The Curse Of Steptoe & Son

[marwel7]

I've just watched this and there was as scene where the two Steptoes were in drag in the bar after the show.Which episode was this and why were they in drag?

[Postdog]

Dunno the episodes title, but the plotline involve Albert claiming off the state for Mrs Steptoe, and they wanted to see her, so Albert dragged up and pretended to be her. There was a twist (can't remember what) and that required Harold to drag up too.

[Postdog]

Just checked, and it was the episode "Live now, P.A.Y.E later"

http://www.tv.com/steptoe-and-son/show/4467/ep isode_guide.html?season=7&tag=season_nav;next

[marwel7]

Thanks.
I thought Curse was great,but I did get a little confused about the timeline of when things happened towards the end.

[vehelpfulguy]

>but I did get a little confused about the timeline of when things happened towards the end.

Yes, it did seem to jump a few years. I think what gave it away was that Harry had got longer hair, and had put on a bit of weight.

Then at the very end you saw him with his child who was 4 or 5 showing another jump.

Basically they made the first series of Steptoe (1962-65), then stopped for a few years, then made some more (70-74) when Harry had longer hair.

The invitation to visit Australia came a few years after the last Steptoe TV series.

[vehelpfulguy]

Putting this in as 2 answers as AB will not let me put it in as 1.

>i love steptoe did u know that the two actors could not stand each other in real life ???

This is not quite true and is a very easy comment to make without knowing all the background.

It is a bit like when a couple get divorced, maybe the last year or so is bad, but it does not make the whole marriage bad.

While I will admit they were not great friends they did not hate each other at first. They got on fine at first as two actors working together.

But their roles as Steptoe lasted from 1962 up to the late 1970s and it just got worse towards the end.

continued...

[vehelpfulguy]

more....

Both actors were typecast in the roles and found it hard to get other work. Harry particularly was a fine actor who found nobody would offer him serious roles.

The longer Septoe went on the angrier he got, blaming the TV show for holding him back (almost like the character he played in the Steptoe shows).

In the last few years Wilfred was an alcoholic and forgot his lines and was unreliable, and that led to a breakdown of their relationship.

So it was only realy the last few years that they did not get on.

[Ethel]

It was because Brambell was an alcoholic, forever forgetting his lines and making the working day very difficult.

Corbett had a problem with Brambell homosexuality too.

[vehelpfulguy]

There was an interesting debate about Steptoe last week on ab.

Someone who actually knew Wilfred Brambell very well gives a few facinating insights to his life.

More here

http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Media-and-TV/Qu estion534696.html

[Mattk]

i loved steptoe and son....still do.
at one point i could practically recite the entire episode of divided we stand.

going back to curse of steptoe tho, the show gave the impression that everyone involved was sick of it...even the writers. what with selling their dead horse( flogging a dead horse) and also basically mocking corbett(the english marlon brando) by making him recite brandos lines for his theatre audtion.

[vehelpfulguy]

>going back to curse of steptoe tho

I agree to a certain extent.

When you are trying to show a 20 year period in this sort of drama you tend to highlight the "bad" bits.

It made Harry's first marriage look awful, they never went anywhere and he seemed to spend all his time critisizing her.

It also made Wilfred Brambell look as though he had no friends and spent all his time sitting at home drinking or hanging round toilets trying to pick up men.

I am sure neither Harry's first marriage, or Wilfred's personal life, were as bad as the film made out.

[andy-hughes]

Inevitably, the drama needed to 'telescope' the lives and careers of the two actors into a short space of time, which is a common dramatic practice.

In the film 'The Krays', it appears that the murders of GeorgeCornell and Jack McVitie happened within forty-eight hours, but in fact the two incidents were two years apart.

Thanks to Pickle for such a fascinating insight into the relationships of the Steptoe actors. It does seem that the notion that the two 'hated' each other is popular, and without real foundation.

No-one ever thinks Morcambe and Wise 'hated' each other, although they similarly led totally separate lives away from their work together. It wasn't until Eric morcamb's first heart attack that Ernie Wise visited his home for the first time ever.

I work with people, some I really like, some I don't, I rarely socialise with them, but we work together just fine. It's no different for actors in theatre, or TV, but the 'public' like to imagine a life for them, and will make it up if the reality is simply too mundane.

The play was just wonderful - even more so for how the two actors seemed to be absorbed into their roles as it progressed - Jason Issacs looked spookily like HHC as he 'aged'.

If only all TV drama could be this good.