''Percy's Progress'' is a 1974 British

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

Ralph Thomas Ralph Philip Thomas Military Cross, MC (10 August 1915 – 17 March 2001) was an English film director. He is perhaps best remembered for directing the ''Doctor Series, Doctor'' series of films. His brother, Gerald Thomas, was also a film dire ...

. It was written by Sid Colin,

Harry H. Corbett Harry H. Corbett OBE (28 February 1925 – 21 March 1982) was an English actor and comedian, best remembered for playing rag-and-bone man Harold Steptoe alongside Wilfrid Brambell in the long-running BBC television sitcom ''Steptoe and Son'' ( ...

and

Ian La Frenais Ian La Frenais (born 7 January 1937) is an English writer best known for his creative partnership with Dick Clement. They are most famous for television series including ''The Likely Lads'', ''Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?'', ''Porridg ...

. It was released in the United States under the title ''It's Not the Size That Counts''. The US version of the film includes several additional scenes shot by the American distributor, which include an opening scene of a penis transplant operation, and a scene in which a dwarf is seen jumping out of a woman's bed, leaving her to say the film's American title, "It's not the size that counts." The dwarf in question was Luis De Jesus, the star of the infamous ''

Blood Sucking Freaks ''Blood Sucking Freaks'' (originally released as ''The Incredible Torture Show'') is a 1976 American exploitation splatter film directed by Joel M. Reed and starring Seamus O'Brien, Luis De Jesus, Viju Krem, Niles McMaster, Dan Fauci, Alan Dell ...

''.

's character was closely modelled on British prime minister

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from October 1964 to June 1970, and again from March 1974 to April 1976. He ...

, down to using well-known Wilson phrases such as "thirteen years of Tory misrule" and speaking with a distinct

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

accent. The film is a sequel to ''

Percy The English surname Percy is of Norman origin, coming from Normandy to England, United Kingdom. It was from the House of Percy, Norman lords of Northumberland, derives from the village of Percy-en-Auge in Normandy. From there, it came into use ...

'', which was itself based on a novel of the same name by Raymond Hitchcock.

Synopsis

Percy is known in England as the man who had the world's first penis transplant, and is exceptionally well endowed. His rampant conquests of married women cause him to escape incarceration by local authorities. A chemical is accidentally released into the world's water supply rendering all men impotent. Percy is unaware that he is the only man on earth who can achieve an erection because he was in hiding from the law at sea, drinking nothing but champagne. When Percy goes ashore to relieve his year-long sexual tension at a brothel, he gains the attention of the British press and subsequently the British government, who then want to use him to repopulate the world. An international pageant is held to find each country's "Miss Conception" representative. At the same time, a team of doctors work to find an antidote to the effects of "P.S.- 123".

Cast

Leigh Lawson Allan Leigh Lawson (born 21 July 1945) is an English actor, director and writer. Life and career Lawson was born in Atherstone, Warwickshire. He initially studied at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts before training further at the Royal Academ ...

as Percy Edward Anthony *

Elke Sommer Elke Sommer (; born Elke Baronin von Schletz, 5 November 1940) is a German actress. She appeared in numerous films in her heyday throughout the 1960s and 1970s, including roles in ''The Pink Panther (1963 film), The Pink Panther'' sequel ''A S ...

as Clarissa *

Denholm Elliott Denholm Mitchell Elliott, (31 May 1922 – 6 October 1992) was an English actor, with more than 125 film and television credits. His well-known roles include the abortionist in ''Alfie'' (1966), Marcus Brody in ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' (1981 ...

as Sir Emmanuel Whitbread *

Judy Geeson Judith Amanda Geeson (born 10 September 1948) is an English film, stage, and television actress. She began her career primarily working on British television series, with a leading role on '' The Newcomers'' from 1965 to 1967, before making he ...

as Dr. Fairweather *

as Prime Minister *

Vincent Price Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor, art historian, art collector and gourmet cook. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price has two stars on the Hollywood Wal ...

as Stavos Mammonian *

Adrienne Posta Adrienne Posta (born Adrienne Luanne Poster, 24 March 1949) is an English actress and singer, prominent during the 1960s and 1970s. She adopted the surname 'Posta' in 1966.Adrienne Poster, page on "Ready Steady Girls" (readysteadygirls.eu). Retr ...

as PC 217 (Iris) *

Julie Ege Julie Ege (; 12 November 1943 – 29 April 2008) was a Norwegian actress and model, who appeared in many British films of the 1960s and 1970s. Early life Ege was born in Sandnes, the daughter of brickyard worker Marton Ege and Hjørdis Halv ...

as Miss Hanson *

Barry Humphries John Barry Humphries (born 17 February 1934) is an Australian comedian, actor, author and satirist. He is best known for writing and playing his on-stage and television alter egos Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson. He is also a film prod ...

as Dr. Anderson/Australian TV Lady *

James Booth James Booth (born David Noel Geeves; 19 December 1927 – 11 August 2005) was an English film, stage and television actor and screenwriter. Though considered handsome enough to play leading roles, and versatile enough to play a wide variety ...

