Steptoe and Son Ride Again (1973) User Reviews

A worthy sequel to both the series and the earlier film

[flicker1966 · 8/10 · 15 April 2007]

I watched it again last night as it was broadcast on BBC2. I hadn't seen it for quite a while although the earlier film was on a few months ago. They never fail to make me laugh. Whether some of the comedy is lost in time and translation - both the series and the films possess a good deal of London humour, west London in particular - I don't know but there are a good many gems to be found in the film.

Diana Dors' character makes only a brief appearance near the start of the film. It's when she pulls Harold onto her bed after offering him both her dead husband's clothes (and then herself!), that it's revealed that her old man is only freshly deceased beside them! The return trip from York put paid to poor old Hercules the horse. Two hundred miles and three days on the road would tire any horse so a replacement is needed. Unfortunately Harold gets conned at Southall (horse) market and Frankie Barrett - brilliantly played with menace by Henry Woolfe - fleeces him for his cash and sells him a blind greyhound instead! Barrett fleeces him again later in the film but I won't spoil it. Let's just say his embezzlement became more ambitious!

Look out for the location shots of White City stadium. It was one of the biggest stadiums in the UK, was built for the London Olympics of 1908 and hosted all manner of sports including speedway, greyhounds and rugby league (in the 1930s, being the home of the short-lived London Highfield) before being torn down in the mid-1980s. The site is now occupied by the massive extension to BBC Television Centre. The local tube station is still called White City.

The last of the Steptoe and Son films.

[Captain_Couth · 8/10 · 24 January 2005]

Steptoe and Son Ride Again (1973) is the best of the two films featuring the duo of Albert and Harold. Harold is on his rounds one day and runs into a harried housewife and somehow winds up in York. By the time he comes back home, the business work horse is stressed out from the long trip back to Shepard's Bush. Without a horse to pull the carriage, Albert dips into his family savings to buy a "new" one. But Harold feels he's a better business man than his father so he takes it upon himself to buy the animal. Hours later, Harold comes home with something Albert's not quite looking for. Will everything work out? Remember these are the Steptoes!

Unlike the last film which was like the series, a melodramatic comedy this film is more of a farce. It's highly entertaining and and pretty far out the lengths the Steptoes will go to get themselves out of hock. If you like British comedies or farcical humor then this movies just for you.

I enjoyed this film a bit more than the first film. They're both funny and pretty amusing. I have to strongly recommend this movie.

Now that's more like it!

[manchester_england2004 · 8/10 · 14 June 2009]

This is a colossal improvement over the first movie. It restores what STEPTOE AND SON is about - comedy in a depressing set of situations (poverty, down-on-luck, hopelessness, etc). This movie is much more faithful to the TV series and just demonstrates why the first movie should never have been made. The first movie was perhaps the worst spin-off movie ever, even worse than GEORGE AND MILDRED, and certainly one of the most painful movies I've ever sat through.

The STEPTOE AND SON series was not only the pride and joy of its creators Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, but also the BBC (for whom this was perhaps the best comedy at the time, rivalled only by DAD'S ARMY). The TV series has and always will have my 10 out of 10 rating without any reservation. A wise decision by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson to write the script ensures we have a movie that matches up to the TV series to at least some extent.

The plot is something along the following lines - the horse becomes ill and has to be taken away, and Harold is conned by local gangster Frankie Barrow (one of the best comic villains of all time) into buying a greyhound! Harold sees a money-making opportunity to be had, but the Steptoes have their work cut out! Later Harold has to pay off his debts to Frankie Barrow and finds the only way to do this is by faking Albert's death!

The mix of comedy and drama is handled well here, the touching scene where Albert and Harold say goodbye to the horse is a very good example of this. In the first movie, the comedy and drama did not mix well and the audience was left with something dreary and depressing, as well as being unfunny to the extreme. In this movie, they are left with something uplifting that sets the standard for the rest of the movie.

