
Writing
Alan Simpson
Born — Died
1929-11-27 — 2017-02-08
Place of birth
Brixton, London, England, UK
Known for
Writing
Credits
24 titles
Alan Francis Simpson was an English scriptwriter. He was best known as part of the Galton and Simpson comedy writing partnership with Ray Galton.
Known for
7.4Hancock's Half Hour is a BBC television comedy series of the 1950s and 60s written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. The series starred Tony Hancock with Sid James. The final series, renamed simply Hancock, starred Hancock alone. Comedian Tony Hancock starred in the show, playing an exaggerated and much poorer version of his own character and lifestyle, Anthony Aloysius St John Hancock, a down-at-heel comedian living at the dilapidated 23 Railway Cuttings in East Cheam. The series was influential in the development of the situation comedy, with its move away from radio variety towards a focus on character development.
Hancock's Half Hour
1956
6.7Albert Steptoe and his son Harold are rag-and-bone men, complete with horse and cart to tour the neighbourhood. They also live amicably together at the junk yard. Always on the lookout for ways to improve his lot, Harold invests his father's life savings in a greyhound who is almost blind and can't see the hare. When the dog loses a race and Harold has to pay off the debt, he comes up with another bright idea. Collect his father's life insurance. To do this his father must pretend to be dead.
Steptoe & Son Ride Again
1973
4.0A dog with a spying device under its skin is sent to the Russian government as a present. When the Russians send the dog to a veterinary, British intelligence must get to the dog first and retrieve the spying device.
The Spy with a Cold Nose
1966
7.8Anthony Hancock gives up his office job to become an abstract artist. He has a lot of enthusiasm, but little talent, and critics scorn his work. Nevertheless, he impresses an emerging very talented artist. Hancock proceeds to con the art world into thinking he is a genius.
The Rebel
1961
6.7The crooks in London know how it works. No one carries guns and no one resists the police. Then a new gang appears that go one better. They dress as police and steal from the crooks. This upsets the natural order of the police/criminal relationship and the police and the crooks join forces to catch the IPOs (Impersonating Police Officers), including an armoured car robbery in which the police must help the gangs to set a trap.
The Wrong Arm of the Law
1963
5.0A septet of satirical vignettes based on the Seven Deadly Sins.
The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins
1971
Film credits
2000s · 2 titles
4.0The difficult off-screen relationship between actors Harry H. Corbett and Wilfrid Brambell who grew to hate one another during their years on screen. It charts their rise to fame with 'Steptoe and Son' in the early 60's, to their final falling out during an Australian stage show in the late 70's.
When Steptoe Met Son
2002
NRA profile of the comedy actor, best known for starring in many films of the Carry On franchise, with contributions from family, friends, co-stars and fans. The programme looks at his early life in South Africa, his start in films as a heavy in 1940s and 1950s crime thrillers, and his big break appearing in Hancock's Half Hour on radio and TV.
The Unforgettable Sid James
2000
1980s · 1 titles
1960s · 2 titles
4.5A police inspector (Donald Sinden) tracks down Russian anarchist Peter the Painter (Peter Wyngarde) and his gang in circa-1911 London.
The Siege of Sidney Street
1960
A peek behind the scenes at the business of the comedian and how it is being expanded for film and television.
Look at Life: Funny Business Is No Joke
1967
Series credits
Behind the camera
6.7Albert Steptoe and his son Harold are rag-and-bone men, complete with horse and cart to tour the neighbourhood. They also live amicably together at the junk yard. Always on the lookout for ways to improve his lot, Harold invests his father's life savings in a greyhound who is almost blind and can't see the hare. When the dog loses a race and Harold has to pay off the debt, he comes up with another bright idea. Collect his father's life insurance. To do this his father must pretend to be dead.
Steptoe & Son Ride Again
1973
4.0A dog with a spying device under its skin is sent to the Russian government as a present. When the Russians send the dog to a veterinary, British intelligence must get to the dog first and retrieve the spying device.
