| Director | Richard Lester |
|---|---|
| Budget | $1.5 million |
| Box office | $12.1 million |
An eastern cult (a parody of the Thuggee cult) is about to sacrifice a woman to their goddess, Kaili. They notice that she is not wearing the sacrificial ring. Instead, Ringo Starr, drummer of the Beatles, has the ring, sent to him by the intended victim, who is a fan of the band. Determined to retrieve the ring and sacrifice the girl, the chief priest, Clang, several cult members, and high priestess Ahme leave for London. After failed attempts to steal the ring without Ringo noticing, they confront him in an Indian restaurant. Ringo learns that he will be the next sacrifice if he does not give up the ring. However, the ring is stuck on his finger and he can't take it off.
The Beatles are chased around London by members of the cult. After a jeweler fails to cut the ring off, the band resorts to the bumbling efforts of Foot, a mad scientist and his assistant Algernon; when his equipment has no effect on the ring, Foot decides that he must somehow acquire it. Ahme comes to the Beatles' rescue and tries to shrink Ringo's finger to get the ring off with a temporary shrinking solution, but the cult and the scientists ambush the band's home, causing Ahme to drop the syringe in Paul, temporarily shrinking him instead.
Once Paul returns to his normal size, the band runs to the Austrian Alps and narrowly escapes a trap there, thanks to Ahme, who is secretly aiding them. To stay safe, they ask for protection from Scotland Yard, and a superintendent who is rather disdainful of their fame realizes their danger when the cult continues their efforts to paint Ringo red for the sacrifice by shooting paint-filled balloons into his office. He hides them in Buckingham Palace, where they narrowly avoid capture by the scientists. Later at a pub, Clang sets a trap for Ringo involving a trap door and a tiger. He is saved by the Superintendent recognizing that the tiger is a well-known escapee who can be calmed and captured by singing the "Ode to Joy" from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony; he starts doing so, and gradually the whole of London joins in.
The Beatles then flee to the Bahamas, followed by the scientists, and the cult members. After Ringo is nearly captured, the local police have the other Beatles pose as him in order to ensnare the cult members. Despite their best efforts, however, the scientists catch Ringo and hide him aboard a boat where Foot intends to cut off Ringo's finger to get the ring. Ahme rescues Ringo by giving the scientists the shrinking solution in exchange. The two dive into the ocean to escape, but Ringo cannot swim, and they are both captured by the cult.
At the beach, Ringo is tied down and prepared for sacrifice, while Clang begins the ritual. When the other Beatles arrive, Ringo starts warning them of Clang's trap, just before he notices the ring has fallen off at last. He puts the ring on Clang's finger, and a comic fight ensues between the cult, the Beatles, the police and the scientists. Amidst the brawl, the ring gets tossed around from victim to victim until it finally ends up on Clang's right hand man Bhuta.