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