Check and Double Check (1930) User Reviews

Oddly enough, this was a real money maker for RKO

[AlsExGal · 4/10 · 15 February 2023]

This was an attempt to bring the radio sensations Amos & Andy to the big screen, from director Melville W. Brown and RKO. The overly-convoluted and sloppy plot concerns young Richard Williams (Charles Morton), just up from down south to visit some old family friends in New York, and to see about a possible inheritance that will help set him up in life. This becomes even more important when he falls for the daughter of the family friends, Jean Blair (Sue Carol). Meanwhile, two inept Harlem taxi cab proprietors, Amos (Freeman F. Gosden) and Andy (Charles J. Correll) are sent by their social lodge to a creepy abandoned house to fulfill an annual obligation concerning the memory of their order's founder. They run afoul of a shady character (Ralf Harolde) after Richard's inheritance. Also featuring Russ Powell as the Kingfish.

This is of course the infamous, original incarnation of Amos and Andy, with white actors Gosden and Correll in black face playing the leading roles. They aren't as mean spirited as some of the other caricatures of the time, but it's a sad sight, nonetheless. The decision was also made to have all other black characters with a speaking part also be white people in black face, although extras were cast with actual black performers. The nature of Amos and Andy is enough of a drawback, but what really killed this for me was that it is just not funny in the least. Actors like Willie Best and Mantan Moreland could often be hilarious despite the insensitive portrayal of their characters. But the comedy here is non-existent. The "old dark house" set-up seems tacked-on and unexploited for the inherent comedy, and none of the supporting players are very good at all, either. Gosden was said to have been unhappy with how the film turned out, and there were no other Amos and Andy features. This is surprising since the film was extremely profitable, and was the biggest hit in RKO's history until King Kong.

The movie does feature one stand-out scene of Duke Ellington's band performing some songs (even using Bing Crosby's voice for one). It raised the entire film's rating by one star, in my humble opinion.

Perfectly Forgettable...

[JoeytheBrit · 5/10 · 9 June 2010]

This early talkie featuring the apparently hugely popular comic act of Amos and Andy would no doubt outrage many of today's enlightened folk, but I don't really want to get into that other than to say that this film at least has worth as a social document. The comedy isn't really particularly funny - not because of any 'bad taste in the mouth' left by the brand of humour, but simply because the standard of the writing isn't that great. Freeman F. Gosden and Charles J. Correll are quite good at what they do, and there's an amiability about their relationship that is clearly a result of the way their characters must have developed during their radio years. A curiosity, for sure, but perfectly forgettable.

After This Some Fresh Air Was Needed

[bkoganbing · 4/10 · 9 May 2006]

Just why is it that people are offended at Amos and Andy today? It can't be the jokes, the bad grammar, the ignorance. I can show examples of that in a whole lot of films without a black face in them. I do remember as a kid seeing the television version of Amos and Andy and later on watching such shows as Sanford and Son and Good Times, I'd be hard pressed to see the difference in the humor.

But you have to see Check and Doublecheck and realize that it was a pair of white ex-vaudevillians who were playing these characters. And playing them servile. Note right at the beginning of the film as the Fresh Air Taxi was holding up traffic and a cop asks them to move along. Note the tone he takes with them and note the "yassuh" response that both of them give. Later on Amos and Andy are busy reminiscing about the good old days on the plantation back in Georgia before they came to Harlem. Back in Georgia dealing with Klan and lucky to be making enough money to exist on as sharecroppers. Of course you know they're going to help the son of the old plantation owner.

The plot as it is Check and Doublecheck has the son of that former plantation owner previously described looking for the deed to an old abandoned house in Harlem so he can claim title, sell it, and be rich enough to marry his intended. His path crossed that of Amos and Andy who are on a kind of treasure hunt for their Mystic Knights of the Sea Lodge. The intended bride is played by Sue Carol who left acting to become an agent and her most famous client was her fourth and last husband Alan Ladd.

Also in the film are Duke Ellington and his Orchestra. Ellington made his screen debut here and he played himself in several films after this. For that reason this film should be seen, to hear one of the great jazz bands of the last century.

The premise they bring Ellington in is in itself ridiculous. Remember this film is made in 1930 and while Ellington played at Harlem's Cotton Club he didn't get too many bookings at Westchester society parties. But that's what this film would have you believe. That crowd would have more likely hired Leo Reisman or Ray Noble. And of course the band gets there via The Fresh Air Taxi Company.

Singing with the band are The Rhythm Boys, recently detached from Paul Whiteman's Orchestra which included their lead singer Bing Crosby. According to Gary Giddins recent biography of Crosby, Ellington was dissatisfied with the vocal group he had and had RKO hire the Rhythm Boys to sing offstage while three black performers lipsynched. That is one ironic twist of fate. Later on Bing and his partners, Al Rinker and Harry Barris recorded their song from this film Three Little Words with Duke Ellington's orchestra which was a mega hit back in the day.

Even with a hit song coming from this film, Check and Doublecheck created no big demand for Amos and Andy films. Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll stayed on radio for another 25 years with their characters. Maybe just as well they only made one more film appearance in the all star Big Broadcast of 1936.

