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Steptoe and Son

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  • Steptoe and Son

    In the world of sitcoms, the more trapped a character feels, the funnier their situation usually is for the audience. In the case of Steptoe and Son you'd be hard pushed to find a set of circumstances where you would feel more confined. Being stuck in a rundown house with no money and no chance of escape would be bad enough, but add to that mix a father with no personal pride and a desire to repress any aspirations his son might have, and you have a recipe for habitat hell. But, as we've just said, that hell makes for great comedy.Harold Steptoe (Harry H. Corbett) was a dreamer; always looking for ways to improve himself, his social group and ultimately his life. Running a rag and bone business with his father Albert (Wilfrid Bramble) from their home in Oil Drum Lane, Shepherd's Bush, was not where he wanted to be. An optimist about many things (he would always refer the junk that the pair collected as 'antiques') he would often be found planning a new way to get out of the house he shared with Albert, usually with the ambition of achieving this via finding a 'posh bird'.In attempting to woo said woman Harold would (slightly pretentiously) use his knowledge of literature, classical music and his ability as an amateur dramatist to show that he was more than a down-at-heel scrap dealer. However, even if he did succeed in convincing a lady to go out with him, he still had to come up against his father, who would thwart his every move in whatever way possible to stop him leaving.A more revolting person than Albert Steptoe you'd be hard to find in any British sitcom. Slovenly, unkempt and with no personal pride (he rarely took a razor to his face, and was content to slip a pair of dentures into his mouth that were so old the teeth were discoloured and falling out) he was convinced that after many years of working it was now time for him to sit back and let Harold do all the hard graft for him. Terrified that his son would abandon him to his own devices, Albert felt no guilt in using every trick in the book to keep him under the thumb; no threat or pitiful pleading was beneath him, and it usually worked. Despite Harold's desperation to get away, there was just enough of a bond between him and Albert for the old man's sly plotting to convince him to stay.In fact, in most of the situations where Harold went to head to head with Albert, the senior Steptoe usually proved himself to be the dominant male. Albert was more intelligent, and definitely more cunning than his son, and wouldn't think twice about using Harold's occasional lack of logical judgement to bolster his own chances of winning. He spent much of his time underhandedly digging at Harold's confidence, goading him about his idealistic and sometimes naïve plans which drove Harold to distraction. On one occasion Albert wound up Harold so much that he was driven to dissect the Steptoe house in two so that he wouldn't have to share any space with his father. A running joke of the programme was Harold being disgusted by some of his father's less attractive habits (eating pickled onions in the bath and slurping down ones that he'd dropped in the water for example) and often referred to him as a 'dirty old man'. Albert's oft heard cry was a screech of 'Arold!' whenever he wanted something.Steptoe and Son originated from stand-alone humorous play 'The Offer' written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson (noted for the sublime Hancock's Half Hour) which was included in the BBC commissioned Comedy Playhouse in 1962. They didn't write it with the intention that it would be turned into a series; in fact due to spending more money on earlier plays in the Comedy Playhouse series, 'The Offer' had a tiny budget and as such was written as a two-hander between a father and son to keep costs down. The BBC Head of Comedy at the time felt that it had potential, and so did the audience when it was broadcast.The writing duo then developed the idea into a fully-fledged sitcom, and in doing so helped change the way comedy was seen on British television. Instead of middle-class farce or humour derived from one liners and slapstick, Steptoe and Son focused on the lives of two working class and decidedly shabby men who used swear words, in so far as the BBC would let them at any rate. Both roles were also, and unusually played by straight actors, not comedians or comedic actors - in fact Corbett was known as one of Britain's first method actors, and had been compared to Marlon Brando.The first series was well-received and was followed by a further three which ran through to 1965, all in black and white. After a break of five years, four more series were produced and broadcast from 1970 to 1974 in colour, although due to the BBC's archive wipe in the mid-seventies, several of these episodes now only exist as black and white copies. Two Christmas specials were broadcast in 1973 and 1974, with the latter one completing Steptoe and Son's highly successful television run.There were also a couple of films released whilst the programme was still in motion. In 1972 Steptoe and Son was released; the plot was very similar to the TV show, with Harold about to get hitched, but still unable to get out from his father's grasp. This film was so popular that in 1973 Steptoe and Son Ride Again was made and released, with a plot centred around Harold's attempt to fake Albert's death and claim his life insurance.Whilst the 1974 Christmas special was the last time Bramble and Corbett filmed as the dysfunctional pair for the comedy series, in 1977 they appeared together in a couple of adverts for Ajax, in a sketch for Radio 2 in 1978, and in 1981 they filmed another commercial for Kenco. Having not seen these particular adverts I'd like to hope they were in the same comedic vein as the ones Leonard Rossiter filmed for Cinzano - i.e. genuinely funny. This wasn't the last we saw of 'Arold and Albert however; Ray Galton went on to write a play (with playwright John Antrobus) called Steptoe and Son in Murder at Oil Drum Lane which was premiered at the Theatre Royal in York. The plot featured the build-up to Harold killing his father (and who could blame him?) and then meeting him as a ghost thirty years later. Since the end of Steptoe and Son Galton and Simpson have adapted many of the TV episodes for the stage, so whilst the original 'dirty old man' and his son are long gone, the comedy will rightfully live on.

