Finally, the Beatles manager gets a movie
Extraordinary achievements of Brian Epstein are revealed in the new film Midas Man, airing now on Amazon Prime
Brian Samuel Epstein was born on 19 September 1934 in Liverpool on Yom Kippur. That he arrived on the Day of Atonement was not lost on the man who managed The Beatles as he felt he was born guilty.
What Brian Epstein believed and did has been my obsession since 2019, when I was asked to write the screenplay for Midas Man, a film about his life, up until his tragic death at the age of 32 on 27 August 1967.
Had he lived, Brian (portrayed by Jacob Fortune-Lloyd) would have been 90 in September which makes me sad as he missed so much and would have been enormously proud to see the band he discovered and nurtured become bigger than Elvis – as he had himself predicted.
What happened when he first saw John, Paul, George and original drummer Pete Best(played by Adam Lawrence) at The Cavern is well-documented but, like all Brian ‘facts’, some are more accurate than others and deciding what to include would be determined by the film’s running time of 96 minutes. Given free rein, as I initially was, Brian’s screen story could have gone on for hours. For although he was a manager for just seven years, what he achieved in that time for The Beatles, Cilla Black and his other NEMS artists warrants a series.
That Brian was also Jewish was partly why I got the gig and my insider knowledge was an asset when I was ‘introduced’ to Brian’s parents, Malka “Queenie” (née Hyman) and Harry, the son of Lithuanian refugee Isaac Epstein.
A Yiddish-only speaker, Isaac arrived in Britain in 1871 and built the furniture business that Brian eventually turned into the north west of England’s most successful record store. His family allowing such change without a fight echoes the behaviour of every Jewish parent who gives in to their child. Queenie was the doting one and Harry was always working, specifically on Saturdays so declined a place on the council at Greenbank Drive Synagogue.
Brian had his barmitzvah at Greenbank, but his Jewish school, Beaconsfield in Sussex, had taught him the wrong Torah portion. Such was his Hebrew talent that he learnt the correct portion in time to give a “very competent’ performance according to his Uncle Meir. Greenbank no longer exists in Liverpool, so the cathedral-like Princes Road Synagogue is used in the film. That the opulent 150-year-old building struggles to get a minyan is not unusual, but to see actor Eddie Marsan as Harry Epstein sitting by the bimah draped in my late father’s tallit definitely was – and there were tears.
The hum of antisemitism was constant in Brian’s life, from Hitler’s bombs dropping on Liverpool, which forced the family to Southport, to the perpetual tagging as ‘Jew Boy’ at various schools. He cites this in his diaries, but not his discomfiture about his sexuality and what it could do to his respected Jewish family. Forever worried and conflicted about who he was, Brian flitted between embarrassment about his faith and embracing it – specifically his name.
Insisting at school the correct pronunciation was ‘Epsteen’ and not the wrongly favoured Epstine, Ray Coleman’s definitive book about Brian (which he read to sight-impaired Queenie) details how Harry suggested he change his surname when he moved to London to open North End Music Stores (NEMS). “To make life easier” said Harry, but Brian refused, saying he had too much pride in his name and it would be a help in show business. Brian did eventually stop correcting people, including John Lennon, who ribbed him mercilessly and was lambasted for doing a Nazi salute (as a joke) at the premiere of A Hard Day’s Night at Liverpool Town Hall.
Tolerant of being mocked – “Jews are good with money” – Brian still sought out Yom Kippur services while on tour with The Beatles. Journalist Ivor Davis got him a ticket for a synagogue in New Orleans, but my interest in this was personal, as was the contents of his will. Dated February 1956 (when Brian was only 22), it stated ‘that my clothing be sent direct and immediately to the state of Israel; ‘that no Kaddish be said in my memory’ and ‘I desire that my mother, father and brother know of my eternal love for them’. Harry Epstein died on 17 July 1967, only weeks before Brian. It was impossible to imagine the depths of Queenie’s sorrow.
Fortunately, my research for the film went beyond books to meeting people who actually knew Brian, such as Freda Kelly who ran The Beatles fan club and had sack loads of adoring letters delivered to her home – until her father stopped it. Freda was also secretary to Eppy, as she called him then (and still does now); it was the nickname all his artists used, but never his family.
It was his first cousin, photographer Basil Hyman, who painted the most vivid picture of Brian for me, supported by portraits of his favourite relative in his book, A Personal Memoir of 1960s Britain. Basil told me about their time together at the same school, where Brian often performed Al Jolson songs and My Yiddishe Mama during break. He spoke of an “incredible” visit to the Diaghilev exhibition and how Brian taught him “the way to make an impression entering a room” and said: “He played me Love Me Do first on our record player.”
Basil’s father was Queenie’s brother and Brian often visited their London home, most memorably on a certain Friday night when he was upset about The Beatles being rejected by every label. “He was ready to give up, but my father said, ‘Try one more time,’” said Basil. “The following week he went to EMI”.
Covid delays meant filming had not started when Basil Hyman died in 2021, but he had read my script and later his son James, owner of the world’s largest magazine collection, helped with archive material. Also a huge help was Neil, my Beatles fan husband, who kept a white board of timelines and names on Post-it notes. Joining in was the only way of surviving my Brian fixation.
Our gifted director, Joe Stephenson, showcased Midas Man with a Q&A at the Toronto Jewish Film Festival, where they queued around several blocks for tickets. “It was the perfect opening night film,” wrote the festival director Stuart Hands, which was encouraging, but surpassed by Freda Kelly’s reaction to actor Jacob Fortune-Lloyd’s performance as Brian. “He is exactly like him,” she said, clearly overwhelmed – as I had been when I had seen Jacob dressed in a perfect Burberry copy of the manager’s bespoke suit, and then he said my lines.
Recreating the period in which Brian thrived was the work of a committed crew, perfectly-cast Beatles, a bewitching Cilla Black (Darci Shaw) and every performer. And do watch until the end of the credits as the producer’s forever gift to me was dedicating the film to my late mother, Carole.
Five years ago, producer Perry Trevers and I discussed what we wanted the audience to take away from the film and “to fall in love with Brian” is what we agreed. I did reading Brian’s book A Cellarful of Noise, which ended with “I think the sun will shine tomorrow.” And because of his music legacy, it did.
Midas Man on Amazon Prime from October 30
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