A BBC play about the on/off relationship between Harry H Corbett and Wilfred Bramble during the making of the classic Steptoe and Son starring Jason Isaacs and Phil Davis.
Phil Davis really took on the role of Wilfred Bramble, haunting at times. Jason Isaacs was every bit the part of Harry H Corbett as well. A great film, shame there's not more in this class.
There’s other films on here like this. First one is called Fear Off Fanny, about fanny Cradock the uk tv cook, and another called Fantabuloso about Kenneth Williams
An incredible documentary play of that popular early 1960s series….as a child…I loved that tv series….but now….I see the work and the real world of actors life…back then. I’m sorry for the wife of Harry H. Corbett (Shiela Steafel a wonderful actress too)….the price to a career in acting….is high. Thank you for sharing this excellent tv BBC play…a very gem….with great actors like Jason Isaacs, Rory Kinnear and Zoe Tapper….with us 😊👍👍
This features a few false stuff but the other documentary “when Steptoe Met son” is even worse - 95% lies that. Read Harry’s daughters book, that’s the only thing to read if you want the truth.
I'm no actor and never want to be Choosing theatre over an opportunity like a sitcom on tv? Even considering it? Was this a product of the times or is this a real thing?
A ridiculously dramatised work of fiction based on the lives of real people. Read up about it--it's nothing alike the truth, and many people involved in the production of this atrocity were fired from the BBC.
I'm no actor and never want to be Choosing theatre over an opportunity like a sitcom on tv? Even considering it? Was this a product of the times or is this a real thing?
Harry H Corbett was a classic trained actor in the mold of Burton but not mainstream known then this came & brought him fame & money but it was his bete noire & hated it also. The great Steptoe monologues showed his acting fettle. Brambell was another Theatre man but knew what the score was with small box fame.
I remember reading 60s how they BOTH thought they were above the Parts so why do it, MONEY of course. Neither of them did .owt elae of note on TV or screen ?
The actors playing Harry & wilf done it justice.. I only know the guy playing Harry as The B**tard from the movie patriot which is another great performance
Sorry but this was a load of tripe made by people who had no connection to the men. Galton and Simpson knew them best of all and were not consulted. They have always said both men got on just fine. Also read Susannah Corbett's book about her dad and she also said they got on fine and Wilfrid even visited them from time to time. The DVD of this abhorration was pulled as was the original cut when legal action was threatened for its inaccuracies within it. Heck you can tell the deperation when people try using excuse that both men got seperate flights home from Australian after a tour. Of course they would when one was travelling to a family wedding and the other going on a holiday in a different part of the world. Finally, hunt down Wilf's interview after Harry H died and the bloke is in tears. That says it all.
It's well acted but the entire thing has since been banned by the BBC and withdrawn after they were sued for huge a libelous inaccuracies. A few of these biopics at the time seemed to concentrate on making the people as seedy as possible.
They didn’t hate each other as much as people think, Bramble wouldn’t have went to Harry’s funeral if he genuinely hated him. He was quite upset about Harry’s death as well if the stories were to be believed
I don't get how he could be arrested in the toilets... he didn't actually do or say anything- that part was quite shoddily done. They should've given him a line there... just standing at the urinal and smiling is a bit vague.
That was how cottagers were caught by police back then. One or two against one .... who is the magistrate going to believe ? If you're in there, you're it !!!
Well back then the Vice Squad easily would have done that knowing the score. Especially someone famous. You are putting 21st Century Homosexual liberation views on a period only starting to fight back.
Serious actors weren't supposed to do TV shows back then, but this one was exceptional. These days no one would think twice about an actor being in a sitcom one week and appearing on stage as Hamlet the next week.
Many actors struggled with the crossover from theatre to television, especially in the 50s, 60s and 70s. Although TV allowed actors to reach a much greater number of people than theatre it was also the case that many actors became typecast by a tv role (like HH Corbett) and thereafter found it harder to land serious roles such as Shakespear. The downside to being in a populat TV show is that once the popularity of that show begins to wane, the actors then find it hard to find any other work (except maybe panto) which is what this biopic is attempting to portray.
Why did I feel so down and upset watching this I remember watching this as a child beside my mother who never liked tv but always rushed to everything to sit without being disturbed to watch Steptoe and Son me laughing not at the Steptoe because I was so young but watching my mother literary laughing her head off and me laughing at her laughing in front of the tv not knowing about all this upsets going on. My mother has now passed too. Bless there sweet souls resting well ♥️😍
The play doesn't suggest they "hated" each other , rather that Harry H Corbett had ambitions to be a "proper" theatre actor in the grand tradition and always felt Steptoe & Son was a bit beneath him, and that Wilfrid Brambell's closet homosexuality (at a time when it was illegal in the UK) and drink issues effected him deeply and screwed things up.
They worked together brilliantly. They respected one another and they got on really really well. Wilfred Bramble’s alcoholism did tarnish his character somewhat, which irritated Harry H Corbett, but there was no fall out, nor did they hate each other. It was media spin and lies.
Many factual inaccuracies, to many to list here,but Tom Sloan the BBC executive, played by Roger Allam, died of cancer 4 years before the final TV episode
I actually thought this was quite good. In the production scenes ok it was Harry H Corbett and Wilfred Bramble but Jason Isaacs and Phil Davis as two individual actors told this story very well. There were times particularly with Phil playing Wilfred when I felt it was difficult to watch not because it was bad but very good. In the time they had, the script, the budget etc I thought these two guys gave a very real glimpse of how it must have been.
