When compulsive gambler Little Joe Jackson dies in a drunken fight, he awakens in purgatory, where he learns that he will be sent back to Earth for six months to prove that he deserves to be in heaven. He awakens, remembering nothing and struggles to do right by his devout wife, Petunia, while an angel known as the General and the devil's son, Lucifer Jr., fight for his soul.
Cast and Crew
Ethel Waters
Petunia Jackson
Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson
Joseph 'Little Joe' Jackson
Lena Horne
Georgia Brown
Louis Armstrong
The Trumpeter
Rex Ingram
Lucius / Lucifer Jr.
Kenneth Spencer
The General / Rev. Greene
John 'Bubbles' Sublett
Domino Johnson
Oscar Polk
The Deacon / Fleetfoot
Mantan Moreland
First Idea Man
Willie Best
Second Idea Man
Fletcher Rivers
Third Idea Man
Leon James Poke
Fourth Idea Man
Bill Bailey
Bill
Ford Washington Lee
Messenger Boy
Butterfly McQueen
Lily
Ruby Dandridge
Mrs. Kelso
Nick Stewart
Dude
Ernest Whitman
Jim Henry
Jules Adger
Specialty Dancer in Hell Sequence (uncredited)
Doris Ake
Dancer / Jim Henry Paradise Patron (uncredited)
Juliette Ball
Jim Henry's Paradise Patron (uncredited)
Lennie Bluett
Dancer / Jim Henry's Paradise Patron (uncredited)
Bernard Bradley
Specialty Dancer in Hell Sequence (uncredited)
Daisy Bufford
Dancer / Jim Henry's Paradise Patron (uncredited)
Jas. Burch
Specialty Dancer in Hell Sequence (uncredited)
Curry Lee Calmes
Specialty Dancer in Hell Sequence (uncredited)
Rita Christiani
Specialty Dancer in Hell Sequence / Jitterbugger (uncredited)
Vivian Dandridge
Dancer / Jim Henry's Paradise Patron (uncredited)
June Decuire
Specialty Dancer in Hell Sequence (uncredited)
Dorothea Durham
Dancer / Jim Henry's Paradise Patron (uncredited)
Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington (uncredited)
Byron Ellis
Specialty Dancer in Hell Sequence (uncredited)
Joel Fluellen
Mr. Kelso / Jim Henry's Paradise Patron (uncredited)
Louise Franklin
Dancer / Jim Henry's Paradise Patron (uncredited)
William Gillespie
Soloist in 'Little Black Sheep' (uncredited)
Suzette Harbin
Dancer / Jim Henry's Paradise Patron (uncredited)
Avanelle Harris
Dancer / Jim Henry's Paradise Patron (uncredited)
Kathleen Hartsfield
Dancer at Jim Henry's Paradise (uncredited)
Maggie Hathaway
Dancer / Jim Henry's Paradise Patron (uncredited)
Cleo Herndon
Dancer / Jim Henry's Paradise Patron (uncredited)
Lawaune Ingram
Specialty Dancer in Hell Sequence (uncredited)
Bobby Johnson
Specialty Dancer in Hell Sequence (uncredited)
Glenn Leedy
Boy in Church (uncredited)
Meade 'Lux' Lewis
Whistling Solo in 'Take a Chance on Love' (uncredited)