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Hopeful that her gambling, ne'er-do-well husband
Little Joe Jackson has finally reformed, Petunia suggests that he have Rev.
Green burn his dice and release the devil's hold on him. A religious
woman and loving wife, Petunia is heartened by Little Joe's promise to
repent his sins in church.
Little Joe soon resumes his gambling, however,
when gambler Domino Johnson entices him to return to the casino at Jim
Henry's Paradise Café. Petunia later goes in search of Little Joe,
only to discover that he has been shot in a gunfight at the Paradise Café.
As Petunia prays over her wounded husband, Lucifer, Jr., the ghost of Little
Joe's friend Lucius, enters the room and orders Little Joe to "report to
duty." Little Joe does not believe that he is dying until Lucifer, Jr.
and his three aides show him his lifeless body. When the General,
responding to Petunia's prayers, suddenly appears in the room, Lucifer, Jr.
engages him in a battle for Little Joe's soul.
While Sgt. Fleetfoot is sent by the General to
get a judgment on Little Joe's case from the Lord, Lucifer, Jr. predicts
that Little Joe's involvement with vamp Georgia Brown will result in his
banishment to Hell. The Lord determines that Little Joe is not fit for
Heaven, but he permits Little Joe to return to Earth for six months and
prove his worth. With no recollection of his meeting with the Lord or
Lucifer, Jr., Little Joe regains consciousness and begins his six-month
reprieve. Petunia believes her husband's recovery to be a miracle, but
both she and Little Joe are unaware that Lucifer, Jr. and the General will
be talking to his conscience and battling for his soul.
No sooner does Little Joe resume his daily life
than his gambling pals, Jim Henry and Dude, who have been sent by Lucifer,
Jr., try to tempt him into a game of dice. Petunia chases Jim and Dude
away, but Lucifer, Jr. devises another scheme to distract Little Joe and
make him backslide into Hell. Heeding the advice of those working at
the Hotel Hades Idea Department, Lucifer, Jr. decides to corrupt Little Joe
with riches, and sends him a winning lottery ticket.
 _NRFPT_01_small.jpg) Little Joe's
chances at getting into Heaven improve when he plans to use the money to buy
Petunia a washing machine and a house but, when Georgia intervenes, Little
Joe returns to the Paradise Café.
Petunia succeeds in winning back her husband by
going to the casino and singing better than Georgia but, before they leave,
a gun battle ensues and Petunia and Little Joe are shot and killed.
Furious at Lucifer, Jr.'s meddling, the General sends down a storm and
wrecks the Paradise Café. In Purgatory, Petunia is told that she is
eligible to pass through the Pearly Gates into Heaven, while Little Joe is
rejected. It is only after Little Joe repents and the Lord vouches for
him that the General reverses his decision and allows Little Joe to join his
wife in Heaven. Moments after he is told of the decision, Little Joe
realizes that his brush with the afterlife was all a dream, and vows to
change his ways. |
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