In His Life: The John Lennon Story

In His Life: The John Lennon Story is a television film produced in 2000 by Michael O'Hara Productions and NBC Studios (USA). The film was written by Michael O'Hara and directed by David Carson.

Plot

Set in Liverpool in the 1950s, this movie concentrates on the early life of John Lennon (Philip McQuillen) as he struggles to become a successful musician in the embryonic stages of British of rock & roll. He goes on to form a number of bands, widening his local audience as he develops. He joins with Stuart Sutcliffe (Lee Williams), George Harrison (Mark Rice-Oxley), Pete Best (Scot Williams), and Paul McCartney (Daniel McGowan) to form The Beatles. The band attracts the attention of music promoter Brian Epstein (Jamie Glover) who engineers their success and fame. However, Sutcliffe and Best are both dropped from the band, to be replaced by Ringo Starr (Kristian Ealey).

The film focuses on eight years of Lennon's youth, from age 16 to 24. It deals with John's abandonment by his father, the double loss of his mother (first to another family and then to an accident), his introduction to Paul McCartney at St. Peter's Church Hall, his courting and marriage to his first wife, Cynthia (Gillian Kearney), the birth of his son Julian, and the early popularity of The Beatles in Germany. It includes authentic Liverpudlian landmarks such as the actual house where Lennon grew up, St Peter's Church Hall (where he first met McCartney), the Liverpool Art College and Quarry Bank High School where Lennon was a student, as well as and numerous musical venues where the young Beatles performed.

Also shown are recreated scenes from the Quarrymen, the German era, and the Cavern Club performances. The film ends with the Beatles' first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.

Cast

* Philip McQuillen as John Lennon
* Blair Brown as Lennon's aunt, Mimi Smith
* Christine Cavanaugh as Julia Lennon (Lennon's mother)
* Gillian Kearney as Cynthia (Lennon's first wife)
* Daniel McGowan as Paul McCartney
* Mark Rice-Oxley as George Harrison
* Lee Williams as Stuart Sutcliffe
* Jamie Glover as Brian Epstein
* Christian Ealey (aka Kristian Ealey) as Ringo Starr
* Scot Williams as Pete Best (the Beatles' original drummer)
* Palina Jonsdottir as Astrid Kirchherr (Stuart Sutcliffe's German girlfriend)
* Michael Ryan as Rory Quinn
* Alex Cox as Bruno
* Anthony Borrows as young John Lennon
* Paul Usher as Freddie Lennon

Awards and nominations

The film was nominated for an award in 2001 for "Best Edited Motion Picture for Commercial Television", by the American Cinema Editors.

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