The Magic Christian 1970

Sir Guy Grand, an enigmatic tycoon with a penchant for eccentricity, embarks on a series of elaborate practical jokes alongside his newly adopted protégé, Youngman Grand, a homeless man plucked from the city streets. This unlikely duo delights in manipulating others, often to humorous effect, as they demonstrate the notion that “everyone has their price” - it’s merely a matter of determining how much one is willing to pay.

Their escapades begin with relatively minor pranks, such as bribing a Shakespearean actor to disrobe mid-performance during a stage production of Hamlet, or persuading a traffic warden to devour a parking ticket and its plastic cover, both delighted by the substantial sum offered. As their exploits unfold, Grand’s schemes become increasingly audacious, targeting higher social strata and wider audiences.

At Sotheby’s esteemed art auction house, Grand is informed that a rare Rembrandt School portrait might fetch a staggering £10,000 at auction. In a move that leaves the director, Mr. Dugdale, agog with astonishment, Grand submits a pre-auction bid of £30,000 (£623,700 in today’s currency) for the painting and, once acquired, proceeds to sever the portrait’s nose from the canvas with a pair of scissors, all while an incredulous Dugdale looks on in stunned silence. Elsewhere, Grand orchestrates a lavish display of gluttony at a posh restaurant, where he is the most prominent patron, and later, he bribes the coach of the Oxford rowing team to deliberately collide with their Cambridge counterparts during the annual Boat Race, securing an unjust yet hilarious victory.

In a traditional pheasant hunt, Grand takes it up a notch by deploying an anti-aircraft gun to bring down his prey. Throughout these escapades, Grand’s underlying philosophy remains evident - he views his pranks as “educational” exercises in demonstrating the notion that everyone has their price, waiting to be discovered.

As Guy Grand and his eccentric partner, Youngman Grand, mingle among the crème de la crème on the opulent liner The Magic Christian, they’re surrounded by a veritable who’s who of high society. The ship’s passengers include convincing doppelgangers of John Lennon (John Lennon), Yoko Ono (Yoko Ono), Jacqueline Kennedy (Jacqueline Kennedy) and Aristotle Onassis (Aristotle Onassis). At first, the luxurious voyage appears to be a respite from the mundane, but things quickly take a turn for the bizarre. A solitary patron at the bar is approached by a flamboyant cabaret performer, while a vampire masquerades as a waiter, serving passengers an unsettling array of drinks. The ship’s entertainment system features a jarring film depicting the failed transplantation of a black person’s head onto a white person’s body, sending shockwaves through the crowd.

As panic sets in, passengers frantically attempt to abandon ship, only to discover that their captain is too inebriated to be of any assistance. In a scene reminiscent of a Shakespearean farce, the guests are forced to confront the reality that they’re trapped on a vessel with no discernible crew or direction. In a desperate bid for escape, a group of passengers follows Youngman Grand’s lead and makes their way to the machine room, where they stumble upon an astonishing sight: the Priestess of the Whip, accompanied by two topless drummers, presides over a bevy of slave girls, all clad in loincloths. As the passengers finally find a means of escape, they’re met with the disorienting revelation that The Magic Christian is merely a structure built within a warehouse, and their entire journey has taken place in the heart of London.

As the dust settles on this surreal adventure, Guy Grand orchestrates his next move by filling a massive vat with a concoction of urine, blood, and animal waste, then proceeds to add thousands of banknotes to the mixture. With an air of nonchalance, he invites the city’s workers to partake in what appears to be a treasure trove, proclaiming “Free money!” The crowd is drawn in by the promise of easy riches, leading to a chaotic scene as many individuals submerge themselves to retrieve the submerged cash. The sequence culminates with the iconic song “Something in the Air” by Thunderclap Newman providing an eerie soundtrack.

The film’s denouement finds Guy and Youngman Grand returning to the park where their escapades began, bribing the park warden to allow them to rest there, citing a more direct path towards achieving their (largely unspoken) objectives.