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Sonofdel (6238 KP) rated Harry H Corbett: The Front Legs of the Cow in Books
Oct 31, 2019
Insightful, Poignant and Revealing
I started reading this after only knowing of Harry H Corvett in Steptoe and son as Harold the long suffering son of Albert (Wilfrid Brambell) and also n Carry on Screaming as Sidney Bung. I never realised what an accomplished actor he was at this point. After reading this amazing insight into his life i have realsied how versatile an actor he really was. With this being written by his daughter i expected a lot of fawning sentimentality and i am glad that i was proved wrong. This is a very revealing, moving and motivational book written with care and consideration. As well as her own personal experiences she draws on people from stage and screen that include but are not limited to Bryan Murphy, Lynda Baron and writers such as Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. One of the best bigraphies i have read for a very long time. Its a long book and tells of the history of the various theatres that Harry worked at and for but i found this interesting rather than distracting. This also includes a section at the end that debunks some of the myths associated with Steptoe and Son (them hating each other, Wilfrid Brambell always being drunk etc). All in all a five star read.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Mrs Lowry & Son (2019) in Movies
Sep 10, 2019 (Updated Sep 10, 2019)
It's Grim Up North
Biographical drama about the artist Lowry (he of matchstalk this-and-that fame); based on a stage play and it really does show. Middle-aged clerk Lowry works by day, tends to his clinging, unsympathetic mother in the evenings, and paints at night. Not entirely unlike a variation on Steptoe and Son, only without any jokes.
Well-played, naturally, and well-staged, naturally, but the scenes of the two of them in a small room together, with her crushing his dreams and obsessed with petty social concerns, quickly become repetitive: the brief sequences with Lowry articulating his thoughts on his art, occasionally recreating his paintings, are much more interesting. Watchable but a bit dull; doesn't really do Lowry's art justice.
Well-played, naturally, and well-staged, naturally, but the scenes of the two of them in a small room together, with her crushing his dreams and obsessed with petty social concerns, quickly become repetitive: the brief sequences with Lowry articulating his thoughts on his art, occasionally recreating his paintings, are much more interesting. Watchable but a bit dull; doesn't really do Lowry's art justice.