I have quite a few `Steptoe Album`s taken from the episodes or Radio Plays from the 60`s. The Thickness of these vinyl are amazing you could hammer a nail into the wall with them. They were released on the `Golden Guinea ` Record Label.
I recall reading about Wilfred Brambell and his role in 'A Hard Day's Night'. Director Richard Lester described how the Beatles would ad lib in scenes but Wilfred didn't partake. He said to Wilfred 'Wilf, you TRADE actor, you !' Loved all this series of plays. As a child I saw the episode where Harold breaks down trying to push the cart and felt moved by that, even if the cart didn't.
That little fellow, Wilfred, who had been in the Beatles A Hard Days Night, was a comedic genius. You know, these guys were actors. They had a hit tv show for years. They were paid. They wanted to act and they were successful at it. Why get all depressed over it?
I worked with Harry in an episode of Tales of the unexpected, it was about 6 months before he died. He seemed very alone, kept himself solitary and chain-smoked. It was very sad.
Steptoe and son was a british classic!! incredibly well written and acted with layers and nuances that are unseen today from when the bbc was actually worth the liscence fee and before it became a super woke left wing propaganda machine compare Steptoe and son to the sad sorry state of so called comedy today
@@Ajs_1988Spot on they did get on but Brambell’s excessive drinking could make him very aggressive and rude the straw that broke the camels back was the Australian tour but deep down they still had great respect for each other on another level. Brambell was a kind gentle and quiet person till he hits the drink and that side of him is what was obviously documented over the years. Corbett’s own daughter has even stated they were good friends and Brambell was also supportive of Corbett when he suffered his first heart attack in 1979 and heartbroken when he passed away in 1982.
A moving piece of drama but, as an ex-tv senior cameraman, I also do not understand why there are EMI b&w cameras on set, once the programme had gone colour. Dickie Howett (New Age TV) usually supplies all the equipment for these period pieces and is most particular about accuracy!!
This was dismal. Paints the actors in a very bad light. I’ve never liked the acting of the man playing Albert Steptoe in anything but in this he’s even worse. Neither of them sound enough like the characters in the show. This could’ve been done so much better.
Amazing!! Thank you Harry and Wilfred for the best comedy and the best laughs, such amazing duo that'll never exist again in the comedy industry. A comedy classic. :)
He was Irish but in his every day life he spoke with a "cut glass English gentleman's accent" (which is how someone in one of the Steptoe and Son documenteries put it And it's how he did speak in interviews as himself or his public persona at any rate). Review some of Bramble's interviews at the time. I can't hear any Irish at all. Phil Davis is one of the greats, and I would've thought he'd be a perfect Albert Steptoe. Problem was with this movie he was Bramble 99.99999% of the time. Also, I think playing Bramble-himself would be really difficult because he was always a character actor and not many people ever got to see the real him. Instead they got him pretending to be upper class, pretending to be English and pretending to be straight. How does an actor even begin to tackle that role with any sincerity or truth? Not with ease that is for sure!
+Ritchie Winters Galton & Simpson wrote this with them in mind, Harry & Willy had never worked together, it was pure luck they were both free and wanted to do it, the pilot was more a comedy drama than just a sit-com
For about 4 years around 1980, Tunbridge Wells Labour Party ran a large fair in the assembly hall. It was very popular and had many stalls from the local pressure groups. Thr event was opened by a big name TV star. Harry H Corbet opened the fair one year and he spent the remainder of the day with us talking to people and spending money on the stalls. He was one of the best guests to open the fair and a very nice person. I turned down a prize and he insisted that I should accept something and he gave me his hankey (it was clean and a token) The price of the hall went up considerably every year and eventually it was not viable.
Awful in every respect. They actually got on well until the end when Brambles alcoholism caused problems.Corbetts daughter testifies to this. A good part of this just didn't happen. The timeline was screwed. Neither actor was believable. Surely they could have done better than this ? Comedic royalty. They had limited work availability after it ended. Typecast. Their memory deserves much better.
Not awful at all. Well acted, and very watchable. It is intended as a dramatization, not a pastiche. It doesn't besmirch their memory at all, it only serves to emphasize what a fine comedy show it was.
Interesting how the craftsmen writers Galton & Simpson created such strong characters in Steptoe and Son that it lasted the actors for a big part of their careers. Did the actors become type-cast? Probably. But the programmes of Steptoe are part of British comedy history. Great
Thank You for uploading this. I was born 1961 Wales, GB and grew up watching these two. There were always rumors that they hated each other in real life. I'm sure they can both look back now and say WOW!!!!For what it's worth, you were and are the greatest actors the world has ever seen. You both created something so special that will stick around forever. Not a week goes by when I don't watch an episode of Steptoe & Son (or Rising Damp).We love you. You will never be forgotton. XXXXX
It's sad to think that both men hated playing their characters because as the British audiences, at the time loved them both. Steptoe & Son is still funny. But as a curse, I wonder if it really destroyed them. Interesting though.
Really fascinating interpretation! I was impressed. And was not at all surprised to see Jason Isaacs as Harry C, and Phil Davis as Steptoe! From the first time I ever saw Phil Davis I always thopught he'd make an ideal Steptoe! Interesting too how much of the confilcts and contradictions of each of their lives melded into what Steptoe & Son became. Harry C's character always wanting something outwith his environment and to be more than what he has been given. And Wilfred struggling with legality of his sexuality and the copmplications this caused in his life. (Or to parody his part in Beatles 'Hard Days Night' ''A very clean old man''.)