The mixture of jokes and slapstick normally seen in British sitcom movie adaptations of this kind is also handled well here. My favourite is during a scene where the locals are invited to a sale at the Steptoes' yard. Albert falls over and shouts to someone, "that's my tea, you silly old cow" or something like that. Side-splitting hilarity. Equally funny is a scene where Albert goes into a butchers and cons the butcher into selling him a joint of meat cheap. How does he do it? He coughs all over it. The expression on the butcher's face when Albert tries to hand the infected meat back is priceless.

The usual excellent performances by Wilfrid Brambell and Harry H. Corbett are delivered here. The movie also boasts a hilarious cameo from Milo O'Shea, in what is perhaps this actor's best comic moment. Henry Woolf also has a good time playing the local villain Frankie Barrow, a role he later reprised in the TV series. On the downside, Diana Dors is wasted in a pointless role as a widow whose husband's clothes she wishes to sell.

Overall, this is a genuinely funny movie (unlike the first). The light-hearted nature of the TV series that was stripped away by the previous movie is restored. This movie is not as good as the TV series, but it is a harmless way to pass 90 minutes of a weekend afternoon and it looks like Oscar-worthy material compared to the first movie.

STEPTOE AND SON and STEPTOE AND SON RIDE AGAIN

[Committed_to_nitrate · 6/10 · 15 March 2024]

If you're a fan of the original TV series then you'll enjoy both of these films although they are both very different. That series was of course one of the first comedy-dramas seen on TV seamlessly blending slapstick with biting social commentary and sometimes tragedy. Not wanting just to be a long TV episode, the first film tries to be a little more serious, a little more drama than comedy. Some people fund that a bit unpalatable at the time so the second film goes the other way being more of a traditional comedy film.

When you watch the first film you might wonder how on earth this is classed as a comedy because it is very dark. It does have its funny moments but overall it is quite emotionally draining as we're witness to Harold's life falling apart aided by his father's pretty horrible cruelty and mental torture. Besides YES releasing CLOSE TO THE EDGE, 1972 was not a happy year for the UK and this film gives us a voyeuristic insight into how depressing things were back then for the majority of people. Although it's heavy going at times and you're more likely to cry than laugh, it is enjoyable and satisfying. What makes this extra special is Carolyn Seymour as the girl who captures Harold's heart. She plays a stripper in a seedy club and as someone who takes her clothes off for a living she is of course very attractive but because she's such a great actress, she's also instantly likeable even though she's actually not that nice. Her character is just so real so much so that you can perhaps empathise with her most of all.

As a result of the negative backlash against the first film, the next one, in my opinion went too far the other way. Although maintaining the spirit of the original show this one decides to be a comedy and indeed it is a very funny comedy. If you're a Steptoe fan then this will make you laugh but maybe because I'm a miserable old git, I prefer the first one.

A fair attempt all told, but misguided too much of the time.

[HenryHextonEsq · 6/10 · 30 December 2002]

"Steptoe and Son" is one of my favourite of many redoubtable British sitcoms; we used to be, and still are, in the shape of "Phoenix Nights", "The Office" and "I'm Alan Partridge", rather good at this sort of thing. Yet British film comedy; or more specifically attempts to transfer a TV success to film, have largely failed. Often horrendously badly! British film comedy can only really look back to Will Hay (of whom I've never seen any films actually), the Ealing comedies, some late-1950s Sellers pieces, Monty Python, the odd stray triumph, and the fact that it has produced comedic actors great in American films: Stan Laurel, Chaplin, Sellers and others.

"Steptoe and Son Ride Again" attempts to be closer to the original TV show than the previous "Steptoe and Son" film of 1972, which was quite horribly trite at times. Galton and Simpson script, so there should be no problem there, but there is: pointless bits are included and coincidences are foisted upon the film to make the plot come together. Corbett and Brambell are perfectly in character, but what are they given? A lame duck opening to the film; that takes in a yawn-worthy plot device of a greyhound and a bizarre cameo from a portly, pallidly wasted Diana Dors. Who sanctioned this? We also don't really get to see the actors doing the expertly winding long scenes of Galton and Simpson dialogue, so familiar to fans of the TV series. Perhaps the makers thought they had to, with a film of 'Steptoe', up the ante visually in some way by having more 'action'. Somewhat missing the point about the series.

