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,
The Magic Christian (film) want it, here it is, come and get it'). Thunderclap Newman’s "Something in the Air" is also prominent in the film's soundtrack. Starr and Sellers became good friends during the shoot. British actor and dancer Lionel Blair was responsible for the film's choreography. A host of British and American actors have brief roles in the movie, many playing against type. Episodic in character, "The Magic Christian" is an unrelenting and often heavy-handed satire on capitalism, greed, and human vanities. Notable are the appearances of (pre-Monty Python) John Cleese and Graham Chapman (uncredited), who had jointly written an earlier version of