program were portrayed as African Americans but were in fact entirely voiced by whites. This had posed no problem on the radio, but obviously would not be suitable for a film where the actors could be seen as well as heard. Rather than hire black actors for the roles and instruct them to imitate to the maximum extent possible the stereotypical voices used by the radio performers, program creators Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll performed the roles themselves in blackface. Another problem was the attempt to base a full-length picture on a 15-minute-long radio program. In order to do this, the film's producers decided to flesh out the story with a love triangle involving white characters, essentially making Amos and Andy minor characters in what was marketed as a film about them. Music Duke Ellington and his band were invited to be a part of the film, not just to provide the music but also to appear performing in the film itself. This helped propel Ellington into a national spotlight. The director did not want to give audiences the impression that Ellington's band was racially integrated, and was worried that two band members were too light skinned. So valve trombonist Juan Tizol, who was Puerto Rican, and clarinetist Barney Bigard, a Creole, wore stage makeup to appear as dark as Amos and Andy on film. The songs included: "Three Little Words" - Music by Harry Ruby, lyrics by Bert Kalmar; performed by Duke Ellington and His Cotton Club Band, vocals by The Rhythm Boys (Bing Crosby, Harry Barris, and Al Rinker) (band members lip synched to the Rhythm Boys vocals) "Nobody Knows But the Lord" - Music by Harry Ruby, lyrics by Bert Kalmar; sung by lodge brothers "Ring Dem Bells" - Written by Duke Ellington; performed by Duke Ellington and His Cotton Club Band "Old Man Blues" - Written by Duke Ellington and Irving Mills; performed by Duke Ellington and His Cotton Club Band "East St. Louis Toodle-O" - Written by James "Bubber" Miley and Duke Ellington "Am I Blue?" - Music by Harry Akst, lyrics by Grant Clarke; partially sung by Freeman F. Gosden "The Perfect Song" - Words and music by Joseph Carl Breil; theme from the Amos and Andy radio program Response The film was profitable for RKO, earning a profit of $260,000. However, RKO examined ticket sale patterns and determined that the film's success was