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MGM (1943)
Ethel Watters, Butterfly McQueen,
Kenneth Spencer, Clinton Rosamond
Film version of Lynn Roots musical about a gambling husband who is reformed by a dream of his own death. Effectively directed by Vincente Minnelli. It contained the Oscar nominated song, "Happiness Is Just a Thing Called Joe".
Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Lena Horne, (Mantan Moreland& Louis Armstrongin small but terrific roles as the devil's helpers). Thanks to his ever-faithful wife, a good-hearted but weak-willed little man is given six more months to live, while angels & demons vie for his soul. This MGM musical technically has an all black cast -- nonetheless, it's a darn white movie. I'm certain it was produced with white audiences in mind -- the music is straight off of Broadway and the characters are all cozy, unthreatening types. As long as you don't expect it to be a specifically African American film, it is one terrific movie. With Minnelli's direction and a cast that's a one-in-a-million concentration of great talent, this may be the best of the pre-Technicolor musicals.
Ethel Waters, Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson and Lena Horne
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