MGM musical adapted from the Broadway musical of the same name. 'Cabin in the Sky' has an all black cast, essentially unheard of in a major studio film of its time. Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, best known as Jack Benny's sidekick on his very popular radio program, plays Little Joe Jackson, a well meaning fellow with an unfortunate weakness for gambling.
After Joe is shot and killed in a gambling dispute, his wife (played by Ethel Waters) prays to the Lord to have him back. God obliges, wipes Joe's memory of the afterlife and gives him a 6 month probation to prove he really did intend to mend his ways. He is watched over by an angel played by Kenneth Spencer and by Lucifer Jr played Rex Ingram, who employs the sultry Lena Horn in an effort to lead Joe off the straight and narrow. Employing stereotypes of its time the film is still well meaning, creative, and musically solid, including Duke Ellington as himself and Louis Armstrong as one of Lucifer Jr's devil helpers. ***
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