Peter Sellers he also said that in Sellers's previous films he had "been at his worst recently". In 1969 Sellers starred opposite Ringo Starr in the Joseph McGrath-directed film "The Magic Christian". Sellers portrayed Sir Guy Grand, an eccentric billionaire who plays elaborate practical jokes on people. The critic Irv Slifkin remarked that the film was a reflection of the cynicism of Peter Sellers, describing the film as a "proto-Pythonesque adaption of Terry Southern's semi-free-form short novel", and "one of the strangest films to be shown at a gala premiere for Britain's royal family". The film, a satire on human nature, was
Peter Sellers an album released by the couple, "Peter & Sophia", which reached number five in the UK Albums Chart. In 1961 Sellers made his directorial debut with "Mr. Topaze", in which he also starred. The film was based on the Marcel Pagnol play "Topaze". Sellers portrayed an ex-schoolmaster in a small French town who turns to a life of crime to obtain wealth. The film and Sellers's directorial abilities received an unenthusiastic response from the public and critics alike, and Sellers rarely referred to it again. The same year he starred in the Sidney Gilliat-directed "Only Two Can Play", a film