Percy's Progress
Percy's Progress is a 1974 British sex comedy film directed by Ralph Thomas, functioning as a sequel to the 1971 film Percy.[1] The story centers on protagonist Percy Edward Anthony (played by Leigh Lawson), who previously received the world's first successful penis transplant and now returns from a yacht cruise to discover that a global chemical pollution incident has rendered all other men impotent, positioning him as the last fertile male amid pursuits by women, scientists, and authorities.[2] Featuring a cast including Elke Sommer, Denholm Elliott, Judy Geeson, and Harry H. Corbett, the film blends absurd sci-fi elements with explicit sexual humor typical of the era's British exploitation comedies.[1] It garnered critical disdain for its crude content and weak scripting, exemplified by reviewer Alexander Walker's description of it as among the "deepest depths" of British cinema's decline, alongside low audience scores averaging 3.7 out of 10.[3][1]Background and Development
Origins as a Sequel
Percy (1971), a British sex comedy centered on an unprecedented penile transplant, achieved notable commercial success despite divided critical opinions, ranking as the eighth highest-grossing film at the UK box office that year.[4] This performance, which included profitability for distributor EMI, directly motivated the greenlighting of a follow-up to capitalize on audience interest in the unconventional premise.[5] Percy's Progress (1974) was conceived as a direct continuation rather than a remake or reboot, preserving the protagonist's transplant origin while amplifying stakes to a worldwide phenomenon of male infertility, thereby extending the original's risqué exploration for broader narrative escalation.[6] This approach aligned with the era's sex comedy trend, where sequels built on established characters to sustain franchise viability without resetting established lore. The project's origins reflected the 1970s British cinema shift toward permissive content, following relaxed censorship standards that had enabled Percy's explicit elements to draw crowds amid post-1960s cultural liberalization.[7] Producers Betty E. Box and director Ralph Thomas, returning from the first film, leveraged this environment to pursue higher-concept absurdity, positioning the sequel as an organic evolution in a genre thriving on shock value and titillation.[6]Script and Pre-Production
The screenplay for Percy's Progress was primarily written by Sid Colin, with additional contributions from Harry H. Corbett and Ian La Frenais, expanding the central premise of the 1971 film Percy—in which the protagonist undergoes the world's first penis transplant—into a broader crisis of male impotence affecting the global population.[1] [2] The script incorporated a plot device of widespread sterility caused by a chemical contaminant, PX-123, accidentally released into the water supply during a U.S. military operation, reflecting 1970s public concerns over environmental hazards from industrial and military activities.[7] This escalation from individual medical anomaly to societal epidemic allowed for satirical exaggeration while maintaining the original's focus on sexual farce.[6] Pre-production was overseen by producer Betty E. Box, marking her final film project, and financed by EMI Films, which had backed the successful Percy and anticipated similar returns amid a contracting British film market. [8] Challenges included adapting the increasingly risqué sex comedy genre to align with evolving audience tastes for explicit content following the BBFC's adoption of more lenient classifications in the early 1970s, necessitating careful tonal balance to avoid alienating mainstream viewers. Initial promotional strategies highlighted the ensemble cast's star power—including returning performers like Elke Sommer and new additions such as Vincent Price and Denholm Elliott—alongside the film's hyperbolic comedic elements, positioning it as lighthearted escapism rather than probing social critique.[9]Plot Summary
Percy, the man who underwent the world's first successful penis transplant, sets sail on a year-long cruise aboard a yacht, seeking celibacy to escape the relentless pursuit by women attracted to his enhanced endowments. During his absence, a United States Air Force B-52 bomber carrying the experimental chemical warfare agent PX-123 explodes mid-flight over the Pacific Ocean near San Diego, dispersing the toxin into global water supplies and rendering every man on Earth impotent.[10] Unaffected due to subsisting solely on champagne (Bollinger 1969) at sea, Percy returns to London unaware of the crisis enveloping humanity.[6] As news spreads of Percy's singular potency, he becomes the target of desperate governments, scientists, and women intent on harnessing his abilities to repopulate the species and avert extinction. British authorities attempt to detain him for sperm extraction experiments, sparking a frantic pursuit involving nurses, intelligence agents, and international operatives. Percy flees across England and beyond, encountering romantic liaisons, including with a beauty contest organizer and participants in the satirically named Miss Conception International pageant, where he services representatives from various nations.[7] [1] The chase culminates in Percy's evasion of capture while sporadically aiding repopulation efforts, blending slapstick chases, bedroom farces, and visual innuendos centered on his anatomy. Ultimately, after declaring his patriotic duty fulfilled, Percy continues his escapades, leaving the world's fertility crisis unresolved but highlighting the film's reliance on bawdy humor over coherent closure.[6][2]Cast and Characters
Leigh Lawson stars as Percy Edward Anthony, the film's central figure, a hapless everyman navigating a world-altering crisis with wide-eyed ineptitude, continuing the character archetype from the 1971 predecessor Percy despite the recasting from Hywel Bennett.[1][2] The supporting ensemble features Denholm Elliott as Sir Emmanuel Whitbread, a pompous yet incompetent establishment figure; Judy Geeson as Dr. Fairweather, a medical professional entangled in the chaos; Harry H. Corbett as Insp. Milton, a hapless investigator; and Adrienne Posta in a comedic side role.[1][11] Elke Sommer portrays Clarissa, injecting continental allure as Percy's romantic foil, while Julie Ege appears in a peripheral capacity to amplify the film's bawdy elements.[1]| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Leigh Lawson | Percy Edward Anthony |
| Elke Sommer | Clarissa |
| Denholm Elliott | Sir Emmanuel Whitbread |
| Judy Geeson | Dr. Fairweather |
| Harry H. Corbett | Insp. Milton |
| Vincent Price | Prof. Herbert J. Bundy |