'The Weekend Murders' (1970)

Film of the day: 

The Weekend Murders (1970)
aka: 'Concerto per Pistola Solista'

A real oddity. This 1970 Italian production mixes the high-style, lurid-bloodstain, mod weirdness of the classic "Giallo" movie with the tongue-in-cheek British country-house whodunnit. Shots of tweeds and golf-clubs against shots of blood-filled bathtubs, crash zooms on off-kilter belfries and the trademark eyeball-tight close-ups.

Shot on location in East Anglia by the Italian crew in the underexposed saturated-colour style of the genre, it offers a weirdly vivid view of England through European eyes. Perhaps the strangest thing is seeing jolly old Lance Percival in a leading role as Scotland Yard's Superintendent Grey, albeit leavened with a bit of light comedy business involving stereotypical bumbling local copper Sergeant Thorpe – played by Italian veteran Gastone Moschin, complete with goofy 'English' false teeth. The only other familiar face is the dear old major from 'Fawlty Towers', Ballard Berkeley, as the butler.      

A saucy interlude. Note pin-up of George Best…

It doesn't seem to have ever had a UK release, so I imagine few people here have ever seen it, and to be honest, it's pretty hard going a lot of the time. It looks as if the Italian actors did their lines in Italian and the Brits did theirs in English, so presumably the scenes didn't make much sense to either on the set. Still, it's got some stylish moments. 

You can watch it on YouTube here: 'The Weekend Murders'       

The Weekend Murders - imdb

Lance Percival

Lance Percival: 

† 26 July 1933 – 6 January 2015

The unmistakable, agile and angular features of John Lancelot Blades Percival - that long crooked nose and the teeth seemingly trying to escape from under his jutting upper lip - combined with his quickfire delivery and timing to make him a comedy star of the '60s. He featured in a string of middling movies as a sure pair of hands for dimwit and klutz roles. He's in 'Carry On Cruising' (1962) of course, as the bilious ship's cook (Charles Hawtrey pulled out with only a few days until filming), and there was a solid run of jokey parts through the early part of  the decade. 

'The Big Job' (1965)

The lucky break with the 'Carry On…' team probably helped his profile, but possibly not as much as his regular appearances on television's 'That Was The Week That Was', where he was a natural fit for the satirical skits and he became a household name for his topical calypso numbers. One of these, 'Shame and Scandal in the Family', was a Top 40 hit in 1965. As the decade wore on, his combination of wacky charm and anti-establishment credentials saw him in demand for pop-music tie-ins, like voice-over work on the Beatles animated adventures (he was Paul and Ringo) which led to him voicing Old Fred in 'Yellow Submarine' (1968). Less memorably, he also featured in Herman's Hermits 'Mrs Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter' the same year. 


An interesting aside is the Italian thriller 'The Weekend Murders' (1970) which saw him in a leading role, albeit stylised and semi-comic. Shame and scandal was to follow however, when the Kent-born actor was involved in a road accident on the A20 in which his Jaguar XJ6 was alleged to be racing with another similar car. An unfortunate Rainham man was killed in the resulting smash.        

'The Weekend Murders' (1970)

Whether or not the accident had anything to do with it, work post '70 was a bit less fun. There were movie roles in 'Up Pompeii' (1971) and its follow-ups, and similar British smutty comedies of the period: 'Our Miss Fred' (1972), leading to 'Confessions from a Holiday Camp' (1977) and 'Rosie Dixon: Night Nurse' (1978). All rather poor. 

With Danny LaRue in 'Our Miss Fred' (1972)

TV work kept coming, though rather intermittently by the '80s, and these days he makes a living on the after-dinner speaking circuit.  

Update 9/1/15: Sorry to hear that Lance Percival died on January 6 after a long illness.   

Lance Percival - imdb