Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

The Magic Christian

Play trailer Poster for The Magic Christian PG 1970 1h 33m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
61% Tomatometer 18 Reviews 68% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
Billionaire Sir Guy Grand (Peter Sellers) thinks nothing of throwing his endless stream of money away. He adopts a street person (Ringo Starr), christens him Youngman Grand and sets about trying to illustrate to his new heir how virtually everyone in the world can be bought. He pays a traffic cop to eat a ticket, pays the Oxford crew team to sabotage a race and finally fills a vat with feces and money, inviting one and all to keep the latter if they don't mind putting up with the former.
Watch on Fandango at Home Stream Now

Where to Watch

The Magic Christian

Critics Reviews

View More
Violet Lucca Film Comment Magazine 06/14/2013
Joseph McGrath's movie version remains an acerbic, late-Sixties dark comedy classic. Go to Full Review Variety Staff Variety 09/10/2007
A spotty, uneven satire (from the novel by Terry Southern) with a number of good yocks, but insufficient sustained wit or related action. Go to Full Review Derek Adams Time Out 06/24/2006
The result is a variety concert of a film in which most of the acts/jokes fall flat. Go to Full Review D.M. Palmer Vague Visages 11/09/2023
The Magic Christian cries out to be re-visited. For all the cultural specificity of the novel and film, Grand remains a strikingly modern figure. Go to Full Review Michael Ross Los Angeles Free Press 01/23/2020
Vital, devastating and immensely entertaining. Go to Full Review Steve Crum Video-Reviewmaster.com 02/23/2008
3/5
Odd yet fun comedy-fantasy starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More
06/09/2020 Perhaps the grandest prank Sir Guy Grand ever pulled was to fool audiences into thinking that this brazenly irreverent satire of capitalist exploitation contains any coherent message or narrative—though the Badfinger soundtrack is terrific, and it is intermittently funny, with the auction sequence (and John Cleese) alone earning an extra half-star. See more 09/09/2019 One of the best films on senseless greed and materialism See more delysid d 08/06/2019 great movie that reminded me of bedazzled, every home should have one, magical mystery tour, casino royale, head, monty python See more 01/19/2018 The Magic Christian is a bizarre reflection of reality, and what we think of as normalcy in terms of our condition, then and now. It may seem outrageous and vulgar and surprising, and the film shocked many who saw it, and many walked out on it or thought it was just too absurd to be enjoyed for what it is: a social commentary on the social, political, and economic inequality of this world, and how money is truly the root of all evil, and that our morals and ethics are totally decayed by this artificial and intangible thing. It is at once bizarre and entertaining, full of cameos like Yul Brenner, Raquel Welch, Roman Polanski, John Cleese, Richard Attenborough, Graham Chapman, and Christopher Lee. Of course, Peter Sellers and Ringo Star are the stars of the film. It's a shame that this movie was not well received as what it is: a social commentary and critique of the modern world. See more 08/02/2015 Saw this in a theater in 1970 in Saskatoon. I thought it was funny. I was 14 years old. See more 07/23/2015 A bit dated, but still funny & at times surprising. The movie's namesake, a luxury liner on its maiden voyage is the "In" place to be for the rich & famous - only turning out to be an elaborate prank (among many others) set up by the world's richest man & his ward. Love the movie, love the music, love the cameos. See more Read all reviews
The Magic Christian

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

View All

Joe McGrath

Director

Peter Sellers

Sir Guy Grand

Ringo Starr

Youngman Grand

Richard Attenborough

Oxford Coach

Isabel Jeans

Dame Agnes Grand

Caroline Blakiston

Hon. Esther Grand

More Like This

View All
For Pete's Sake 50% 54% For Pete's Sake Watchlist Fun With Dick and Jane 57% 51% Fun With Dick and Jane Watchlist Harry and Walter Go to New York 50% 31% Harry and Walter Go to New York Watchlist Vice Versa 50% 42% Vice Versa Watchlist The Ruling Class 83% 85% The Ruling Class Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Related Movie News

View All
Total Recall: Across the Universe And The Beatles On Film
View All

The Magic Christian

The Magic Christian (1970) The Magic Christian (1970) The Magic Christian (1970) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Billionaire Sir Guy Grand (Peter Sellers) thinks nothing of throwing his endless stream of money away. He adopts a street person (Ringo Starr), christens him Youngman Grand and sets about trying to illustrate to his new heir how virtually everyone in the world can be bought. He pays a traffic cop to eat a ticket, pays the Oxford crew team to sabotage a race and finally fills a vat with feces and money, inviting one and all to keep the latter if they don't mind putting up with the former.
Director
Joe McGrath
Producer
Denis O'Dell
Production Co
Columbia
Rating
PG
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
May 9, 2019
Runtime
1h 33m
Most Popular at Home Now