Customer Reviews

Cabin in the Sky

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

This is a delightful film. The Broadway score, already one of the finer scores for its time, with the classics "Taking a chance on love" and "Cabin in the sky", was further improved with the addition of "Happiness is just a thing called Joe". There are several other wonderful numbers, including the Duke Ellington number with some great dancing, and "Bubbles" singing "Shine". The cast was the finest black talent of the day, and the movie demonstrates why Ethel Waters was considered the greatest singer and entertainer of her day. In this movie, she also demonstrates that she is a fine actress and a fine dancer. It's a pity that the racial climate of the time didn't allow her more films - she's as magical on screen as she was, by all reports, in person. The remainder of the cast includes a stunning young Lena Horne, surely one of the most beautiful women ever to appear on screen, and who is here allowed to be smolderingly sexy, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, who's an endearing Little Joe, Rex Ingram as Lucifer Jr, and smaller but memorable appearances by Louis Armstrong, Butterfly McQueen, and "Bubbles" of Buck and Bubbles. Seeing Waters sing "Taking a chance on love", "cabin in the sky", "Happiness is just a thing called Joe" and her wicked reprise of "Honey in the honeycomb", complete with some dance steps that will floor you, is more than enough to recommend the movie, but all performances are delightful, and the songs and background music are great. If we take it as a "fable", as we are counseled to do at the beginning, then I don't see it as a racist or dated film. The characters are almost all well delineated and believable within the "fable" context, and are no more stereotypical in this context than numerous films of white people at the time that were also fantasies.

It's a pleasure to watch from beginning to end - clearly a timeless classic, especially valuable for archiving for all time the classic Waters performance and the superb acting, singing, dancing and comedic skills of some of the greatest black talent pre-World War II.

Ethel Waters repeated her Broadway role of Petunia Jackson, a woman who fervently prays for her husband to mend his gambling ways for the screen with great success, as she sings and dances her way into our hearts. Petunia is the central character in the film, and has most of the songs. The film was also instrumental in making Lena Horne a star, and even though her part as the devil's handmaiden, Georgia Brown, is not a large one, she is stunning, and makes the screen sizzle with her sensual beauty.

Petunia's husband, Little Joe, is played by Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, and Little Joe's soul is in the balance, as Lucifer Jr. (Rex Ingram) battles The General (Kenneth Spencer) for where it will spend eternity. The scenes with Lucifer and his minions, who include Louis Armstrong, are hilarious, as they plot the best way to tempt Little Joe. The talent, music, and humor in this film make it well worth watching as entertainment, and also for its historical value of being one of the best all-black cast vehicles Hollywood produced.

"Cabin in the Sky" was the directorial film debut for Vincente Minnelli (he had directed the Broadway show), and some others in the terrific cast are John William Sublett, Butterfly McQueen, and Duke Ellington and his Orchestra. Music is by Harold Arlen, E.Y. Harburg, and more. The song list is: "Cabin in the Sky," "Happiness is Just a Thing Called Joe" (nominated for a Best Song Oscar), "Taking a Chance on Love," "Life is Full of Consequence," "Li'l Black Sheep," "Shine," and "Honey in the Honeycomb." Total running time is 98 minutes.

The beautiful Vernon Duke/John La Touche Broadway hit CABIN IN THE SKY was brought to the screen by the foremost studio of the era (the late and lamented M-G-M) and the foremost producer of musicals there, the magnificent Arthur Freed.

Freed engaged the services of the Broadway hit's original star Ethel Waters, and gave Vincente Minnelli his first assignment as a motion picture director. Minnelli had directed on stage, but spent two years at Metro learning the craft of filmmaking, before Freed gave him the opportunity to become one of the greatest of all motion picture directors. Minnelli's musicals are what he is best known for, but he also directed brilliant dramas (both period and contemporary), comedies (both slapstick and witty) and even films that could be considered noir. This man could do anything.....

The Warner DVD of CABIN features a clean, and crisp transfer with lovely extras including the Pete Smith short STUDIO VISIT which has the surviving footage of Lena Horne's outtake song from CABIN "Ain't it The Truth". The audio track for Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong's version of that same song, is used here with still visuals, as either that version was never filmed, or the number didn't survive in the copious musical outtake archive that the old MGM maintained, which now belongs in the hands of the mightiest of all studios (when it comes to DVDs) WB. I also loved the commentary with sound bytes from Lena Horne and Rochester's widow and daughter.

THIS IS A MUST HAVE! GET IT TODAY!

With today's "political correctness" this film doesnt stand a chance of being watched as it truly deserves. Its too bad, because this film is a VERY entertaining and heart warming experience.

I wasnt sure what to expect and I have to admit i was surprised when i found myself laughing at the humor in the film (no, it is NOT racist humor at ALL! ) For such an old 'period' film to be so entertaining, all the while keeping in line with the story and music, is a rare thing these days.

