The Magic Christian (1969)

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

Director:

Joseph McGrath

Writers:

Terry Southern (screenplay), Joseph McGrath (screenplay)

Stars:

Peter Sellers, Ringo Starr, Isabel Jeans

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Peter Sellers	...	Sir Guy Grand
Ringo Starr	...	Youngman Grand
Isabel Jeans	...	Dame Agnes Grand
Caroline Blakiston	...	Hon. Esther Grand
Wilfrid Hyde-White	...	Captain Reginald K. Klaus (as Wilfrid Hyde White)
Richard Attenborough	...	Oxford Coach
Leonard Frey	...	Laurence Faggot
Laurence Harvey	...	Hamlet
Christopher Lee	...	Ship's Vampire
Spike Milligan	...	Traffic Warden 27
Roman Polanski	...	Solitary Drinker
Raquel Welch	...	Priestess of the Whip
Tom Boyle	...	My Man Jeff
Victor Maddern	...	Hot Dog Vendor
Terence Alexander	...	Mad Major

Storyline

Sir Guy Grand (Peter Sellers) adopts homeless bum Youngman (Sir Ringo Starr) 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".

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Plot Keywords:

ten pound note | big ben | napoleon bust statue | sleeping on the ground | brushing teeth | 

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Taglines:

The world's richest man and the world's poorest boy are getting it ready now...and everybody, everywhere, will be a little worse off for it.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 December 1969 (UK)

Also Known As:

The Magic Christian

Filming Locations:

Barnes, London, England, UK

Box Office

Gross USA:

$689,100

Company Credits

Production Co:

Commonwealth United Entertainment, Grand Films Limited

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sir Guy Grand (Peter Sellers) suborns the Oxford boat crew into cheating during the boat race. Graham Chapman (who appeared in the scene) was a graduate of Cambridge University and, given the Oxford-Cambridge rivalry, most likely would have appreciated the idea that the Oxford crew could be corrupted.

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Goofs

In the Grands' private railway carriage a sketch of a mouth is on the wall. At the start of the scene it hung visibly crooked. When Sir Guy describes hits shampoo product, it mysteriously becomes balanced. He then walks past it to talk to the hot dog vendor and adjusts it to be crooked again. However, the shot external to the train looking in has it perfectly aligned again. The degree of crookedness varies too.

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Quotes

Youngman Grand, Esq.: Dad, do you think words corrupt?
Sir Guy Grand KG, KC, CBE: I don't know, let's try. Agnes?
Dame Agnes Grand: [looks up from the television] Yes?
Sir Guy Grand KG, KC, CBE: Nipple.
Dame Agnes Grand: Shh!
[turns back to the television]
Sir Guy Grand KG, KC, CBE: [watches her a moment] Well, there's no immediate physical change.

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Alternate Versions

Also released in shortened (75 min. and 88 min.) versions.

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Connections

Referenced in Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In: Episode #3.26 (1970)

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Soundtracks

Come and Get It
Written by Paul McCartney
Recorded by Badfinger (as Bad Finger)

User Reviews

Appealing even if chaotic

Terry Southern's novel, "The Magic Christian" is very different from the film. However the film, which was written by Southern, among other, still maintains the spirit of the novel.

The film is simply a series of vigniettes centering around Sir Guy Grand (Peter Sellers), and his adopted son, Youngman (Ringo Starr), who goes about "making things hot for people," by using his vast wealth to perpetrate elaborate practical jokes largely aimed at seeing how many of their principles people will give up for money.

The movie is very silly, fragmented, and horribly dated. > Now that you have heard the case against, I have to say that this is one of my favorite movies of all time. The movie destroys or humiliates all social icons, from the police, to "the old school," to the snobbish upper class, to the art world. Its great to see, and once you make up your mind that the movie is just a series of sketches, its funny, and immensely satisfying, albeit somewhat vicious.

Look for cameos by Yul Brynner (in drag), Spike Milligan (Sellers' partner in "The Goon Show"), John Lennon and Yoko Ono, among many others.

Other notes: The novel, "The Magic Christian" was banned for a time, because it was viewed as obscene. Peter Sellers loved this book, and after he read it, he sent copies of it to all of his friends. It might say something about his tragic and depressed personality, that he found this book, with its many vicious stabs against society, so appealing.