The Magic Christian (3 Stars)

I decided to watch this film after it was recommended by Fred Olen Ray. I knew very little about it in advance, except that it's considered a cult film. But still, I was shocked by the content, and not in a good way.

The film begins with a portrait of the Queen while the National Anthem is being played. Then the camera zooms out to show that the picture is a ten pound note. That was a lot of money in 1969. It's the equivalent of 1760 pounds today. The film's message is that people will do anything for money, but there's so much absurd humour that the message is often forgotten.

Sir Guy Grand (Peter Sellers) is a billionaire industrialist. He regrets not having an heir to his fortune, so he adopts a homeless man that he sees in the park (Ringo Starr). Surprisingly, Youngman (that's the man's name) easily fits in with the better social life.

Is this supposed to be London? It's a dank, gloomy town.

Father and son take a journey on a cruise ship, the Magic Christian.

There's a vampire on board.

Raquel Welch is cracking a whip, surrounded by dozens of topless women. It's only a short scene, worthy of a pause and repeat.

Roman Polanski has a cameo as a man sitting in the bar looking bored.

In fact, the film has so many cameos that you need a scorecard to keep up with them. There are famous actors like Richard Attenborough and Yul Brynner, as well as just about every British comedian of the 1960's.

But the film is a mess. I can't understand why it's called a cult film.

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