Nossa Querida Freda

This is not a tell-all movie. It's about Freda, from Freda herself, who thought herself the luckiest girl in the world.

When you think you've seen every documentary about the Beatles or Beatles phenomenon, along comes this absolutely charming film about the member of their organization almost solely responsible for the unbridled love their fans felt for them on a global scale.

Freda clearly loved them as family, and never stopped loving them. It's as if she's speaking of her brothers. As she tells her story, you'll be transported back in time, and you'll feel that excitement you felt when you first discovered the Beatles. Freda's loyalty never waned, and the joy and glow she felt in her job and relationship with the boys just radiates off the screen.

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 members, she started off as just 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 versions, 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 Beatles, 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.

We've probably all seen numerous films and documentaries on the 1960's and the Beatles. However, I thought this documentary, directed by Ryan White, offered a unique behind the scenes look focusing on Freda Kelly, the Beatles long time secretary and Fan Club President.

At just 17 years of age, Freda was plucked out of an office typing pool by Brian Epstein (the Beatles manager), to become his and the band's secretary. Freda was already known to them, being a loyal fan and attending most of the Beatles performances in The Cavern, the local Liverpool club.

Even at that young age, Freda was demonstrating her remarkable personal characteristics of attention to detail, loyalty, and integrity, while strictly maintaining the band member's privacy. Since she was a fan herself, Freda would go to great lengths to try and satisfy the requests of Beatles' fans around the world. Of course, those were the days before social media, cellphones etc., so most requests and replies were done by mail.

During Freda's 11 year tenure as the Beatles' secretary, she really became a member of the family and was a coveted member of their inner circle, till the group members decided to finally go their own way.

The film is filled with wonderful film clips and photos, especially of the very early Beatles days, which I found rather fascinating, being a Beatles fan myself.

Overall, the documentary is very well presented with the unassuming Freda leading us along the way. I thought the movie gave me a real unique and intimate glimpse into the personalities and world of the Beatles, and those around them.

Oi, Freda Kelly. I feel lucky to have been alive enough to realize the truly important and exciting pivotal time it was for Liverpool and to experience The Beatles from the Cavern Club to the Magical Mystery Tour bus through Freda's generous and sincere recollections. This documentary is truly moving, funny, and exciting. Freda was a busy working girl, and loyal to the bone, entrusted to steer fans away from the band, fans of whom she does not once speak ill about (there had to be some crazies). The Beatle newsletter maintained and written by her captured not only Beatlemania (the new age of a fan base) but the culture of work for women (not real different to today). Really nice clip of Ringo today. Don't be shy anymore, Freda. THANK YOU!

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.