Fab Fact: ‘A Hard Day’s Night’, which celebrates its 46th birthday this week, was the first movie to go into profit before it had finished being filmed. The phenomenal advance sales of its soundtrack album ensured that the picture soared into the black before it was even all in the can.

The undeniable commercial success of the project should not, however, tempt anyone into looking at The Beatles’ first feature as some kind of soulless moneymaking enterprise. Directed by Richard Lester, and scripted by ‘kitchen sink’ playwright Alun Owen, ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ is a visually striking, verbally dexterous affair in which the Fab Four race through a fictionalised version of a ‘typical’ day’s work.

There’s no story to speak of, save the lads desire to get to their climactic ‘gig’ with a minimum of fuss, but a series of witty vignettes, buoyed by the presence of Paul’s “very clean little old man” of a Grandfather (Wilfred Brambell) provide frenetic non-stop amusement. Particularly brilliant are attempts to “rescue” Grandad from a High Society Party, the band’s (clearly chemically assisted) ‘freak out’ in the middle of a field and an amazing scene in which John is accused of being someone who is trying too hard to look like John Lennon. (The big joke being that if you look at what Lennon’s wearing in this scene, he’s clearly trying too hard to look like Bob Dylan.)

Lester’s sparkling monochrome photography is hugely effective. The decision to shoot in Black & White was made for artistic rather than budgetary reasons, and lends the picture a documentary realism which contrasts nicely with its more surrealistic inclinations (How do they get in and out of that train again?). In many ways this is the ultimate pop culture document of 1964, with pop music’s leading lights as its stars.

Wrapped in a soundtrack from a period when Lennon & McCartney had matured as songwriters (the title track, “Can’t Buy Me Love” the amazing “And I Love Her”) yet even Lennon was still ostensibly happy with the consequences of fame, ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ is quite simply one of the best British films ever made.

So, yes, maybe 46 is an odd birthday to celebrate but there’s never a bad time to arbitrarily decide to engage or re-engage with something this good. Dig out that dusty copy. Or, if you’ve never seen it, go out and buy it at once, it can be found for an almost insultingly cheap price on amazon these days.