Not One of the Best

[artpf · 3/10 · 8 January 2014]

Typical Amos 'n Andy story-line has the boys trying to make a go of their "open-air" taxi business while they get caught up in a society hassle.

It involves driving musicians to a fancy party.

All the regular characters are here (or mentioned), including the famous Mystic Knights of the Sea.

The only film appearance of radio's long-running characters.

Guess the movie didn't make much money since there wasn't another. I've only heard bits and pieces of the radio show, but I have the entire TV series on DVD. The TV series is hysterical and anyone who thinks it's somehow racist, is nuts.

This movie, on the other hand is a whole different deal. Amos and Andy are white in black face. It's really odd to watch that these days.

Plus, it's just not a good film.

Insignificant when compared to the radio and TV shows

[david-2271 · 3/10 · 7 September 2006]

I will not involve myself in the debate over the socio-political implications of "Amos n' Andy." My opinion will not change anyone else's mind, and no one will change mine by using the term "racist." I feel the latter term is thrown around so much today that it has lost almost all meaning.

The "Amos n' Andy" radio show held legions of fans for decades. The TV show is fondly remembered by tens of thousands who were lucky enough to see it. The reason for this is simple; they made people laugh. This movie, however, is a very poor example of the character's work.

The main thrust of the plot is an uninteresting love triangle between a wealthy heiress, her jerk of a rich boyfriend and an old flame who has lost his wealth and is seeking to reclaim it. Although the movie is a comedy, none of these three characters are in any way funny. Amos n' Andy are secondary characters in the story. This is the first blow to the story. Amos, Andy and the Kingfish carried their own stories for years, why should they play second fiddle to people we care nothing about? To make it worse, Amos n' Andy's involvement in the plot is painfully contrived. The plots of the radio and TV shows were smooth and sensible (for a comedy). They worked because they did not have to be forced. The plot of this movie, by contrast, seemed forced every step of the way.

Copies of the Amos n' Andy radio and TV shows are available for sale. If one is willing to track them down they will provide a clear picture of why the characters were so successful. This movie, by contrast, should be left to those who feel the need to own everything with the Amos n' Andy name on it.

Check and Double Check is notable as the first feature film appearance of Duke Ellington and his band

[tavm · 2/10 · 3 February 2011]

Continuing my reviews of movies featuring African-Americans in front of and behind the camera in chronological order for Black History Month, we're now in 1930 when a movie featuring a couple of caricatured blacks named Amos 'n' Andy (Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll in burnt cork) from radio starred in their first feature film. (Actually their only other live-action film appearance was in The Big Broadcast of 1936.) Now these two were the most popular comedians on the audio medium at the time but whatever appeal they had there is mostly lost here as they don't do or say much that's funny. Exceptions are when Amos is on the phone and he says something inappropriate because Andy is shouting something before hand and a rear projection sequence when Amos is almost "hitting" another car and Andy covers his head in fear. Other than that, it's just lame dialogue after lame dialogue. What's even more lame is the extra subplot concerning a young rich white man who we find out is a long-lost friend of these characters that you just can't believe at all! Anyway, those two main characters aren't the reason I'm reviewing this for BHM, no way! No, it's the fact this was the first time Duke Ellington and the Cotton Club band appeared in a feature film (as opposed to some shorts previously) and were their usual entertaining selves. They alone are what make Check and Double Check worth a look. P.S. One of the players is Sue Carol who, like me, is a Chicago native but more importantly eventually quit acting to become an agent who among her clients was her future husband, Alan Ladd.

An impressive entry when seen through 1930 eyes

[16mmRay · 7/10 · 8 October 2010]

Well, I just picked up an original film print of CHECK AND DOUBLE CHECK and have to say I was very pleasantly surprised. After many years of reading one abysmal review after another, I found the film to be a fairly impressive RKO comedy. But I also think this film can only be viewed in the context of its time of release. And not for racial stereotype reasons. First, the film obviously came about by the strong popularity of the AMOS 'N ANDY radio program. However, comparison cannot be made between the film and the program as we know it because the program only began a year before this film was made (Amos 'n Andy had, in fact, had recently been known as Sam 'n Henry). So the smooth, well-oiled manner of the 40's heyday was still many years to come. Structure-wise, CHECK AND DOUBLE CHECK somewhat resembles RKO's popular Wheeler and Woolsey films and features the two comics in traditional musical-comedy leading/though supporting roles. The story plot is very typical of shows of the day - DIXIANA, COCOANUTS, etc (Ralf Harolde repeats his villainous visage from DIXIANA). The picture is very well photographed from the standpoint of RKO's current production values and it is very well recorded. One interesting note - one that can only be gleaned from having an actual film print - is that the picture was released in nine reels. Given that the running time is 77 minutes, it is probable that there was some trimming done after the previews. An interesting note about the music in the film. Duke Ellington and his Cotton Club Orchestra are the featured performers. At one point in the film there is a very bluesy, Harlemesque introduction to a number. But the film then cuts to a shot of the band playing "Three Little Words" in standard foxtrot tempo. Upon this number's conclusion, the band goes into a blues number. We then go outside to the garden where a scene between the romantic leads is played and the band is again heard in the distance playing "Three Litte Words". The duo even comment on the song and its meaning. It is apparent there was some moving around of sequences taking place here. And it's possible there was additional music recorded that did not make it into the final release print. As for Amos 'n Andy, there is a nice mix of verbal and visual set-pieces. There is also one surprisingly effective scene where Amos 'n Andy are told that their former employer/benefactor has died and Andy makes a very sorrowful speech about his goodness. It's one of the most genuinely emotional monologues I can recall from any RKO film of that very early talkie period. The one semi-drawback to the film is that Freeman Gosden (Andy) is not able to play Kingfish as he did on radio. In CHECK AND DOUBLE CHECK, Kingfish is played by Russ Powell (in blackface - as are many others in the cast including at least one band member and stuttering comic Roscoe Ates). Film fans will remember Powell as the dockman at the beginning of KING KONG ("You going' on that crazy voyage?!"). Powell doesn't have quite the delightful devil about him that Gosden did in his portrayal of Kingfish on the radio - or Tim Moore on television. Had CHECK AND DOUBLE CHECK been made six or seven years later, it might have had more polish and pacing. But even by the mid-thirties it is unlikely that a blacked-up Amos 'N Andy would have been welcomed in the cinemas. So we have only this one feature as a pictorialization of the proprietors of the Fresh Air Taxi Cab Corporation. If you can put yourself back into a 1930 frame of reference, give it a try. You might be pleasantly surprised.

