July 17, 1968 –
The premiere of the drug-induced, Big Blue Meanie-infested cartoon Beatles film Yellow Submarine, was held at the London Pavilion on this date.
In summer 1967, director George Dunning brought German artist Heinz Edelmann to London to work as production designer on this movie. The script wasn’t ready, and Edelmann wasn’t given a specific assignment. After two months of inactivity, he decided to quit. He vented his frustrations by drawing a series of villainous characters, which these became the Blue Meanies, the Apple Bonkers, and The Glove. Dunning loved the sketches. From then on, Edelmann was a guiding force in the production, designing most of the characters and backgrounds and helping to develop the story. He let his imagination run rampant and cultivated a style of “visual overload” (his words) to cover the plot holes and maintain interest. Many viewers assumed Edelmann got his ideas from using hallucinogens. He said, “I had never taken any drugs. I’m a conservative, working class person who’d stick to booze all his life. And so I just knew about the psychedelic experience just by hearsay. And I guessed what it was.“
The Haus of Dcaligari 