Directed by:
Joseph McGrathCinematography:
Geoffrey UnsworthComposer:
Ken ThorneCast:
Peter Sellers, Ringo Starr, Isabel Jeans, Caroline Blakiston, Richard Attenborough, Leonard Frey, Laurence Harvey, Christopher Lee, Spike Milligan (more)VOD (1)
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This zany British comedy finds a homeless hobo (Ringo Starr) being adopted by the world's richest man, Sir Guy Grand (Peter Sellers). Setting sail on the luxury liner The Magic Christian, Sir Grand sets out to test the limit of human avarice. WilfrId Hyde White plays the drunken captain, Yul Brynner a chanteuse transvestite along with notable star appearances from John Cleese as the director of Sotheby's, Raquel Welch, Roman Polanski and Richard Attenborough. (Fabulous Films)
(more)Reviews (2)
And keep your eyes open for a good ear! A satire that lags occasionally and has practically zero plot continuity, but is absolutely flawless in its stronger moments. It comes as no surprise that Peter Sellers reigns with every gesture (his grimaces at the auction brought tears of laughter to my eyes), but his surprisingly effective family chemistry with Ringo Starr just might. Still, it's hard to say what to make of The Magic Christian. That's because it's packed with just about everything imaginable, and yet at the same time is just a one-trick pony. Regardless, watching it is definitely worth it for this lesser known performance from Peter Sellers.
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The weakest Peter Sellers movie I've seen so far (I'm not counting The Pink Panther). It's not that it's downright bad, it's beautifully wacky and all, but unlike What's New, Pussycat? or Casino Royale, it couldn't hold my attention. Many scenes were more than very good, but many left me completely cold. I was most pleased with the one with John Cleese. "I like the Rembrandt school. I like all French painters..." - "Well, Rembrandt was Dutch in a sense." - "Dutch?" - "Dutch. Rembrandt." - "I don't like Dutch painters."
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