Not only offensive but pretty dull, too.

[planktonrules · 2/10 · 20 October 2010]

Let's just cut to the chase here. Yes, Amos 'n Andy was a racist act and there is no way you can defend minstrel acts today. It's a sad look back at 1930 when you realize that this film was mainstream and was based on one of the most popular radio programs of the day--a program where white actors played very stereotypical blacks (fortunately, when the show came to TV, they actually used black actors). The frequent use of ignorant vocabulary and an absence of anything other than demeaning depictions of blacks as either domestics or objects to be laughed at was the norm in films. HOWEVER, as a history teacher I have a strong bias against ignoring our politically incorrect past and was curious to see this film--warts and all.

In some ways the film was a real disappointment. First, the film consisted of two plots (one involving a white couple--and it was irrelevant to the film) when I had assumed it would be about Amos, Andy and the Kingfish. Second, although the depictions of the black characters was negative, believe it or not, I expected it to be a lot worse. No, I am not saying the film was a positive depiction--I just thought the negative stereotypes might be even worse! Third, as a comedy, the film just isn't all that funny. In fact, I have barely a smirk during the entire film.

The title "Check and Double Check" refers to a piece of paper the men are delegated to retrieve by their lodge, the Mystic Knights of the Sea. It's hidden in a haunted house and Amos and Andy are given this dubious honor---well over halfway through the film! It really took a very long time for this plot to be introduced. In the meantime, you have the insipid plot about the white lovers and a baddie and an interesting musical interlude that introduced white audiences to the Duke Ellington Orchestra--something that IS worth seeing and is an important part of history and the Harlem Renaissance. Yes, the movie has some racist elements--but it also was, in a bizarre way, rather progressive. After all, Duke Ellington was quite black and the average person seeing this film was being exposed to at least some positive aspect of black American culture.

Not all that bad

[earlytalkie · 5 February 2012]

"Check and Double Check" has been kicked around as one of the worst examples of racism extant in a film. While the characterizations are not exactly enlightening, there is some humor in the film, which would directly be related to fans of the radio series. The main problem most people have is the blackface of the lead actors from the radio show. One must remember that this was the number one radio show of it's era. Yes, the characters are portrayed as somewhat stupid bumblers, but so are a lot of white and ethnic characters from other radio and television series. Think "Gilligan's Island", "The Beverly Hillbillies", "Ma and Pa Kettle" or "Dagwood Bumstead". I have seen only a few samples of the TV series "Amos and Andy" but what I have seen is a truly funny and very warm-hearted series. Also, the characters get treated with respect by other, more sophisticated characters within the stories in both the TV and film versions. The most truly disgusting racial stereotypes I have ever seen in a film are in "Birth of a Nation," the truly appalling portrayal of the KKK as heroes in this wins hands down for me as the low point in portrayal of racial stereotype.

Affable but Poor

[gengar843 · 6/10 · 6 November 2021]

THE STORY & (Pseudo)GENRE -- Phony haunted house. Amos & Andy star.

THE VERDICT -- There are a LOT of things to get offended about in this world: the attitude of the rich towards the poor, the attitude of the poor towards the rich, women vs. Men and vice versa, and the list goes on about our internecine human race wars. I can be outraged about human rights violations in China, cruelty to animals, child slavery, and every manner of torture on this planet. But I'm not going to get offended, or pretend to be, because Amos and Andy wore blackface. That said, this film is only a little entertaining because the script is lacking, and that's the only reason it gets a low 6.

FREE ONLINE -- Sure enough!

