Steptoe and Son (1972)

Director:

Cliff Owen

Writers:

Ray Galton (written by) and
Alan Simpson (written by)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

Albert Steptoe and his son Harold are junk dealers, complete with horse and cart to tour the neighbourhood...

Plot Keywords:

Rag And Bone Man | Based On TV Series | Working Class | Father Son Relationship | Sitcom

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Wilfrid Brambell	...	Albert Steptoe
Harry H. Corbett	...	Harold Kitchener Steptoe
Carolyn Seymour	...	Zita
Arthur Howard	...	Vicar
Victor Maddern	...	Chauffeur
Fred Griffiths	...	Barman
Joan Heath	...	Zita's mother
Fred McNaughton	...	Zita's father
Lon Satton	...	Pianist
Patrick Fyffe	...	Arthur (as Perri St. Claire)
Patsy Smart	...	Mrs. Hobbs
Mike Reid	...	Compere
Alec Mango	...	Hotel Doctor
Michael Da Costa	...	Hotel Manager (as Michael da Costa)
Enys Box	...	Traffic Warden

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:M | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1989)

Filming Locations:

Adela Street, Kensal Town, London, England, UK

Company:

Associated London Films

Trivia:

There are two references to famous British poems in the film: "... into the Valley of Death" from 'The Charge of the Light Brigade" by Alfred Lord Tennyson and "the corner of a foreign field that is forever England" from ' The Soldier' by Rupert Brooke.

Goofs:

Continuity: During Steptoe and Son's night out watching the stripper, Albert's hair changes from ruffled to neatly combed and back to ruffled within a few frames.

Quotes:

Albert Steptoe: [About Zita] You can be poor without being common, and she was common!

Movie Connections:

Spin off from "Steptoe and Son" (1962)

Great tragi-comedy

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.