Help!

Help! 1965 Walter Shenson Films & United Artists (rights now controlled by Apple Corps).
Starring: The Beatles, Leo McKern, Eleanor Bron, Victor Spinetti, Roy Kinnear, John Bluthal
Director: Richard Lester
Buy Help! at Amazon, or maybe you'd prefer to invest in the significantly more expensive deluxe edition?

An eastern cult is intending to sacrifice a woman to the goddess Kaili, but she's not wearing the sacrificial ring. The cult finds out that the ring, an enormous red stone, is on the finger of Ringo. After several failed attempts at retrieving the ring, they confront the Beatles in a restaurant, and tell them that Ringo will be the next sacrifice if he does not return the ring. Attempts by a jeweler to remove the ring fail. The boys visit a mad scientist named Professor Foot (Spinetti) and his assistant Algernon (Kinnear). When his equipment doesn't have any effect on the ring, Foot decides that he must gain control of the ring. The Beatles are unexpectedly rescued by Ahme (Bron), formerly the cult's high priestess.

The band flees to the Alps, followed by the cult and Professor Foot, where a plot to kill Ringo with a "fiendish thingy" fails. Racing back to England, they are still ambushed on Salisbury Plain despite the presense of British military units. The Beatles embark to the Bahamas, where after Ringo is nearly kidnapped, John, Paul and George pose as Ringo to lure the cult members out, where they are arrested by Bahamas police officers. Foot still pinches Ringo, and takes him to a boat to cut off his finger to get that ring off. Ahme comes to Ringo's rescue, and they swim (well, Ringo can't swim) for it, only to be caught by the cult. Taken to the beach, the cult's Swami named Clang (McKern) tells Ringo that the cult is prepared to fight off the other three Beatles and the police when they come to the rescue, and that he'll die instantly if he tries to warn them. While freeing himself, Ringo waves an arm to ward his mates off, only to see the ring fly off. Ringo puts the ring on Clang's finger, and Ahme declares that he will be the next sacrifice. The movie ends with "Help!" playing, the band running around, and the cult members getting arrested.

Not as good as A Hard Day's Night, but a very funny and enjoyable movie nevertheless. The Beatles themselves weren't that impressed with the final product, and admitted to spending a lot of the production stoned on marijuana. Recommended.