Segregated

[Cineanalyst · 1/10 · 31 August 2018]

"Check and Double Check" suffers from two antiquated modes: the creaky early talkie and the minstrel show. They bring out the worst in each other, and the result is a disaster. There's only a semblance of narrative drive, with a dull and generic love triangle for the white characters and a series of skits adapted from their radio program for the black-faced white comedians, Amos 'n Andy. There's also a black orchestra, Duke Ellington's Cotton Club Band, which was actually integrated, but some members also wear blackface, to disguise this. All three stories converge at some point, with the black characters serving and performing for the white ones, but, for the most part, they are segregated, parallel narratives--Jim Crow on the screen, an illusion of "separate but equal." (By the way, I'm not very familiar with the later TV series, for which considerable nostalgia appears to remain, so I'm not going to comment on it here other than to say that I'm sure it's better than this if for no other reason than its cast were African Americans.)

Even with the crosscutting between the narratives, including within scenes such as at the haunted house with Amos 'n Andy downstairs and the Caucasians upstairs, or during the musical performance, and the sped-up pacing in a scene where Amos 'n Andy work against the clock, so to speak, the film still has a lazy average shot length of about 12.4 seconds. This is because there's very little scene dissection: minimal shot/reverse shots and minimal close-ups, with the focus being on long takes of long shots with even more distant establishing shots. This was released during the third season (1930-31) of regular talkie production by all of the major Hollywood studios, and the technology was still very creaky. Nearly every scene takes place on sound stages, with the action confined to multi-camera setups. It's a very dull picture.

Then, there's the comedy, which relies for its effect on debasing a marginalized racial other--so much so that they don't even represent their stereotypes; white actors in blackface do. It's a minstrel show. Moreover, although the vile, violent brand of racism Hollywood was largely founded upon with the epic success of "The Birth of a Nation" (1915) was by now rather taboo, part of D.W. Griffith's form of patronizing and dehumanizing African Americans remains intact here, as Amos 'n Andy are a continuation of the "faithful souls" in that film. They were the black slaves who continued to serve the white heroes even after their legal emancipation, and they castigated their racial brethren who were uppity or refused to mind their place at the bottom of the social order. Amos 'n Andy do the same thing here. They live in their part of New York (Harlem), they run their own business for their own part of the market (the only taxi ride they provide being for the black band). When they interact with the higher classed whites, they're entirely servile, with frequent replies of "yessuh." Their only power struggle is with others of their race, such as the running bit regarding the president of their taxi business. They pine for their past of living in Georgia and how their former employer was like a father to them--echoing past myths of an idyllic antebellum South and the master-slave bond. Their only narrative thrust in the entire picture is in the service of the white couple's happiness. Their humor is in that they're too stupid to do arithmetic, read or speak properly, as well as that old chestnut of their fear of ghosts in the haunted house scene. That's why Griffith's KKK wore sheets. "The Birth of a Nation" had no problem with these "toms," nor would "Gone with the Wind" (1939) a few years later.

Slavery gone, however, it's replaced by segregation. "Check and Double Check" reflects this Jim Crow racial order down to its separation of narratives, the white love triangle in one and Amos 'n Andy's comedic routines in the other. The few times they mingle, Amos 'n Andy mind their obsequious place. Even Ellington's orchestra isn't allowed to risk the appearance of racial others "passing" as white on screen, so members of lighter skin applied the burnt cork, too. Thus, again, even when the image contains both races, they are segregated--African Americans on stage and Caucasians in the audience. It's an ugly structure and a dull picture.

Lots of innocent fun

[stevenfallonnyc · 8/10 · 18 July 2005]

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.

Little to commend it, but it has its place in movie history.

[JohnHowardReid · 6/10 · 25 October 2017]

Director: MELVILLE W. BROWN. Story and screenplay: Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby. Adaptation and continuity: J. Walter Ruben. Photography: William Marshall. Film editor: Claude Berkeley. Art director: Max Rée. Costumes designed by Max Rée. Songs: "Three Little Words" (Cotton Club) and "Nobody Knows But the Lord" (Mystic Knights of the Sea) by Bert Kalmar (lyrics) and Harry Ruby (music); "Am I Blue?" (Cotton Club) by Harry Akst (music) and Grant Clarke (lyrics); "Old Man Blues" by Duke Ellington and Irving Mills; "Ring Dem Bells" by Duke Ellington (music) and Bert Kalmar (lyrics). Music director: Max Steiner. Sound recording: George D. Ellis. Assistant director: Fred Tyler. Associate producer: Bertram Millhouser. Producer: William LeBaron.

Copyright 8 October 1930 by RKO-Radio Pictures, Inc. New York opening at the Mayfair (it was the theater's inaugural attraction): 31 October 1930. U.S. release: 25 October 1930. 6,923 feet. 77 minutes.

SYNOPSIS: Hero is rescued from penury and able to marry his sweetheart when two taxi-drivers accidentally discover a missing deed.

NOTES: It's alleged that the Rhythm Boys (namely Harry Barris, Bing Crosby and Al Rinker) sing "Three Little Words", but they cannot be seen on the screen.

Movie debuts of Gosden and Correll.

With an astounding rentals gross of $1 million, equal seventh (with "Trader Horn") at U.S./Canadian ticket windows for 1930.

