I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

"Steptoe and Son" set new standards for both comedy writing and acting. The quality of both has rarely been equalled and never surpassed. A lot has been written about the alleged animosity between the leading actors, Wilfred Brambell and Harry H. Corbett. To this day, those rumours remain just that. The recent biography on Corbett completely denies that there was ill feeling of any kind but admits that the two actors were never friends. For writers Ray Galton and Alan Simpson (R.I.P to a fine talent), they had a golden opportunity to write what they wanted after they split with Tony Hancock. Originally, they planned to write a sitcom for Frankie Howerd but BBC producer Duncan Wood rejected this for reasons to do with Howerd not being very popular at the time. That was when Galton and Simpson created one of the defining British sitcoms. After holding talks over what their new sitcom would be about, the ideas became more developed. No one but Wilfred Brambell and Harry H. Corbett could have played the characters of Albert and Harold Steptoe. Both actors were legitimately trained theatre performers and who had a lot of experience behind them when "Steptoe and Son" came into their lives. The characters are given so much depth, they are brought vividly to life. Galton and Simpson also blended drama into the comedy and the actors effortlessly created both funny and touching performances. Although there was always a bit of tragedy included in "Steptoe and Son," it never interfered with the comedy. It isn't every writer or actor who can combine comedy with drama. The series never needed much in the way of location shooting or lavish production values on order to create comedy gold. A lot of the time, the episodes played along the lines of being theatre which I would say is one of the best things that could have happened. Rag and Bone men, Albert and Harold Steptoe, are father and son. They usually inhibit an environment of conflict and tension. Relations between the two are usually strained, on account of the fact that they are always arguing. Harold has ambitions of various kinds so that he can escape his rather domineering, overbearing and devious father. Inevitably, Harold's plans don't usually bear fruition and usually because Albert sabotages his son's efforts and goals. The reason Albert behaves the way he does, is because he can't bear to be alone now that he is getting older. His wife passed away many years before whilst Harold was still a child. The responsibility of raising his son fell on Albert's shoulders and he was a neglectful father in more ways than one. Harold grew to resent his lack of upbringing due to his father. For Albert, his son was all he had left in the world. Underneath the hostility, father and son do care for one another. Occasionally, they are more united against someone else and the volatility is temporarily placed on hold. The series ran from 1962 until 1974, lasting 57 episodes. There was a gap of five years before "Steptoe and Son" resurfaced in 1970 and this time in colour. Most of the colour episodes from 1970 are missing but fortunately the black and white versions exist. I enjoy nearly all episodes but I think the series grew in quality in the episodes from 1970 to 1972. I can't stop laughing during those particular episodes and it's down to the brilliant on-screen chemistry between the two leads and the writing being of a high calibre. I would hazard a guess that Brambell and Corbett grew a bit tired of their respective characters by the time the series finished in 1974. They had had a great 12 year run and the viewing figures were something in the region of 20 million on a few occasions. The series won prestigious television awards and rightly so. There will never be another sitcom like "Steptoe and Son." It is a unique sitcom and its legacy is assured.

This is a BBC sitcom that's set in Shepherd's Bush, West London. It's about a father and son who are rag-and-bone men. It ran from 1962-1974. There were also films, plays, documentaries and versions of the TV series made by other countries. It's well-written and well-acted. There are many good performances from actors who only appear in one or two episodes each.

I am fairly certain that most readers are already familiar with 'Steptoe & Son' so I wont bother going into great detail about it. I will, however, say that it is one the finest sitcoms ever made, brilliantly performed with such realism and panache by its two leads - Harry H. Corbett and Wilfrid Brambell.Sprouting from a 'Comedy Playhouse' edition entitled 'The Offer', it was created and written by Ray Galton & Alan Simpson, whose previous comedy work included 'Hancock's Half Hour' and 'Citizen James'. 'Steptoe & Son' was nothing like either of those. It was more a comedy serial rather than a sitcom. The love/hate relationship between rag and bone man Albert and his downtrodden son Harold added a touch of drama and pathos to the show.It has also been well documented that Corbett and Brambell both despised each other in real life over the course of the show's run, a fact which, while unfortunate, adds greatly to the realism of the actors portrayal of their characters.Aside from great acting from the show's main players, Galton and Simpson's wonderfully crafted scripts helped make 'Steptoe & Son' the classic it was. Among my favourite episodes were 'Upstairs, Downstairs, Upstairs, Downstairs' ( Harold has to look after a bedridden Albert ), 'Oh, What A Beautiful Mourning' ( Harold and Albert attend the funeral of a tight fisted relative ), 'Loathe Story' ( the harrowing history behind Harold's childhood is revealed ), 'The Desperate Hours' ( two escaped criminals seek refuge in the Steptoe household ) and, the best of all, 'Divided We Stand' in which Harold and Albert try to lead their own lives whilst living under the same roof.There was quite an impressive array of guest stars too which included Mollie Sugden, Joanna Lumley, Leonard Rossiter, J.G Devlin, Yootha Joyce and Patricia Routledge. Two feature films were subsequently made - 'Steptoe & Son' ( 1972 ) and 'Steptoe & Son Ride Again' ( 1973 ).'Steptoe & Son' like many British shows was sold off to the States where it was remade as 'Sanford & Son' ( starring Redd Foxx and Demond Wilson ), however the original remains the best.

Fine writing, longevity, situations and the two actors at the helm made this the finest British sitcom ever and I'm not bothered what anyone says. Firstly, in THIS age where political correctness is rife, this scorned it in its own fashion, as perhaps many 'sixties/'seventies sitcoms did. The old boy, Albert Steptoe,(Wilfred Bramble) filthy in both senses of the word, tries to dominate and keep his son, Harold (Harry H. Corbett)down, when all he wants to is aspire above the 'Rag and bone' business of 'Steptoe and Son' .Naturally the pair have a love/hate relationship and this worked very well on screen. Harold at one time wanting to 'fill the old man in' and at other times protecting him.Obviously at their best when they're at each other's throats, at times they had other actors 'invade' the situations and you were guaranteed a great laugh. The favourite episode being where Harold divides the house in two (Including the TV) just to get away, somewhat from Albert.Favourite lines? The above episode (Divided We Stand) had the two arguing over an alternate night using the TV set, through the partitions Harold had set up (The TV was on Albert's side of the room). On arguing the toss over this, Harold said he had the law of contract on his side, to which Albert replies: 'I have the KNOBS (Controls) on MY side!'And my other favourite line in 'So to Bed' where Harold buys a new WATER bed as the other had bedbugs in it, from Albert: 'At least you won't have any trouble with bed bugs with that - it'll drown the little bleeders'! Sadly, this and other 'seventies classics have gone bye the bye. This series should have had more comments than just eight - it's indicative, however they may be repeats if shown on the TV, of how the BBC has failed to provide this great comedy to further generations (The same befell Laurel and Hardy, Morecambe and Wise etc). The series gained about 20 million viewers even in those days and when an election was due in the 1960's, Harold Wilson wanted the polls to open when it'd finished on that night, so no-one would keep away from the polling stations to vote - that's the power the series had!Another one given to me as a DVD box set. The two films were very good too, though I think the second one 'Steptoe and Son Ride Again' had the definite edge! Well done, Mr Galton and Mr Simpson!