3. The Magic Christian (dir. Joseph McGrath, 1969) If there was a category of film called What the f***?!,
The Magic Christian would be considered the definitive example. Based on the novel by Terry Southern (co-writer of
Dr. Strangelove), the film stars Peter Sellers as Sir Guy Grand, the richest man in the world with his fair share of eccentricities. He adopts an orphan played by Ringo Starr (who else?), and together they set out to prove that every man has his price, by going around pranking and humiliating anyone and everyone they know.
Coming from Joseph McGrath, director of the spoof
Casino Royale,
The Magic Christian manages to be simultaneously a structural wreck and a really ballsy black comedy. If you have a dark sense of humour, youll revel in the scenes involving civil servants swimming for money in vats of animal matter, or Sellers destroying a priceless Rembrandt in front of a hapless John Cleese. If youre not, then the film has more than enough weirdness going on to keep you interested, ranging from a bizarre sequence involving divers, strobe lights and the Gestapo to Roman Polanski being seduced by Yul Brynner in drag, singing Noel Cowards Mad About The Boy. And no, Im not making that up.
Three Men on a Blog review - The Movie Hour podcast: #36