COMMENT: This perfectly dreadful movie is often classified as a musical by people who read the credits but haven't actually seen the picture. No doubt more extensive use of the Rhythm Boys and Duke Ellington was planned (and even shot), but the public's sudden aversion to the flood of 1930 musicals put those plans on hold. The Cotton Club Orchestra doesn't appear until nearly halfway through and then we hear only a brief snip from the orchestra before a more extensive recital with Ellington at the piano later on.

Otherwise, "Check and Double Check", despite its Kalmar/Ruby screenplay, has little to recommend it. True, if you can last the distance, the last half of the picture is superior to the first half. I pass over the performances of Gosden and Correll in silence (Russ Powell is equally bad). I admit Sue Carol seems a nice girl and Rita La Roy an agreeable siren of sorts, but it's villainous Ralf Harolde who walks away with the acting honors, such as they are. Not much of a commendation really, since he has virtually no competition.

As for the direction, it's enough to say that it rates a cut above Mr. Brown's normal level of achievement. There are even a couple of felicitous tracking shots and a speeding-car climax through New York streets which, despite obvious use of the process screen, is not ineffective.

Wow.

[tylerfamily · 1/10 · 9 May 2006]

I would say that an earlier commentary on the racist aspect of "Amos n Andy" was fair and balanced, except one crucial element was omitted.

The actors are white, wear blackface, and portray black caricatures.

Has anyone seen "Bamboozled"?

If you moved from this movie, thru the earlier commentary, then to "Bambloozled", you would find yourself understanding how passive-aggressively racist folks who say, "Awww, shucks, A & A were just funnin'!"

Just because Ma & Pa Kettle caricatured White rural families didn't make it right.

Stereotyping in any context is wrong.

'Nuff said.

Little to Like--Except Duke Ellington

[LeonardKniffel · 2/10 · 28 September 2019]

There is only one reason to suffer through this appalling movie and that is to see the great Duke Ellington and his Orchestra playing "Three Little Words." Arguably the best jazz band leader of the 20th century, Ellington made his screen debut here, and he played himself in several films after this. Beyond that, the film stands as an example of the state of American apartheid before the Civil Rights Movement, with white actors in blackface mocking and belittling black men as Amos and Andy, radio (and later television) characters who were enormously popular for their buffoonery. The condescension and racism of the "high society" whites in the film stands in contrast to the dignity and talent displayed by Ellington and the men in the band.

A cringingly awful little toad of a film

[alansmithee04 · 1/10 · 14 September 2006]

This is the cinematic equivalent of that senile grandpa or great-aunt who blurts out racial epithets at Thanksgiving dinner and embarrasses the hell out of you in front of your date. Every ugly stereotype is on abundant display in this nasty bit of celluloid, whose target audience these days consists of willfully ignorant bigots, lightly retarded weasels and Don Imus fans.

As depicted by the popular (at the time) black face minstrel show duo, African-Americans are lazy, stupid, cowardly, speak comically broken English, and pine for them "good ol'days" of the racist Jim Crow south. We're also treated to a heap of cringingly racist "O lawdy lawdy, i'se a-fraid o' them spooks! Yahsuh!" sort of bigoted "humor" that would make anyone with the slightest sense of justice want to take a flamethrower to every print of this cinematic turd.

Melville Brown's deadpan direction does nothing to enhance Godsen & Correll's blackface minstrel show act. The non Amos and Andy dialog is so clunky and trite that even the actors who aren't in black face can't seem to take any of it seriously. Irene Rich and Edward Martindel, both respected veteran silent film actors, look lost and faintly embarrassed among the RKO B-listers trying to make something coherent of the film's sub-sub-par plot.

Many films of the 1920s and 30s were lost to history due to neglect. That this racist toad of a film survived when so many other, by far better, (or at least less cringingly racist) films perished is a fine example of the basic injustice of the universe. Not only is Check and Double Check a prime example of how not to make a movie - it's also stellar example of just how bad the "good ol' days" really were.

Sue Carol's Comeback Movie !!!

[kidboots · 5/10 · 13 March 2011]

Yes, this movie was heralded as Sue's comeback feature. Fox saw her as their own "It" girl and she was featured as a flapper in picture after picture - too many, because there came a time when Dixie Lee, who was always "the friend", suddenly started getting a big build up (and deservedly so). That was in 1929. In 1930 Sue was the ingenue in RKO's "Check and Double Check", a movie that became one of the biggest money makers of the year - all because of Amos and Andy. They were top radio stars played by white actors, Freeman F. Godsen and Charles J. Correll, in black face. The publicity for the film was enormous, coinciding with an Amos and Andy candy bar, which went a long way toward the films popularity - not for any artistic merit. RKO thought it had made a great deal when it signed the comics who turned down offers from Warners and Paramount, to take $250,000 plus 50% of the net profits but the comics were difficult. They wouldn't be photographed without their makeup and refused to give interviews about their personal lives. Fortunately there was no second movie, the audiences had turned up just for the novelty value of seeing their radio favourites in the flesh.

