The Blood of Jesus (1941) review

Nonbeliever Ras Jackson (Williams) not only skips the baptism of his wife Martha (Cathryn Caviness), but then he accidentally shoots her with his rifle and she passes into purgatory, where she's tormented by Satan (James B. Jones) and Judas (Frank H. McClennan) ... and eventually 'redeemed' by the actual blood of Christ and comes back to life.  As an independent movie made with an all-black cast and a tiny budget, I can see why it's considered "historically significant" (it's in the National Film Registry) ... but technically (and artistically) speaking it's atrocious, like an amateur production with a virtually non-existent narrative and a constant string of songs (it also doesn't make much sense: shouldn't Ras have been "killed" in order to test his soul?).  It's a little too easy to sneer at (especially El Diablo's cackling), but you can't accuse the director of being disingenuous: it was shown in churches and embraced by the devoted.