The movie was released in 1930 and was a big hit in it's day. It detailed the exploits of Amos (Freeman Gosden) and Andy (Charles Correll), the owners of a taxicab company, who attempt to make a living carting people from place to place each day. Times are tight and the duo are not exactly financial geniuses-they fall prey to a "friend" called Kingfish (Russ Powell) who tricks them into sharing their profits and/or doing stuff no one else wants to do (so long as it'll enrich Kingfish himself). The movie is almost like two movies in one, with the rest of the movie centered on a love triangle between three wealthy people that cross paths with the comic duo a few times.

So, why is a sort of funny movie so offensive to some people? Well, Amos and Andy are both Black men (actually, they were White men wearing blackface makeup). Rather than embrace, and ridicule, the stereotypes shown, special interest groups have done everything they could to remove any and all references to the comic couple. I recall a popular television series in the 1970's, over 40 years after Amos and Andy started out, called Sanford & Son that displayed an old Black man that had less sense than the groundbreaking duo had but somehow that was okay since it routinely put down White people (and any establishment types that crossed Fred's path). The same held true for the tales of George Jefferson in The Jeffersons where the racist George was allowed to do and say anything he wanted solely based on his race (as an oppressed minority, he was thus empowered).

The humor was mostly dated to the point where it wasn't particularly funny and the story involving the wealthy folks was simplistic so the entertainment value wasn't great here. If you're really interested in some of the funniest television ever aired, you'll seek out the television exploits of Amos & Andy from the early 1950's. That said, there were a few bits here that showed a lot of humor that wasn't based in racial stereotypes. There was also a rare performance by the legendary Duke Ellington. All in all though, this is one for the historians more than those looking for a comedy. As such, I rate it a Rent It.

Picture: The picture was presented in it's original 1.33:1 ratio full frame black & white. Like all movies that are over 70 years old, it looked it's age. There was a lot of grain and plenty of scratches on the print used. The sight gags were mostly easy to see but no one will be using this as reference material for their system.

Sound: The sound was in mono but cleaned up enough that you could hear the vocals without too much distortion. The music was similarly aged but also interesting to listen to.

Extras: A list of credits with no paper insert.

Final Thoughts: Okay, this was a pretty weak release for anyone but the film historians that will likely appreciate it as one of the first talking films made (and still around to watch-most movies from those days have long since deteriorated out of existence). Not a great film, nor particularly representative of the Amos & Andy phenomonenon, but it's worth a rental to see what the fuss was all about. Like all front runners in entertainment, these two comics provided a lot of people with laughs and helped make a lot of current entertainment possible.