CABIN IN THE SKY (1943)
Label: Warner Archive
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 99 Minutes 4 Seconds
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD (1.37:1)
Director: Vincente Minnelli
Director: Vincente Minnelli
Cast: Ethel Waters, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Lena Horne
In the all-black cast musical comedy Cabin in the Sky (1943)
In the all-black cast musical comedy Cabin in the Sky (1943)
compulsive gambler Little Joe Jackson (Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World) is gut-shot during a drunken game of dice by Domino (vaudevillian "Bubbles" John W. Sublett) after he is accused of cheating during a game of dice. Mortally wounded he falls unconscious and convalesces at home fighting for his life under the watch of his dutiful wife Petunia (Ethel Waters, The Sound and the Fury). As he hovers between life and death he has a vision of himself being pulled between between Heaven and Hell like spiritual-taffy as emissaries of God and the Devil each make the case for his soul. Working against him is Lucifer Jr. (Rex Ingram, The Thief of Bagdad), the son of Satan 'natch, straight out of Hell; and from the Pearly gates we have The General (Kenneth Spencer, Bataan). While they decide that Little Joe's not quite fit for Heaven the not unsporting God agrees to give him six-months back on earth among living, but if he doesn't atone and do-right he's gong to Hell. The wrinkle is that he will be unaware of the events of the vision, but that both Lucifer Jr. and The General being invisible emissaries from Heaven and Hell who exert their influence, attempting to sway Joe's soul.
Satan and his minions, among them the comic talents of Mantan Moreland (Charlie Chan in the Secret Service), who come up with some clever way of influencing him, including corrupting him by having him win the Irish lottery, but the Devil up their sleeve is sending hot-stuff gold-digger Georgia Brown (Lena Horne, The Wiz) to enflame his lust, which works so well that it threatens to damn Little Joe's God-loving wife Petunia! Speaking of which, Ethel Water as the devoted Petunia is quite wonderful herself, when she turns into a bit of wicked diva herself it makes for quite a riotous watch.
Devilishly funny and speckled with truly wonderful musical numbers like “Cabin in the Sky,” “Honey in the Honeycomb,” “Li’l Black Sheep,” “Ain’t It The Truth,” and “Life’s Full Of Consequences”, not to mention wonderful turns from all-involved, especially Rochester, Ethel Waters, Lena Horne and Rex Ingram, the latter of whom plays the son of Satan which such glee. Also be on the lookout for appearances from Louis Armstrong as well as Duke Ellington and his Orchestra.
Audio/Video: Cabin in the Sky (1943) arrives on Blu-ray from Warner Archive, framed in the original 1.37:1 aspect ratio looking tremendous with nary a blemish to distract from the musical comedy stylings. We have terrific black levels, pleasing contrast and sharp looking detail and textures throughout. Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD AM 2.0 dual-mono with optional English subtitles, the track is clean, the levels are well-balanced, dialogue is quite specific and the musical numbers impress.
Special features include an archival Audio Commentary by Evangela Anderson and Eva Anderson (Wife and Daughter of Eddie "Rochester" Anderson), Fayard Nicholas, Black Cultural Scholar Todd Boyd, Film Historian Dr. Drew Casper with Interview Excerpts of Lena Horne, which is only available on an inferior SD version of the film. We also get a 9-min Vintage Pete Smith Specialty short "Studio Visit" (1946) a fun tour of the studio sets, including a fun bit with Lena Horne singing 'Ain't It the Truth" in a bathtub, which I believe was a scene that was deleted from the film. Another cool extras is the 6-min Audio-Only Louis Armstrong "Ain't it the Truth" Outtake, plus the 2-min Original Theatrical Trailer, and a Song Selection option to jump to specific musical numbers. The single-disc release arrives in a standard keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork featuring the original illustrated artwork.
Special Features:
- Audio Commentary by Evangela Anderson and Eva Anderson (Wife and Daughter of Eddie "Rochester" Anderson), Fayard Nicholas, Black Cultural Scholar Todd Boyd, Film Historian Dr. Drew Casper and Interview Excerpts of Lena Horne (on SD version only)
- Vintage Pete Smith Specialty "Studio Visit" (9:41)
- Audio-only Bonus: Louis Armstrong "Ain't it the Truth" Outtake (5:41)
- Original Theatrical Trailer (1:54)
- Song Selection
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