I grew up watching Steptoe and Son and still watch it now on DVD and love it more every time I watch it. This was interesting but Davis didn't get Bramble and Isaacs didn't really capture Harold for me. If only we had classics like this now instead of the shite they churn out. Praise Jebus for DVD's, Steptoe and Son, Rising Damp, On The Busses, Fawlty Towers, The Likely Lads... Ect. Despite their differences and issues in their personal lives, Bramble and Corbett are now Legends. It doesn't (and will not ever again) get any better than this. RIP and thank you WB & HHC.
Agreed on everything but On the Buses wich was rubbish lowest common denom stuff the writing in the Likely lads First class Steptoe First class fawlty towers First class Rising Damp First Class also but The buses? NO
I found this production annoying in its inaccuracies, especially the portrayal of Harry H Corbett for which I fully understand the upset it caused to his family. Some of the other inaccuracies annoyed me too, such as the implication that HHC's longer hair coincided with the switch to colour in 1970 when in fact his hair was only that long in the final series in 1974. Also, what's with the old black and white cameras still on set in the colour era studio scenes ? They managed to get that right in the Hughie Green feature of the same series. (Sorry to be so geeky !).
Adding to that, Tom Sloane the head of light entertainment played by Roger Allam died in 1970 but appears in scenes that happen well after that point like the A Star is Born episode from 1972. Speaking of which the clip recreated with a boy asking Harold if he is an actor takes place in daylight; the original was a nighttime scene after the play he was in has finished.
Yeah I did also note the 'day instead of night' gaffe with the scene recreated from A Star is Born. However, I wasn't aware of Tom Sloan's premature death in 1970. This massively adds to the serious liberties they took with accuracy. Actually another scene which grated on me slightly was the one showing the two SOS actors sitting in the BBC bar both cross dressed, presumably after recording the episode 'Live now, PAYE later'. However, in this episode they were not cross dressed at the same time, Albert having gone back to his normal dress in the final scene with Harold only then appearing in drag. So this would not have resulted in the post-recording scenario as depicted in TCOS.
david havve you ever heard of the bbc strike in the 60s and 70 even on the busses was in black and white even tho colour was available it was all due to strikes back then
This is the seriously edited version that came out on DVD after all the legal action. It did originally go on to Australia. The problems with creating dramas based on real people and events to show an authorial point. .
ive already seen documentarys about their private lives,its always sad to see the other side of the image you have,when they clearly were not happy with parts of their lives,i loved steptoe and son,especially the two films they made,i grew up watching them.rip Wilfred bramble and harry h Corbett, thank you for all you put into it despite the sadness and problems in your lives
Why on earth was this made out to be such a dark topic? The inference here is that the two stars despised each other and that everyone involved was troubled and preoccupied. There was even the implication that HHC was so upset not to be in a West End Shakespearean drama that he attempted to make S&S into a bit of a WS comedy. I know I wasn't there, but I feel pretty sure that this whole play is a wild exaggeration of the facts, and that neither HHC or WB were treated fairly by whoever made this. What a shame.
I've heard about this and always wanted to watch it but could never find it until now. Now that I have watched it I found it very disappointing. It wasn't what I expected at all. I think Phil Davis is a great actor but he didn't really pull this off as Wilfred Bramble.
+Walt Jabsco I know what you mean. Wilfred Bramble was, in real life, a gentle man. On screen as Albert he was a hard, edgy, self centred, git. That never came across. And the voice was too ...umm...soft. Not edgy enough.
TheSealOfTheRose No , sorry. David Threlfall playing Tommy Cooper was a totally different film. I have forgotten what it was called but he played it well. I would never have thought that Frank Gallagher could have played Tommy Cooper but he did it well.
Whatever the inaccuracies, this is beautifully written and poignant. The resolution of the main characters' lives through finding their own love was mvoing and beautiful. These dramas have given voices to their subjects, when, in their own lifetimes, they were silenced.
When you research in the right places, they could and should have done a much better job of this national institution. Very good actors in this but the makers and writers made a mess of it. That other 'documentary' - "When Steptoe met Son" - was a bloody disgrace as well.
They could have picked a thousand better Alberts to have played the one here. Bad casting all round. Surely there are proper impersonators that have acting skills, it comes with the job of impersonating. You need mimics doing storys of people like this to show how skilled thespian Harold really was to his persona as the rag and bone man.
You miss the point. It's a dramatization, not an impersonation. Actors act, they don't do impressions. If you want to watch an impressionist mimic celebrities perfectly, then you'll get something very different.
This car crash drama saw more cuts than a rabbis circumcision knife due to factual inaccuracies. It's entertaining enough, but unless you're the sort of person who thinks Wikipedia is gospel it's best taken with a large dose of salts. Are there people in your job you're not bosom pals with? Me too, that's life, sing as you go. I don't believe for a second there was the abject hatred between Corbett and Bramble that people suggest, and besides, they're both dead now so what does it matter? Watch this, enjoy it for what it's worth then forget it and put on some Steptoe & Son and marvel at 2 master craftsmen in action, their work is their epitaph, not rumours and Chinese whispers.
Bloody Hell this is about as depressing as watching Eastenders. Surely along with all the success there must have been a lot of joy too. This is all a bit one eyed.
Yeah it only goes for over an hour It feels like it should have been way longer I'm no actor and never want to be Choosing theatre over an opportunity like a sitcom on tv? Even considering it? Was this a product of the times or is this a real thing?