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  • #2
    Re: Steptoe and Son

    great show but steptoe was really nasty to harold

    he even went on holiday with his harold and his wife and broke them up.

    a funny show but steptoe i always felt put harold down.
    FOR THE HONOUR OF GRAYSKULL

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    • #3
      Re: Steptoe and Son

      Loved the episode where the old man put the clock forward so Harold would blame his date (Yootha Joyce) for turning up late. I felt so sorry for Harold.

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      • #4
        Re: Steptoe and Son

        My favourites were

        The water bed,Uncle Georges funeral,Christmas episode when they both ended up with chicken pox.Black and white episode when Albert won on the premium bonds,stayed in Claridges bought a new suit.

        Who remembers the one where Albert was in bed pretending to be ill.I think it was called Upstairs Downstairs,Harold was worn out working on the round,coming home seeing to the old geeser,moaning and winging when he sent him to the library for books to find his reply,read that what a waste of time,the ungreatful old sod

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        • #5
          Re: Steptoe and Son

          This will probably get me deported, but.....I hate this and Dad's Army

          I just find it too bleak, I've watched it a few times and didn't laugh once (sorry to any fans).

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          • #6
            Re: Steptoe and Son

            i found it funny once in a while but very rarely.

            i just did like steptoe.

            dads army never got it either.
            they both depressed me.






            Originally posted by Roz View Post
            This will probably get me deported, but.....I hate this and Dad's Army

            I just find it too bleak, I've watched it a few times and didn't laugh once (sorry to any fans).
            Last edited by darren; 24-04-2013, 02:56.
            FOR THE HONOUR OF GRAYSKULL

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            • #7
              Re: Steptoe and Son

              No fan of Dads Army here so boring

              Old Steptoe was a devious man who always brought Harold down.

              He would even moan when the vicar turned up

              One day when Harold came home after a hard shift,expecting a steak and kidney pie for tea,ended up with a tin of sardines

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              • #8
                Re: Steptoe and Son

                No fan of Till death us do part either

                Alf Garnett was a horrible character

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                • #9
                  Re: Steptoe and Son

                  Glad I'm not the only one who doesn't like Dad's Army.

                  I mentioned it on another board once and you wouldn't believe the grief I got!

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                  • #10
                    Re: Steptoe and Son

                    thats a bit OTT mate.

                    You got a hard time for it.

                    i never found it funny at all.


                    Apparently the actors who played steptoe and son did not get on.




                    Originally posted by Roz View Post
                    Glad I'm not the only one who doesn't like Dad's Army.

                    I mentioned it on another board once and you wouldn't believe the grief I got!
                    FOR THE HONOUR OF GRAYSKULL

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Steptoe and Son

                      Wilfred Brambell has been in a few films-Bert in Holiday on the buses,Pauls grandad in A Hard days night

                      Harry H Corbett I believe only appeared in 1 carry on film was it carry on screaming?

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                      • #12
                        Re: Steptoe and Son

                        Loved Steptoe and Son but not dad's army. There are a few of us dislikers about! My parents never liked Dad's Army either. It was always switched over as soon as those arrows on the map appeared.

                        But back on topic...yes I don't believe Wilfred Brambell and Harry H Corbett got on in real life. Not sure but think WB might have been an alcoholic. HHC was quite a distinguished actor and probably felt a bit typecast after Steptoe.
                        1976 Vintage

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                        • #13
                          Re: Steptoe and Son

                          I like watching the odd Steptoe, but watching a lot in close proximity can be a bit depressing.

                          Dad's Army can vary a bit, some episodes are better than others, it did suffer from being overepeated in the 1990s.

                          The was a docudrama about the relationship between Wilfred Brambell and Harry H Corbett a few years go. IIRC they fell out while a stage version of the show.
                          The Trickster On The Roof

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                          • #14
                            Re: Steptoe and Son

                            thats true regading harry being in that carry on film.
                            he was a replacement.

                            S and s also showed how tough life was back in those days which i like.
                            what they had to do to scrape a living so no woder it was a tad depressing.









                            Originally posted by amethyst View Post
                            Wilfred Brambell has been in a few films-Bert in Holiday on the buses,Pauls grandad in A Hard days night

                            Harry H Corbett I believe only appeared in 1 carry on film was it carry on screaming?
                            FOR THE HONOUR OF GRAYSKULL

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Steptoe and Son

                              It must have been a hard life for anyone who was a rag and bone man in real life.

                              But the Steptoe house was always full of junk,nobody mentioned about Hercules the horse,Frankie Barrows the crook of Shepherds Bush.Did they ever show them inside the skinners arms it was mentioned but I cant remember an episode with them in their local?

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