Being a BIG Duke Ellington fan I had to buy this Video. Ellington and crew put on a fine show, along with the supporting role by Louis Armstrong, (a funny role! ), and some great tap dancing and a swing dance piece with one of the several featured Ellington tunes. (Great Trombone solo by Lawrence Brown also. In addition to Brown, if you are sharp you can also catch Harry Carney(?) and Johnny Hodges in the Ellingotn Line up.)

I never imagined Lena Horne was so beautiful in her youth, but i must say "WOW"

This is a great movie with a STRONG message that each of us can learn from. You will be happy to have this in your collection!

In these enlightened times, a movie such as Cabin in the Sky - which is heavily laden with racial stereotypes - seems awkwardly out of place. However, before we all jump on the political correctness bandwagon, it's worth remembering that the movie was made during WW2, and that Civil Rights Movements were some 20 or so years in the future.

Much has been written about the plot, so I won't focus on that. I will say, however, that this movie is a tour-de-force of talent. It marked Vincent Minelli's directorial debut, and it's clear that he did a fine job. Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Lena Horne and Ethel Waters all play their parts brilliantly. If there was any animosity between Lena and Ethel, it was easy to understand. Ethel fought tough and nail to climb the showbiz ladder, whereas Lena was the first African-American actress to be groomed specially for Hollywood. Ms Horne had specially designed gowns and mingled with the upper echelons of MGM. The moviemakers even created a special make up range for her in an effort to pass her off as an exotic Latin American belle. Lena refused to disrespect her race by denying her heritage.

Anyway, back to the film. It's Ethel Water's character, Petunia, that I warm to the most. She may have been downtrodden, and reduced to scrubbing floors. However, there's a down-to-earth warmth that radiates from her. Her rendition of "Happiness is a Thing Called Joe" is superb. The late Waters was a remarkable, versatile performer, and it's a shame that she's not as well known among the masses like Lena.

As for Lena's Georgia Brown, she's nothing short of breathtakingly beautiful. Ms Horne was something of a WW2 pin-up, and it's easy to see why. She tempts the viewers (and the censors, no doubt!) with her sexy lingerie, and isn't shy to show off a good bit of thigh! The only other African American woman who showed this much flesh was Josephine Baker, but she was doing her thing in Paris!

The songs by Duke Ellington are great. Also look out for a young Louis Armstrong - he plays one of Lucifer's hilarious angels!

Cabin in the Sky is fine musical - a classic, and it's high time is was released in the UK! However, us Brits will have to do with imports for the time being. As with all US video tapes, you'll need a VCR with NTSC playback to watch this movie.

Vincente Minnelli, who directed the film, Cabin in the Sky (1943), composed this `race movie' with an all African American cast. What makes this film extraordinary is that Vincente Minnelli is a white director who filmed this picture with an all black cast. Around the early 1940's, mainstream production studios (Hollywood) noticed that these `race movies' which consisted of African American directors/producers/casts, were producing huge sums of money. In an attempt to tap this newly discovered source of money, the mainstream film industry began to produce these race films which consisted of white directors/producers, but included an all African American cast. In Cabin in the Sky, Minnelli includes many social issues that black America faced during this time. A major issue that black America faced back in the 1940's and still today which Minnelli included in this film is obtaining identity/home.
An example of obtaining home can be explained by the scene where the character Little Joe (Eddie "Rochester" Anderson) dies and rises out of his body only to awake to the presence of Lucifer Jr. (Rex Ingram). As Lucifer Jr. describes to Little Joe all of the evil things that will come to him in Hell, Little Joe screams out, "I don't want to die, I just wanna' go back home to Petunia." In this scene, Little Joe identifies home as Earth, all the physical objects in which he can interact with (the absence of the spiritual world). Another example of home can be identified with the character Petunia (Ethel Waters) in the scene where she sits beside Little Joe next to him in his bed. Petunia preys to God to not take Little Joe home yet. In this scene, home is identified as the spiritual world, in which all the sins of the corrupt physical world would not exist. So in Petunias case, home is a pure spiritual world. In Little Joe's case, Earth is a testing ground to determine if a person should ascend to heaven or descend to hell. If a person lives a righteous life on Earth, then God will open the gates of heaven to that person. On the other hand, if a person lives a sinful life on Earth, the devil will open the gates of hell to that person. The moral of the film is that one must choose their path wisely while they live on the battleground between heaven and hell.
The film's title also has great significance. The title, Cabin in the Sky makes a huge statement saying that home is identified as heaven. A lack of home which is Earth, creates a void in which that void must be filled. If one can't obtain home physically, then one will obtain it spiritually. As in many of the scenes where Petunia preys to God prove that one will obtain home spiritually.
Overall, this film was excellent. It is a rare occasion to see pictures of a black heaven, in which many of the angels consisted of neatly dressed African American men in trimly white uniforms. Also, the gate keepers of heaven were young black angels, sitting valiantly on pedestals. The music by Ethel Waters and Duke Ellington with his band was phenomenal. I would recommend this movie to viewers who want to see how music and dance evolved from the old genre of `race movies' to the new genre of `race movies'.