There was no "Curse of Steptoe", Corbett and Bramble got on wonderfully well as Professional actors for years, One couldn`t go on that long with dislike, You can see the respect and warmth in their on screen performances, They were of different generations of course, Didn`t socialize together or have the same interests but thats no basis for a "Curse", Ridiculous play...
Phil Davis does seem all wrong in this, particularly as Bramble was Irish, and a much 'livelier performer. His 'individual' cockney accent had Dublin notes at times.
So much chemistry on screen,wonderful acting. This fawlty Towers, rising damp, porridge, only fools and horses the list goes on,genius writers with genius character’s genius actors. ❤️🇬🇧
That was bloody brilliant!. I'm old enough to just about remember my Dad taking me and my sister to watch the Steptoe and Son movies when they were released...The TV series' I watched many times on repeat growing up..then bought the DVD collection.
Phil Davis really took on the role of Wilfred Bramble, haunting at times. Jason Isaacs was every bit the part of Harry H Corbett as well. A great film, shame there's not more in this class.
There’s other films on here like this. First one is called Fear Off Fanny, about fanny Cradock the uk tv cook, and another called Fantabuloso about Kenneth Williams
@@itsdebs I will give them a look for sure, thanks for the pointer Emily
@@itsdebs Fantabulosa is brilliant - Michael Sheen catches Kenneth Williams personality brilliantly
R.I.P.Harry and Wilfred. ....Thanks for the memories.
R.I.P HARRY H CORBETT AND WILFRED BRAMBEL
An incredible documentary play of that popular early 1960s series….as a child…I loved that tv series….but now….I see the work and the real world of actors life…back then. I’m sorry for the wife of Harry H. Corbett (Shiela Steafel a wonderful actress too)….the price to a career in acting….is high. Thank you for sharing this excellent tv BBC play…a very gem….with great actors like Jason Isaacs, Rory Kinnear and Zoe Tapper….with us 😊👍👍
British comedy best in the world
Wilfrid Brambell had an Irish accent didn’t he? Sometimes it would come out in Steptoe
Not true at all according to Harry H Corbetts daughter
Yep for 1 he was 18 months old when his mum died not 4
This features a few false stuff but the other documentary “when Steptoe Met son” is even worse - 95% lies that. Read Harry’s daughters book, that’s the only thing to read if you want the truth.
James Henderson his wife would of known plus friends, its knowledge that would of been passed through the years
Absolutely fucking beautiful.
Very Shakespeare.
Jason Isaacs and Phil Davis both superb.
I read a book based on their relationship, called ‘Murder to Work With’. Very dark.
I'm no actor and never want to be
Choosing theatre over an opportunity like a sitcom on tv?
Even considering it?
Was this a product of the times or is this a real thing?
Can't stand watching bbc..now...but that was fantastic drama..from Jason I...phil D. First time watching this 🙏🙏🤟🤟👍👍👍👍❤️❤️🎬🎬📽📽
I think it's ...magnificent.
Everybody just seems to whisper in this drama
I suppose it's meant to be 'moody' and atmospheric. Actually it was boring.
A ridiculously dramatised work of fiction based on the lives of real people. Read up about it--it's nothing alike the truth, and many people involved in the production of this atrocity were fired from the BBC.
I'm no actor and never want to be
Choosing theatre over an opportunity like a sitcom on tv?
Even considering it?
Was this a product of the times or is this a real thing?
Harry H Corbett was a classic trained actor in the mold of Burton but not mainstream known then this came & brought him fame & money but it was his bete noire & hated it also. The great Steptoe monologues showed his acting fettle. Brambell was another Theatre man but knew what the score was with small box fame.
I remember reading 60s how they BOTH thought they were above the Parts so why do it, MONEY of course. Neither of them did .owt elae of note on TV or screen ?
The actors playing Harry & wilf done it justice.. I only know the guy playing Harry as The B**tard from the movie patriot which is another great performance
Those were the days.
Wonder if anyone in the audience still remember the original recordings
Jason Isaacs love 😍😍😍
my older brother andrew was delivered by wilfred bramble's twin brother
when my mother came around she thought she was hallucinating
You may have noticed from 1965 and returned in 1970 they've both aged terribly in the real tv series.
Sorry but this was a load of tripe made by people who had no connection to the men. Galton and Simpson knew them best of all and were not consulted. They have always said both men got on just fine. Also read Susannah Corbett's book about her dad and she also said they got on fine and Wilfrid even visited them from time to time. The DVD of this abhorration was pulled as was the original cut when legal action was threatened for its inaccuracies within it. Heck you can tell the deperation when people try using excuse that both men got seperate flights home from Australian after a tour. Of course they would when one was travelling to a family wedding and the other going on a holiday in a different part of the world. Finally, hunt down Wilf's interview after Harry H died and the bloke is in tears. That says it all.
@James Henderson her older brother verifies it as does Galton and Simpson. All liars?? I think not.
It's well acted but the entire thing has since been banned by the BBC and withdrawn after they were sued for huge a libelous inaccuracies. A few of these biopics at the time seemed to concentrate on making the people as seedy as possible.
Quadrophenia and Harry Potter
They didn’t hate each other as much as people think, Bramble wouldn’t have went to Harry’s funeral if he genuinely hated him. He was quite upset about Harry’s death as well if the stories were to be believed
Brambell knew it was his last chance to be in the news.
@@markharrison2544 I genuinely detest Internet cynics...
