The Magic Christian (film) studio then refused to pay for the shoot and it had to be relocated to London. Sir Guy Grand (Peter Sellers), an eccentric billionaire, together with his newly adopted heir (formerly a homeless derelict), Youngman Grand (Ringo Starr), start playing elaborate practical jokes on people. A big spender, Grand does not mind handing out large sums of money to various people, bribing them to fulfill his whims, or shocking them by bringing down what they hold dear. Their misadventures are designed as a display of father Grand to his adoptive charge that "everyone has their price"—it just depends on the
Peter Sellers led to his brief appearance on 1 July 1948 on "ShowTime" and subsequently to work on "Ray's a Laugh" with comedian Ted Ray. In October 1948, Sellers was a regular radio performer, appearing in "Starlight Hour", "The Gang Show", "Henry Hall's Guest Night" and "It's Fine To Be Young". By the end of 1948, the BBC Third Programme began to broadcast the comedy series "Third Division", which starred, among others, Harry Secombe, Michael Bentine and Sellers. One evening, Sellers and Bentine visited the Hackney Empire, where Secombe was performing, and Bentine introduced Sellers to Spike Milligan. The four would meet