Yet again - the BBC produce an excellent drama - well written and wonderfully acted.
Phil Davies is always excellent, I thought Jason Isaacs was incredibly good - a wonderful portrayal of a difficult but brilliant man.
Found it very sad and wished it was feature length.
Harry H Corbett in his more pompous serious actor moments made the drama feel like a very good episode of Extras. Corbett mirroring Harold predicament in which he was stuck in his situation was really well played.
What he didn't seem to apprectiate was that the quality of Steptoe never waned and nor did his or Bramble's wonderful performances.
Totally agree, BBC have come up trumps again with this awesome character study of Corbett & Brambell. The choice of Davis and Isaacs as the "father" and "son" was inspired, you really saw the original actors mannerisms come through. The casting of Burn Gorman & Rory Kinnear as Galton & Simpson was also excellent. Overall, although I agree it could have done with being a bit longer, for example going into slightly more depth regarding Brambell's ill-fated move to Broadway, the Australian tour, the end of Steptoe, even up to their deaths in the early 80's, however this time capsule I think perfectly summed up the relationship (or lack of maybe?) they had with each other, and how that relationship eventually disintegrated into hatred. Well done BBC!
Lando Calrissian to Nien Nunb "That was too cloose!"
I thought it was brilliant! Really moving and insightful.
Yes it could have been slightly longer but still an engaging drama none the less.
Jason Isaacs was great. He really is such a talented actor, it's a shame he sticks mainly to working in American tripe.
Phil Davis was simply amazing though. I love Phil already but I was just in awe of him last night. The agony and guilt he felt. He really conjured up the deep seated repression of Brambell. His performance was increadibly moving.
Zoe Tapper was also good in a much smaller role as Harry wife.
Still, an amazing production.
Zoe Tapper was great, but Sophie Hunter really shone in the role of Maureen Blott.
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As I have said on the Steptoe board, I believe the quality of S&S DID wane in later years...this was alluded to in this drama when Galton and Simpson were running out of ideas and said "Let's just make it fkng funny", or words to that effect. We next see Brambell and Corbett done up in drag.
My opinion is that the show seemed to become very broad, and the acting of Corbett in particular very exaggerated and hammy - in the earlier shows he displays subtlety and poignancy, latterly he really looks like he needs to be reined in at times. Brambell's "Dirty Old Man-isms" also became cruder as the show progressed.
My body makes no moan
But sings on:
All things remain in God.
I watched it twice as it was quite a subtle piece of drama. Harry H Corbett bemoaning his rejections to the mirror were faintly reminiscent of Harold Steptoe's own desperate yearnings in the sitcom.
It felt as if life imitated art as the two actors' difficult working partnership paralleled Harold & Albert Steptoe's. It was also interesting how the two men's personal lives moved in different trajectories. Corbett, rugged and sexy, very much the man of the moment on the English stage in contrast to Brambell's unhappy repressed homosexual. As the drama progresses, Brambell seems more accepting of his sexuality (the brief glimpse of an Oriental lover). Corbett becomes a bloated parody of his younger self.
At the beginning, Brambell came across as jealous and contemptuous of Corbett's confidence (as an actor, in his sexuality) but gradually the younger man becomes trapped, just like Harold does in the sitcom.
The drama did end suddenly (no jobs apart from a tour of Steptoe in Australia) though the final scene made it clear that Corbett's tragedy was that of many successful actors who become typecast.
My only question is to with the scenes following Wilfred Brambell's arrest for soliciting and his subsequent flight to Broadway. It appeared Galton/Simpson decided to write Albert Steptoe out of the premise and replace him with a son appearing from Harold's past, so maintaining the father-son dynamic. 'Progression' as Harry H Corbett enthusiastically states before Tom Sloane utters with dread that Wilfred Brambell has returned.
A good drama, and one which makes you curious to find out more in the book written on the sitcom by Galton/Simpson/Ross mentioned by other posters.
Galton and Simpson have spoken several times about the 'new' Steptoe and Son, conceived after Wilfred Brambell went to Broadway to appear in the musical 'Kelly'. They were going to ask David Hemmings to play the role of 19 year old Alfred Steptoe, Harold's long-lost son. 'Kelly' closed after just one night and Wilfred returned, so the idea was shelved.
Interestingly, Harry H. Corbett was apparently not so keen on the idea, preferring instead not to maintain the 'rag and bone yard' setting with a new character and, instead, wishing Harold to achieve his dreams of breaking away and starting a new life. In 'The Curse of Steptoe', however, he was portrayed as being enthusiastic. The truth is we'll never know what Harry made of the idea, and what his reaction was when Wilfred returned.
There seems to be a dispute over the portrayal of Brambell's arrest and 'flight to Broadway' as you put it. The writer of the drama appears to have condensed time here, as Brambell's prosecution was some time before 'Kelly'. It seems Brambell going to Broadway was just a career move and not an attempt to 'flee' the scandal caused by the court case. Perhaps someone who can provide actual dates for Brambell's arrest and trial might be able to clarify this situation.
You make some really good points in your message, and I enjoyed your intelligent reading of the film.
Thanks, Scarlett, and thanks also for your informative background knowledge on Brambell going to Broadway, the idea for the 'new' Steptoe & Son.
I think that one of the problems with dramas rooted in the factual is that events etc are omitted, time frames condensed with scenes re-imagined and surmised by the writer; the real truth is often much more complicated as you suggest.
It was interesting to find out that Corbett, himself, was apparently not keen on the idea. Ironically, the rag and bone yard setting was vital, I think, though the comedy was always much more than being about two rag and bone men (the generation gap, Tory v Labour). It reminds me when Fletcher (Porridge) was released (Going Straight) or Niles finally capturing Daphne (Frasier); a lot of the tragi-comic tension disappears once a character achieves their goal (Harold's desire to escape his father, his humdrum life). The real tragedy was that Harold could never leave his father.
I also thought the drama cleverly used the speeches from Shakespeare's 'Richard II'. At the beginning, Harry H Corbett is feted as the Britain's Brando after starring in Richard II and then he poigantly utters lines from the play as he waits in the wings to shoot an episode of Steptoe & Son (the passage about wasting time in which Richard, the deposed king, comes to a realisation of what he has lost).
I look forward to the BBC4 play on Frankie Howerd, I hope it's just as good.
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