I don't get how he could be arrested in the toilets... he didn't actually do or say anything- that part was quite shoddily done. They should've given him a line there... just standing at the urinal and smiling is a bit vague.
Suzanne Wilmott He put a fish on the man's head 🐋🐟🐟🐟🐠🐠🐠😲😲😲😲😲😲😲
That was how cottagers were caught by police back then. One or two against one .... who is the magistrate going to believe ? If you're in there, you're it !!!
Well back then the Vice Squad easily would have done that knowing the score. Especially someone famous. You are putting 21st Century Homosexual liberation views on a period only starting to fight back.
Is there a better version of this film on TH-cam, the picture is vertically stretched on my screen.
Don't know. Look. It's free. LOL
I love Phil Davies as a rule but he’s badly miscast in this part. I don’t reckon much to Isaacs either.
Harry was 18 months old not 4 when his mum died of dysentery
Why is this all squashed up from 16:9 to 4:3?
It's free. You're watching it on TH-cam. Stop bloody moaning.
Ronnie barker Richard Beckinsale
They blacked harry H corbits name what they made him do was a lie and bollocks
30
Wilfred had a Dublin accent not London
He had a posh accent
Only 13 years age difference between
Harry H. Corbett and Wilfred Bramble.
Great actors!
Is that all it was ?
Wow !
Serious actors weren't supposed to do TV shows back then, but this one was exceptional. These days no one would think twice about an actor being in a sitcom one week and appearing on stage as Hamlet the next week.
Quite right. Look at Ian McKellen's vast repertoire as an example.
Many actors struggled with the crossover from theatre to television, especially in the 50s, 60s and 70s.
Although TV allowed actors to reach a much greater number of people than theatre it was also the case that many actors became typecast by a tv role (like HH Corbett) and thereafter found it harder to land serious roles such as Shakespear.
The downside to being in a populat TV show is that once the popularity of that show begins to wane, the actors then find it hard to find any other work (except maybe panto) which is what this biopic is attempting to portray.
It's a story, it's not the story- viewed from that perspective this is excellent. Phil Davis is superb, also.
Hmm. If you hear Wilfred talk his Irish twang often came out , I think the best is Steve Coogans attempt, just didnt hear it with this portrayal
Why did I feel so down and upset watching this I remember watching this as a child beside my mother who never liked tv but always rushed to everything to sit without being disturbed to watch Steptoe and Son me laughing not at the Steptoe because I was so young but watching my mother literary laughing her head off and me laughing at her laughing in front of the tv not knowing about all this upsets going on. My mother has now passed too. Bless there sweet souls resting well ♥️😍
This garbage and disrespectful
@@Maxx1066 what ?
@@sandrahassan42 this show peed on the legacy of both actors.
Whatever their off screen issues, they were bloody brilliant together on screen, RIP to both.
His daughter says it was rubbish. There was no animosity. It is just a media beat up.
According to his daughter Suzannah Corbett they got along just fine, and respected each other.
Yes, Corbetts daughter has said they didn't hate eachother...
The play doesn't suggest they "hated" each other , rather that Harry H Corbett had ambitions to be a "proper" theatre actor in the grand tradition and always felt Steptoe & Son was a bit beneath him, and that Wilfrid Brambell's closet homosexuality (at a time when it was illegal in the UK) and drink issues effected him deeply and screwed things up.
They worked together brilliantly. They respected one another and they got on really really well. Wilfred Bramble’s alcoholism did tarnish his character somewhat, which irritated Harry H Corbett, but there was no fall out, nor did they hate each other. It was media spin and lies.
Many factual inaccuracies, to many to list here,but Tom Sloan the BBC executive, played by Roger Allam, died of cancer 4 years before the final TV episode
I actually thought this was quite good. In the production scenes ok it was Harry H Corbett and Wilfred Bramble but Jason Isaacs and Phil Davis as two individual actors told this story very well. There were times particularly with Phil playing Wilfred when I felt it was difficult to watch not because it was bad but very good. In the time they had, the script, the budget etc I thought these two guys gave a very real glimpse of how it must have been.
Phil imbued Wilfred with such loss, it was difficult to watch. How tragic to have been denied the love that was outlawed. It's just love! So sad.
I have quite a few `Steptoe Album`s taken from the episodes or Radio Plays from the 60`s. The Thickness of these vinyl are amazing you could hammer a nail into the wall with them.
They were released on the `Golden Guinea ` Record Label.
I recall reading about Wilfred Brambell and his role in 'A Hard Day's Night'. Director Richard Lester described how the Beatles would ad lib in scenes but Wilfred didn't partake. He said to Wilfred 'Wilf, you TRADE actor, you !' Loved all this series of plays. As a child I saw the episode where Harold breaks down trying to push the cart and felt moved by that, even if the cart didn't.
That little fellow, Wilfred, who had been in the Beatles A Hard Days Night, was a comedic genius. You know, these guys were actors. They had a hit tv show for years. They were paid. They wanted to act and they were successful at it. Why get all depressed over it?
Don Diego Vega Because the chickens in the yard were not laying any eggs for them..🐺🐣🐣🐤🐤🐤🐤🐥🐥🐥🐥🐥🐥🐥🐣🐣🐣🐣🐣🐣🐤🐤🐤🐤🐤🐦🐦🐦🐦🐰🐰🐰🐱🐱🐱🐀🐀🐀🐁🐁🐁🐁🐁
This Documentary has portrays Wilfred Brambell has a real life dirty old man but in real life he was actually a rather gentle person.
He was certainly exceedingly unpleasant to our school -outing group , without the slightest provokation.
