The Bargee

Banal British life-on-the-canals comedy heavily influenced by the creators of the BBC TV series "Steptoe and Son." (The Americans borrowed the concept and turned it into the hit show "Sanford and Son.") The film is directed by Wood, who staged the TV show, and the movie stars one of its leads, Corbett, who played Steptoe, Jr. The plot concerns freedom-loving Corbett, a confirmed bachelor, who has a reputation with the ladies. While he runs his barge up and down the British waterways, he is lured into marriage by the daughter of a lock-keeper whom he has put in a family way. Pretty oafish premise for a full-length comedy.