March 12 - The Linda McCartney Story

Today’s movie is a biography with a scene that happens today, March 12. I hope you will enjoy this film and watch it tonight.

THE LINDA MCCARTNEY STORY                 

We begin at a retrospective of Linda McCartney’s photos of celebrities in New York in 1993. When someone comments that she is lucky to have a husband who knew all these famous people, Linda replies that she didn’t know Paul when she took most of the pictures.  Linda Eastman worked at Town & Country magazine and gets assigned to photograph the Rolling Stones when they first came to the USA on tour. She starts photographing rock and roll bands, including the Doors. Linda has affairs with both Mick Jagger and Jim Morrison.   She goes to work for Rolling Stone magazine and is hired to do the photos for a book about rock music. She goes to London where she meets Paul at a club in Soho. She returns to New York, but a year later John and Paul come to New York to launch Apple records and Paul meets Linda again. He invites her to LA where they consummate their relationship.   Back in 1993 Chrissie Hynde encourages Linda to get a mammogram to investigate a lump in her breast which turns out to be cancer. In the fall of 1968 Linda moves in with Paul at his house in England. Meanwhile tensions are rising within the Beatles between Paul and John. Paul and Linda live together incognito for a time in New York. After a little coaxing, Paul convinces divorcee Linda to marry him on March 12, 1969 [43:35 to 44:51]. The Beatles fight as the other three want “Bruce Grossman” as their manager, while Paul wants Linda’s attorney father and brother to run things. Linda and Paul have a daughter, Mary. The Beatles dissolve and Paul has to sue the others to get out of a contract where Grossman gets 20% of Paul’s future output. Linda undergoes aggressive treatment for her cancer. After the Beatles breakup Paul slips into depression. After the birth of their daughter Stella, Paul forms the band Wings with non-musician Linda as a member. In spite of criticism, she eventually improves enough to manage on stage. Then Paul is arrested for trying to smuggle pot into Japan. He is very lucky to only be expelled from the country after ten days. Linda’s cancer worsens and she dies in 1998.  

A rather light weight biopic. While interesting this movie doesn’t really get deep down into her soul. However, it is still an interesting film and I recommend it. 

Fab: An Intimate Life of Paul McCartney by Howard Sounes (De Capo Press, Cambridge, Ma., 2010) at pages 245-247 and the film at 43:36 give the wedding date

Director - Armand Mastroianni

Screenplay - Christine Berardo

Runtime – 1 hour 30 minutes

Released - May 21, 2000

Cast: Elizabeth Mitchell(Linda McCartney), Gary Bakewell(Paul McCartney), David Lewis (Danny Field), Nicole Oliver(Felicia), Tim Piper(John Lennon), Matthew Harrison (Mick Jagger), Aaron Grain(Jim Morrison), George Segal(Lee Eastman).

Copyright by Ivan Walters 2014.