Much has been made about the film's overtones of racism; it should be noted, however, that director Minnelli went out on a limb by insisting that the characters be portrayed as disadvantaged rather than the "stepin fetchit" characters originally envisioned by the studio; consequently, although some of the humor is questionable by today's standards, "Cabin in the Sky" is in many ways a landmark black-cast film-- particularly where Lena Horne is concerned; never before had a black woman been shown with so much sultry sex appeal. (I recently watched the film with a friend who was unfamiliar with Horne. His response: "Damn, she's good looking and sexy as all get-out! When was this made?") The knock-out performances turn a fable of good and evil into something quite special, with excellent musical performances from Waters and Horne. Watch for Louis Armstrong in a small supporting role!

I am so excited about the release of this absolutely AWESOME African American treasure. The cast in this film is legendary, the plot engaging, and the music is intoxicating.

I have been saving a VHS copy of this film to transfer to DVD. It's the ONLY VHS movie I've held onto. Every one of my friends that has seen it has wondered why they never heard of it.

Ethel Waters' character shows incredible commitment to turning her husband into the man God made him to be. It's one of the first serious Black films to be recorded during its era. This is a departure from the stereotypic minstrel movies of its time.

Whether you're Black or Martian-American, this is a GREAT American classic film. Buy this one - it's a wonderful piece.

Why oh why did Warner ruin such a wonderful, amazing, joyous film by bringing in a commentary by the most nasty, negative, militant, killjoy African American scholar who with every word he uttered, turned the most innocent beautiful little scene from this lovely film into a "statement of the white oppression of the black man". While the makers of the film spoke of nothing but how it broke boundaries, this guy had to find something negative and disrespectful in EVER nuance. It was the most pathetic excuse for a "statement" since Warner had Whoopie Goldberg give a justifying commentary on 60 year old Warner and MGM cartoons. Disgraceful and insulting.

Vincente Minnelli, who directed the film, Cabin in the Sky (1943), composed this `race movie' with an all African American cast. What makes this film extraordinary is that Vincente Minnelli is a white director who filmed this picture with an all black cast. Around the early 1940's, mainstream production studios (Hollywood) noticed that these `race movies' which consisted of African American directors/producers/casts, were producing huge sums of money. In an attempt to tap this newly discovered source of money, the mainstream film industry began to produce these race films which consisted of white directors/producers, but included an all African American cast. In Cabin in the Sky, Minnelli includes many social issues that black America faced during this time. A major issue that black America faced back in the 1940's and still today which Minnelli included in this film is obtaining identity/home.
An example of obtaining home can be explained by the scene where the character Little Joe (Eddie "Rochester" Anderson) dies and rises out of his body only to awake to the presence of Lucifer Jr. (Rex Ingram). As Lucifer Jr. describes to Little Joe all of the evil things that will come to him in Hell, Little Joe screams out, "I don't want to die, I just wanna' go back home to Petunia." In this scene, Little Joe identifies home as Earth, all the physical objects in which he can interact with (the absence of the spiritual world). Another example of home can be identified with the character Petunia (Ethel Waters) in the scene where she sits beside Little Joe next to him in his bed. Petunia preys to God to not take Little Joe home yet. In this scene, home is identified as the spiritual world, in which all the sins of the corrupt physical world would not exist. So in Petunias case, home is a pure spiritual world. In Little Joe's case, Earth is a testing ground to determine if a person should ascend to heaven or descend to hell. If a person lives a righteous life on Earth, then God will open the gates of heaven to that person. On the other hand, if a person lives a sinful life on Earth, the devil will open the gates of hell to that person. The moral of the film is that one must choose their path wisely while they live on the battleground between heaven and hell.
The film's title also has great significance. The title, Cabin in the Sky makes a huge statement saying that home is identified as heaven. A lack of home which is Earth, creates a void in which that void must be filled. If one can't obtain home physically, then one will obtain it spiritually. As in many of the scenes where Petunia preys to God prove that one will obtain home spiritually.
Overall, this film was excellent. It is a rare occasion to see pictures of a black heaven, in which many of the angels consisted of neatly dressed African American men in trimly white uniforms. Also, the gate keepers of heaven were young black angels, sitting valiantly on pedestals. The music by Ethel Waters and Duke Ellington with his band was phenomenal. I would recommend this movie to viewers who want to see how music and dance evolved from the old genre of `race movies' to the new genre of `race movies'.