Check and Double Check

It always amazes me to hear all the negative comments about "Amos and Andy," especially concerning their 50's TV series. They may not be the brightest bulbs in the bunch, but they have jobs, they care for others, and are law-abiding guys. In the TV show, other blacks were even portrayed as businessmen, doctors, and lawyers. Where does all that insult blacks? Because they mispronounce some words? Please.

Now of course, in "Check and Double Check" Amos and Andy are played by two guys in blackface, the two white guys who have made Amos and Andy famous up until that point. It is very funny seeing the white guys in blackface, because there is no doubting they are indeed white men (Kingfish is white too). Seeing this film was especially interesting for me because I have the two Amos and Andy cartoons from 1934 (the only ones ever made) which use the voices of these two actors.

The movie itself is pretty good, Amos and Andy get mixed up in some society plot, involving some well-to-do white people from Westchester. Back in Harlem, the duo run their taxicab company, and there are some nice shots of New York City in 1930. And for train/subway fans, there is a particular treat, as we go into the original Pennsylvania Station for some shots! There are some funny scenes in the film, with Andy's deadpan lines making me laugh the most. Maybe the thing that would surprise most new viewers of this film, is just how much the actors underplay their roles as Amos and Andy as far as black stereotyping from the 30's goes. As all old film fans know, black actors in these old movies were usually put in for comic relief, making funny faces and noises, looking bug-eyed, running scared at the slightest sound, jumping around with arms flailing if they were scared, etc. But these two guys really don't do any of that. Sure, they play for comedy, but even though they are in blackface, they actually avoid all that kind of stuff, and just play the comedy straight. This may disappoint anyone looking to blast and tear the film apart concerning the two actors as Amos and Andy, but it's the truth, they really don't make an effort to make blacks look silly, they are really playing a comedy while happening to be in blackface.

Most don't understand just how huge the characters of Amos and Andy were in those days. This film is an unbelievable artifact of the era, an entertaining excursion into 1930's comedy. The quality of the print is also downright excellent on the DVD I viewed. I highly recommend this film for entertainment as well as historical study.