Once things get to the actual plot - about the insurance policy on Albert's life and the 'funeral' - the comedy finally breaks out upon the picture, like a supply of embezzled honey to an ailing bee. The lacklustre nature of early sequences is always in mind, however, as is the lack of real cinematic interest, despite the attempts at activity. Milo O'Shea is always a pleasure to see, and the scene with his drunken Doctor is a deftly played delight. The wake is pretty well done, and with Harold leaping through a graveyard, some interesting shots are captured at last, by the director.

This central plot is frankly not central enough, and the coda ending is really deflating in its unrelated flippancy. With such a blackly humorous, potentially poignant farce of a scenario, an ending of impact and subtle sadness - there has rarely been a sitcom as achingly melancholic as "Steptoe" at its best - would have possibly raised the film to something special - yet we return to the irrelevancies of the early part of the film. What a shame; with this film the makers managed to actually hit upon a good idea, but they squander its attending possibilities... How emblematic is this of the ennui and failure of British film in the 1970s...? Well, at least it has its very good central proposition; which makes up quite a sizeable sequence of very good material, I suppose.

Rating:- ***/*****

The best movie to come from a sitcom.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 10/10 · 18 April 2019]

Countless comedies from the seventies produced movies, Rising Damp, For the love of Ada, Are you being served? One thing they all had in common, was they were all poor compared to their respective shows. Fortunately the two Steptoe movies were excellent, and this was the best of the two.

The script is terrific, it's laugh out loud funny, and both characters are totally in character, another flaw with spin off movies. The dialogue is punchy and caustic, but it's the multitude of hilarious moments, that makes this so good, my third choice would be Albert snaring his neighbour, second would be Harold taunting his father with the mannequin's head, but best bit is the coffin scene, who on Earth wouldn't laugh out loud.

It's a favourite film of mine, that stands the test of time. It's a joy from start to finish. 10/10

Macabre oddity

[Popey-6 · 6/10 · 19 January 2000]

Albert and Harold Steptoe return to the big screen in another adventure that could well have spanned a shorter television episode. As always Harold needs money and his decision to claim the life insurance of his father before he has died leads to a very odd and surreal set of events. Odd to say the least, the finale includes a series of macabre but funny misadventures such as being trapped inside a coffin? Top marks for humour with the training of the greyhound in earlier scenes but woeful for the scenes with Diana Dors and also wooden the rag and bone fraternity. Another 1970s transition that does not quite make it. The British series was far more carefully written and beautifully acted by the two main players and is consequently highly recommended.

Harold! Come and undo me!

[devilgonnatemptyou · 10/10 · 28 April 2008]

This movie could very well be my funniest and favourite film! If, like me you are a Steptoe fan, you will find this movie perfect. Albert and Harold are on excellent form as the cat and mouse father and son characters. They also utilise the whole of their characters from the series in this film.

The antics that made them famous from the long-running series is just what the viewer gets here whether its Harold having to go to work with a sandwich made from fag hash and mangle-flattened cheese! or Albert sneezing on a prime cut of steak just to get it cheaper ("It's not for me, it's for the dog"!)

The previous Steptoe outing was very commendable but I feel it didn't give us enough to satisfy us for 90 minutes. However, '...Ride Again' has to be the best movie conversion from a t.v comedy yet.

Trust me, you will enjoy this movie if you enjoy the series and the characters then this is perfect.

Deserving of resurrection

[jaibo · 6/10 · 30 July 2008]

Okay, so the second Steptoe movie isn't up to the best of the television series, and doesn't reach the same bitter-sweet place that the first movie finally does, yet there's some decent laughs to be had along the way to a riotous last twenty minutes.

The Steptoe's horse has to be retired, so the pair cash in the old man's life savings and go off to buy a new horse. Things get complicated when Harold, the son, wastes the money on a blind greyhound who loses every race. This little "investment" puts them in hock to a local gangster, and they must find £160 or some serious violence will be inflicted upon them (it's amazing the amount of 70s Brit comedy that revolves around being threatened by heavies - what does that say about the then society and economy?). Hope arises from the fact that Steptoe senior has an insurance policy on his life, so the two of them fake his death.

