We carried out a careful evaluation of the performance of the large cathode area ETL 9357FLA photomultiplier tube operating at cryogenic temperature. The measurements were focused on evaluating the parameters which mainly characterize the operating performances of the device down to 77 K and the spread of the distinctive features over 54 samples assembled in the ICARUS apparatus. The results that we obtained demonstrate that the photomultiplier is suited for light detection in such unconventional operating conditions, certifying this device for the direct measurement of scintillation light coming from noble-gas liquids in detectors dedicated to neutrino physics and dark matter research. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.