Amos 'n' Andy: Anatomy of a Controversy (1983 TV Movie) User Reviews

The Good, the bad and the Politically Correct

[caspian1978 · 8/10 · 22 September 2015]

For 1983, this documentary reminds its modern audience about the dawn of television and how the "black" community was showcased to the world. Now, over 30 years later, the opinion on Amos n Andy is still divided. "Amos 'n' Andy" originally aired on CBS from June 1951 to June 1953 and was a huge hit, but was yanked off the air under tremendous pressure from the NAACP who felt it was racist. At the time, and to its credit, Amos n Andy was the first and only depiction of a "black community" on national television. The series cast a all black cast to depict its characters. While the Three Stooges and I Love Lucy only depicted "black" actors as servants, Amos n Andy showed black actors portraying black judges, lawyers, police officers, business owners, home owners, and yet, also moronic individuals who had trouble pronouncing and using proper English. Compared to Archie Bunkers depiction of the English language, many would defend Amos n Andy to the ignorance of Ralph from the Honeymooners or the majority of the cast members of Gilligan's Island.

Amos is among the cast but is also the Narrator to many of the episodes. Having Amos be the storyteller, it is almost a depiction of a Black man's story about his black friends. However, many would still argue that the depiction of 1950's African / Afro / Negro / Black American is still racist.

The controversy still continues. Then again, looking back at the quality of comedy from the early 50's, Amos n Andy still stands strong among today's audience. From the story line, quality of acting and production value, Amos n Andy still gathers laughs from its audience. Still, is the audience laughing for the right reasons.

This documentary posts a worthy question to its audience. The answer is left for you to give.

History Entertainment

[ramblinjack1 · 8/10 · 21 March 2009]

"Amos 'n Andy - Anatomy Of A Controversy"

"In 1966, the NAACP won a 6 year battle and a double-edged victory against CBS television in their move to have the re-running episodes of 'Amos n' Andy' taken off the air forever.

The consensus by the black advocate organization at the time was that the series promoted a stereo-typical image of blacks that couldn't possibly incur positive 'role models' to the public at large.

In retrospect, little did the NAACP realize, that their efforts ended a landmark entertainment institution, which by it's very existence, 'smashed the doors of 'white only' television shows and may have kept black TV shows from returning to the major networks for years.

Amos 'n Andy was the first all-black cast television series. Amos 'n Andy was the first recurring episodic venue on TV which portrayed numerous characters in a myriad of roles (regular and guest starring) which for the most part were played by black actors.

It's true that the original creators of the characters Amos and Andy were white voices mimicking blacks and that they portrayed their original persona's on the radio for decades in parody as much as tribute, or so it was interpreted. But this fact just happens to be the genesis of an enduring group of unforgettable characters who brought laughter to the multitudes, from radio, to television and even a feature film starring the aforementioned white creators in black face (which, admittedly, was a disastrous misfire in any interpretation)! But when you consider the television series, it's break-through, at a time when TV itself didn't even have an identity (Amos 'n Andy debuted in 1951), this experiment was unique, bold, and had an 'edge' that may be compared to the power of Medgar Evans, Rosa Parks and other pioneers who stood their ground to advance their purpose. For the fact remains, TV's "Amos 'n Andy" once and forever opened the doors for all people of color to follow into the medium that had the most impact on America's mores at that time- television.

Redd Foxx, Bill Cosby, "Julia's" Diahann Carroll and "Mannix's" Gail Fisher right down to "everyday normality" through the 1960's into the '70's, '80's and to today forever changed the label from "black actors" into simply Actors! Had the NAACP overstepped it's power? Watch this special and you be the judge. This wonderful tribute show has clips, interviews and the complete history of the Amos and Andy Story from it's 'stumbled on' premise in the early 1920's to the lasting impact that it has burgeoned upon the industry and the memory of all who had the luck to witness it.

Oh, lest I forget, the show was also damn funny! Isn't it interesting how talent always endures; at least to the self-confidant.