Laughs are to be had from the pair's attempts to make the blind greyhound run, and from the blind drunk doctor's signing of Dad's death certificate. Things get better when all the local rag and bone men, and their vulgar wives, turn up for the wake and proceed to have a drunken rave up. More complications, and the living old man is taken to the grave in a coffin, surrounded by a quite magnificent rag-man's funeral procession, which is a bit of a wake for a dying way of life (as one of the characters admits). But the best is yet to come: at the graveyard, the Priest utters meaningless words about the resurrection of the body but, when he sees the body being resurrected, he runs afrighted about the graveyard as if he was encountering a cockney version of the Night of the Living Dead! The film manages to show up the hypocrisy of a faith that has come to be no more than words intoned without belief behind them; genuinely Ortonesque comedy, far better than the Loot film adaptation which Galton and Simpson screwed up completely.

The film ends with father and son restored to life, and linked in the ownership of a racehorse with another fading British institution: the royal family. In such ways does the film subtly suggest that an old vision of Britain will soon to run its last race. It is an afterlife that both the Steptoes and the Windsors are living now...

Not good

[farne · 4/10 · 5 January 2005]

Along with Dad's Army, Steptoe & Son was probably one of the top two British TV comedy series of the late '60s and early '70s. Running from 1962-1974 Ray Galton and Alan Simpson's series was an enormous hit for the BBC, and even spawned a very inferior US remake Sanford and Son. However, like many comedy series of the 1970s, Steptoe & Son barely survived the transition to the big screen.

The first film, Steptoe and Son, was just about acceptable, and was a surprisingly big hit in the UK. Steptoe and Son Ride Again, however, really scrapes the bottom of the barrel. This time Harold (Harry H. Corbett) loses a fortune buying a deaf greyhound (don't ask), and must fake his father's death to claim on the insurance money with, as they say, hilarious consequences.

Or not, in this case. Steptoe & Son was never a cosy series, but the story and scripting here are mean-spirited, and barely raise a titter. In order to provide something different from the TV shows, film versions like this often went for vulgarity over wit, and what seemed funny in a half hour episode became over-stretched at nearly three times that length. Some shows were no good anyway. It's not possible, for example, to make a silk purse out of Man About the House, but it's particularly dispiriting to see a series of the quality of Steptoe and Son descend to this level. This is not the best way to remember this series, and anyone who wants an introduction to it would be better off watching any one of the original TV episodes.

Excellent

[tkeator · 10/10 · 29 March 2006]

True fans of Steptoe and Son will love this movie. I have both the Television series and the movies on DVD. I cannot agree with the negative remarks made by the previous reviewer. (btw, The dog was blind, not deaf, thus the glasses and contact lenses) I have watched this movie dozens of times now and still love it. Dr. Popplewell (Milo O'Shea) examining the 'dead' body is one of the highlights of the film. Much of the humor can be missed if one watches the movie casually. (The inebriated doctor grabbing one of the liquor bottles from the dresser on his way out following the medical examination for example) I never tire of watching this movie or the TV series.

Steptoe & Son Are Flogging A Dead Horse here!

[Sonatine97 · 6/10 · 20 August 2002]

As usual both Albert & Harold are deep in debt, and this is made worse when Harold gets ripped off buying a short-sighted greyhound from the local gangster instead of buying a decent horse for their rag & bone business.

Harold comes home from the business deal drunk to the eyeballs and Albert isn't at all impressed, especially with the dog and his rather large appetite for steaks & eggs.

Harold tries to placate Albert by telling him the greyhound is a born winner on the track and that with a bit of training the dog should be able to win enough races to make them a nice little profit.

Unfortunately the plan doesn't quite work out and the same local gangster is threatening violence if they don't repay him the outstanding loan for the dog.

With nothing else worth selling Harold decides the only thing left of any value is is father's insurance policy. The only fly in the ointment is that Albert has to die in order for the insurance company to pay up and thus free Harold of his dangerous debt.

