Harold und die Stripperin

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.

Steptoe and Son was massively popular in the UK, and sure enough in keeping with a trend that continued throughout the 1970s, it was a show that was guaranteed to have a movie spin off. In fact it got two! Such was its popularity.

This first feature length film has the basic traits of the show, the tragi-comedy aspects of a son (Harry H. Corbett) forever destined to be held back by his lecherous and unclean father (Wilfrid Brambell) are fully born out. All set to the very basic working class backdrop of a Rag & Bone family business.

Enter a stripper, excuse me, exotic dancer (Carolyn Seymour), who bizarrely marries Corbett and cues up a number of scenes where old man Steptoe single handedly manages to destroy the marriage on the honeymoon.

It's not the coarseness of the screenplay that hurts the movie, or some of the dialogue that has the PC brigade spitting feathers, it's that in spite of sound performances and some well written sequences (Galton & Simpson), it's just too bleak for its own good!

The gags quickly dry up entering the second half of the picture, which leaves us with only our good will to stay with characters that we have a mild interest in anyway. For hard core fans of the show, it's easy to go with the flow, but there's nothing here to remotely entice the outsider to venture further into the hygienically challenge world of Steptoe & Son. 6/10

Just rewatched this film on the Talking Pictures TV channel for the umpteenth time, and yet can't help but do it. Especially when there is naff all else on the box, even though I have the movie on DVD and can see if any time.

The TV episodes being barely thirty minutes long the stories, are necessarily structured to fit the time slot.

Unlike what may be considered more typical comedy sitcoms, these are formed more in the manner of short plays. The shows writers deliberately wanted that to be the case, they didn't want comics for the principal characters. No they wanted actors, who were used to that form of discipline. And were more than capable of handling a wider range, of emotions than in a straightforward sitcom.

All of this is relevant to the characters dynamics of father and son, in the intensely claustrophobic environs of their home and work environment.

I really cannot imagine any comic managing to handle more than one emotion at a time, especially not consecutively.

I watched all of the shows both monochrome and the latter colour ones, it was a comedic staple of my evening TV entertainment.

Part of what has always appealed to me is the natural dynamic friction, between Albert and Harold.

I enjoy watching both TV show and films however many times that is, and for a long time simply lapped up the comedy.

It took me quite a while before I finally started thinking, about the characters in rather more detail.

The more I did the less the comedy sufficed or more accurately was viewed, from a slightly different perspective.

I came to actually see the characters through my own eyes from where I was in my own life, resenting the dad and bemoaning what a pillock the son was.

Reading other reviews I see people bemoaning the film because its drearier than the TV show, that can easily be understood and explained.

That's only because the movie's longer timeframe allows, for greater character development. And they are seen through a wider prism, of the world around them.

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.

Steptoe and Son (1972) was a feature length movie featuring the two leads of the popular English television series. The plot deals with Harold falling for a "scrubber". Albert in his cruel and crude ways can see the marriage will never work, can Harold and his new bride work things out or will his mean old man ruin his plans for a happy family life?

The first film is a lot like the television series, a mixture of melodrama and comedy. A tad uneven in some places but it's very enjoyable. The second film is more of a farcical comedy and it's more accessible to non-fans of this brilliant television series.

Highly recommended for fans of the t.v. series and for people who want to take a peek at the original "Sanford and Son".