Clean Pastures (1937) ***

A Stepin Fetchit caricature fails to recruit any souls in Harlem, New York City. However, jazz-singing angels incorporate "rhythm" into the pitch, and Harlem's African Americans follow them as they dance their way to Heaven. Unlike the other "Censored 11" cartoons, that were quite popular when first released, and only became controversial in the 1960's (when Americans of all races became hypersensitive about racial caricatures), this Merrie Melodie became a subject of a major controversy even back in 1937, although not for any "racist" reasons. Instead, the film was blasted for ridiculing religion.