Amos (Godsen) and Andy (Correll) are the proud owners of the Fresh Air Taxi Cab Company of America. Andy is the brains of the pair (he thinks) and really likes to put Amos down. Kingfish (Russ Powell) has a big job for the boys - he wants them to take Duke Ellington and his Cotton Club Orchestra to a party and be back in time for their lodge meeting of the Mystic Knights of the Sea. The band is over two hours late to play at the birthday party of Jean (Sue Carol) who is due to announce her engagement to Richard (Charles Morton). He, in turn, is eager to search his grandfather's vacant house in Harlem for a deed that will make his fortune. Overhearing the conversation is the villain of the movie, Ralph Crawford (Ralf Harolde of course) - you know he is a villain because you first see him beating a horse!!! He is determined to go to the house and find the deed for himself. Surprise, Surprise - it just so happens that the home that interests Ralph and Richard so much is the house where Amos and Andy have to spend the night - it is an old lodge custom. They are searching for a paper that says "Check and Double Check" on it and of course they meet Ralph, papers get exchanged, Amos and Andy keep the deed and Ralph gleefully pockets the paper with "Check and Double Check" on it. The boys are pleased to present the deed to Richard, who is an old friend from down South.

Aside from the fantastic Duke Ellington, who's ten minute music session not only helped his career but bought a lot of patrons to the theatre, the lasting appeal of the movie was the song "Three Little Words" - sung by an unseen Rhythm Boys (featuring Bing Crosby). Harry Ruby remembered "Everybody predicted the song would be a flop. It was nearly dropped from the movie but it became an overnight hit".

Amos 'N Andy's Only Feature Film

[springfieldrental · 7/10 · 20 August 2022]

Radio had become quite popular in American homes by the late 1920s. To capitalize on its ever-increasing number of listeners, Chicago radio station WMAG hired two white entertainers from its Chicago competitor, WGN. Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll, who met while working in Durham, North Carolina, were hired earlier by WGN to deliver their first radio show, 'Sam 'n' Henry,' about two black men who journey to Chicago to make a better life for themselves. Their radio show is credited for being the first situational comedy. Once the program became popular, the pair proposed cutting a record of each show and distributing the pressings around the country. WGN said no. Radio station WMAG then stepped in to hire them. Because WGN held the rights to their characters' names, they changed the names to 'Amos 'N' Andy' on March 19, 1928, becoming one of radio's longest running shows. The program turned out to be radio's first syndicated show, with over 70 radio stations airing their recorded program. By 1930, playing on the NBC radio network, over 30 million listeners tuned in six nights a week to hear 'Amos 'N' Andy.'

Capitalizing on their popularity, RKO Radio Pictures offered the pair a one picture deal, with the movie's plot wrapped around a love story. The feature film, October 1930's "Check and Double Check" (a catchphrase the the pair used repeatedly on the radio), was the biggest money maker for RKO until 1933's "King Kong." UCLA Film and Television Archives, which preserved the the film, stated "the film offers an invaluable glimpse into the complex, indelicate racial dynamics of the Depression era."

Today, film reviewer Dennis Schwartz labels the movie as "an embarrassing racial stereotyped Hollywood film. The film works as a curio to see how the blacks were perceived back then by Hollywood." Even Gosden and Correll were disappointed in the movie. Despite the profits the motion picture garnered, the studio and the pair agreed this one-trick pony shouldn't be repeated. The characters 'Amos 'N' Andy' weren't visibly seen until CBS picked them up for its small screen television show. The TV program ran from 1951 to 1953. Gosden and Correll stated when the CBS show was in development they had no interest in appearing in it based on their experience with "Check and Double Check." CBS then slotted Alvin Childress and Spencer Williams, two African-American actors, as Amos and Andy.

"Check and Double Check" marked the first film appearance of Duke Ellington and his band on film. With such an exposure to movie-goers, Ellington's band bolted to national prominence, gaining a heightened popularity after his release of "Check." During the movie's filming, Bing Crosby was brought in to sing a solo. Director Melvin Brown immediately rejected his performance, reportedly saying "This guy can't sing." Crosby, who was part of the singing trio 'The Rhythm Boys,' ended up performing with his two partners on the movie set.

A One Story Foundation

[Grendel1950 · 4/10 · 21 October 2021]

Stan Laurel once called his and Oliver Hardy's early features, "a three story house on a one story foundation". Here, Godsen and Correll, masters of the fifteen minute radio program, attempt to stretch their sketches into a feature film. Because of their success with the early Marx Brothers, Harry Ruby and Bert Kalmar were brought in to write the dialog, but their experience was also in short bursts of business, so there's little continuity in the "plot". Even though they created the characters of Amos and Andy, Godsen and Correll aren't as funny on screen as they were on radio, and not as effective as Spencer Williams and Tim Moore as the Kingfish, on TV. This may be a good movie for nostalgia buffs and film students, but it isn't especially funny.

Poor Film

[Michael_Elliott · 26 February 2008]

Check and Double Check (1930)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Freeman F. Gosden and Charles J. Correll brought their radio show Amos 'n Andy to the big screen in this film, which turned out to be RKO's biggest money maker up until King Kong. In the film, Amos (Gosden) and Andy (Correll) are running a taxi service when they bump into an old friend whose father "owned" them back in George. That friends gets into some trouble so the boys try to help him out. I'm downloaded and listened to a couple of the radio shows and they certainly appear better on the radio. Perhaps it's seeing Amos and Andy being played in blackface, which just doesn't sit well today but even with the blackface, none of the jokes really come across as funny. There's really not any racial humor, which was somewhat of a shock but the haunted house gag and various others just don't work. Duke Ellington appears as himself and Bob Hope is also featured.

