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The Magic Christian (1969)

M  -  Comedy  -  12 December 1969 (UK)
6.0
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Ratings: 6.0/10 from 1,938 users  
Reviews: 80 user | 6 critic

Sir Guy Grand, the richest man in the world, adopts a homeless boy, Youngman. Together, they set out to prove that anyone--and anything--can be bought with money.

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(screenplay), (screenplay), 4 more credits »
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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
...
Isabel Jeans ...
Dame Agnes Grand
Caroline Blakiston ...
Hon. Esther Grand
...
Captain Reginald K. Klaus (as Wilfrid Hyde White)
...
Oxford Coach
...
Laurence Faggot
...
...
Ship's Vampire
...
Traffic Warden 27
...
Solitary Drinker
...
Priestess of the Whip
Tom Boyle ...
My Man Jeff
Victor Maddern ...
Hot Dog Vendor
Terence Alexander ...
Mad Major
Edit

Storyline

Sir Guy Grand adopts homeless bum Youngman to be heir to his obscene wealth, and immediately begins bringing him into the intricacies of the family business, which is to prey upon people's greed by use of the vast holdings of the Grand empire. They leave no stone unturned as sporting events, restaurants, art galleries, and traditional pheasant hunts turn into lurid displays of bad manners and profiteering. Things climax at the social event of the season, the inaugural voyage of the new pleasure cruiser The Magic Christian. Written by Ed Sutton <esutton@mindspring.com>

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Taglines:

The Magic Christian is: antiestablishmentarian, antibellum, antitrust, antiseptic, antibiotic, antisocial & antipasto.

Genres:

Comedy

Certificate:

M | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

12 December 1969 (UK)  »

Also Known As:

A csodatévő  »

Filming Locations:

 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Color:

(Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See  »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Two of the writers were John Cleese and Graham Chapman of Monty Python fame. The Python sketch "The Mouse Problem" was written for this movie, but was rejected by Peter Sellers. See more »

Goofs

At Auchengillen Station, Guy Grand's car is blocked by a police car which pulls to a halt across its path. After a brief conversation, Grand's car drives off unimpeded. The Police Car has shifted to the side. See more »

Quotes

Hon. Esther Grand: [as all hell breaks loose, aboard the Magic Christian] Youngman, what IS going on?
Youngman Grand, Esq.: [innocently] Ship's concert, I shouldn't wonder.
See more »

Connections

Spoofs Ben-Hur (1959) See more »

Soundtracks

"Rock of All Ages"
Written by Tom Evans (as Tom), Pete Ham (as Pete) and 'MIke Gibbins' (as Mike)
Recorded by Badfinger
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

 
Funny, But Unsettling
17 January 2008 | by (Buffalo, New York) – See all my reviews

One day the fabulously wealthy Sir Guy Grand who is Peter Sellers with a much larger nose finds a young orphan kid in a park. On the spur of the moment he adopts young Ringo Starr, probably because Ringo has a well known honker in real life and Sellers sees something of himself in Ringo.

The idea is that Sellers has to have someone not just to leave his money to, but someone to impart his accumulated wisdom of the years which is boiled up into one single thought; that EVERYBODY has his price.

The rest of the film is a Monty Pythonesque group of skits in which Sellers tries to prove just that to Starr. They range from Laurence Harvey doing a striptease while doing Hamlet's soliloquy to a beat cop eating a parking ticket for 500 pounds. The title The Magic Christian refers to a Titanic like cruise ship that only caters to the upper crust. Sellers and Starr integrate that ship's maiden voyage in a most interesting fashion.

That the film is like Monty Python is no accident with Graham Chapman and John Cleese doing the writing. Ringo's former Beatle companero, Paul McCartney wrote The Magic Christian theme, Come and Get It which sums up the philosophy of the film.

After almost 40 years, The Magic Christian is acidly funny, but a still unsettling.


3 of 3 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

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