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Percy's Progress
Percy's Progress (US title: It's Not the Size That Counts) is a 1974 British comedy film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Leigh Lawson, Elke Sommer, Denholm Elliott, Judy Geeson and Harry H. Corbett.[1] It was written by Sid Colin, Harry H. Corbett and Ian La Frenais. The film is a sequel to Percy (1971). It was the last film from producer Betty Box. Harry H. Corbett's character was closely modelled on British prime minister Harold Wilson, down to using well-known Wilson phrases such as "thirteen years of Tory misrule" and speaking with a distinct Yorkshire accent. PlotPercy 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 flee, to escape incarceration. A chemical, PX123, 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 PX123. Cast
ProductionBetty Box says in her autobiography that they only agreed with Nat Cohen to make a sequel to Percy (1971) if he financed a film about Byron and Shelley, to be called The Reckless Years. However, Cohen reneged on the deal once Percy's Progress was made.[2] The film was based on an idea by Sid Collin.[3] The lead role went to Leigh Lawson who Ralph Thomas called "the best young actor around who hasn't already established himself. We saw dozens of good-looking, virilie young actors but we decided that Leigh had the look that we liked."[3] Filming started in January 1974 and took place at Elstree Studios and on the island of Cyprus.[3] "We're not out for cheap laughs," said Thomas. "Just loud ones."[4] ReleaseThe 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, played by Luis De Jesus, the star of Blood Sucking Freaks (1976), 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."[5][better source needed] Critical receptionThe Daily Mirror said "the laughter is still all too frequently of the nervous variety" but said there were "some genuinely funny moments" and "remarkably funny performances."[6] The Daily Telegraph criticised the "ponderous direction" and the "yawningly repetitive and emphatic script".[7] The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote:
Alexander Walker wrote in his Evening Standard 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."[9] References
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