Cabin in the Sky

Ethel Waters, Eddie ‘Rochester’ Anderson, Lena Horne, Louis Armstrong

With its all-Black cast, MGM’s 1943 musical Cabin in the Sky is a rare and invaluable showcase for some of its era’s most legendary African American performers. Director Vincente Minnelli’s (An American in Paris, Meet Me in St. Louis, The Band Wagon) first feature, this superbly cast Faustian fantasy stars Ethel Waters, Eddie ‘Rochester’ Anderson and Lena Horne in her first and only leading role in an MGM musical; with Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington and his orchestra performing alongside. Like many films of the period, Cabin in the Sky utilises troubling racial stereotypes. It also brilliantly demonstrates the fantastic talent of its cast of under-seen performers.

Based on the hit Broadway musical of the same name, it follows compulsive gambler Little Joe Jackson (Anderson) as he dies in a drunken fight. Upon awakening in purgatory, he learns he will be sent back to Earth for six months to prove he deserves to be in heaven, while an angel, The General (Kenneth Spencer) and the devil’s son Lucifer Jr (Rex Ingram) fight for his soul.

With its dreamlike sets and then cutting-edge production design, knockout dance numbers and lively songs (including the Academy Award nominated ‘Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe’, beautifully performed by Ethel Waters), Cabin in the Sky is a parable of salvation and an elaborate fantasy of African American life.

As this 35mm print is from the BFI National Archive, it cannot be cut and joined for screening on a tower or platter. It will therefore need to be screened reel-to-reel using twin 35mm projectors, and will need to be closely supervised throughout the screening by an experienced projectionist.