>“Grand is the name, and, uh – money is the game. Would you care to play?”
If you haven’t heard of “The Magic Christian”, you are missing out on one of the 60’s most acidic looks at the corrosive power of money – with LOTS of Beatles involved!
Ringo!
You may have heard the joke that Ringo is “the luckiest man in rock’n’roll” – but to many MANY more fans he is revered as a great artist and performer – there is ample proof of Ringo’s important role in the music of The Beatles – which I will get to in a moment!
Ringo is, of course, one of the Fab Four – the greatest musical group of all time…and, as his recorded work with The Beatles shows, he is a truly great rock drummer!
But let’s not forget that Ringo was also an Actor – a quite proficient one – yes, he starred in “Caveman”!
“Back When You Had To Beat It Before You Could Eat It!”
Yes, this is considered by many to be one of Ringo’s most hilarious performances – and of course there are many more as well – this picture shows that he will always be “lovable Ringo” to Beatles fans!
But in the late 60’s, Ringo would star with one of England’s greatest comic Actors – and a myriad of star cameos – in the film version of Author Terry Southern’s social satire masterpiece!
The Magic Christian
Here is one of the craziest farces ever made – thanks to the British, of course – and it starred Ringo Starr AND Peter Sellers!
The movie states it’s purpose in this opening statement, as a ten pound british note appears onscreen:
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is what is commonly known as money. It comes in all sizes, colours, and denominations – like people. We’ll be using quite a bit of it in the next two hours… luckily I have enough for ALL of us.”
Here is the movie’s trailer:
“The Magic Christian” tells the story of Britain’s richest man, Sir Guy Grand – played by Peter Sellers. Grand adopts homeless bum Youngman to be the heir to his obscene wealth – and Youngman is Ringo!
“Grand is the name, and, uh – money is the game. Would you care to play?”
The father-son team decide to prey upon people’s greed by use of the vast holdings of the Grand empire…and the movie is a series of sketches that show just how far people will go in pursuit of cash…
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.”
Early Monty Python!
Two of the writers on the movie were John Cleese and Graham Chapman of Monty Python fame.
Sir Guy Grand: [on being told a Rembrandt might fetch £10,000 at auction] In that case my final offer is thirty.
Mr. Dougdale (John Cleese): [stunned] Thirty – thousand – pounds? Shit! I beg your pardon, I do beg your pardon.
Yes, John Cleese has a small role in the film as well – as the befuddled Auctioneer…just another hilarious sketch in a film full of them!
Hello Raquel!
Yes, my favorite sex symbol, Raquel Welch, also shows up in the movie with one of her most outrageous performances ever – as a Dominatrix!
As you can see from the movie poster below, the film had a very memorable cameo from Raquel Welch – one that was so outrageous they needed to add it to the film’s poster!
In one of the most dramatic moments in the movie, a group of passengers, fearing they are on a sinking ship, burst into the cruise ship’s “engine” room – only to find THIS!
Yes, Raquel Welch is shown “whipping” a group of topless women who are ROWING THE SHIP!
It is a hilarious bit that seems to have been as much fun to film as to watch – as you can see by this behind-the-scenes moment between Raquel and Ringo!
According to the great website IMDB, during the filming of scenes with the topless “slave” girls rowing the ship, the actors kept deliberately flubbing their lines just so they could watch the girls!
And Check Out Yul Brynner!
And yes, legendary Actor Yul Brynner shows up in the film as well – LOOKING LIKE THIS!
“The Magic Christian” is a crazy movie – hilarious and profane, full of big stars doing crazy things – all to poke fun at the way that money corrupts…and the movie has plenty of Beatle influence as well!
And Now The Fab Four Connections!
The role of Youngman Grand was originally offered to John Lennon, who was tempted to perform the role but eventually had to decline due to legal difficulties related to his October, 1968 arrest for possession of marijuana.
Macca’s “Badfinger” Soundtrack!
One of the most memorable aspects of the movie is the musical soundtrack. In fact, the theme song of the movie is by apple’s band “Badfinger” – performing a song that Paul McCartney wrote specifically for them!
Here they are performing the song:
Of course, on the Beatles Anthology, you get to hear Macca’s note by note rendition of the song – he recorded the song and then told the band to perform it exactly the same way he did – and they did!
Speaking of music: check out this story I previously posted to see how important Ringo was to the post-Beatles era! It’s full of facts about Ringo’s incredibly successful solo career in the 70’s:
https://johnrieber.com/2013/03/03/exclusive-the-lost-beatles-album-the-fab-fours-solo-songs-remixed/
And of course, here is my post about the “lost” Beatles documentary – here is a look at “Let It Be!”
So much great Beatles stuff to share – and of course, lots of reason to celebrate the great Ringo Starr and his role in the Fab four!
Categories: 70's Cinema, Academy Awards, Awards, Books / Media, British Cinema, Comedy Movies, documentary films, Foreign Films, Funny Pictures, London, Movies, Music, Obscure Movies, Talent/Celebrities, The Beatles, Travel, Uncategorized
johnrieber 
Candy was a real cock-tease movie. As typical of 1968, no nudity, but a hot swedish star and implied sex. Too bad it wasn’t made in 1978 because that era delivered on R ratings. The book was more famous for the porno parts than the satire. At least for those of us in our mid teens!
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I liken the smattering of cameo appearances as an extension of the guest stars in that other movie based on a Terry Southern novel, Candy. As another note of interest, Candy also featured in a small role as a Mexican gardner, yes, Ringo Starr! But those of us in the know already knew that. Right? Right and double right, as Guy Grand would say.
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