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An Evening with Mark Morris

Wednesday, December 16, 2009
9:00 p.m. Cabin in the Sky
Vincente Minnelli (U.S., 1943)

Introduced by Mark Morris


Morality is just another song and dance in this exuberant musical fantasy. Although the film indulges in black stereotypes, it is also a showcase for outstanding performances by some of the greatest black actors and musicians of the 1940s, directed with imaginative verve by Vincente Minnelli. Eddie “Rochester” Anderson plays Little Joe Jackson, husband of the God-fearing Petunia (Ethel Waters). With his weakness for dice and liquor, and his strong appreciation of women like the temptress Georgia Brown (Lena Horne), Little Joe is a natural quarry in the struggle between the General of Heaven (Kenneth Spencer) and Lucifer Jr. (Rex Ingram), who wage a battle over his soul.

• Written by Joseph Schrank, based on the musical play by Lynn Root. Music by Vernon Duke, Harold Arlen, Duke Ellington. With Ethel Waters, Eddie Anderson, Lena Horne, Louis Armstrong. (99 mins, B&W, 35mm, From Warner Bros.)