Hosted by comedian George Kirby, this 1986 TV special features hilarious clips from the "Amos 'n Andy" Radio and TV series, comments by the late Redd Foxx, Marla ("The Jeffersons") Gibbs, Reverend Jesse Jackson (when he made sense) and interviews with '1986' surviving original cast members! Also- portions of a rare vintage "Amos 'n Andy" b/w cartoon and a clip from the famous 'one time only' feature film!!! In Color and B&W. Approx. 60 Minutes.

Putting things in perspective.

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 25 July 2012]

I am probably correct in assuming that most younger folks have no idea what the "Amos 'n Andy Show" was or why there is a controversy about it. This obscure documentary hosted by George Kirby helps to explain a little bit about this but I'll try to sum it up: Back in the late 1920s, two white guys had a huge hit with the radio version of "Amos 'n Andy". The idea of two white guys doing this is very racist when you think about it, but back in the day folks (black and white) accepted this and the show was one of the most popular of the time. The duo even made a movie ("Check and Double Check")--in black face! It was simply dreadful--unfunny and a bit nasty.

By the 1950s, there was a dilemma. While the radio show was popular, folks were clamoring for a TV version and the network decided to relaunch the show with an all-black cast. And, for two years, the show was very popular and was occasionally seen in syndication into the 1960s. However, by this time, people were not comfortable with the show. After all, two of the main character (Andy and the Kingfish) were amazingly stupid and shiftless--and when the show was on TV, this was one of the only depictions of blacks in America! Now had the show been on when other, more realistic, depictions of blacks been on TV, I doubt that people would have felt so upset--but the only other show with a black main character at the time was "Beulah"--a black maid! Because of this and changing sensitivities in the country, the show was essentially shelved after negative criticism from the likes of the NAACP.

"Anatomy of a Controversy" seems to take the position that the show has been unfairly forgotten--that the black 1950s cast was immensely talented and the show, in itself, wasn't bad. And, it celebrates the talented actors who made the show. To do this, they interview various people and show a highly abbreviated episode of the old show. All in all, it's quite entertaining and compelling. The only real negatives are that the show looks a bit cheaply made and Kirby, inexplicably, does some impersonations that have no place in the show--it's only to show off Kirby's talents as an impressionist. In addition to Kirby, the likes of Jesse Jackson, Redd Foxx and Marla Gibbs all speak their minds about the show--and seemed to recall it very fondly and positively.

Well worth seeing--and an interesting look at our history--politically correct or not.

Guys, what's the big idea about "Amos N' Andy"?

[hiphats · 22 June 2003]

I'm surprised there has not been any other documentary about a television show that I see today as being years ahead of its time. This program tells you only the basics of the history of the legendary television show, but it is enough to make you think.

The show was produced in 1986, involving some of the then-surviving cast. Seeing this show today as I did in a recent rerun on the TRIO network, those voices still speak to us. There are enough clips from the original show to remind you of a time when life was so innocent, when all we can do is just watch a show and laugh without looking at the negative issues that surround this show even to this very day.

This program contains a condensed version of a selected series episode where Kingfish buys what turns out to be a movie lot. Even in its condensed form, this episode is just a little reminder of classic television at its best...this, of course, was before "I Love Lucy" went on the air and became a success of its own.

The narrator, George Kirby, is right...we should see "Amos N' Andy" for what it is...a show that paved the way for the African-American television shows that have followed since the show's original cancellation. Controversy may still keep reruns of the "Amos N' Andy" show off the air, but if everyone in the world followed Mr. Kirby's example, perhaps CBS will change their minds and release it officially on video.

So, to sum it all up, 'guys, what's the problem? Why make a mountain out of a little molehill?' That mountain has grown for almost four decades...let's appreciate "Amos N' Andy" in a positive light.

I highly recommend you see this show the next time it's telecast and judge for yourself.

