Steptoe and Son Ride Again

"Steptoe and Son" is one of my favourite of many redoubtable British sitcoms; we used to be, and still are, in the shape of "Phoenix Nights", "The Office" and "I'm Alan Partridge", rather good at this sort of thing. Yet British film comedy; or more specifically attempts to transfer a TV success to film, have largely failed. Often horrendously badly! British film comedy can only really look back to Will Hay (of whom I've never seen any films actually), the Ealing comedies, some late-1950s Sellers pieces, Monty Python, the odd stray triumph, and the fact that it has produced comedic actors great in American films: Stan Laurel, Chaplin, Sellers and others.

"Steptoe and Son Ride Again" attempts to be closer to the original TV show than the previous "Steptoe and Son" film of 1972, which was quite horribly trite at times. Galton and Simpson script, so there should be no problem there, but there is: pointless bits are included and coincidences are foisted upon the film to make the plot come together. Corbett and Brambell are perfectly in character, but what are they given? A lame duck opening to the film; that takes in a yawn-worthy plot device of a greyhound and a bizarre cameo from a portly, pallidly wasted Diana Dors. Who sanctioned this? We also don't really get to see the actors doing the expertly winding long scenes of Galton and Simpson dialogue, so familiar to fans of the TV series. Perhaps the makers thought they had to, with a film of 'Steptoe', up the ante visually in some way by having more 'action'. Somewhat missing the point about the series.

Once things get to the actual plot - about the insurance policy on Albert's life and the 'funeral' - the comedy finally breaks out upon the picture, like a supply of embezzled honey to an ailing bee. The lacklustre nature of early sequences is always in mind, however, as is the lack of real cinematic interest, despite the attempts at activity. Milo O'Shea is always a pleasure to see, and the scene with his drunken Doctor is a deftly played delight. The wake is pretty well done, and with Harold leaping through a graveyard, some interesting shots are captured at last, by the director.

This central plot is frankly not central enough, and the coda ending is really deflating in its unrelated flippancy. With such a blackly humorous, potentially poignant farce of a scenario, an ending of impact and subtle sadness - there has rarely been a sitcom as achingly melancholic as "Steptoe" at its best - would have possibly raised the film to something special - yet we return to the irrelevancies of the early part of the film. What a shame; with this film the makers managed to actually hit upon a good idea, but they squander its attending possibilities... How emblematic is this of the ennui and failure of British film in the 1970s...? Well, at least it has its very good central proposition; which makes up quite a sizeable sequence of very good material, I suppose.

Rating:- ***/*****

Jan 2022

Steptoe and Son ride again, the 2nd film is the best film and is also better than the series.

This is laugh out loud funny, and they stuck to the comedy elements a lot more rather than throwing in too much in the drama department.

Highly recommended, and surprisingly they continued making the series after this, i assumed the 2 films were add ons after the series had finished.

9 out of 10.

I watched it again last night as it was broadcast on BBC2. I hadn't seen it for quite a while although the earlier film was on a few months ago. They never fail to make me laugh. Whether some of the comedy is lost in time and translation - both the series and the films possess a good deal of London humour, west London in particular - I don't know but there are a good many gems to be found in the film.

Diana Dors' character makes only a brief appearance near the start of the film. It's when she pulls Harold onto her bed after offering him both her dead husband's clothes (and then herself!), that it's revealed that her old man is only freshly deceased beside them! The return trip from York put paid to poor old Hercules the horse. Two hundred miles and three days on the road would tire any horse so a replacement is needed. Unfortunately Harold gets conned at Southall (horse) market and Frankie Barrett - brilliantly played with menace by Henry Woolfe - fleeces him for his cash and sells him a blind greyhound instead! Barrett fleeces him again later in the film but I won't spoil it. Let's just say his embezzlement became more ambitious!

Look out for the location shots of White City stadium. It was one of the biggest stadiums in the UK, was built for the London Olympics of 1908 and hosted all manner of sports including speedway, greyhounds and rugby league (in the 1930s, being the home of the short-lived London Highfield) before being torn down in the mid-1980s. The site is now occupied by the massive extension to BBC Television Centre. The local tube station is still called White City.

As usual both Albert & Harold are deep in debt, and this is made worse when Harold gets ripped off buying a short-sighted greyhound from the local gangster instead of buying a decent horse for their rag & bone business.

Harold comes home from the business deal drunk to the eyeballs and Albert isn't at all impressed, especially with the dog and his rather large appetite for steaks & eggs.

Harold tries to placate Albert by telling him the greyhound is a born winner on the track and that with a bit of training the dog should be able to win enough races to make them a nice little profit.

Unfortunately the plan doesn't quite work out and the same local gangster is threatening violence if they don't repay him the outstanding loan for the dog.

With nothing else worth selling Harold decides the only thing left of any value is is father's insurance policy. The only fly in the ointment is that Albert has to die in order for the insurance company to pay up and thus free Harold of his dangerous debt.

For those who grew up on the BBC TV series of Steptoe & Son, you will probably be quite disappointed at this rather flimsy little story that is far too long for the movies and the comedy always feel forced & contrived.

The humour is often very black or vulgar, which in truth is no different from the TV show. But the real difference between the two is the movie version lacks the comedic polish & spontinaity of a live audience. Both actors seem to revel & interact far better in front of TV cameras and a bunch of people than on location with a film crew and a succession of takes & breaks.

The film has its moments, especially involving the training of the adorable little greyhound, but the bulk of the film is relatively forgettable. The acting is ok but the direction is very jagged & irritating to the point of being almost unwatchable at times.

For all the criticisms however, its still quite good for a Sunday afternoon's worth of entertainment when there's little else to do. But for purists I would opt for episodes of the TV series everytime.

**/*****

This movie could very well be my funniest and favourite film! If, like me you are a Steptoe fan, you will find this movie perfect. Albert and Harold are on excellent form as the cat and mouse father and son characters. They also utilise the whole of their characters from the series in this film.

The antics that made them famous from the long-running series is just what the viewer gets here whether its Harold having to go to work with a sandwich made from fag hash and mangle-flattened cheese! or Albert sneezing on a prime cut of steak just to get it cheaper ("It's not for me, it's for the dog"!)

The previous Steptoe outing was very commendable but I feel it didn't give us enough to satisfy us for 90 minutes. However, '...Ride Again' has to be the best movie conversion from a t.v comedy yet.

Trust me, you will enjoy this movie if you enjoy the series and the characters then this is perfect.