Fred Dibnah: Steeplejack (1979 TV Movie) User Reviews

Grand Stuff

[martin-worthing · 10/10 · 18 May 2005]

I met the mercurial little chap, when he knocked down a chimney near Bolton in 1982. A tremendously funny series, redolent throughout with the true soul of Lancashire people, of that genre, for whom often life was a constant struggle to survive. Here was a great human being, who knew his limitations and tried not to upset too many people inside them. The sheer courage to climb those dizzy heights and the sadness expressed when yet another structural servant to the Mill Owners was destroyed is well captured, both with words and Fred's reactionary body language In truth there were probably many Fred's knocking about, now their a rarity !

God bless you Fred.

Fred Dibnah - Steeplejack.

[screenman · 10/10 · 31 July 2010]

The title says it all.

Here was a genuine piece of our British history that is fast fading into the mists of time. We just don't create sons (and daughters) like him any more.

Fred was a steeplejack. Even that job title is passing out of use. Now high-rise professionals use the equipment of mountaineers. But not good old Fred. He did it the old way, the hard way. Fred was a curious kind of villain; a game-keeper turned poacher. The very industry that created the north of England during and after the industrial revolution spawned blokes like Fred. Tough, bluff, no-nonsense, but modest and self-effacing, with no desire to be a 'feature' on the sort of shallow-culture magazines that are now proof of worth. He was a man who came to celebrity late in life. But he was a celebrity because of what he did, and what he achieved. Today; celebrity is the goal in itself. You can be the most untried, unskilled, vacuous nonentity, but still lauded for the simple fact of being noticed, of having your photograph everywhere.

But if it was very tall and needed work; Fred was your man. Steeples, towers and chimneys needing repair were his cup of tea. And when that industry declined and the factories closed, it was Fred who brought the things down, using the same old-fashioned methods. Health & Safety was not something he dwelt upon.

This program distilled the essence of Lancastrian working-class pride and strength from a single individual. He wasn't particularly well educated, or knowledgeable or wise. Fred was just a bloke, doing a remarkable job remarkably well, like all of his generation and those who went before, phlegmatic and quite unaware that the natural-wastage of time had rendered him and the constancy of attitude he represented unique, but who found himself in the media spotlight and just carried on equally unabashed. He didn't even invest in a new cap. Or at least, not until his old one became so grubby that it caused an infection! His other passion was steam-engines, and when not up aloft squatting on some vertiginous niche, he was rumbling around on a smoking behemoth, often whilst customers nagged for his services. He was such a rare bird that they just had to indulge his wayward distractions and wait.

The popularity of this eccentric human icon led to a whole new career in television and writing. Thank heavens he was spotted in his lifetime and saved as an everlasting trophy to simple, steadfast achievement.

Whenever I see those wretched advertisements for modern mediocrity like 'Britain's Got Talent', in which the intrinsically worthless desperately crave public notice for the money that can be made from simply being ordinary, I think of Fred, who was extra-ordinary for all the right reasons.

brilliant documentary before fred was famous

[kevin-caprani · 10/10 · 6 April 2008]

This documentary was a bbc produced gem before fred became the media personality that most of us remember him as, a gritty and fascinating insight into the industrial wasteland being created under thatchers Britain, as fred goes about his work knocking down for the most part factory chimneys furnace works and other buildings that were once the powerhouse of britains prosperity, his thoughts and attitudes are woven into the film footage making it an acclaimed piece of film making not just at home but also on the continent where it was nominated and received awards for best documentary, the value of this film has been somewhat lost amongst all the many subsequent series with fred but this first really is the best and most real work on fred dibna.

A great portrait of an interesting man

[peefyn · 7/10 · 8 January 2016]

I was not familiar with Fred Dibnah before I saw this documentary, but seeing it, I can completely understand he became somewhat of an household name.

The documentary itself has a very simple premise: it follows Fred Dibnah, the steeplejack, around for a while, talk with him about his views on his job, his difficulties with it, and so on. He talks a bit about his private life, but it's never the focus of the documentary. It's about him and his relation to his work, and even how the work is done.

Now, it turns out that Fred Dibnah is a very interesting guy, who obviously puts some thoughts into life and what he is doing. He is good at telling stories, and he sees the world from what seems to be a very British working class perspective, which obviously would resonate with many.

The documentary is quite old, and slow moving. I'm sure many who are used to modern television will find it a bit boring because of it's pace. But if they did keep focus throughout, I'm sure they would enjoy it a lot.