Re-edited to include the missing scenes omitted from the dvd release. According to the BBC the original tapes have sustained damage so to this is the reason why the ones that are available on dvd are the edited versions
Political correctness has destroyed real comedy. The whole point of comedy was to BE politically incorrect. Now we can't laugh at anything anymore, least of all ourselves. So sad.
Only bcs people followed the made up pc rules! if nobody followed them what they gunna do? Chuck everyone in prison? its not a law or act of parliament so why did everyone decide they had to obey it all!?!? i was an 80s kid and a spade will always be a spade.. i say what i like and like what i bloody well say 😂
it was pretty grim the extreme weathers, the economic down turns, trade unions casing mayhem. But i heard the birds were better looking back then and has a bit more dignity and self respect.
@@thehangmancometh1813 Yes, it was really tough. One man's wage brought up a family and paid a mortgage. Plenty of council houses for those who couldn't afford to buy. Proper sick pay. Free education and a full grant to go to university. Full employment with skilled jobs available not just burger flipping and part time zero hr contracts. Highest happiness index ever recorded for British people. And the best comedy and music ever made. Terrible. Absolutely terrible.
This is a stunning illustration of the absolute genius of Galton and Simpson. Two characters, one storyline, one scene and they made 45 minutes of high quality comedy out of it. In the history of television, very few have ever been able to do something like that.
At 44 years of age I bloody love this programme. My stepdad was nicknamed steptoe by me also liked this programme to. I used to take the piss out of him. He fixed everything with sellotape including his pants 🤣🤣🤣.
Comedies from the 60's, 70's and 80's were brilliantly written and portrayed Britain and the world at the time, great actors fine tuned their craft in classic comedies like (steptoe&son, Porridge, Open all hours, Rising Damp, On the Buses, The Good life, Dads Army, George & Mildred etc..) the list is endless , then the brilliant Only Fools& Horses in the 1980s. It was a golden age of great comedy that we laughed at, cried at, and savoured over 3 glorious decades. I miss those golden days of Great Comedy.
They’re so good that they still get shown at least every Christmas and bank holidays even though there are hundreds of channels today, just shows how watered down and crap tv comedy has become with various things effecting it.
@@susansherlock7474 Yes thanks that was after a lot of beer but he was from Dublin and so not British I think Corbett was born in Asia where his father served in the army.
Probably the greatest sitcom series ending ever !! Not only does Harold finally win after losing this battle for over 10 years straight , but - Albert's happy and none the wiser !! WIN WIN !! TRULY BRILLIANT !
The BBC and ITV have got a treasure trove of brilliant comedies from the golden age of the 60s,70s and 80s that will never see the light of day unless we watch RU-vid quite simply because they are so terrified of offending someone.They are not dated in fact the topics covered are as relevant today as they were back in the day.Something has gone terribly wrong in this paranoid.dystopian,easily offended World over the last 20 years and i for one feel sorry for those who will never know what it was like back when we were spoilt for choice.You can trawl through hundreds of channels today and not find a decent comedy.
@@Cheepchipsable I don’t believe they didn’t like each other , I knew his cousin David in Manchester and would tell me bits about Harry Corbett his war service etc left him as a chain smoker because of his nerves and maybe caused his heart problem also how he couldn’t get out of being the rag n bone man , even when he had a part in carry on screaming they played the Steptoe music, he said on of his favourite roles was in Trey Gilliam’s Jabberwocky where he as able to really let rip playing the squire he was a consummate actor his relationship with Wilfred was good and they made a huge living out of Steptoe even touring Australia several times but they did clash but had a lot of respect for each other , he told me Wilfred Was devastated when Harry died .
A masterclass in comedy mixed with deep pathos. Bears comparison with great literature, to be honest. I feel embarrassed to be British nowadays, but not for reasons Albert Steptoe would have mentioned.
@user-du8rm1yq4c HC got his in error as it was originally supposed to be one for HHC, but the middle H got lost in the paper trail so both ended up getting one.
The pathos in steptoe and son is very apparent to me.On the one hand you have harold yearning for a better life,away from father and yet he knows,deep down he could never leave him.They really do love each other, underneath the petty squabbling and it's to galton and Simpson's great credit that they combine the humour and the pathos in such a way that makes the show hugely entertaining.
