John Chard

Hercules II, A Hearse and A Hovel. Steptoe and Son Ride Again is directed by Peter Sykes and written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. It stars Wilfrid Brambell, Harry H. Corbett, Milo O' Shea, Neil McCarthy, Bill Maynard, Henry Woolf, Diana Dors and Yootha Joyce. Music is by Roy Budd, Jack Fishman and Ron Grainer and cinematography by John Wilcox. After the relative success of the first big screen foray for Steptoe and Son, a sequel was inevitable. More so as the 70s was fast becoming the decade for British situation comedies to make feature length versions of their popular shows. 1973 also saw the release of "Father Dear Father" and "Holiday on the Buses" (the third and final film in that series), so it may seem like a back handed compliment to say that "Steptoe and Son Ride Again" is the best feature length sit-com movie of that year, but it is, comfortably so. It's also considerably better than the first film, which was titled as just "Steptoe and Son" like the series itself. The writers go back to what made Harold and Albert Steptoe so popular in the first place, mercifully leaving behind the sombre beats of that first picture, where laughs were in short supply. The narrative here concentrates on their home and working life, their struggles to make ends meet, the mad cap idea that invariably goes wrong, the run ins with a local mobster and pets with problems. The laughs are plentiful and strong, OK! Albert being a dirty old man is a joke that had long been stretched to breaking point by 73, but there's something reassuring to have that still be the case in this one. Be it ciggie ash sandwiches and cheese being run through the mangler, or Harold being pestered for sex by a rampant Diana Dors - or bogus funerals and a greyhound who can't see for toffee but can smell Albert's tobacco a mile away! This is a treat for the fans of the series. 7.5/10