Carol Speed has dinner with George Kirby and his wife before he starts working on Amos 'n' Andy: Anatomy of A Controversy

[carol-249 · 10/10 · 25 May 2008]

The fact that Amos 'n' Andy lasted a few years is a testament within itself because most white series only last one season. Also, the fact that George Kirby came out of Terminal Island Federal Penitentiary, with no one knowing why he went to prison, and took on such a controversial subject matter like "Amos n Andy," when he came out of the penitentiary, is a testament to his courage. None of George Kirby's friends went to visit him at Terminal Island Federal Penitentiary because Redd Foxx said he had a good wife and couldn't understand how George Kirby could go to the penitentiary and not even make any money. It was the same penitentiary that Mickey Cohen went to but Mickey Cohen had made money off of heroin. Carol Speed ran into George Kirby on Hollywood and Vine, in Hollywood, right after he came home and she had dinner with him and his wife and he talked about how he wanted to make people truly understand how important the Amos 'n' Andy Series was to comedy and how he expected Redd Foxx to contribute with his views. Then George Kirby got busy with making Amos 'n' Andy: An Anatomy of A Controversy come into fruition. George Kirby's wife had saved his jewelry and suits so he pulled on his diamonds and became the George Kirby from Chicago that we all loved. The question now is why isn't Amos 'n' Andy: An Anatomy of A Controversy not on DVD. It looks like the same racist reasons why a lot of black films and documentaries are not on DVD.

Skip this documentary, watch the episodes instead

[F Gwynplaine MacIntyre · 1/10 · 18 March 2003]

"Amos 'n' Andy" was a phenomenally popular American radio programme, transmitting five days a week from 1929 to 1960! Although this was a comedy series, Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll (the actors who wrote the scripts and played all the male voices) had the brilliant idea of using serialised plot lines which continued from one episode to the next. Often, the Friday episode would end with a cliffhanger ... keeping the show's huge listening audience on tenterhooks over the weekend. Nearly all the characters in "Amos 'n' Andy" were Negroes (this being the accepted term at the time). Gosden and Correll, who were white, performed the black characters' voices in a broad minstrel-show dialect with heavy reliance on malapropisms and catchphrases such as "Amos, I'se regusted". Amos 'n' Andy made a few half-hearted movie appearances (featuring Gosden and Correll in blackface), but these were never remotely as popular as the radio series.

For the transition to television, producers Gosden and Correll wisely hired a talented cast of black actors to play their characters. Filmed at the Hal Roach studio in California, the TV show "Amos 'n' Andy" originally aired on CBS from June 1951 to June '53 and was a huge hit, but was yanked off the air under tremendous pressure from the NAACP. "Amos 'n' Andy" was also the very first American sitcom to air in Britain, where the BBC televised it fortnightly from April 1954 to September 1957. I was in Australia at the time, but later my stepfather told me about the tremendous interest which this programme aroused in the mid-1950s among British televiewers, both white and black. Eventually, social pressure led to the 78 television kinescopes of "Amos 'n' Andy" being suppressed for more than 20 years.

Was "Amos 'n' Andy" racist? The dialogue and situations in the TV series were slightly more realistic than the (much cruder) radio version. To its credit, this TV series gave steady employment to some talented African-American actors. Several of my black friends (in America and England) have told me nostalgic tales of how their families eagerly watched this show because (in the 1950s) it was the only TV programme that showed black people who weren't servants. The Negro characters in "Amos 'n' Andy" were businessmen, homeowners and housewives, not shoeshine boys or mammies. (In one episode, Kingfish quotes the Wall Street Journal.) The characters in "Amos 'n' Andy" had unfavourable traits, but they were no worse than white sitcom characters such as Gilligan, Eddie Haskell or Ralph Kramden. In fact, the Raccoon Lodge (in 'The Honeymooners') is clearly inspired by the Mystic Knights of the Sea, the fraternal lodge that inspired so many "Amos 'n' Andy" episodes.

Andy's friend Amos Jones was definitely a positive role model: a hard-working cab driver, a loving husband and father. But these positive traits made him a poor figure for comedy plot lines. In the radio series, Amos (voiced by Gosden) was a major character ... yet when this sitcom moved to television, Amos (now played by black actor Alvin Childress) was demoted to a mere narrator, speaking into the camera at the start of each episode to describe the antics of the more rascally Andy and his lodge brother the Kingfish.

