User reviews

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.

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.

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.

"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:- ***/*****

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

**/*****

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.

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!

As a die hard 'Steptoe and Son' fan of the British sit-com, I was a little disappointed with their first big screen outside (simply called 'Steptoe and Son). However, the sequel was far more true to the original vibe of the TV show.

It follows the exploits of a couple of rag and bone men - a father and son duo who, although polar opposites, never seem to be able to leave one another. The small screen series dealt out the comedy with the odd helping of black humour and dark sadness, but - ultimately - remained more weighted to the laughs.

The first film seems to veer the other way and dwell on the misery young Harold was in, depicting his father as an even more unsavory and scheming character than he normally was. The difference is with the sequel is... well, everything.

It's a better situation, has more laughs and feels generally more upbeat (which I'm guessing is one of the main requirements for a comedy!). I really find it hard to find a fault with it. I suppose I should mention that all humour is rather 'slapstick' and can be a little crude and visual. It's hardly 'high-brow' entertainment, but if you liked the series, you'll feel far more at home with this one.

Nowadays, I read online how there was originally planned to be a third in the film series, but this one actually under performed at the Box Office - possibly because fans felt like this would be more like the first one. If you like the original show, or just want a few cheeky laughs from yesteryear, I think this one is a classic.

Many of the British sit com comedy's of the 1970's made into feature length films often received negative & many say unfair reviews, basically because they're being judged on their-half hour comedy's on Television, these were difficult to write & extend into a full 90min feature, however, 'Steptoe and Son Rides again' works on almost all levels and as good as the popular series that ran through the 1960's to the early 1970's.

The story flows from start to finish with many very funny moments, it's only a shame they didn't make a 3rd feature, unfortunately this feature came close to the end of the BBC series, if you have never seen it, watch it! Tip: there's a Box set version of British comedy's where both of the Steptoe films were finally after many years were released on 'Blu ray'- difference is impressive and noticeably improved from the old DVD versions.

I purchased this around 2022, both films look & sound as great as they rightly deserve.