Cabin in the Sky, A (bd50)

1943 • NR • Series • Catalog pick

Lena Horne, Ethel Waters, Eddie Rochester Anderson, Duke Ellington and his Orchestra, and Louis Armstrong head an exciting cast of musical legends in this musical fantasy as temptation pulls a man toward Satan... and his loving and God-fearing wife fights for his eternal soul. Seriously injured in a barroom brawl, Little Joe Jackson (Anderson) hovers between life and death, dreaming that he is the centerpiece of an epic struggle between Heaven and Hell for his soul: On his side are the prayers of his loyal, pious wife, Petunia (Waters) battling on the side of darkness is Lucifer Jr. (Rex Ingram) and his most powerful weapon, the beautiful and seductive Georgia Brown, played to the hilt by a stunning Lena Horne. Based on the hit Broadway musical which starred Waters and Ingram, the film is best remembered as the feature directorial debut of the great Vincente Minnelli.