Siren of the Tropics (La Sirene des tropiques)

Legendary performer Josephine Baker makes her feature film debut in this silent film from 1927. Filmed around the time that Baker was becoming famous in Paris as a Folies Bergère star, SIREN OF THE TROPICS tells the story of Papitou (Baker), a young native girl who falls for a refined young gentleman named Andre, who unbeknownst to her, has a wife back home. When Papitou learns this, she nonetheless travels to where Andre is in Paris, where she finds her true calling as a music hall performer. Baker's role as the naïve girl from the tropics who must grow accustomed to the ways of civilization bears much resemblance to her later roles in films such as ZOU ZOU (1934) and PRINCESS TAM-TAM (1935). Available here in its entirety for the first time, SIREN OF THE TROPICS makes an entertaining vehicle through which Baker displays her on-screen allure, and her skills as a dancer (best expressed here through her rendition of the Charleston).