Spencer Williams was an African American actor and filmmaker. He was best known for playing Andy in the Amos 'n Andy television show and for directing the 1941 race film The Blood of Jesus. Williams was a pioneer African-American film producer and director.
Biography from TMDB.
- July 14, 1893
- December 13, 1969 (aged 76)
- Vidalia, Louisiana, USA
- Actor, director and writer, also producer
- 8 on MovieCove · 29 credits in all
Known for
What are Spencer Williams' films like?
Across their 8 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Bonds.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 8
A split, not a type: Light 4 · Serious 2 · Dark 2
Grounded 6 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 0
Gentle 3 · Charged 5 · Intense 0
Steady 6 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 4 · Some laughs 4 · Funny 0
Slow burn 6 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 0
Casual 6 · Engaged 2 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 4 · Affecting 3 · Heavy 1
Resolved 7 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0
Roles they play
Usually the Shadow: 2 of 3 analyzed roles.
- Shadowas Butch Carter in Two-Gun Man from Harlem (1938)
- Mentoras Watson in Harlem Rides the Range (1939)
- Shadowas Wesley Hill in Of One Blood (1944)
Moods and endings
- Happy5
- Bittersweet1
- Tragic1
- Ambiguous1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Spencer Williams' films?
As of October 24, 2026, all 8 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (7).
- Jivin' in Be-Bop (1946) · director · free
- The Blood of Jesus (1941) · actor, director, writer, producer · free
- Dirty Gertie from Harlem U.S.A. (1946) · actor, director · free
- Two-Gun Man from Harlem (1938) · actor · free
- The Bronze Buckaroo (1939) · actor · free
- Harlem Rides the Range (1939) · actor, writer · free
- Of One Blood (1944) · actor, director, writer · free
Subscription and free streaming for Spencer Williams' titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
29 credits, 8 with a MovieCove page; 2 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films
Bourbon Street Beat (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1959)
Amos 'n' Andy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1951)
Rhapsody of Negro Life (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1949)
Midcredits score: 16th percentile of all films
Juke Joint (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1947)
Jivin' in Be-Bop(1946)
Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Beale Street Mama (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1946)
Girl in Room 20 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1946)
The Negro Sailor (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1945)
Harlem Hotshots (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1945)
Go Down Death (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1944)
Of One Blood(1944)
Midcredits score: 7th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Marching On! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1943)
Brother Martin: Servant of Jesus (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1942)
The Blood of Jesus(1941)
Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all films
Son of Ingagi (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1940)
Bad Boy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1939)
Harlem Rides the Range(1939)
Midcredits score: 10th percentile of all films
The Bronze Buckaroo(1939)
Midcredits score: 13th percentile of all films
Two-Gun Man from Harlem(1938)
Midcredits score: 15th percentile of all films
Harlem on the Prairie (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1937)
Hot Biskits (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)
Georgia Rose (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1930)
Brown Gravy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1929)
The Lady Fare (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1929)
The Widow's Bite (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1929)
The Framing of the Shrew (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1929)
Melancholy Dame (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1929)
Career shape
A full career of 28 titles from 1929 to 1959.
Highest rated
The Blood of Jesus (1941)
Most popular right now
Scandalize My Name: Stories from the Blacklist (1998)
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Spencer Williams' films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 16th percentile, the median of all 8; across their 8 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 25th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up1
- 50th to 74th1
- Below 25th6
Shape of the crowd
6 of their 8 titles are Mixed.
- Universally Panned1
- Crowd Pleaser1
- Mixed6
Reviewers score the acting 48/100 in their films, across 6 reviewed titles; fans 66, detractors 22. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does Spencer Williams work with?
People who share at least 2 of Spencer Williams' MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Richard C. Kahn shares the most, 3.
Directors
- Richard C. KahnShared titles: Harlem Rides the Range (1939), The Bronze Buckaroo (1939), Two-Gun Man from Harlem (1938)See all 3 shared titles with Richard C. Kahn
Actors
- Clarence BrooksShared titles: Harlem Rides the Range (1939), The Bronze Buckaroo (1939), Two-Gun Man from Harlem (1938)See all 3 shared titles with Clarence Brooks
- Tom SouthernShared titles: Harlem Rides the Range (1939), The Bronze Buckaroo (1939), Two-Gun Man from Harlem (1938)See all 3 shared titles with Tom Southern
- Artie YoungShared titles: Harlem Rides the Range (1939), The Bronze Buckaroo (1939)See all 2 shared titles with Artie Young
- F.E. MillerShared titles: Harlem Rides the Range (1939), The Bronze Buckaroo (1939)See all 2 shared titles with F.E. Miller
Composers and cinematographers
- Clark RamseyShared titles: Harlem Rides the Range (1939), The Bronze Buckaroo (1939)See all 2 shared titles with Clark Ramsey
- Lew PorterShared titles: Harlem Rides the Range (1939), The Bronze Buckaroo (1939)See all 2 shared titles with Lew Porter
- Roland PriceShared titles: Harlem Rides the Range (1939), The Bronze Buckaroo (1939)See all 2 shared titles with Roland Price
Producers
- Alfred N. SackShared titles: Dirty Gertie from Harlem U.S.A. (1946), Of One Blood (1944), The Blood of Jesus (1941)See all 3 shared titles with Alfred N. Sack
Mixed roles
- Herb JeffriesShared titles: Harlem Rides the Range (1939), Two-Gun Man from Harlem (1938)See all 2 shared titles with Herb Jeffries
