Category: Beatles

Anna Quayle in AHDN and beyond

One of the best of the many memorable vignettes in “A Hard Day’s Night” is the exchange between John and “Millie,” played by the wonderful character actress Anna Quayle. In this video is the full scene, followed by Quayle a few years later in an episode of “The Avengers”, and then in a brief role from the 1981 production of “Brideshead Revisited.” Nickolas Grace is the outrageous Anthony Blanche, with a performance that’s over-the-top, yet more reserved than Tim Curry probably would have done it. I end the clip with Anna Quayle talking about her part in AHDN.

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Another AHDN Girl

Along with Prudence Bury, another appearance in “A Hard Day’s Night” that isn’t credited in the film is Margaret Nolan, who was with Paul’s grandfather at the Baccarat table. The scene is an obvious parody of Sean Connery’s introduction in “Dr. No.” I see the James Bond movies as having been the first wave of the British Invasion, helping pave the way for the Beatles. I’ve put together a video with Margaret Nolan in AHDN, followed by a clip from another famous 1964 movie she was in, that I’m sure you know well.

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In 1965, Margaret Nolan was in the Gerry and the Pacemakers movie, “Ferry Cross the Mercy.” Never released on video, it was produced by Beatles manager Brian Epstein, with music by George Martin and cinematography by Gilbert Taylor, who also shot “A Hard Day’s Night.” Do you recognize somebody else in this clip who was in AHDN?

Prudence Berry Bury

Here is another take of Prue Bury’s ex-husband, Terry Hooper, from the DVD of “A Hard Day’s Night.” There are a few seconds of the familiar scene with Prue, Pattie Boyd and Paul McCartney, along with a tantalizing, all-too-brief 5-second candid clip of Prue having her hair fussed over by Betty Glasow.

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As you can see, Prue’s name is misspelled, but at least it was done phonetically.

I pronounce it Berry! A curious name as my father was Belgien !!

A friend from Belgium tells me that “Bury” is indeed not a typical Belgian name. The spelling error occurs in two other places that I know of. First, elsewhere in the “Making of ‘A Hard Day’s Night'” documentary…

Isla Blair, Prudence Bury, Pattie Boyd

… and also in the book, “A Hard Day’s Night: The British Film Guide“.

AHDN cast list

I wonder if Prue’s name was originally penciled in as “Berry” when she gave it on the set back in ’64, and that’s why the error has been repeated? Today she is Prudence Bury-Fuchs, and she lives in France. Prue enjoys putting on stage shows, and in fact she did one called “Daisy Daisy” (if I have the date right) just this past week.

Prue Bury in \

And here is lovely Prue, performing! As Prue’s fan Lia Pamina says, she’s “so cool!”

Prue Bury and friends

Prudence is tentatively scheduled to appear at a Beatles weekend in Ouistreham Normandie (Normandy), France, this coming November 5-8.

Prue was a model for designer Mary Quant, who popularized the miniskirt. I’d like to ask Prue what she thought of the way that the Sixties youth culture went from high fashion on Carnaby Street in Swinging London, to being grungy Hippies in torn jeans and t-shirts?

I am delighted to have found gorgeous and gracious Prudence Bury-Fuchs, and to get to know her a tiny bit. Here’s to you, Prue! (With a little luck I should soon be seeing you in that other movie you told me about.)

Prue sets her Beatles record true

Prudence Bury attended the Royal Ballet School in London, and she would have continued as a dancer, if her breathtaking beauty had not led her to become a fashion model.

Prue’s Classical background is evident in every way in “A Hard Day’s Night”. Prue has beauty, poise, and refinement that set her apart from the other girls on the train — including, in my opinion, her friend Pattie Boyd.

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It is Prue who leads Pattie when walking to their seats into the dining car. It is Prue who Paul McCartney refers to when he says, “Excuse me Madam” — gesturing to Pattie only when he says “two of us” — and it is Prue who is closest to the camera. Pattie had a word of dialog, but it seems to me that from the point of view of director Dick Lester, visually it is Prudence Bury who was his focus.

So how did Prue come to be in “A Hard Day’s Night”? Her former husband, Terry Hooper, tells his version of the story in this excerpt from a supplementary feature on the AHDN DVD.

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Prue takes exception with pretty much every point made by Hooper, and she would like to set the record straight. The following was taken from a message sent to me by Prudence Bury, and with Prue’s approval I put her comments in a ‘bullet’ list.

  • We were not married [during the making of “A Hard Day’s Night”]. This took place in 1965.
  • Terry was a croupier. He had been since I met him in 1958.
  • I attended an audition for the film and met Dick Lester and Walter Shenson.
  • I was chosen along with Pattie to play the part of a school girl on the train, not a screaming teenager.
  • Terry had never met (nor even heard of) the aformentioned men.
  • When during the making of the film Dick said they were looking for a croupier, it was I that suggested Terry, as that was his job.

And there you have it, from the lady herself. I’ll have a more of Prue Bury, including a new photo, in my next post.

Pure Prue

Prudence Bury will be here soon! Please be patient. I’m working out the details with her of exactly what she wants to say, and how it will be said. Don’t expect an extensive interview. It will be brief and to the point, allowing Prue to save her whole story for better, larger venues. She will be appearing at a Beatles weekend in November. More about that later.

If you’ve never known the name of Prue’s character in “A Hard Day’s Night,” it’s Rita. Pattie Boyd played Jean. Now you know!

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