Today, I decided to listen to the radio version and watch on Google Video the TV version of "The Christmas Story" episode of "The Amos 'n' Andy Show". Both are pretty much the same story word for word and scene for scene. Well, actually, the TV version has an additional scene of the birth of Amos' child Arbadella (Patti Marie Ellis) who nine years later wants a talking doll for Christmas. Her uncle Andy, despite being broke, resolves to get it for her by becoming a Santa's helper in the Globe department store. There he encounters kids both kind and bratty. I'll stop there and mention that Alvin Childress as Amos really shines here especially when he explains to daughter Arbadella what "The Lord's Prayer" really means. Andy himself is more of a sympathetic character here then his usual more slightly naive portrayal. Both Lightnin' and Kingfish provide their own brief amusements. All in all, both the radio and TV version of "The Christmas Story" are very worthy tales for the holiday season. By the way, the Paul Taylor Chrous provided the "The Lord's Prayer" song and "Silent Night" on the radio version from December 22, 1944. And I have to mention that Charles Correll-who played Andy on radio-died in my birthtown of Chicago, Illinois on September 26, 1972. Also Amos' wife Ruby (Jane Adams) was added for the TV version.
2 Reviews
See it for yourself.
planktonrules28 December 2023
The "Amos 'n Andy Show" is a program most people today would rather not talk about....as it's considered by many to be a racist show. However, despite its racist beginnings where white radio actors pretended to be black men for laughs, the 1950s show was a lot more enlightened...though some still blanch at the antics of the leads, Andy and the Kingfish as they are REALLY stupid. But if you watch the shows, the rest of the cast were nice, hardworking folks...whether black or white. Plus, some episodes simply have nothing a reasonable person could dislike. A nice example is "The Christmas Story"...a sweet little episode you can find on YouTube.
The story begins with a flashback to the birth of Amos' daughter. Andy is the nervous godfather and he's as proud as Amos at the baby girl's birth. Years pass and now his goddaughter, Arbadella, is spending time with Andy looking in the department store window at the Christmas display. She sees a talking doll and tells Amos she'd love it...but her father told her Santa cannot afford it. So, Andy gets a job as a department store Santa in order to get her that doll.
This is an unusual episode because the Kingfish and Lightnin' aren't in much of it. And, it's unusual because Amos is prominently featured. So, despite the title of the show, Amos was not in many episodes and had become a secondary character. A more appropriate title based on how much of the episodes they appear in would have been "Kingfish 'n Andy"! The overall effect of this is that the show is less about humor and the two lead's idiotic behaviors and is more of a family show...featuring Amos and his sweet family. It also is highly unusual for Amos' little speech about the Lord's Prayer...very sweet and unusual even for the 1950s.
So is this Christmas episode worth searching for on YouTube? Yes and no. If you want a rollicking comedy, it's not particularly funny. But it IS sweet and shows that the television program really wasn't necessarily racist. The characters are all very decent, and good people...something you rarely saw with black characters of that era.
The story begins with a flashback to the birth of Amos' daughter. Andy is the nervous godfather and he's as proud as Amos at the baby girl's birth. Years pass and now his goddaughter, Arbadella, is spending time with Andy looking in the department store window at the Christmas display. She sees a talking doll and tells Amos she'd love it...but her father told her Santa cannot afford it. So, Andy gets a job as a department store Santa in order to get her that doll.
This is an unusual episode because the Kingfish and Lightnin' aren't in much of it. And, it's unusual because Amos is prominently featured. So, despite the title of the show, Amos was not in many episodes and had become a secondary character. A more appropriate title based on how much of the episodes they appear in would have been "Kingfish 'n Andy"! The overall effect of this is that the show is less about humor and the two lead's idiotic behaviors and is more of a family show...featuring Amos and his sweet family. It also is highly unusual for Amos' little speech about the Lord's Prayer...very sweet and unusual even for the 1950s.
So is this Christmas episode worth searching for on YouTube? Yes and no. If you want a rollicking comedy, it's not particularly funny. But it IS sweet and shows that the television program really wasn't necessarily racist. The characters are all very decent, and good people...something you rarely saw with black characters of that era.
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