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.
Ethel Waters
as Petunia Jackson
Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson
as Joseph 'Little Joe' Jackson
Lena Horne
as Georgia Brown
Louis Armstrong
as The Trumpeter
Rex Ingram
as Lucius / Lucifer Jr.
Kenneth Spencer
as The General / Rev. Greene
John 'Bubbles' Sublett
as Domino Johnson
Oscar Polk
as The Deacon / Fleetfoot
Mantan Moreland
as First Idea Man
Willie Best
as Second Idea Man
Fletcher Rivers
as Third Idea Man
Leon James Poke
as Fourth Idea Man