The Magic Christian

One thing is for certain: Ringo has always surrounded himself with beautiful women in every single movie he was in. See above photo of him with sultry Raquel Welch for proof. And the females seem to be as smitten with him as he is with them. Can't really blame them, can you?

The Magic Christian is the sort of movie that was being made in the late 60's in England and, as such, it represented a very different view on the whole Psychedelic generation, which means, less flower power and more tea and whimsy instead. To say that Lewis Carroll's influence was at its strongest at this place in time is not an overstatement. British surrealism (sometimes mistaken by sheer eccentricity) was felt throughout all of the arts and even encouraged which resulted in some very powerful works, be it in the music scene (with the Zombies, Pink Floyd, a lot of folk acts too and even our own Beatles) or in Cinema, as well (Wonderwall and other quirky cinematic offerings come to mind).

So it's no suprise that by the end of The Magic Christian you will be left wondering what the heck have you just been watching. Yes, because the last part of the movie is particularly inventive and it literally throws everything out of the window including the kitchen sink! I'm refering to the scene shot at the proverbial Magic Christian, a boat for the rich and wealthy that is just being inaugurated by the richest man alive, a character played by Peter Sellers.

Ringo's part is of a down on his luck fellow that one day hits the jackpot when he is befriended and later adopted by Mr. Sellers himself. All sorts of mad situations and crazy settings dutefully ensue, as it should, anyway. And that's for the benefit of the movie, too.

Definitely not one for everyone but if you fancy watching Yul Brynner in drag, this is the movie for you! Oh, and I almost forgot: this movie was adapted from a book by Terry Southern, the one that also wrote another movie Ringo Starr-ed in: Candy. Now you really want to see it, don't you?