- Cabin in the Sky
Infobox_Film
name = Cabin in the Sky
imdb_id = 0035703
writer =Marc Connelly (uncredited)Lynn Root (play)Joseph Schrank
starring =Ethel Waters ,Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson ,Lena Horne ,Louis Armstrong ,
Rex Ingram,John W. Bubbles ,Oscar Polk ,Mantan Moreland ,Butterfly McQueen ,Ruby Dandridge ,
Kenneth Spencer ,
andDuke Ellington
director =Vincente Minnelli Busby Berkeley ("Shine" sequence) (uncredited)
producer =Arthur Freed
Albert Lewis
distributor =MGM
released =April 9 ,1943
runtime = 98 min
language = English
budget =US$ 662,141
music =Harold Arlen Vernon Duke
awards =
tagline = Broadway's big, fun-jammed music show is on the screen at last—crowded with stars and songs and spectacle in the famed MGM manner!"Cabin in the Sky" is an American Broadway musical which opened in 1940. A
motion picture based on the musical was produced byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer and released in 1943.The film version of "Cabin in the Sky" starred
Ethel Waters as Petunia and Eddie "Rochester" Anderson ofJack Benny fame as Little Joe.Lena Horne co-starred as the temptress Georgia Brown in her first and only leading role in an MGM musical. Other cast members includedLouis Armstrong as one ofLucifer Junior's minions, Rex Ingram as Lucifer Junior, andDuke Ellington and his Orchestra, who have a showcase musical number.Overview and history
"Cabin in the Sky" tells a version of the "
Faust " legend in which Little Joe, a man killed over gambling debts, is given six months to redeem his soul and become worthy of enteringHeaven -- otherwise his soul will be condemned toHell .Produced by
Arthur Freed and directed byVincente Minnelli in hisHollywood debut, "Cabin in the Sky" was a groundbreaking production for its time due to the decision to use an all-African-American cast. In the 1940s, movie theaters in many cities, particularly in the southernUnited States , refused to show films with prominent black performers, so MGM took a considerable financial risk by approving the film.The film was nominated for an
Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Happiness is a Thing Called Joe .""Cabin in the Sky" is remembered for its intelligent and witty script, which treated its characters and their race with a dignity rare in American films of the time, although some depictions are still a bit jarring to 21st century sensibilities. According to liner notes in the CD reissue of the film's soundtrack, Freed and Minnelli sought input from black leaders before production began on the film.
One musical number, in which Horne sings a reprise of "Ain't It the Truth" while taking a
bubble bath , was cut from the film prior to release, though it later appeared in a 1946 Pete Smith short subject entitled "Studio Visit". As Horne later said in the documentary "That's Entertainment! III " in which the excised performance was also featured, it was felt that to show a black woman singing in a bath went beyond the bounds of moral decency in 1943. A second (non-bubble bath) performance of this song by Louis Armstrong was also cut from the final print, resulting in the famous trumpeter having no solo musical number in the film.After years of unavailability,
Warner Home Video andTurner Entertainment released it on DVD onJanuary 10 2006 .ongs
** "
Taking a Chance on Love "
** "Cabin in the Sky"
** "Honey in the Honeycomb"
** "Love Me Tomorrow"Trivia
* A scene involving a
tornado reuses footage from "The Wizard of Oz" as well as Dorothy's farm house set too.* The
moonwalk is performed by the tap dancer Bill Bailey during the "Taking a Chance on Love" number.External links
*
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