The Magic Christian (1969) starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr

I remember Badfinger's song "Come and Get It" from way back in my misspent youth in the early 1970s, however the film which inspired it was another thing.  I saw it for the first time this week, and it was about what I expected.  The late 1960s and early 1970s were a pretty crazy time, and if you like this sort of surreal humor and practical jokes so much the better.

Basically it is the story of fabulously rich Sir Guy Grand, whose hobby is playing practical jokes, mainly through the application of cash.  It was loosely adapted from the Terry Southern comic novel of the same name.  In the film Grand (Peter Sellers) meets a homeless man, subsequently known as Youngman Grand (Ringo Starr) in a London Park and legally adopts him.

  For example, for a large amount of money he bribes one of the teams competing in a regatta on the Thames to ram the other team's boat.   In another scene he persuades an actor playing Hamlet to do a strip tease while reciting his soliloquy "To be or not to be".   In another one they go grouse hunting with a   stuffy aristocratic set, and when the grouse is flushed, they turn bombs and missiles on the bird, finally flushing and simultaneously cooking the poor things with a flame thrower. 

He lives in a suitably grand country house with two female relations, Dame Agnes and Esther Grand.  They watch scenes of violent civil disorder and mayhem while pleasantly lolling in the parlor, or playing a game of battleships with live ammunition.

Christopher Lee as Ship's Vampire

The jokes are increasingly big ones as the film moves along.   Finally he commissions a luxury ocean liner with room only for the very richest passengers.    Here things reach a climax of silliness with various odd and untoward events ending with a mock abandon ship order where they emerge to discover the same Tower Bridge in London whence they had departed.    Finally Guy and Youngman preside over the ultimate practical joke. 

They fill a small swimming pool sized vat with urine, blood, and animal excrement and tempt the button down London city types to chase free money, which they are, in spite of the smell.  

It is moderately funny, this picture.  I guess the surreal humor takes a little getting used to.  One of the fun things about watching this picture are the numerous cameo performances, including Yul Brynner in drag singing to a passive bar sitter played by Roman Polanski, a traffic warden played by Spike Milligan (one of Sellers'
costars in the old Goon show), 

  Raquel Welch heading a room full of naked female galley slaves,  a salesman at Sotheby's played by John Cleese, the ship's vampire played by Christopher Lee, the Oxford coach of the regatta team (Richard Attenborough) and even Graham Chapman as one of the team members.   

The film can be seen on You Tube here.