I was zipping along Beverly Boulevard when I spied a marquee screaming out an enticing double bill:
"A Hard Day's Night" and "Across the Universe"
I clicked on my blinker and roared into the nearest parking space.
"A Hard Day's Night" is a tantalizing black and white feature that the Beatles lensed on the crest of their rise to musical popularity in England in the late sixties just prior to conquering America a short while later on their first major tour.
The film is a zany fun comedy about the Beatle's rise to Pop Icon status and the pitfalls and trappings of fame.
Surprisingly, the four lads display a remarkable gift for acting here - comedy - in particular.
Indeed, when the bio-flick (thirty-six hours in the life of the Fab Four) was first released - critics not only raved - but compared the mop-heads to the legendary Marx Brothers.
In one hilarious moment on a fast-moving train - one of the famous Liverpudlians actually stoops over mischievously as he raises and lowers his eyebrows a smidgen - then taps on an imaginary cigar in his hand.
Yes, it's a delightful take on Groucho Marx.
The dialogue in the film is intelligent, sophisticated, and witty and hits the funny bone just right.
However, the moviegoer has to be quick on the uptake because the jokes move along at rapid-fire pace.
In many respects "A Hard Day's Night" was groundbreaking when it was first unleashed on an unsuspecting public hungry for Beatlemania.
The camera angles are artful, for instance, and the basic storytelling devices are fresh and innovative in approach.
In one memorable scene - the quartet (looking a lot like keystone cops) zigzag around a soccer field as they occasionally slam into each other - bouncing this way 'n that.
At one point - the four lads tumble to the ground and playfully stare wide-eyed at a striking expanse of sky - and all its wonder above.
Although the film was shot and released before the Beatle's celebrated experiment with transcendental meditation - and their acknowledged use of hallucinatory drugs - there are a few hints of what is to come if you pay close attention.
For example - in a club car on the train - Lennon puts a coca-cola bottle up to the right nostril and sniffs at the top a trifle. Then, does the same thing with the left side of his nose.
Was he subtly hinting at "snorting" coke?
It occurred to me that the bathroom shot - where Lennon plays with a toy submarine - may have actually triggered the creative thrust for a later project "Yellow Submarine".
Of course, a big plus is the repertoire of songs featured in the fast-paced comedy; some of the most poignant and tender ever written by the Lennon/McCartney team.
The rapt audience was so enthralled with the celluloid offering that they often tapped their feet to the catchy beat, rocked back and forth in their seats, and occasionally burst into song.
On occasion, I was surprised how easily I was able to suddenly recall the lyrics for signature tunes, such as - "I Want to Hold Your Hand", "She Loves You", "Can't Buy me love", and "If I fell".
But the hits were so memorable, why the heck not?
I fondly recall when the Beatles first hit the pop airwaves.
I was residing in Scarborough (Canada).
Such an innocent lad, I was!
If a boy was lucky enough to have the kind of hair that styled into the moppet cut - and parents hip enough to allow it - he was the envy of his classmates.
Meanwhile, a handful of boys settled for the leather cap - or a cheaper one in corduroy - in the event cash was strapped.
The Nehru-style jackets were all the rage, too.
Kids snapped 'em up in black or grey - with ubiquitous trim accenting the collar - which rounded out the mod "look".
Beatle Boots were optional, but what an ensemble if you could pull it off!
The big question of our youth?
Who was more popular - the Rolling Stones or the Beatles?
The scruffy strutting peacocks in competition with Beatles - John, Paul, Ringo, and George - had a darker more sinister appeal to some.
The ultimate cool?
Mick Jagger, you betcha!
But, fans had their fave mop-tops, too.
Some pined for Paul and his pretty face. Others, got a kick out of Ringo and the multitude of glitzy eye-popping rings he adorned his fingers with. The more mature waxed eloquently about Beatle John Lennon - the intellectual - and raved about his fine line drawings and unique offbeat poems. Others focused on the laid-back earthiness of George.
When the Beatles were scheduled to first appear on the Ed Sullivan Show, I was ringside in my Grandmother's prim and proper parlor bug-eyed like the rest of North America, as the extraordinary historical event unfolded before us on the telly.
A couple of years later the Magical Mystery Tour - that was the Beatles phenomenon - fizzled to a halt, though.
A short while later, I recalled one fan lamenting:
"Since the Beatles broke up, life has never been the same."
But, we still have the music, and bouncy tunes that breathe on in a myriad of intriguing new incarnations.
Just screen "Across the Universe" or tune into "American Idol" each week and you'll fathom what I mean.
Jagger, the King of Rock 'N Roll...