"Amos 'n' Andy: Anatomy of a Controversy" was a TV documentary produced in 1986, timed to mark the release of the TV show's 78 episodes to video. This documentary's television format is painfully obvious: there are crude gaps for commercial breaks every few minutes. The on screen narrator is George Kirby, a very talented African-American actor who had no connexion to the original series, but whose comedy style is firmly in that vaudeville tradition. (Full disclosure: I worked with Kirby in the '70s.) During the first half of this hour-long programme, Kirby gives us a rundown of the TV series, its actors, and the social controversy. Annoyingly, we see NO clips from any of the episodes, nor any interview footage of anyone connected with the TV series. We DO get some irrelevant soundbites from a few black celebrities who offer their opinions of the TV show ... but these are only opinions, from people who have no direct link to the series.

For the second half of this documentary, Kirby announces that we will now see an episode of "Amos 'n' Andy" in its entirety: shown on TV for the first time in more than 20 years! We see the episode in which the Kingfish sells Andy a house ... but the 'house' is actually a flat backdrop left over from a recent movie shoot. It looks good from the front and the back, but it's only half an inch thick. When Andy walks through the front door, he finds himself standing in the back garden!

"Amos 'n' Andy: Anatomy of a Controversy" served a useful purpose in 1986, when most people had heard of this notorious TV series but nobody had seen it for many years. Now that all 78 episodes are available on video, we can make up our minds without this documentary. I'll rate "Anatomy of a Controversy" 1 point out of 10. Here's a trivia note which you WON'T learn from this documentary: Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher, the headwriters of the "Amos 'n' Andy" TV show, later created 'Leave It to Beaver' ... a series which was a lot less funny than "Amos 'n' Andy".

Historical, Informative, & Interesting.

[ernieswanks_757 · 30 December 2003]

I enjoyed the manner in which Mr. George Kirby set the whole thing up with some historical information. I further enjoyed the old footage from various shows. It further told a little bit about each actor i.e. Alvin Childress(Amos), Spencer Williams Jr. (Andy), Tim Moore (Kingfish), Ernestine Wade (Sapphire), Amanda Randolph (Mama), Johnny Lee (Calhoun), Nick O'Demus (Lghtnin), Lillian Randolph (Madame Queen).

The important thing that I learned was that these actors were extremly popular & they were the "pioneers" that made it possible for Black actors/actresses to gain future roles of great significance. It's clear in my mind that had it not been for this show & the opportunities it gave to African-American Actors for steady employment really makes me feel good.

Two White Men had a vision & they took it & ran with it. It worked & Gosden and Correll became millionaires. There's no reason why some Black people can't accomplish the same feat for themselves.

Decent

[Michael_Elliott · 26 February 2008]

Amos 'n' Andy: Anatomy of a Controversy (1986)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Interesting if brief documentary about the history of Amos 'n Andy from their radio show to the controversial 1951 CBS show, which was eventually canceled two years into its run due to the NAACP protest. Redd Foxx, Jesse Jackson and various others are interviewed about the show and we see clips from several episodes and I must say that I found the show pretty innocent and at times downright funny. As the host says, Amos and Andy weren't calling each other the "N" word nor was this show meant to be some sort of documentary. The show was made for laughs and as a comedy it worked. Having gone through some of the race films from this period I've gotten a better understand of why some would be offended but I personally can't see the issue with this show. I think it's a damn shame that the NAACP had this show canceled considering there were no other shows to feature a black cast. This was the first and I guess it paid the price as being the first black show. As it states in the documentary, this show put black people to work in front of and behind the camera so to take these jobs away is just downright stupid IMO. Especially when you consider the highest paid black actor was Al Jolson who was white! This documentary runs just under an hour so they never go into great details but there's an interesting story to be told here and hopefully something better will come along. It's funny to note that this show hasn't been seen since 1966 and remains so untouchable today. In fact, CBS has totally washed their hands of the show that they actually gave bootleggers permission to sell the show without any legal issues.