Josephine Baker – Siren of the Tropics

(Part of the Slapstick Festival 2021 programme)

Josephine Baker was an American-born dancer and entertainer who later became a French citizen, World War 11 Resistance agent and a civil rights activist. In 1926 she caused a sensation at the Folies Bergère in Paris with her improvised fusion of ballet, Broadway kicks, tap and African dance styles. She was also the first black woman to star in a major motion picture, making her debut in the 1927 silent comedy-drama Siren Of The Tropics (1927). In the film, Baker plays a beautiful tropical islander named Papitou, who falls in love with a visiting young French engineer. When he returns to Paris to take up again with his fiancée, Papitou follows. The film is now best remembered for Baker’s exceptional dance performances, but it has much more to offer.