kim02128 I kept catching this film at different parts of the movie via channel surfing, and just saw this today from the beginning. This is more than a doc on the Beatles, this is an example of honor and dignity. What a treasure Freda is...and it is refreshing to see a portrayal about honesty, honor and what it means to be a decent person.

jc-osms As a lifelong Beatles fan, it was both interesting and enjoyable to learn the story of the Beatles secretary and fan club organiser Freda Kelly, who amazingly, we learn got the job at age only 17.A Liverpudlian like the group she started as a fan, regularly attending the group's Cavern gigs, thus falling into the orbit of not only the group, but their manager Brian Epstein who offered her the job a million Beatles fan would have craved. This simple, uncomplicated documentary tells her insider story. Don't expect any major revelations, now, as then Freda is the soul of discretion, even when hinting that she went out with one of the boys, but there are plenty of nice insights into the gathering maelstrom of their massive success and her special relationship not only with John Paul George and Ringo but also their families.Related in the form of interconnected interviews with her, her daughter and other Liverpool contemporaries, interspersed with archive footage and a contemporary soundtrack mixing Beatles tracks with original versions of some of the band's early cover version, she comes across as honest, faithful, discreet, hard-working and loyal. She seems to have benefited not a whit financially from the experience, although I bet her attic full of mementos is worth a few bob.Of course it would have been nice if both of the surviving Beatlee, Paul or Ringo, had actively contributed to the story, but Starr does at least pay her a glowing tribute over the end credits.After the fan club disbanded in 1972, with Paul pointedly not wanting to be referred to as a Beatle anymore, she quietly resigned her position in a meeting attended by Ringo and George. Of the stories she tells, George seems to be the friendliest.A pleasant low-key documentary then, sure to be of interest to Beatles fans around the world.

clarkj-565-161336 Watching this film brought me right back to the 60's when I was a teenager. I remember so many things from that time, the air raid sirens, the bay of pigs, the JFK assassination and then the Beatles. They were a breath of fresh air for a troubled world. Their songs were simple but beautiful. People went wild over their music, yes there was a future and it was fantastic. They stood for something really important. I looked at the faces in the film, filled with hope. Everyone looked so skinny and healthy! I loved the shots of the cavern club and everyone answering letters in the small office over the record shop. I liked the viewpoint of someone from behind the scenes. But of course I don't think for one minute that hiring Freda was an accident. Brian Epstein obviously had a totally uncanny ability of hiring the right person for the job. The Beatles were advanced beings and obviously so is Freda. Wonderful film, really put tears in my eyes. After the film was over (Bloor HotDocs Toronto) the director Ryan White gave a Q/A over Skype. This was an unexpected bonus and really added dimension to how the film came together.

prettycleverfilmgal 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.