The question:  Just what we would we have seen had he not been so blasted quick to grab that slipping gum wrapper?   Just what, if anything, was he wearing under that Wrigleys label?

Lets take a peek!

In these three selected frames, we see Paul sliding down the pant leg and landing behind his boot, then turning around and reaching for the wrapper.  The area  we wish to investigate is hidden in the second picture and the third is shadowed and blurry, but the first has the answer!  

1                                          2                                               3

It's a little hard to figure out what you are seeing in this shot without the whole filmstrip to look at but it is Paul's backside as he slips down and out of the trousers.    He isn't down on the floor yet as you can tell by comparing it to the second shot.   I think there is probably a ladder hidden under the giant trouser leg and that is why he is bent forward a bit.    In this shot it is fairly easy to see the flesh colored swim suit or shorts.  They show up just a little bit darker than the skin of his back and thigh.  The color contrast is definite even in this fuzzy blow-up as is the little flare of the leg of the shorts out over his thigh.

  1

( Awww,  don't look so glum.  You didn't really think he was naked under there, did you?)

Based on this picture, the conclusion is easily made that Paul wore pinkish shorts for the filming of the scene.  But then it gets complicated!  It seems like we should be able to see the shorts in the third captured still but there is only a suggestion of them at Paul's right waist with a color change from tan to pink.  

 3

I had chalked that up to odd lighting , but then a couple of people mentioned having seen a photo of Paul taken on the set of Help! and in it he was NOT wearing shorts but a skimpy black swimsuit and -- of all things! -- pantyhose!!!  (Maybe this is the answer to Paul's elusiveness when asked whether he wears boxers or briefs.  He wears pantyhose instead!!)  I would have discounted these reports as mistaken or mis-remembered except that one was from a professional photographer - not a person likely to mistake a photo -- especially one of Paul, her favorite camera subject!  Then, after this webpage was put up, I received photos from several readers (Thanks to all of you!)  that left me more puzzled than ever . . .

The odd coloration in Picture # 3 certainly could be explained by his wearing bikini swimsuit or pantyhose -- or perhaps both.  My guess would be pantyhose worn over the bikini.  One of the photos I was sent is also strong evidence for pantyhose, but I definitely don't see a black bikini here.  Brace yourselves!  All the copies of this one that I received were at low resolution but even so, they show definite  . . . ahem . . . anatomical features.

    4

There is something odd about the strip of color across Paul's stomach that makes me wonder if this photo wasn't retouched at some point, but if it is real, he is wearing some snug pantyhose!

To further confuse the matter, I got some copies of this picture:

  After my drooling subsided, I noticed Paul's toes and zoomed in on them.

 5

I really don't think each individual tootsie would show up nearly so clearly if he had hose on.   I don't recall that in the 60's pantyhose were available in a "sandlefoot" or "open toe" version that eliminated that dark reinforced strip over the toes.  

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Another thing makes me question the pantyhose story:  As an experienced nylon hose wearer, I can't imagine making the vault into that ashtray wearing pantyhose!   His foot would have slid across the rim of the ashtray and he would have fallen head first into the bowl!  

Another picture I received adds nothing to the discussion, but the slippers are worth a giggle!

So what was he wearing????????

The shorts are obvious in the first picture (#1), a black bikini swimsuit a good possiblity in another (#3), and panty hose are the only way to achieve the look in the next (#4).  Yet  his clearly seen toes (#5) and sure footed leap into the ashtray (#6) indicate that no pantyhose were worn.

My guess is that a stunt man wearing the shorts was used for the first part of the segment where "Paul" slides out of the pant leg.  It doesn't look like a stunt that would risk Beatle life and limb, but it is odd that "Paul" keeps his back to the camera and disappears behind the boot as soon as he is on the floor.  There are several frames of just the boot, then Paul appears and moves out to pick up the wrapper.  A film splice could easily have been done here to switch people, or Paul could have been hiding behind the boot (wearing the black bikini/pantyhose) waiting to appear as the stunt man ducked out.

The pantyhose thing has me stumped though.  All I can come up with is that he wore them over the black bikini for the part where he needed to appear naked as he reached for the wrapper, then took them off for the rest of the filming (including the jump into the ashtray.)  

Gee, I thought this was going to be an easy question to answer!  

08/21/98