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,
Peter Sellers on the set. Sellers also became unhappy with his wife's performance, straining their relationship and triggering open arguments during one of which Sellers threw a chair at Ekland. Despite these conflicts, the script was praised for its wit. Following the commercial success of "What's New Pussycat?", Charles Feldman again brought together Sellers and Woody Allen for his next project, "Casino Royale", which also starred Orson Welles; Sellers signed a $1 million contract for the film ($ in dollars). Seven screenwriters worked on the project, and filming was chaotic. To make matters worse, according to Ekland, Sellers was "so insecure, he