This unique, Musical fantasy was the first film directed by Vincente Minnelli. It stars Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson as Joseph 'Little Joe' Jackson, a man with a gambling problem whose wife Petunia, played by Ethel Waters, is so strong in her faith that her prayers enable her husband to receive a second chance. Little Joe's dealing with nefarious characters like Domino Johnson (John William Sublett) gets him shot, which leads to a scene in which the Devil's son Lucifer Jr. (Rex Ingram) is ready to take his soul to Hell before the Lord's General (Kenneth Spencer) intervenes and gives the gambler 6 months to reform. Ingram and Spencer also play characters in Little Joe's "real" life, a fellow gambler and Petunia's Reverend Greene, respectively. Ernest Whitman appears as one of Little Joe's creditors, and a club owner.Petunia represents one of Waters' few on-screen roles; she would go on to earn a Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her role in Pinky (1949). She sings the film's Academy Award nominated Song - "Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe". On the other, Anderson, whose gravelly voice is as recognizable as Eugene Palette's, had already appeared in more than 50 films at this point in his career which spanned nearly 70 roles, most of which were stereotypical for Black actors of his era. Lena Horne, whose character also sings, plays the femme fatale, Georgia Brown, who Lucifer Jr. uses to tempt Little Joe during his reprieve. Louis Armstrong plays (his trumpet and) a minor role as one of Lucifer Jr.'s idea men, as does Mantan Moreland and shaky voiced Willie Best. Butterfly McQueen plays one of Petunia's friends and Duke Ellington appears (with his band) as himself; Cab Calloway also appears.

A compulsive gambler (Eddie Anderson) dies during a shooting, but he will receive a second chance to reform himself and to make up with his worried wife (Ethel Waters).What I find odd about this is that MGM's DVD has a warning before it starts that what you see might be considered racist today. This might be the case. However, having seen countless films from the 1930s and 1940s with black actors, I can confidently say this is far from the worst depiction you will see. In fact, the film has an all-black cast, which has to be something of a milestone in itself regardless of how it is interpreted.There is nothing too shocking in the picture as far as the plot is concerned. You can reasonably predict where it will go. But there is the now timeless theme of a good angel and a bad angel fighting over a man's soul... and their battles might be of interest. I liked it.

Cabin in the Sky (1943)*** (out of 4) Landmark MGM Musical has sinner 'Little Joe' Jackson (Eddie 'Rochester Anderson) getting killed inside a gambling house but his wife Petunia (Ethel Waters) says a prayer, which causes a fuss in Heaven. Lucifer, Jr. (Rex Ingram) wants to take Jackson to Hell but the good guys are able to make a deal where he gets six more months on Earth to prove himself good. Jackson starts off well but soon Lucifer puts Georgia Brown (Lena Horne) on the case. This all-black cast Musical has one of the better reputations out there for a race picture and it's certainly one of the best. There's no question that MGM took a fairly simple story and filled it with some great performances, nice songs, wonderful direction and in the end we're left with a pretty important picture. Considering one scene in this movie cost more than ten other race movies of this era, it's refreshing to see what a black cast could do when given the chance. Considering how well this film turned out, it's a shame more movies like this didn't follow but what we have here is still quite special. For me the highlights of this film are the performances with the three leads fitting into their roles so well that you really forget that you're watching a movie. The spiritual and fiery nature of Waters makes for a brilliant performance as she really digs into this role and makes it her own. She's funny, sweet and very touching in her scenes of prayer and one can't help but feel as if she really is the perfect wife the screenplay makes her out to be. Anderson and that wonderful voice is perfect for that not-so-bright character who tries well but often finds himself in even more trouble. Ingram is a lot of fun as Lucifer, Jr. and Kenneth Spencer and his wonderful voice is a pleasure as well. We even get Louis Armstong, Willie Best, Mantan Moreland and Leon James Poke doing fine work. Just look at the type of performances Moreland and Best get to give here in comparison to the typical roles and performance they had to give in other Hollywood productions. With all of that said, it's Horne who steals the show as the devil-ish Peach. I know a scene involving Horne in a bath (later to appear in the short STUDIO VISIT) was cut but I was still surprised to see how sexual the production code allowed here. From her taking her shirt off to her sexual walks to her shirt being tied up. The sexual fire Horne brings to the role makes her beauty really jump off the screen but we also get that great voice. The story itself isn't the strongest but I think it does the job as we care for Anderson enough to the point that we want to see him stay out of trouble and make it to Heaven. The songs are all pretty good, the direction top-notch and in the end we're given a rare chance to see what black actors could do when given a shot. It's a shame we didn't get more productions like this one.

"Cabin in the Sky" is always a delight to watch. The loving performances are still so fresh. And as Minnelli's debut "project" it's fascinating to notice how he cut corners yet achieved a respectable though low budget MGM musical. (Minnelli even recycled the twister footage from "Wizard of Oz," complete with corn cribs and Kansas prairie in the background, during the film's climactic nightclub episode.) By 1943, most MGM musicals were in Technicolor, not black and white. It's obvious the film script and lyrics were upgraded and rewritten from their Broadway roots so there were less stereotypic images and songs (the original lyrics to the title song include the "darkie dream" of "eating fried chicken every day.") The "cabin" is not a hovel but rather charming in that typical MGM glossy way. Yet much does remain that is somewhat problematic. The number "Shine," sung by "Domino Johnson" in the nightclub, for instance, is a derogatory "coon song" of 1910. (A "shine" was a racist term for an African American.) Yes, Ethel Waters and the other women who are not good-looking babes are laundresses but they're not portrayed as the typical movie mammies or Aunt Jemimah types. They wear '40s length dresses and kerchiefs, not mammy bandanas. The pretty women are all vamps and tramps, hanging out in Jim Henry's nightclub, jitterbugging their asses off. The males are shown as gamblers, cheats, and philanderers. Only the angels speak standard English. Illiterate "Little Joe" cannot even sign his name for the telegram delivery guy.Yet as a variation on the FAUST legend, this well-developed story is fascinating. I first used the film in a Mass Media class about 40 years ago when I was a beginning teacher to illustrate "screen racism" to my classes at an African American Chicago high school. The power of the performances was so captivating, once the word got out I had other kids coming by my room during my lunch to watch the musical, too. Where else, in the late '60s, could anyone see a film that featured so many all-time great black performers like Duke Ellington, Butterfly McQueen, Mantan Moreland, Willie Best, and all the others. At that time, during the beginnings of the Afrocentric cultural awareness movement, older images of blacks like the "Amos 'N' Andy" TV program and some of the all-black musicals, were banned from television. Thank God for film! The movie may illustrate some of the problems connected with portraying racial themes in old Hollywood of the studio period, but to this day each time I watch it I appreciate the performances more and notice new details that captivate and inspire me. Watch for Ernestine Wade (who played Kingfish's wife Saffire on TV's early '50s "Amos 'N' Andy") in the opening church service scene sitting in the front row wearing a Tyrolean style hat. Dorothy Dandridge's challenging mother Ruby is a couple rows behind her with a silly hat and some little boys sleeping under her arm.