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 and abilities were unimpaired after the experience of filming. Sellers followed this with the role of the perverted Austrian psychoanalyst Doctor Fritz Fassbender in Clive Donner's "What's New Pussycat?", appearing alongside Peter O'Toole, Romy Schneider, Capucine, Paula Prentiss and Ursula Andress. The film was the first screenwriting and acting credit for Woody Allen, and featured Sellers in a love triangle. Because of Sellers's poor health, producer Charles K. Feldman insured him at a cost of $360,000 ($ in dollars). Sellers became a close friend of Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, a photographer who was then married to Princess Margaret.