Only worth seeing for real fans of Amos and Andy

[dbborroughs · 4/10 · 6 December 2009]

Only big screen version of the classic radio and TV duo concerns the pairs attempt to make a go of a taxi service and getting involved in the goings on at a posh estate.

I'm not going to get into any sort of discussion of the leads, the creators and stars of the radio show, playing their characters in black-face since it was largely on the outs when the film was made.

Instead I'll talk about the movie itself which is an okay, at best, representation of the series as a movie. The problems here are many. First off the script is not up to the radio show. I'm not a fan of the radio show but I know I laughed more at one episode of the show than I did in the entire 75 minutes of this film. Next the film, made in the early days of sound, is more than a tad archaic in its handling of many sequences which seem to play out as if on a stage. I could go on but there isn't really a point. The film is more a footnote to the story of Amos and Andy and not really a chapter.

Best viewed by big fans of the characters or those inclined to see historical footnotes.

Amos & Andy a black Fred & Barney?

[Morethings · 8/10 · 9 March 1999]

People like to worry themselves to death over proving how they aren't "racist." Black Americans at this end of the century are pretty heavily groomed by the system to be extremely sensitive of any possible conceivable slight.

Both of these folks will be delighted to take offense at the very mention of the name "Amos and Andy," whether they've ever actually SEEN any version of the show or not. A&A are the very SYMBOL of Hollywood racism, defaming the image of blacks. Supposedly.

I would take it that "Amos and Andy" represents (however accurately or not) a broadly caricatured representation of regular poor black folks. You could make it out to depict them as foolish, but no more so I say than do shows aimed at poor whites. I have in mind for starters the Beverly Hillbillies.

Nor are the depictions of Amos and Andy harsher than those of Ma and Pa Kettle. Now THERE is some negative stereotyping.

But hey! It's just a joke, and not particularly mean. Amos and Andy as characters aren't deep, but they're affectionate and good natured, just a couple of regular joes trying to get by. Doesn't strike me as much of a hate crime.

Oh, and they're pretty damned funny, too. Note that this bears the same screenwriter's name as several Marx brothers classics, Bert Kalmar. This ain't quite up there with "Duck Soup," but it's pretty funny stuff. The kingfish and the lodge stuff put me in mind of the Flintstones' "Water Buffalo" lodge, and the silly rituals and blowhard leaders trying to puff themselves up to look like alpha-males.

Also, this film stops for some straight up film time for the most righteous Duke Ellington orchestra. There is very limited film available for any musicians of the era, especially black ones. This part alone justifies the film's existence for me.

C'mon, loosen up folks. Eddie Murphy makes 10 times more stinging jokes. At least Amos and Andy weren't pimps or dope-dealers or crooks.

The Amos and Andy movie

[lugonian · 5/10 · 24 March 2019]

CHECK AND DOUBLE CHECK (Radio Pictures, 1930), directed by Melville Brown, marks the feature movie debut of radio comedians, Amos 'N Andy (by arrangement with the National Broadcasting Company). Introduced in 1928, the characters of Amos and Andy were the rage of the radio airwaves, and what better way to get to see as well as hear them than on the motion picture screen. Though Amos and Andy were black taxicab drivers from Georgia living in the Harlem district of New York City, these characters were actually performed by white actors, Freeman F. Gosdon (Amos) and Charles V. Correll (Andy) convincingly playing blacks speaking in Negro dialect. CHECK AND DOUBLE CHECK mixes comedy routines between Amos and Andy along with an extended sub-plot revolving around a socialite white family of Westchester County.

The story opens on a New York City street during a traffic jam where John Blair (Edward Martindel) and his wife (Irene Rich) await patiently in their limousine while on their way to pick up a family friend, Richard Williams (Charles Morton) at Pennsylvania Station. Holding up a line of cars is the run-down Model T cab by owners of the Fresh Air Taxi Company, Amos (Freeman F, Gosden) and Andy Brown (Charles V. Correll). Obtaining a taxi leading to the Blair estate in Hartsdale, New York, Charles meets with the Blair daughter, Joan (Sue Carol), whom he had seen since childhood, horse riding with her suitor, Ralph Crawford (Ralf Harolde). Ralph becomes jealous of their relationship and schemes on keeping them apart. Later, the Blairs hire Duke Ellington and his Cotton Orchestra to perform at their social function, but arrive two hours late due to their slow taxi transport by none other than Amos and Andy. "Check and Double Check" finally serves its title purpose as Amos and Andy attend their lodge club, "The Mystic Knights of the Sea." Their fraternity brother and mystic leader, Kingfish (Russell Powell), selects them as to spend the night in an old abandoned estate in Harlem acting as night watchmen and locate a piece of paper labeled "Check and Double Check," that's to be returned to the lodge the following morning. While the home has a reputation for being haunted, Amos and Andy are unaware the noises are being made by Ralph and assistant searching for an unclaimed deed of Richard's deceased grandfather needed in order for Ricjhard to marry Joan. Roscoe Ates (Roscoe); and Rita LaRoy (Elinor, Ralph's sister) are also seen in the cast. While Amos and Andy's girlfriends, Ruby Taylor and Madame Queen, are discussed, they do not appear.

