Steptoe & Son

Unfairly rated low as of 2020, It's classic British comedy before all the PC nutcases ruined free speech and comedy ! Ok it's a bit dated being 1970's but it still holds up, the long running series wasn't one of the most popular and successful BBC series of all time for nothing. Enjoy and rate it 10!

+ catch the 2nd movie Steptoe and son ride again.

It was something of a trend in the 70s to make film versions of popular sit-coms of the day. With one or two exceptions these were cheaply made, second-rate efforts intended to cash in on the success of a popular TV show and were therefore largely embarrassing to watch. The first Steptoe and Son movie does, however, work fairly well.

The grit and seediness of the Steptoe's environment transfers very well to film and we get a valuable glimpse of a part of London which was grey, dilapidated and depressing...something we are never privy to in the TV series. With film censorship being slightly more relaxed than what could be seen or heard on television we get some hilarious outbursts from Harold and Albert, liberally peppered with swear words.

Of course the TV version of Steptoe is a sit-com and while this is funny in places the genuine tragedy of Harold and Albert's situation takes centre stage. Harold ends up getting hitched to a stripper but the match is doomed from the start due to his mixed feelings: all he wants to do is get away from his father and make something of himself yet abandoning him is the one thing he cannot do. We really do sympathise with Harold's plight in this movie and despise Albert's deviousness and thwarting him at every turn.

Of course, such sombre elements existed in the TV programme but due to them being mixed with relatively rapid comedy in 25 minute slots we accepted the character's situation without dwelling on it too much. This time round, with a longer running time and the tragi-drama fleshed out it sometimes makes for uncomfortable viewing.

All the leads perform well and this is a better example of how TV sit-coms could work as cinema spectaculars. Indeed, even if the characters weren't known from TV this has the potential to function well as a stand-alone movie.

See it and be pleasantly surprised.

This is a master piece of British t.v cinema. I have all the steptoe and son episode's on DVD. Their home and its contents have been a part of the shows make-up, (THEY ARE RAG AND BONE MEN) and there home trys to reflect that fact. Thats one of the reasons harold keeps trying to get away, he is only to aware of his messy surroundings. (dust? more like bleedin top soil) The film is just a re-working of an episode they did called 'STEPTOE AND SON AND SON' I have to concead that this is not as good as the series it still has all the humor you come to expect. BUt if you haven't seen the series then you may not get the all the humor, and if you like the film then you WILL love the series. purely British sit-com.

The 1970s was the decade of big screen adaptations for popular British TV series and STEPTOE AND SON is the first of two such workings for the ever-popular show (STEPTOE AND SON RIDE AGAIN would be released the following year). Fans of the series are likely to enjoy it as it sees the return of Harry H. Corbett and Wilfrid Brambell to their most famous roles, and the old camaraderie is back once more as if they'd never been away.

However, this is a film that feels very different to the good-natured and light-hearted TV show. There's a cold, almost ruthless streak of pessimism in the production that makes this feel more like a tragedy than a comedy. In some ways it feels like an episode drawn out to feature length and the single-strand plot makes some elements of the production feel drawn out and repetitive.

In essence the tale is about Corbett falling for a stripper and deciding to marry her, only for the needy Brambell to get in the way. Carolyn Seymour successfully portrays the awkwardness felt at coming between this pairing. There's little more to it than that, but at times this film feels like a depiction of psychological and emotional torture, with Brambell turning the thumb screws at every opportunity. It's testament to the skill of the two stars that this remains a likable comedy despite the darkness of the script. Inevitably, the grimy surroundings are better realised than ever on film as opposed to television, and the envelope is pushed further than ever with nudity and bad language in the mix.

This captures the heart and soul of the TV show.The two leads are so realistic that you could not really see them as anything other than a classic double act.a neat story even if the ending is predictable.but its stays true to character.some good genuine laughs.though you do feel for the younger Steptoe.