as Jeffcot *

Milo O'Shea Milo Donal O'Shea (2 June 1926 – 2 April 2013) was an Irish people, Irish actor. He was twice nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performances in ''Staircase (play), Staircase'' (1968) and ''Mass Appeal (play), Mass A ...

as Dr. Klein * Ronald Fraser as Bleeker *

Anthony Andrews Anthony Colin Gerald Andrews (born 12 January 1948) is an English actor. He played Lord Sebastian Flyte in the ITV miniseries ''Brideshead Revisited'' (1981), for which he won Golden Globe and BAFTA television awards, and was nominated for an ...

as Catchpole *

Bernard Lee John Bernard Lee (10 January 190816 January 1981) was an English actor, best known for his role as M in the first eleven Eon-produced James Bond films. Lee's film career spanned the years 1934 to 1979, though he had appeared on stage from t ...

as Barraclough *

Madeline Smith Madeline Smith (born 2 August 1949) is an English actress. After working as a model in the late 1960s, she went on to appear in many television series and stage productions, plus comedy and horror films, in the 1970s and 1980s. She is perhaps ...

as Miss UK *

Judy Matheson Judy Matheson (27 August 1945) is a British actress notable for her appearances in several horror films in the 1970s. She also appeared in many other films and television series. Career After drama school, Matheson began her career in 1967 wi ...

as Maria *

Alan Lake Alan Lake (24 November 1940 – 10 October 1984) was an English actor, best known as the third and final husband of screen star Diana Dors. Biography Alan Lake was born in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire on 24 November 1940.Donnelley, Paul ...

as Derry Hogan *

George Coulouris George Alexander Coulouris (1 October 1903 – 25 April 1989) was an English film and stage actor. Early life Coulouris was born in Manchester, Lancashire, England, the son of Abigail (née Redfern) anNicholas Coulouris a merchant of Greek o ...

as Professor Godowski *

Jenny Hanley Jenny Hanley (born 15 August 1947) is an English actress. She remains best known for being one of the presenters of the ITV children's magazine programme ''Magpie''. Early life and education Hanley is the daughter of actors Dinah Sheridan and ...

as Miss Teenage Lust *

Carol Hawkins Carol Hawkins (born 31 January 1949 in Chipping Barnet, Barnet, Hertfordshire) is an England, English actress, best known for her various comic roles in numerous TV sitcoms and films in the 1970s and 1980s. She played the roles of Sharon Eversl ...

as Maggie * T. P. McKenna as News Editor * Anthony Sharp as Judge *

Alan Tilvern Alan Tilvern (5 November 1918 – 17 December 2003) was an English actor. He was known for usually playing "tough-guy" roles. Life Tilvern was born 5 November 1918 in Whitechapel, in the East End of London, to Jewish-Lithuanian parents, who c ...

as General Dodds *

Minah Bird Minah Ogbenyealu Bird, (also known as Mynah Bird, 11 March 1950 – July 1995) was a Nigerian model and actress active in the United Kingdom in the 1970s. Biography Bird hailed from Aba in Nigeria and was educated in both Nigeria and F ...

as Miss America * Luis De Jesus as the Dwarf (additional American footage)

Production and reception

Betty Box said they only agreed with

Nat Cohen Nat Cohen (23 December 1905 – 10 February 1988)William D. Rubinstein, et al (eds.''The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History'' Palgrave Macmillan, 2011, p.171 was a British film producer and executive. For over four decades he was one of t ...

to make a sequel to ''Percy'' if he financed ''The Reckless Years'', a film of the Byron-Shelley story. However, Cohen reneged on the deal once ''Percy's Progress'' was made. Alexander Walker wrote in his ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'' column in 1974 that the film is "just about the deepest depth ever plumbed by the once considerable and now nearly contemptible British film industry in its resolute search for the lowest kind of taste among the thickest kind of people." The film's

B movie A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature ...

was the short crime drama ''Poor Billy Render'' starring

Vicki Michelle Vicki Michelle, (born 14 December 1950) is an English actress, radio presenter, businesswoman, film producer and former model. She is best known for her role as Yvette Carte-Blanche in the BBC television comedy series Allo 'Allo!'' and as ...

Garfield Morgan Thomas Timothy Garfield Morgan (19 April 1931 – 5 December 2009) was an English actor who appeared mostly on television and occasionally in films. Biography Born in Birmingham, Warwickshire, Morgan began acting with a youth club drama group ...

and

Tony Selby Anthony Samuel Selby (26 February 1938 – 5 September 2021) was an English actor. He was best known for his roles as Clive Mitchell in ''EastEnders'', Corporal Percy Marsh in ''Get Some In!'', and Sabalom Glitz in ''Doctor Who''. Life and ca ...

References

External links

* {{Ralph Thomas 1974 films 1970s sex comedy films British comedy films British sex comedy films Films shot at EMI-Elstree Studios Films directed by Ralph Thomas British sequel films Films produced by Betty Box Films with screenplays by Ian La Frenais 1974 comedy films Films with screenplays by Sid Colin 1970s English-language films 1970s British films