Anyone familiar with the television series, "The Amos and Andy Show" (1951-1953), would be disappointed by this sole motion picture venture based on the same radio characters. Being an early talkie, certain sequences are drawn-out and stiffly played. Much of the story devotes more time on the Blair family than on Amos and Andy. Although there's no singers, the Blair function does present Duke Ellington's Band playing the hit tune to Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby's classic, "Three Little Words." Ellington, unfortunately, is glimpsed piano playing either by back of head or side facial profile, only gets his facial view in long shot.

With Hal Roach having Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, and RKO Radio having Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey, the same studio (RKO) gambled on the success by acquiring another comedy team, Amos and Andy. Reportedly successful in 1930, with viewers getting a full glimpse of the popular dual, interestingly there were no future follow-up Amos and Andy features nor comedy shorts. They did appear on screen once more, doing a guest spot in THE BIG BROADCAST OF 1936 (Paramount, 1935). As it appears, Amos and Andy were probably more popular and funnier on radio than on the silver screen. When Amos and Andy were transferred to television, the two-season comedy series featured natural black actors (Alvin Childress and Spencer Williams) in their title roles, yet they were mostly secondary players to its actual star of that program, Kingfish (wonderfully played by the scene-stealing Tim Moore).

Though Amos and Andy could be said to be black replicas to Laurel and Hardy, with Amos the thin and sensible partner to Amos's fat, loafing, cigar smoking character sitting back to think while Amos does all the work, their comedy routines include mix-up telephone conversation, their new math method with Kingfish; tire changing, and race against time taxi driving to Pennsylvania Station, which unfortunately lacks comedy scoring and obviously staged in front of a rear projection screen.

Who knows if CHECK AND DOUBLE CHECK might have stood the test of time had Amos and Andy been played by actual black actors as Sam McDaniel and Clarence Muse, as opposed to white actors in blackface. Yet with them doing the same exact thing might still stir up controversy by the way how blacks obtain laughter rather than getting laughter.

Having turned up on television around 1979, CHECK AND DOUBLE CHECK, a public domain title, did become available on video cassette (1980s) and years later on DVD. It has turned up sparingly on cable television's Turner Classic Movies, notably in 2006 as part of its subject matter, "Black Images on Film." As in 1930, this comedy would be seen today more as a curiosity than a comedy classic. (**)

Morbid Curiosity

[view_and_review · 1/10 · 11 January 2023]

I watched this movie on Tubi. Tubi had a disclaimer before the movie began which stated:

"The content you are about to view features depictions that are objectionable. We present this material for its historical value. We strongly believe that awareness of yesterday's prejudice and its lasting effects can be enhanced when that prejudice is seen through the lens of the entertainment it informed at the time."

Calling this movie objectionable is like saying after a hurricane, "It rained."

"Objectionable" is just a start.

I know that in 1930 many people found "Amos n' Andy" amusing. I'm sure that even today there are people who find it amusing. Those same people probably believe that those who find it offensive are "woke liberals" or "snowflakes."

I only watched this movie just to say I'd seen with my own eyes, and heard with my own ears, the lowbrow and racist humor from Amos n' Andy. I don't regularly watch things that I know are going to make me bristle, but this was one of those few times I did.

Amos and Andy (Freeman F. Gosden and Charles J. Correll) were a pair of unintelligent Harlemites who owned a taxi company called Fresh Air Taxi Cab Co. I don't think I have to mention that they were played by two white men in blackface. The two actors did their best/worst (i.e. Most stereotypical and exaggerated) impression of Black men, which meant broken English with Black twang to it and idiot behavior.

What's worse is that they weren't the only men in blackface! There were at least a couple dozen more in their Lodge meeting.

Another reviewer hinted that it wasn't racist and that the term is overused, which is laughable. Even if the term racist is overused that doesn't exempt this entire production from the very apt description. What do you call it when the hegemony of a country exclude a people from an industry then do their own farcical version of those same people? Flattery?

The movie had two parallel stories that intersected. One storyline featured Amos and Andy while the second was of a high society family. Amos and Andy were the "comedy" while the white, high society family were the element of seriousness, sanity, and intelligence.

There's not much that can be gleaned from this disasterpiece except an historical perspective of cinema and societal tastes. Now that I've satisfied my morbid curiosity I can move on to saner, more intelligent, and better works.

Free on Tubi.

Check and Double Check - Racist Kaka

[arthur_tafero · 2/10 · 6 October 2022]

I love the old Amos and Andy TV shows; I have seen all of them, and find them all hilarious. The writing was grand, the characters unforgettable, and the situations were very funny. But that was the TV series. And yes, I understand why some people might have found the TV series racist and offensive, but I knew of MANY black friends of mine who absolutely would not miss an episode of the TV Amos and Andy. This Hollywood version, however, IS racist and not really that funny. Doing blackface is always offensive to black people, regardless of the intent. Ted Danson found that out the hard way. Don't waste your time on this kaka; see the TV episodes instead, and see some real comedy.