Steptoe and Son - Now I know

I practically grew up on the iconic (and bittersweet!) British sit-com of the sixties and seventies.  I watched them all the time with my mum and dad, eventually purchasing them on VHS and DVD.  But, even when I was very little, I heard my parents talk about (what I assumed) was an episode where Harold got married.  Right up until 2024 I always assumed I'd imagined that, until I bought (what I thought was the 'Steptoe and Son' film that I'd watched with my folks as a child.

What I got was, in fact, TWO 'Steptoe and Son' films (the second being the one I knew so well I could almost recite it word for word ('Steptoe and Son Ride Again').  It turned out what my mum and dad were talking about was the film.  And, they were right about many things.  They simply told me that it wasn't very good.  Harold did indeed get married, but ended up choosing his father over his new bride.

Now, before you claim I've 'spoiled' the story with the above, I should point out that the film opens with Harold and Albert leaving the divorce courts once the marriage is over.  What follows is effectively one long flashback which makes up the rest of the movie.

Now, if somehow you're unaware of the plot of the sit-com this was based on... it's about a father and a son scrap metal merchants from London.  It's the typical sit-com set-up where they're stuck together and unable to leave each other.  Episodes go by and nothing really changes as the plot does that trope of being reset at the end of every thirty minute story.

The trouble is with the film is that it follows this format.  Not only do you know the ending if you watch the first five minutes, but you know why the marriage will fail and that everything will return to normal, only after an hour and a half, rather than the usual thirty minutes.  This wouldn't be so bad, but where as the TV shows were 'laugh a minute' the film swaps the laughs for a darker, more mean-spirited tone and you'll just end up barely being able to watch the psychological torture and cringe-levels on display here.

I know I sound like I'm being overly-negative, but as it still stars the two stars from the TV show and there charisma and charm is on display at all time, meaning that it is at least watchable for that.  It's definitely the lowest episode (technically a film, but you know what I mean) of the whole series, but, baring in mind that 'Steptoe and Son' is nearly perfect most of the time, the movie still stands head and shoulders of many of its contemporaries (but the next one: 'Steptoe and Son Ride Again' is a million times better than this!). 

7/10