McCartney Times

Sam Leach, who promoted The Beatles’ early concerts, makes the case that he is ‘The Sixth Beatle.’Did Brian Epstein rob an obscure Liverpudlian of the chance to be known as “the man who broke the Beatles”? That’s the contention of The Sixth Beatle, Tony Guma and John Rose’s amiable rocknerdumentary about Sam Leach, a promoter who put on some of the band’s most important early shows. Leach, a very likeable old character who claims his is “the last untold story of the Beatles,” is not the only colorful interviewee here, and for stretches the doc conjures Liverpool’s Merseybeat scene in a way that will enchant fans. But questions of factuality may dog this revisionist doc, which doesn’t hear a peep from either Paul McCartney or Ringo Starr and contradicts the established origin story. It’s likely to attract attention on video, and to be discussed by rock-history obsessives. But with a flashy Ron Howard Beatles film arriving later this month, one wonders how many related docs the theatrical marketplace can support.

Source: ‘The Sixth Beatle’ Review | Hollywood Reporter