'My Son Reuben' was another Vince Powell sitcom which followed in the footsteps of his earlier shows such as 'Never Mind The Quality Feel The Width'. Bernard Spear played 'Reuben Greenberg', a middle-aged, Jewish laundry worker, who dreamt of escaping the clutches of his domineering mother 'Faye' ( Lila Kaye ). It owned a great debt to the B. B. C.'s 'Steptoe And Son'.
Despite some good work by the leads ( as well as Jo Rowbottom, Stella Tanner, and Christopher Benjamin ), the show refused to gel. Powell's scripts appeared to be the main source of the problem. One season and it was gone.
I have no idea why Spear and Kaye were cast despite a slight discrepancy in their ages. Probably for the same reason Lionel Jeffries played Dick Van Dyke's father in 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' ( Van Dyke was born the year before Jeffries ). Viewers do not usually check actors' ages before settling down to watch a film or television show.
So '70's sitcoms were unfunny', were they? Well, they included 'Porridge', 'Rising Damp', 'Fawlty Towers', 'Get Some In!', 'The Good Life' and 'The Fall And Rise Of Reginald Perrin'. Not a bad bunch in my view.
Despite some good work by the leads ( as well as Jo Rowbottom, Stella Tanner, and Christopher Benjamin ), the show refused to gel. Powell's scripts appeared to be the main source of the problem. One season and it was gone.
I have no idea why Spear and Kaye were cast despite a slight discrepancy in their ages. Probably for the same reason Lionel Jeffries played Dick Van Dyke's father in 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' ( Van Dyke was born the year before Jeffries ). Viewers do not usually check actors' ages before settling down to watch a film or television show.
So '70's sitcoms were unfunny', were they? Well, they included 'Porridge', 'Rising Damp', 'Fawlty Towers', 'Get Some In!', 'The Good Life' and 'The Fall And Rise Of Reginald Perrin'. Not a bad bunch in my view.