Unseen Beatles Movie Footage From 'Help!' Hits Auction Block

Never-before-seen 8mm candid film footage of The Beatles has surfaced ... and it's already hit the auction block.

The rare footage from the British band's 1965 feature film "Help!" has a starting bid of $1,000 on Boston-based RR Auction as part of their "Remarkable Rarities" series -- though they're estimating it could go for much more than $10K.

The 3 min, 17-second clip is touted as an intimate behind-the-scenes glimpse from the movie's filming ... presumably recovered from the movie production crew's personal archive or a pal of the Beatles.

It's shot on location in Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, on May 3, 1965, during the production of the iconic "I Need You" sequence.

Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, George Harrison and John Lennon are seen taking a break from filming ... the latter clowning away with director Richard Lester.

With AI tech restoring old Lennon recordings for their recent tune, "Now and Then", this rare and unspoiled footage of The Fab 4 in their natural state is few and far between.