Good ol' Freda

  • Type: Movies & TV
  • Age Category: Adults
  • Genre: Informational
  • Recommended by: Kate N.
  • ISBN/UPC: 9786315237232
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Freda Kelly is my new favorite Beatle

If a documentary about The Beatles’ secretary strikes you as a bit of barrel-scraping, you’re not alone: The subject itself, Freda Kelly, asks at the very beginning, “Who would want to hear a secretary's story?” But everybody knows that secretaries possess the secrets of the universe – I mean, it’s right there in the word “secretary” – and this particular woman is far more interesting than she thinks.
 
Kelly was a 17-year-old fan and friend of the fledgling Beatles when she was asked to come on board as their secretary, and she was one of the few associates to be there for the entire saga; in the decades since the band’s breakup she steadfastly resisted the urge to capitalize on her insider status, instead raising a family and continuing to work as a secretary. In the end this sweet little documentary exists only because she decided to tell her story for her grandchildren.

There’s plenty of insight into The Beatles here, but the undeniable star of this documentary is Freda, who is so completely charming -- so trustworthy, humble, perceptive and, well, twinkly -- that watching her made me want to be a better person. From her bottomless reserves of empathy for fellow Beatle fans to her consistent refusal to get rich off the band’s dirty laundry, she’s an unassuming and unlikely heroine whose story absolutely deserved to be told.