When compulsive gambler Little Joe Jackson dies in a drunken fight, he awakens in purgatory, where he learns that he will be sent back to Earth for six months to prove that he deserves to be in heaven. He awakens, remembering nothing and struggles to do right by his devout wife, Petunia, while an angel known as the General and the devil's son, Lucifer Jr., fight for his soul.
Petunia Jackson
Ethel Waters
Joseph 'Little Joe' Jackson
Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson
Georgia Brown
Lena Horne
The Trumpeter
Louis Armstrong
Lucius / Lucifer Jr.
Rex Ingram
The General / Rev. Greene
Kenneth Spencer
Domino Johnson
John 'Bubbles' Sublett
The Deacon / Fleetfoot
Oscar Polk
First Idea Man
Mantan Moreland
Second Idea Man
Willie Best
Third Idea Man
Fletcher Rivers
Fourth Idea Man
Leon James Poke
Bill
Bill Bailey
Messenger Boy
Ford Washington Lee
Lily
Butterfly McQueen
Mrs. Kelso
Ruby Dandridge
Dude
Nick Stewart
Jim Henry
Ernest Whitman
Specialty Dancer in Hell Sequence (uncredited)
Jules Adger
Dancer / Jim Henry Paradise Patron (uncredited)
Doris Ake
Jim Henry's Paradise Patron (uncredited)
Juliette Ball
Dancer / Jim Henry's Paradise Patron (uncredited)
Lennie Bluett
Specialty Dancer in Hell Sequence (uncredited)
Bernard Bradley
Dancer / Jim Henry's Paradise Patron (uncredited)
Daisy Bufford
Specialty Dancer in Hell Sequence (uncredited)
Jas. Burch
Specialty Dancer in Hell Sequence (uncredited)
Curry Lee Calmes
Specialty Dancer in Hell Sequence / Jitterbugger (uncredited)
Rita Christiani
Dancer / Jim Henry's Paradise Patron (uncredited)
Vivian Dandridge
Specialty Dancer in Hell Sequence (uncredited)
June Decuire
Dancer / Jim Henry's Paradise Patron (uncredited)
Dorothea Durham
Duke Ellington (uncredited)
Duke Ellington
Specialty Dancer in Hell Sequence (uncredited)
Byron Ellis
Mr. Kelso / Jim Henry's Paradise Patron (uncredited)
Joel Fluellen
Dancer / Jim Henry's Paradise Patron (uncredited)
Louise Franklin
Soloist in 'Little Black Sheep' (uncredited)
William Gillespie
Dancer / Jim Henry's Paradise Patron (uncredited)
Suzette Harbin
Dancer / Jim Henry's Paradise Patron (uncredited)
Avanelle Harris
Dancer at Jim Henry's Paradise (uncredited)
Kathleen Hartsfield
Dancer / Jim Henry's Paradise Patron (uncredited)
Maggie Hathaway
Dancer / Jim Henry's Paradise Patron (uncredited)
Cleo Herndon
Specialty Dancer in Hell Sequence (uncredited)
Lawaune Ingram
Specialty Dancer in Hell Sequence (uncredited)
Bobby Johnson
Boy in Church (uncredited)
Glenn Leedy
Whistling Solo in 'Take a Chance on Love' (uncredited)
Meade 'Lux' Lewis
Nightclub Patron / Churchgoer (uncredited)
Juanita Moore
Dancer / Jim Henry's Paradise Patron (uncredited)
Tommie Moore
Specialty Dancer in Hell Sequence (uncredited)
Jieno Moxzer
Dancer / Jim Henry's Paradise Patron (uncredited)
Florence O'Brien
Dancer / Jim Henry Patron (uncredited)
Neva Peoples
Churchgoer (uncredited)
Amanda Randolph
Specialty Dancer in Hell Sequence (uncredited)
Louise Ritchie
Dancer / Jim Henry's Paradise Patron (uncredited)
Henry Phace Roberts
Dancer / Jim Henry's Paradise Patron (uncredited)
Carmencita Romero
Doctor (uncredited)
Clinton Rosemond
Dancer / Jim Henry's Paradise Patron (uncredited)
Archie Savage
Soloist in 'Little Black Sheep' (uncredited)
Edward C. Short
Dancer / Jim Henry's Paradise Patron (uncredited)
Johnny Thomas
Churchgoer (uncredited)
Ernestine Wade
Soloist in 'Little Black Sheep' (uncredited)
Arthur Walker
Specialty Dancer in Hell Sequence (uncredited)
Artie Young
Neighbor (uncredited)
Juano Hernández