I worked with Harry in an episode of Tales of the unexpected, it was about 6 months before he died. He seemed very alone, kept himself solitary and chain-smoked. It was very sad.
That’s so sad, sometimes our demons get the better of us.
He was an actor of stature, worthy of so much more.
What a shame, but at least you noticed
After reading all the negative comments I wasn't going to watch this.However I did and thought it was rather good.Watch and make your own mind up.
Yes, I thought so too.
Rather. It's BBC drama my lad. Always the best!
Its incredibly inaccurate timeline wise and leaves out so much
Performance wise is amazing
Steptoe and son was a british classic!! incredibly well written and acted with layers and nuances that are unseen today from when the bbc was actually worth the liscence fee and before it became a super woke left wing propaganda machine compare Steptoe and son to the sad sorry state of so called comedy today
The BBC literally produce sludge now days, utter unwatchable Woke cack.
@do br Specsave
well put
Respect to Jason Isaacs 👏. Great Character Actor . Love alot of his stuff.....
“Shut it, you! Or I’ll punch you into a sticky pile!”
"It was the golden age of TV executives, there weren't any." --Eric Idle (probably misquoted and misappropriated)
It's hard to believe they didn't get on off screen when the chemistry between them on screen was brilliant
Massively over exaggerated, they actually did get on 95% of the time
Yeah that was bullshit.... Another fine example of BBC shite
@@Ajs_1988Spot on they did get on but Brambell’s excessive drinking could make him very aggressive and rude the straw that broke the camels back was the Australian tour but deep down they still had great respect for each other on another level.
Brambell was a kind gentle and quiet person till he hits the drink and that side of him is what was obviously documented over the years.
Corbett’s own daughter has even stated they were good friends and Brambell was also supportive of Corbett when he suffered his first heart attack in 1979 and heartbroken when he passed away in 1982.
Really screws with the timeline of event, but both actors are brilliant.
Jason Isaacs is always criminally underrated
He was brilliant in Harry Potter and Event Horizon
A moving piece of drama but, as an ex-tv senior cameraman, I also do not understand why there are EMI b&w cameras on set, once the programme had gone colour. Dickie Howett (New Age TV) usually supplies all the equipment for these period pieces and is most particular about accuracy!!
..and nowhere near enough light in the studios ... those EMIs swallowed a lot of photons ...
This was dismal. Paints the actors in a very bad light. I’ve never liked the acting of the man playing Albert Steptoe in anything but in this he’s even worse. Neither of them sound enough like the characters in the show. This could’ve been done so much better.
Amazing!! Thank you Harry and Wilfred for the best comedy and the best laughs, such amazing duo that'll never exist again in the comedy industry. A comedy classic. :)
Wilfred Bramble was Irish, this is well off the mark. Sorry Phil.
Phil's acting was appaling
He was Irish but in his every day life he spoke with a "cut glass English gentleman's accent" (which is how someone in one of the Steptoe and Son documenteries put it And it's how he did speak in interviews as himself or his public persona at any rate). Review some of Bramble's interviews at the time. I can't hear any Irish at all. Phil Davis is one of the greats, and I would've thought he'd be a perfect Albert Steptoe. Problem was with this movie he was Bramble 99.99999% of the time. Also, I think playing Bramble-himself would be really difficult because he was always a character actor and not many people ever got to see the real him. Instead they got him pretending to be upper class, pretending to be English and pretending to be straight. How does an actor even begin to tackle that role with any sincerity or truth? Not with ease that is for sure!
He was from Dublin rathmines
@Conrad Murray
Ridiculous comment.
I'm afraid I'm one of those people who is happy to wear cotton without needing to know how it works.
Blackadder
harry and wilfred were the best duo actors in the uk of all time
+Ritchie Winters Galton & Simpson wrote this with them in mind, Harry & Willy had never worked together, it was pure luck they were both free and wanted to do it, the pilot was more a comedy drama than just a sit-com
jrgboy so what
+Ritchie Winters - Just saying they were not a double act or comic actors, they both came from serious acting backgrounds..
What about Hancock and James ?
@Mark Corfield aw, come on !
I remember at school all the class comics mimicked these two , happy days
For about 4 years around 1980, Tunbridge Wells Labour Party ran a large fair in the assembly hall. It was very popular and had many stalls from the local pressure groups. Thr event was opened by a big name TV star. Harry H Corbet opened the fair one year and he spent the remainder of the day with us talking to people and spending money on the stalls.
He was one of the best guests to open the fair and a very nice person. I turned down a prize and he insisted that I should accept something and he gave me his hankey (it was clean and a token)
The price of the hall went up considerably every year and eventually it was not viable.
Andrew Lohmann I remember this well & chatted to him for ages. I was a star struck 13yr old! Lol
The usual revisionist crap only possible once the victims are dead. Coupled with the worst casting imaginable.
Awful in every respect. They actually got on well until the end when Brambles alcoholism caused problems.Corbetts daughter testifies to this. A good part of this just didn't happen. The timeline was screwed. Neither actor was believable. Surely they could have done better than this ? Comedic royalty. They had limited work availability after it ended. Typecast. Their memory deserves much better.
You're expecting honesty from the BBC?
Not awful at all. Well acted, and very watchable. It is intended as a dramatization, not a pastiche. It doesn't besmirch their memory at all, it only serves to emphasize what a fine comedy show it was.