For those who grew up on the BBC TV series of Steptoe & Son, you will probably be quite disappointed at this rather flimsy little story that is far too long for the movies and the comedy always feel forced & contrived.

The humour is often very black or vulgar, which in truth is no different from the TV show. But the real difference between the two is the movie version lacks the comedic polish & spontinaity of a live audience. Both actors seem to revel & interact far better in front of TV cameras and a bunch of people than on location with a film crew and a succession of takes & breaks.

The film has its moments, especially involving the training of the adorable little greyhound, but the bulk of the film is relatively forgettable. The acting is ok but the direction is very jagged & irritating to the point of being almost unwatchable at times.

For all the criticisms however, its still quite good for a Sunday afternoon's worth of entertainment when there's little else to do. But for purists I would opt for episodes of the TV series everytime.

**/*****

Albert & Harold go to the dogs!

[ShadeGrenade · 9/10 · 7 June 2009]

Like a lot of '70's sitcoms, 'Steptoe & Son' was turned into a movie. So successful was the movie in question it was granted the rare honour of a sequel. I used to think the first was the better of the two, but after recently viewing both I have changed my mind. The second is the funniest by far. Unlike the first, the plot is episodic, slightly macabre at times, particularly the opening where Diana Dors' housewife wants to make love to Harold with her dead husband in the same room to the last section where Harold fakes Albert's death in order to pull off an insurance scam.

Brambell and Corbett are as excellent as ever, and the supporting cast includes old reliables such as Frank Thornton, Geoffrey Bayldon, Sam Kydd, Neil McCarthy, Yootha Joyce and Milo O'Shea ( as drunken 'Dr.Popplewell' ).

Unfortunately, the Steptoe family are a different bunch to the one we got in the classic episode 'Oh What A Beautiful Mourning'. It would have been nice to have seen 'Potty Ada' ( Rita Webb ) and bible-thumping Nobby ( Tommy Godfrey ) again, and not just for reasons of continuity.

Henry Woolf's self-styled 'Godfather of Shepherd's Bush' Frankie Barrow appeared the following year in the episode 'The Seven Steptoerai'.

Plenty of visual comedy ( more so than the first film ) including the sight of the Steptoes trying to train their greyhound Hercules, Albert killing and eating his neighbour's chickens, Harold almost frightening his father to death with the head of a shop window dummy, Albert rising out of his coffin and screaming, and Harold being knocked out when a van door hits him in the face.

Funniest moment - Harold, emerging from a crypt, wearing a hospital gown and his head wrapped in bandages. He looks like one of the living dead, and almost causes the Vicar ( Geoffrey Bayldon ) to drop dead of fright! Directed by Peter Sykes, who made a number of the 'Tara King' episodes of 'The Avengers' and the Frankie Howerd classic 'The House In Nightmare Park'.

Perhaps the pinnacle of the '70s British movie adaptations of TV series

[Leofwine_draca · 8/10 · 26 December 2016]

STEPTOE AND SON RIDE AGAIN is the second and last of the big screen adaptations of TV's Steptoe and Son, following the previous year's debut instalment. Unfortunately this film didn't do very well at the cinemas, so plans for a third part were scrapped. I find that a real pity, because I thought STEPTOE AND SON RIDE AGAIN was absolutely hilarious; certainly the pinnacle of the 1970s-era movies-adapted-from-British-sitcoms sub-genre which threw up a lot of duds over the years.

There's no subtlety or magic here, it's simply that the script is funny and consistently funny with it. From the opening scene with Steptoe making Albert's sandwiches and liberally filling them with cigarette ash, I knew I was in for a good time and this film never disappoints. The story is episodic, featuring greyhound racing at first and then moving into an elaborate life insurance scam, but this stops it feeling repetitive, there's always something new around the corner. A lot of the laughs are quite low brow, involving dirt, degradation, and grime, but it's done in a non-malicious and non-stupid way unlike modern comedy.