Even more so, it's gone from 'embarrassed to be British' to offensive to even refer to yourself as such, at least back then England wasn't fighting for its very existence
Harry H. Corbett OBE (28 February 1925 - 21 March 1982) was an English actor and comedian, best remembered for playing rag-and-bone man Harold Steptoe alongside Wilfrid Brambell in the long-running BBC television sitcom Steptoe and Son (1962-1965, 1970-1974). His success on television led to appearances in comedy films including The Bargee (1964), Carry On Screaming! (1966) and Jabberwocky (1977). Early life Corbett was born on 28 February 1925,[1] the youngest of seven children, in Rangoon, Burma,[1] (now Myanmar) where his father, George Corbett (1885/86-1943), was serving as a company quartermaster sergeant in the South Staffordshire Regiment of the British Army, stationed at a cantonment as part of the Colonial defence forces.[citation needed] Corbett was sent to Britain after his mother, Caroline Emily, née Barnsley, (1884-1926)[2] died of dysentery when he was eighteen months old. He was then brought up by his aunt, Annie Williams, in Earl Street, Ardwick, Manchester and later on a new council estate in Wythenshawe.[1] He attended Ross Place and Benchill Primary Schools; although he passed the scholarship exam for entry to Chorlton Grammar School, he was not able to take up his place there and instead attended Sharston Secondary School. Corbett enlisted in the Royal Marines during the Second World War, and served in the Home Fleet on the heavy cruiser HMS Devonshire. After VJ Day in 1945, he was posted to the Far East, where he was involved in quelling unrest in New Guinea and reportedly killed two Japanese soldiers there whilst engaged in hand-to-hand fighting. He was then posted to Tonga, but deserted and remained in Australia before handing himself in to the Military Police. His military service left him with a damaged bladder following an infection, and a red mark on his eye caused by a thorn, which was not treated until late in his life. Career Upon returning to civilian life, Corbett trained as a radiographer[1] before taking up acting as a career, joining the Chorlton Repertory theatre.[4] In the early 1950s, he added the initial "H" to avoid confusion with the television entertainer Harry Corbett, known for his act with the glove-puppet Sooty.[4] He joked that "H" stood for "hennyfink", a Cockney pronunciation of "anything". In 1956, he appeared on stage in The Family Reunion at the Phoenix Theatre in London. From 1958, Corbett began to appear regularly in films, including an 'American' film Floods of Fear (1958), filmed at Pinewood, coming to public attention as a serious, intense performer, in contrast to his later reputation in sitcom. He appeared in television dramas such as The Adventures of Robin Hood [4] (as four characters in episodes between 1957 and 1960) and Police Surgeon (1960). He also worked and studied Stanislavski's system at Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop at the Theatre Royal in Stratford, London. In 1962, scriptwriters Galton and Simpson, who had been successful with Hancock's Half Hour, invited Corbett to appear in "The Offer", an episode of the BBC's anthology series of one-off comedy plays, Comedy Playhouse, written by Galton and Simpson. He played Harold Steptoe, a rag-and-bone man who lives with his irascible widower father, Albert (Wilfrid Brambell) in a dilapidated house attached to their junkyard and stable for their cart horse, Hercules. At the time, Corbett was working at the Bristol Old Vic, where he appeared as Macbeth. The programme was a success and a full series followed, continuing, with breaks, until 1974, when the Christmas special became the final episode. Although the popularity of Steptoe and Son made Corbett a star, it damaged his serious acting career, as he became irreversibly associated with Steptoe in the public eye. As a result, severe typecasting forced him to come back to the role of Harold Steptoe over and over. Before the series began, Corbett had played Shakespeare's Richard II to great acclaim; however, when he played Hamlet in 1970, he felt both critics and audiences alike were not taking him seriously and could only see him as Steptoe. Corbett found himself receiving offers only for bawdy comedies or loose parodies of Steptoe.