Interesting how the craftsmen writers Galton & Simpson created such strong characters in Steptoe and Son that it lasted the actors for a big part of their careers. Did the actors become type-cast? Probably. But the programmes of Steptoe are part of British comedy history. Great
Thank You for uploading this. I was born 1961 Wales, GB and grew up watching these two. There were always rumors that they hated each other in real life. I'm sure they can both look back now and say WOW!!!!For what it's worth, you were and are the greatest actors the world has ever seen. You both created something so special that will stick around forever. Not a week goes by when I don't watch an episode of Steptoe & Son (or Rising Damp).We love you. You will never be forgotton. XXXXX
Surely Richard Burton is the greatest actor
It wasn't them you know!!
How hard would it have been to get the correct spectacle frames for Wilfred Brambell? He was pictured in them often enough.
It's sad to think that both men hated playing their characters because as the British audiences, at the time loved them both. Steptoe & Son is still funny. But as a curse, I wonder if it really destroyed them. Interesting though.
Really fascinating interpretation! I was impressed.
And was not at all surprised to see Jason Isaacs as Harry C, and Phil Davis as Steptoe! From the first time I ever saw Phil Davis I always thopught he'd make an ideal Steptoe!
Interesting too how much of the confilcts and contradictions of each of their lives melded into what Steptoe & Son became.
Harry C's character always wanting something outwith his environment and to be more than what he has been given. And Wilfred struggling with legality of his sexuality and the copmplications this caused in his life. (Or to parody his part in Beatles 'Hard Days Night' ''A very clean old man''.)
Jason Isaacs and Phil Davis are absolutely superb in capturing the actors and characters.
No they’re not. It’s a shit example of the programme.
@@orthodoxblue7252
Beethoven had his critics
Name 3 …
I grew up watching Steptoe and Son and still watch it now on DVD and love it more every time I watch it. This was interesting but Davis didn't get Bramble and Isaacs didn't really capture Harold for me. If only we had classics like this now instead of the shite they churn out. Praise Jebus for DVD's, Steptoe and Son, Rising Damp, On The Busses, Fawlty Towers, The Likely Lads... Ect. Despite their differences and issues in their personal lives, Bramble and Corbett are now Legends. It doesn't (and will not ever again) get any better than this. RIP and thank you WB & HHC.
MP R 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😉😉😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Jason Issacs sounded nothing like Corbett.
MP R surely you jest ffs? 😂😂😂😂
Agreed on everything but On the Buses wich was rubbish lowest common denom stuff the writing in the Likely lads First class Steptoe First class fawlty towers First class Rising Damp First Class also but The buses? NO
@@chipperleon7204 On The Buses, aye. Shite.
I agree Phil Davis didn't quite get the albert character......Jason nailed it pretty good though. Good this though I have to say!
Picture looks weird it's all squashed up into 4:3 but it was filmed in 16:9
Ok, nerdlinger
I found this production annoying in its inaccuracies, especially the portrayal of Harry H Corbett for which I fully understand the upset it caused to his family. Some of the other inaccuracies annoyed me too, such as the implication that HHC's longer hair coincided with the switch to colour in 1970 when in fact his hair was only that long in the final series in 1974. Also, what's with the old black and white cameras still on set in the colour era studio scenes ? They managed to get that right in the Hughie Green feature of the same series. (Sorry to be so geeky !).
Adding to that, Tom Sloane the head of light entertainment played by Roger Allam died in 1970 but appears in scenes that happen well after that point like the A Star is Born episode from 1972. Speaking of which the clip recreated with a boy asking Harold if he is an actor takes place in daylight; the original was a nighttime scene after the play he was in has finished.
Yeah I did also note the 'day instead of night' gaffe with the scene recreated from A Star is Born. However, I wasn't aware of Tom Sloan's premature death in 1970. This massively adds to the serious liberties they took with accuracy. Actually another scene which grated on me slightly was the one showing the two SOS actors sitting in the BBC bar both cross dressed, presumably after recording the episode 'Live now, PAYE later'. However, in this episode they were not cross dressed at the same time, Albert having gone back to his normal dress in the final scene with Harold only then appearing in drag. So this would not have resulted in the post-recording scenario as depicted in TCOS.
david havve you ever heard of the bbc strike in the 60s and 70 even on the busses was in black and white even tho colour was available it was all due to strikes back then
The audience for the final episode in 1974 were the same and dressed the same as in 1962
@@mikemorgan7893 All four of you's sad basturds need to get out more for fucks sake
This is the seriously edited version that came out on DVD after all the legal action. It did originally go on to Australia. The problems with creating dramas based on real people and events to show an authorial point. .
ive already seen documentarys about their private lives,its always sad to see the other side of the image you have,when they clearly were not happy with parts of their lives,i loved steptoe and son,especially the two films they made,i grew up watching them.rip Wilfred bramble and harry h Corbett, thank you for all you put into it despite the sadness and problems in your lives
+Kim Smith Why is it sad to see reality? It doesn't diminish their performances on the show.
Wow what incredible acting guys thanks for the up load 10/10
Jason Isaacs could play the next James Bond.
Looks more like he'd be a good Bond villain than a Bond. Doesn't have the right look.
A fine piece of television drama, "you dirty old man!"
Not at all, It was a distortion of the truth, They got on very well...
Why on earth was this made out to be such a dark topic? The inference here is that the two stars despised each other and that everyone involved was troubled and preoccupied. There was even the implication that HHC was so upset not to be in a West End Shakespearean drama that he attempted to make S&S into a bit of a WS comedy. I know I wasn't there, but I feel pretty sure that this whole play is a wild exaggeration of the facts, and that neither HHC or WB were treated fairly by whoever made this. What a shame.