Brambell and Corbett can't be faulted and could have done this stuff in their sleep by this stage of their careers, but there's so much mileage in their characters and their relationship that the laughs never feel forced. Director Peter Sykes had a hugely interesting career, directing VENOM and THE HOUSE IN NIGHTMARE PARK as well as DEMONS OF THE MIND and TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER for Hammer, and this is another feather in his cap. The supporting cast is also fine and has memorable parts for a befuddled Milo O'Shea as the doctor, Diana Dors as a sex-mad housewife, and latterly the likes of Frank Thornton, Sam Kydd, Bill Maynard, Yootha Joyce, and Geoffrey Bayldon. Altogether this is a fine and funny viewing experience and one I thoroughly enjoyed.

Hilarious

[glenn-aylett · 9/10 · 29 December 2021]

My brother loaned me the DVD of Steptoe and Son Ride Again as an alternative to the boring Christmas Day television and the whole film was hilarious from start to finish and as good as the BBC series.

The plot concerns the Steptoes having to buy a new horse as their cart horse has become lame due to accidentally being transported to York in a removal lorry and Harold having to take the horse and cart back to London( a hilarious scene early on). Instead of buying a new horse, Harold ends up buying a short sighted greyhound from a local gangster for £ 80 that is supposed to make the Steptoes rich. However, when the greyhound fails to win and the Steptoes owe the gangster money with the threat of violence, Albert fakes his death to claim £ 1000 in life insurance.

Steptoe And Son Ride Again made me laugh from start to finish. There is a hilarious scene where Harold is seduced by Diana Dors, only to find her dead husband lying in bed, and he makes a very quick escape. The scenes at Albert's wake where people seem almost glad he is dead, Harold going to the wrong funeral, and Albert coming back from the dead as he is being buried left me in stitches. Also Milo O Shea is on top form as an alcoholic doctor who is conned into signing Albert's death certificate and the greyhound is a star in its own right, running riot in a park and taking off during a race at White City.

While many sitcom spin offs from the seventies were poor, this one is a classic and is worth watching as Harry H Corbett and Wilfrid Brambell shine again as the Steptoes.

British comedy at its best

[chrisjones-51312 · 10/10 · 31 December 2021]

This film is hilarious, as usual the steptoes deliver top notch comedy, it's hard to belive the two main characters hated each other in real life as they gel together in such a manner they could pass as father and son, I'm slightly confused by farne who reviewed this film as not good especially considering he said the dog they buy is deaf, it's not deaf it is blind so did he even watch the film or is he just trolling a british masterpeice, atleast get the review right if your going to slate a film in fact just dont bother leaving a review.

An underrated diamond ring in the manure

[brexitstageleft · 9/10 · 14 November 2022]

Yes, i know the ring in the manure scene is from the first movie but i couldn't resist. The first film is ok, if a bit uninspiring. It has it's moments. But the second film is peak Steptoe. I must have seen it a hundred times, but it's still great to put on and chill out to.

With a lot of the series episodes disappointingly only surviving as really poor quality home recordings, plus the Christmas specials being butchered on the official dvd, Steptoe and Son Ride Again stands as one of the most enjoyabe highlights from the entire show.

A real shame that there were no more movies, so many good ideas were possible. The Desperate Hours and Divided We Stand would have made excellent feature length movies. As great as they are, 30 minutes feels a bit of a waste of pure comedy gold.

Only Fools & Horses and One Foot in the Grave would later (re) prove that you can easily stretch out a sitcom to an hour or more without it feeling slow. The longer format allows a comedy show to breathe, or at least it does if you do it well. Steptoe and Son Ride Again and the Porridge movie were earlier examples of how it can work a real treat. 94 minutes flies by when you're having fun!

Steptoe and Son..2nd film

[gorytus-20672 · 9/10 · 19 January 2022]

Jan 2022

Steptoe and Son ride again, the 2nd film is the best film and is also better than the series.

This is laugh out loud funny, and they stuck to the comedy elements a lot more rather than throwing in too much in the drama department.

Highly recommended, and surprisingly they continued making the series after this, i assumed the 2 films were add ons after the series had finished.

9 out of 10.