[1] Production of the sitcom was stressful in the last few years, as Brambell was an alcoholic, often ill-prepared for rehearsals and forgetting his lines and movements. A tour of a Steptoe and Son stage production in Australia in 1977 proved a disaster due to Brambell's drinking. The television episodes were remade for radio, often with the original cast; it is these that were made available on cassette and CD. After the series of Steptoe and Son had officially finished, Corbett and Brambell played the characters again on radio (in a newly written sketch to tie in with the Scottish team's participation in the 1978 World Cup), as well as in a television commercial for Kenco coffee. The two men reunited in January 1981 for one final performance as Steptoe and Son in a further commercial for Kenco. Other work Steptoe and Son led Corbett to comedy films: as James Ryder in Ladies Who Do (1963); with Ronnie Barker in The Bargee (1964), written by Galton and Simpson; Carry On Screaming! (1966); the "Lust" segment of The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins (1971); and Terry Gilliam's Jabberwocky (1977). There were two Steptoe and Son films: Steptoe and Son (1972) and Steptoe and Son Ride Again (1973). In 1966 he appeared as a narrator in four episodes of the BBC children's television series Jackanory, and he also had the leading role in two other television series, Mr. Aitch (written especially for him, 1967) and Grundy (1980). Corbett had a supporting role in the David Essex film Silver Dream Racer (1980), and also appeared in the film Hardcore (1977). In addition, he had a supporting role in Potter (1980) with Arthur Lowe on the BBC. Corbett recorded multiple 45rpm records, most of which were novelty songs based upon the rag-and-bone character, including "Harry, You Love Her" and "Junk Shop". He recorded a number of sea shanties and folk songs. In 1973, he recorded an album titled Only Authorised Employees To Break Bottles which was a "showcase of accents", with songs from Corbett in a range of accents, including Liverpudlian, Brummie and Mancunian; the title echoes a notice which is visible in the bottle-smashing scene in the film 'The Bargee'. The album was recorded in 1973 and released in 1974 on the Torquay, Devon-based RA record label with support from seventies folk band 'Faraway Folk': RALP Including the album, he released over 30 songs. Personal life Corbett married twice, first to the actress Sheila Steafel (from 1958 to 1964), and then to actress Maureen Blott (stage name Crombie) (from 1969 until his death in 1982), with whom he had two children, Jonathan and Susannah. Susannah is an actress and author, and has written a biography of her father, Harry H. Corbett: The Front Legs of the Cow, which was published in March 2012. Steafel published her autobiography When Harry Met Sheila in 2010.[4] Political views Corbett was a Labour Party campaigner, and once appeared in a party political broadcast,[8] and was a guest of Prime Minister Harold Wilson.[5] The television character Harold Steptoe appears as the Labour Party secretary for Shepherd's Bush West in the sixth series episode, "Tea for Two". In 1969, Corbett appeared as Harold Steptoe in a Labour Party political broadcast, where Bob Mellish had to argue against Steptoe's accusation that all parties are the same. As Prime Minister, Wilson wished to have Corbett appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). Corbett was included with his namesake, the Sooty puppeteer Harry Corbett, in the 1976 New Year Honours. Health problems and death A heavy smoker all his adult life, Corbett had his first heart attack in September 1979. According to his daughter, Susannah, he smoked 60 cigarettes a day until the heart attack, after which he cut down to 20. He appeared in pantomime at the Churchill Theatre, Bromley, within two days of leaving hospital. He was then badly hurt in a car accident. The injuries to his face were obvious when he appeared shortly afterwards in the BBC detective series Shoestring. Other work included the film Silver Dream Racer, with David Essex, and a Thames Television/ITV comedy series Grundy, both in 1980. In the latter, Corbett played an old man discovering the permissive society after a lifetime of clean living. Corbett's final role was an episode of the Anglia Television/ITV series Tales of the Unexpected, entitled "The Moles". Filmed shortly before his death, it was broadcast two months later, in May 1982. Corbett died of a heart attack on 21 March 1982,[1] in Hastings, East Sussex. He was 57 years old. He is buried in the graveyard at St Michael the Archangel church at Penhurst, East Sussex. The headstone inscription, chosen by his wife Maureen, reads "The earth can have but earth, which is his due: My spirit is thine, the better part of me", from William Shakespeare's Sonnet 74. Maureen was buried alongside him in 1999. Corbett is commemorated in the name of the Corbett Theatre at the East 15 Acting School at Loughton.
Ah the times when you could take a passport photo using a polaroid camera, where immigration officials were human and not shielded with bullet-proof glass and when there were guards on trains who helped you with your luggage. What is most missed now is human warmth and trust.
I cannot believe it, I have just watched this episode 25/9/19 and Albert say's when we're abroad we'll find to which tour firm has collapsed and Thomas Cook has just gone into administration 45 year's later !
Always found this pair sad, if you look beneath it, it was clever writing. Two people who had wasted lives and couldn't live without each other. The son never did anything with his life and blamed the old boy and the old boy wouldn't let him go.