It would have worked in a drama about Jimmy jewel and Hylda Baker in Nearest and Dearest
They absolutely detested each other
They had a fondness and a mutual respect for each other. Quite moving
The book Dirty Old Man, authorised biography is very revealing and has much to say....Wilfrid and Harry got on very well...
I've heard about this and always wanted to watch it but could never find it until now. Now that I have watched it I found it very disappointing. It wasn't what I expected at all. I think Phil Davis is a great actor but he didn't really pull this off as Wilfred Bramble.
+Walt Jabsco I know what you mean. Wilfred Bramble was, in real life, a gentle man. On screen as Albert he was a hard, edgy, self centred, git. That never came across. And the voice was too ...umm...soft. Not edgy enough.
I couldn't continue watching it. You would have thought they could find actors that could do a passable imitation of either character.
TheSealOfTheRose David Threlfall was good as Tommy Cooper. He really nailed that.
Walt Jabsco I didn't get that far.
TheSealOfTheRose No , sorry. David Threlfall playing Tommy Cooper was a totally different film. I have forgotten what it was called but he played it well. I would never have thought that Frank Gallagher could have played Tommy Cooper but he did it well.
Whatever the inaccuracies, this is beautifully written and poignant. The resolution of the main characters' lives through finding their own love was mvoing and beautiful. These dramas have given voices to their subjects, when, in their own lifetimes, they were silenced.
When you research in the right places, they could and should have done a much better job of this national institution. Very good actors in this but the makers and writers made a mess of it. That other 'documentary' - "When Steptoe met Son" - was a bloody disgrace as well.
They could have picked a thousand better Alberts to have played the one here. Bad casting all round. Surely there are proper impersonators that have acting skills, it comes with the job of impersonating. You need mimics doing storys of people like this to show how skilled thespian Harold really was to his persona as the rag and bone man.
You miss the point. It's a dramatization, not an impersonation. Actors act, they don't do impressions. If you want to watch an impressionist mimic celebrities perfectly, then you'll get something very different.
This car crash drama saw more cuts than a rabbis circumcision knife due to factual inaccuracies. It's entertaining enough, but unless you're the sort of person who thinks Wikipedia is gospel it's best taken with a large dose of salts. Are there people in your job you're not bosom pals with? Me too, that's life, sing as you go. I don't believe for a second there was the abject hatred between Corbett and Bramble that people suggest, and besides, they're both dead now so what does it matter? Watch this, enjoy it for what it's worth then forget it and put on some Steptoe & Son and marvel at 2 master craftsmen in action, their work is their epitaph, not rumours and Chinese whispers.
Depressing as fuck. None of the joy, all of the misery.
A show from a time when the BBC could get it right a Tv Classic
Bloody Hell this is about as depressing as watching Eastenders. Surely along with all the success there must have been a lot of joy too. This is all a bit one eyed.
@@starquant Yere......because every marriage is abusive right?
@@dirkbogarde44 To a feminist it is.
Yeah it only goes for over an hour
It feels like it should have been way longer
I'm no actor and never want to be
Choosing theatre over an opportunity like a sitcom on tv?
Even considering it?
Was this a product of the times or is this a real thing?
I worked at Television Centre, that's exactly how the bar was, great memories. Thanks for this , new sub
There was no "Curse of Steptoe", Corbett and Bramble got on wonderfully well as Professional actors for years, One couldn`t go on that long with dislike, You can see the respect and warmth in their on screen performances, They were of different generations of course, Didn`t socialize together or have the same interests but thats no basis for a "Curse", Ridiculous play...
Dunno when they went to Australia 74 it was a nightmare for Corbett, Steptoe finished that year.
Actually, Brambell was only 13 years older than Corbett
No they didn't get on. Despised each other. But it's the filthy lucre that eats Harry H up, I'm a ac-tor don't y'know.
Phil Davis does seem all wrong in this, particularly as Bramble was Irish, and a much 'livelier performer. His 'individual' cockney accent had Dublin notes at times.
My favourite comedy of all time
Nobody could grimace or leer like Wilfred Bramble. NOBODY!!
the actor who harry h.corbett just mumbled his lines.
Michael Sandford He ate some frogspawn and was feeling a little croaky 🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸
wonder what wilfrid and harry would have thought of this remake?god rest their souls.
They'd probably be pissed off as it's full of inaccuracies and slander.
@@JeffreyKitsch
Yes a British Thing.
If something is good, 'lets see if we can find something wrong with it.
Two brilliant comedy actors with two superb comedy writers.
Pathos and Comedy at its best!
Just doesn't happen nowadays.
I wonder what they thought of the american remake.
@@gazza2933 More a BBC thing, i'd say.
So much chemistry on screen,wonderful acting. This fawlty Towers, rising damp, porridge, only fools and horses the list goes on,genius writers with genius character’s genius actors. ❤️🇬🇧
John Sullivan wrote OFAH 😂
Porridge - Dick Clemente and Ian La Frenais
Rising Damp
Eric Chappelll 😂
Fawlty Towers
John Cleese
Connie Booth
Best of British comedy ♥️
Class comedy, class actors.
That was bloody brilliant!. I'm old enough to just about remember my Dad taking me and my sister to watch the Steptoe and Son movies when they were released...The TV series' I watched many times on repeat growing up..then bought the DVD collection.
Think most are missing the point...
This was just very sad. Comedy distroyed two lives...