in the early 1960s aspiring stage actor harry h. corbett jumps at the chance to play junk-dealer harold steptoe in a television comedy show 'steptoe and son'. however,the show's success proves to be a poisoned chalice for him,type-casting him and thwarting his stage ambitions. wilfrid brambell,the actor playing his father,is marginalized in a different way. he is a gay man ...