The Magic Christian (1969)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Joseph McGrath

Writers:

Terry Southern (novel)
Terry Southern (writer) ...

Release Date:

12 December 1969 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

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

Plot:

A series of strange sequences connected with a satire on greed.

Plot Keywords:

Art Gallery | Satire | Galley | Gorilla | Dominatrix

Cast

Peter Sellers	...	Sir Guy Grand KG, KC, CBE
Ringo Starr	...	Youngman Grand, Esq.
Isabel Jeans	...	Dame Agnes Grand
Caroline Blakiston	...	Hon. Esther Grand
Wilfrid Hyde-White	...	Capt. Reginald K. Klaus
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

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:15 (video rating) | UK:A (original rating) | Iceland:L | USA:M (original rating) | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Barnes, London, England, UK

Company:

Commonwealth United Entertainment

Trivia:

Portions of the movie were filmed aboard the luxury liner Queen Elizabeth II. John Lennon and Yoko Ono hoped to board the ship during filming and travel to the United States, but were not allowed, due to Lennon's being denied a US visa. Lookalikes were filmed boarding instead.

Quotes:

Hamlet: [Laurence Harvey, onstage] "To be..."
Youngman Grand, Esq.: [loud enough to be heard, turning to Sir Guy] I've seen it.
Hamlet: "Or not to be... that is the question."
Youngman Grand, Esq.: Shakespeare, right?
Sir Guy Grand KG, KC, CBE: [whispers, eyes toward the stage] Right, and double right.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Dracula: A Cinematic Scrapbook (1991)

Soundtrack:

Come and Get It

The pinnacle of British silliness at the movies for an entire decade.

The pinnacle of British silliness at the movies for an entire decade: The mythical 60's. Mike Meyers could only dream of capturing this time and place with as much fun and style. British entertainment royalty by the truck load including half the Beatles, a decent chunck of Monty Python, Christopher Lee in a cape, and the late great Peter Sellers! Who could ask for more? Well there is always Roman Polanski as an innocent being picked up in a bar by a transvestite (who's identity revelation is the my favorite bit). And of course, who can forget Raquel Welch in her prime, and in a leather mini nothing with a whip. All of this in the context of the movie's namesake--The Love Boat cruise from hell. You will never again think of farm manure without recalling this movie's finale! Check it out.

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