How perceptive of you Lesley thank goodness you gave us the rundown on Steptoe and Son 🤦♂️I mean where would we be without your breakdown of the show. Genius 😂😂😂
I agree Vashna3799. The old classic British comedys were first class. Steptoe & Son, On the Buses, Open all Hours, Only fools and horses. All could make you laugh. The modern "comedys" would bring tears to a glass eye :)
@@andyforshortbutnotforlong5351 They didn’t hate each other. They worked together very well, and they respected each other even off-camera. It was one of those rumours that was started by the papers. Wilfrid Brambell and Harry H Corbett went on tour as well, worked together perfectly well and enjoyed their spare time together between shows in Australia, I believe it was. As the years rolled on, Harry H Corbett was particularly frustrated because he felt that he was becoming typecast, and the newspapers twisted what he’d said, and claimed that he hated working with Wilfred Brambell, which was not true.
@@misterr279it was not true. They fell out when they were doing a tour in australia. Few shows a day, few days a wk. it got too much. Then wildrid brambell started drinking, not appearing fr work, getting drunk. That was the straw that broke the camel’s back. That ended their chemistry fr good. Watch the documentary: steptoe and son. Scandals and secrets. A very honest documentary by the people close to them, worked with them. They made television history. On any night S&S was telecast millions of people would stay home and watch. Harold wilson even had to call the director of BBC then to ask them to reschedule the telecast on his election polling day. One of BBC’s staff joked’He didnt win by a wide margin’😀😀
Even then , no matter how tough things were, there was always hope and a smile...and now it's all gone , and gone horrible wrong ... Just look around you, 😎
@@susanhill8332 Life and love are much the same, they go hand in hand , until you have experienced them you truly dont understand..there for there not missed, and if we miss and see the change , I guess we are richer for knowing of them.. and the possibilities of enriching others lives and thoughts lay in our hands .... Respectfully 😎
Brilliant script writing and great acting. Just an observation but did anyone notice the size of the Quality Street tins back in those days. Now every tin/packaging (including contents) is smaller in weight and the price much higher.
I had a mate in school in late 70s who did the best impression of the old man ever lol, he was one of them kids who had an old mans face when he was 11-12 ha
35.20 "you've got a father", killer delivery, to choke you up like that in the middle of all the jokes, G&S's writing combined with Harry H and Wilfs skills really was bottled lightning
Sad, that this should be the end, even though the show had to finish at some point. Two quite unique and brilliant double acts, one writing one acting...making history. We miss you.
Disagree with the sad part. I felt the opposite and super happy for Harold. Time to leave the nest. Plus, the kid raising the parent thing, I *get* it.
I love how Harold finally had it his way. And he expected his dad to double cross him at the train station. The end of something wonderful. RIP my brothers.
@@simonhunter8261Id hardly call that a win for Harold,, he was fooled for weeks waiting on Albert hand and foot. Albert was eventually going to make a mistake.
@The Joker yes thanks the raising damp episodes were so good I haven't seen them for ages I love The Likely Lads as well from that era Sweeney professionals tv is rubbish today I just watch RU-vid old school happy New year mate
"All them programmes are recorded in October". Wonder what month in 1974 this was recorded lol? Times have changed because they're usually recorded in June and July now. The quality is pretty poor!
One thing you can notice here is the level of general knowledge you're expected to have in order to get some of the jokes. Way beyond what could be expected nowadays.
Yes, you are right. We invaded Russia in 1919 without declaration of war - forgotten by almost everybody now. We've even forgotten Churchill wanted to use chemical weapons against the Bolsheviks.
“Has it ever struck you that life is all memory, except for the one present moment that goes by you so quick you hardly catch it going?”― Tennessee Williams..
This is a fine Christmas episode, from a fine series when humour and writing was superior. What have we got now? Shouty yo man gangster types saying "shit" every two seconds.
Miss all the fantastic Christmas specials when I was a kid. Steptoe and son ,carry on Christmas, black adders Christmas Carol, knowing me knowing yule ,
Harry was a method actor and took the whole thing very seriously, they even dressed up for the radio recordings, Willy just came in , went straight into character then washed, shaved & dressed smartly and no one recognised him as he left the studio..
I can see this was a well made comedy show. Unfortunately, because I am not British, I cannot appreciate it as much as someone who lives across the pond. But I give credit where it's due. And if it wasn't for this show, chances are there would have been no Sanford and Son.
you sir are a legend!!!! I have watched both of these now and am SO grateful to you for taking the time in doing these. the quality differs in places which is brilliant as it makes the cuts easier to spot. I hate the BBC for cutting shows. I paid good money for the 'complete' box set and then you find it's got scenes missing (i don't care what reasons they give). if you pay and they say it's complete , then that is exactly what you should get. I have put both of your versions onto a disc now and they are the versions I watch now. thank you once more x
