold her story; rarely gives interviews; didn't cash in the treasure trove of Beatles memorabilia in her attic, instead passing it directly to fans or donating to charity. Good Ol' Freda is less a tale of The Beatles and more a tale of one woman's – a girl's actually, being only 17 when she was hired – fierce loyalty and protector of a trust given her by the four most famous men in the world.
Freda Kelly was a nice Liverpudlian girl who found herself in extraordinary circumstances. She coped with those circumstances with more grace than one can imagine and has continued to do so for years. Kelly took her job very seriously, but she was a fan first and foremost, and she still counts herself as one today. Turns out, that "luckiest girl in the world" appellation was exactly how she felt – and still does. Kelly notes that she agreed to do this doc, with some reservation, because she wants her grandson to know that she did some fun and cool stuff in the '60s. Good Ol' Freda will definitely make that possible.
After the Sunday afternoon screening at TIFF Bell Lightbox, director Ryan White and producer Kathy McCabe came out on stage. The crowd applauded. The Freda Kelly came up. The audience – a packed house – leapt to its feet for a lusty round of ovation. That's the kind of affection Freda Kelly inspires and her story as told in Good Ol' Freda inspires. This doc is a must see, now at Hot Docs or anywhere else you can catch it.
The answer of course is – We do, we do! All these years later, the world is still hungry for any piece of the story of The Beatles that has been left untold. And Freda Kelly is our last best hope. She has remained mum for years – she's never sold her story; rarely gives interviews; didn't cash in the treasure trove of Beatles memorabilia in her attic, instead passing it directly to fans or donating to charity. Good Ol' Freda is less a tale of The Beatles and more a tale of one woman's – a girl's actually, being only 17 when she was hired – fierce loyalty and protector of a trust given her by the four most famous men in the world.
Freda Kelly was a nice Liverpudlian girl who found herself in extraordinary circumstances. She coped with those circumstances with more grace than one can imagine and has continued to do so for years. Kelly took her job very seriously, but she was a fan first and foremost, and she still counts herself as one today. Turns out, that "luckiest girl in the world" appellation was exactly how she felt – and still does. Kelly notes that she agreed to do this doc, with some reservation, because she wants her grandson to know that she did some fun and cool stuff in the '60s. Good Ol' Freda will definitely make that possible.
After the Sunday afternoon screening at TIFF Bell Lightbox, director Ryan White and producer Kathy McCabe came out on stage. The crowd applauded. The Freda Kelly came up. The audience – a packed house – leapt to its feet for a lusty round of ovation. That's the kind of affection Freda Kelly inspires and her story as told in Good Ol' Freda inspires. This doc is a must see, now at Hot Docs or anywhere else you can catch it.
helpful•341
- prettycleverfilmgal
- Apr 29, 2013
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- Good Ol' Freda: Behind a Great Band, There Was a Great Woman
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $138,811
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $6,798
- Sep 8, 2013
- Gross worldwide
- $138,811
- Runtime1 hour 26 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.78 : 1
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