The Magic Christian

"If you want it, here it is, come and get it

Mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm make your mind up fast

If you want it anytime, I can give it

But you better hurry 'cause it may not last

Did I hear you say that there must be a catch?

Would you walk away from a fool and his money?

Sonny, if you want it, here it is, come and get it

But you better hurry 'cause it's going fast!"

- Badfinger, Come and Get It

The Magic Christian is a 1969 film based on Terry Southern's 1959 book of the same name, starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr. Before you ask, the name is taken from a boat, and has nothing to do with magic Christians.

Sellers plays Sir Guy Grand, a billionaire who wants to have some fun. He adopts the homeless Youngman Grand (Ringo Starr), and together they set out to see what lengths people will go to for money. The answer is, pretty far.

Features cameos by Graham Chapman and John Cleese (who also wrote additional material for the script), before Monty Python had really taken off.

This work contains the following examples:

 * Breakaway Pop Hit: "Come and Get It," written by Paul McCartney and performed by Badfinger.
 * The Beatles also recorded a respectable practice version, which can be heard on Volume 3 of The Beatles Anthology
 * Cameo: Spike Milligan, John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Roman Polanski, Yul Brynner, Christopher Lee, Raquel Welch...
 * Comedic Sociopathy
 * Eccentric Millionaire: Actually a billionaire.
 * Ho Yay
 * Man of Wealth and Taste
 * Money Fetish
 * Money to Throw Away
 * Refuge in Audacity
 * Repurposed Pop Song/Isn't It Ironic: At the Turn of the Millennium, Pontiac used "Come and Get It" in an ad campaign for sports cars. Beyond the song itself being about greed, apparently, no one who worked on this campaign saw the movie, because if they had they would have known about the parody of cars as a status symbol early on (with Guy Grand presenting the concept of a new luxury car that's insanely big, ostentatious, and British).
 * Rich Bitch
 * Screw the Rules I Have Money: Also "Screw The Rules, I'm Getting Money!"
 * Serial Escalation: How much will people debase themselves for cash?
 * There Is No Kill Like Overkill: Hunting fowl with an antiaircraft gun.
 * Transvestite: Played by, of all people.
 * Upperclass Twit
 * Unwinnable Training Simulation:
 * Whip It Good: Raquel Welch towards the galley of topless women.