The Spy with a Cold Nose
1966
7.8Anthony Hancock gives up his office job to become an abstract artist. He has a lot of enthusiasm, but little talent, and critics scorn his work. Nevertheless, he impresses an emerging very talented artist. Hancock proceeds to con the art world into thinking he is a genius.
The Rebel
1961
6.7The crooks in London know how it works. No one carries guns and no one resists the police. Then a new gang appears that go one better. They dress as police and steal from the crooks. This upsets the natural order of the police/criminal relationship and the police and the crooks join forces to catch the IPOs (Impersonating Police Officers), including an armoured car robbery in which the police must help the gangs to set a trap.
The Wrong Arm of the Law
1963
5.0A septet of satirical vignettes based on the Seven Deadly Sins.
The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins
1971
6.3Albert Steptoe and his son Harold are rag-and-bone men, complete with horse and cart to tour the neighbourhood. They also live together at the junk yard. Harold, who likes the bright lights in the West End of London, meets a stripper, marries her and takes her home. Albert is furious and tries every trick he knows to drive the new bride from his household.
Steptoe & Son
1972
7.0After a lock-keeper entrusts his daughter to a canal Casanova, he is shocked to learn that she is pregnant. He then refuses to open his locks - causing barges to pile up in every direction until the guilty party confesses.
The Bargee
1964
NRComedy with Sten-Åke Cederhök and Tomas von Brömssen at the Lisebergsteatern in Gothenburg, featuring scrap dealers Albert and Herbert, a waiter with rabbit teeth and a shack maid with an incomprehensible village dialect.
Sommarkvetter
1988
5.7Two bank robbers, Dennis and Hal, are on the run from the police after a successful heist. Needing somewhere to hide the loot, they turn to a funeral parlour where they stash the cash in Hal's recently-deceased mother's coffin. Taking the coffin, they turn to Hal's father and hide it in the bathroom of his hotel. Before long the hotel is host to the eccentric Inspector Truscott.
Loot
1970
4.2A funny thing happened to Lurkalot, serf to Sir Coward de Custard, on the way to Custard Castle. Lurkalot sells lusty love potions and rusty chastity belts in the market place, but on this day Sir Graggart de Bombast arrives to sack the castle, and to get the lovely Lobelia Custard in the sack! Lurkalot must help Custard cream the knight in pining armour...
Up the Chastity Belt
1972
8.0A one-off special performance by Tony Hancock of his stand-up comedy act (which rarely changed), at the Royal Festival Hall, London.
Hancock at the Royal Festival Hall
1966
NRBasil Puddifoot (played by Harry H. Corbett) has moved to London for work and meets Olive Bunclark (Rosemary Leach) in his boarding house. With the help of a miss-dialed telephone number they get to know each other in this sincere comedy from Galton and Simpson.
Never Talk to Strangers
1969
NRSwedish version of the British SitCom Steptoe and Son: Starring: Sten-Åke Cederhök, Tomas von Brömssen
Det Bästa med Albert & Herbert
2005
6.0The incredibly true story of the legendary French entertainer Joseph Pujol, who performed impersonations with his self-described 'elastic anus' and a surfeit of wind.
Le Petomane
1979
NRThis 1983 folk comedy play from Lisebergsteatern in Gothenburg follows Albert and Herbert as they face eviction from their shabby Haga house when the neighborhood is slated for demolition, sparking both worry and resistance. At the same time, Albert receives mysterious threatening letters, and when two bumbling burglars suddenly appear, father and son face new trials.
Mordet på Skolgatan 15
1984
Short film shot at Stratford-upon-Avon and exploring the joy of folk dancing.
Wake Up and Dance
1950
Alan Simpson's lyrical, visually lush film captures the Mummers of Symondsbury as they enact their traditional Christmas play outside their village inn.
Walk in St George
1952


