The Magic Christian (film) The Magic Christian (film) The Magic Christian is a 1969 British satirical black comedy film directed by Joseph McGrath and starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr, with appearances by John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Raquel Welch, Spike Milligan, Christopher Lee, Richard Attenborough and Roman Polanski. It was loosely adapted from the 1959 comic novel of the same name by American author Terry Southern, who co-wrote the screenplay adaptation with McGrath. Songs by Badfinger, written by Paul McCartney, were featured on the soundtrack. The official soundtrack album featured other music as well; Badfinger released an album with its songs for the film,
Dr. Strangelove were "Dr. Doomsday or: How to Start World War III Without Even Trying", "Dr. Strangelove's Secret Uses of Uranus", and "Wonderful Bomb". After deciding to make the film a black comedy, Kubrick brought in Terry Southern as a co-writer in late 1962. The choice was influenced by reading Southern's comic novel "The Magic Christian", which Kubrick had received as a gift from Peter Sellers, and which itself became a Sellers film in 1969. Southern made important contributions to the film, but his role led to a rift between Kubrick and Peter George; after "Life" magazine published a photo-essay on Southern