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 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