''Princess Tam Tam'' is a 1935 French

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

film which stars

Josephine Baker Josephine Baker (born Freda Josephine McDonald; naturalised French Joséphine Baker; 3 June 1906 – 12 April 1975) was an American-born French dancer, singer and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in her adopted Fran ...

as a local

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

n girl who is educated and then introduced to Parisian high society. Baker sings two songs, "Dream Ship" and "Neath the Tropical Blue Skies", in the film, and dances a number of times.

Plot

Frustrated writer Max de Mirecourt ( Albert Prejean) goes to

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

in search of inspiration for his next novel. While there, Max lives in a villa with his servant Dar (

Georges Peclet Georges may refer to: Places *Georges River, New South Wales, Australia *Georges Quay (Dublin) * Georges Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania Other uses * Georges (name) * ''Georges'' (novel), a novel by Alexandre Dumas * "Georges" (song), a 19 ...

) and ghostwriter Coton (

Robert Arnoux Robert Raymond Arnoux (23 October 1899, in Lille – 13 March 1964, in Paris) was a French actor. Selected filmography * ''Hantise'' (1922) * ''Napoléon (1927 film), Napoléon'' (1927) - Un conventionnel (uncredited) * ''Rive gauche'' (1931) ...

). Despite Coton's help, Max is unable to come up with any good story ideas. However, he soon meets a local girl named Alwina (

) whose personality intrigues him so greatly that he invents a character based on her for his newest (and 'most exciting') novel. His relation with Alwina serves a dual purpose in that it also angers (or at least highly annoys) his wife Lucie (

Germaine Aussey Germaine Aussey (born Germaine Adrienne Agassiz, December 18, 1909 in Paris – March 15, 1979 in Geneva) was a French actress who worked with, among others, René Clair, Julien Duvivier, Paul Fejos, Jean Grémillon, Marc Allégret, and ...

) who has been flirting with the

Maharaja Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, an ...

of Datane (

Jean Galland Jean Galland (1887–1967) was a French film actor. Selected filmography * ''Fantômas'' (1932) * ''The Oil Sharks'' (1933) * ''The Barber of Seville'' (1933) * '' The Scandal'' (1934) * '' Princesse Tam Tam'' (1935) * ''Whirlpool of Desire'' (19 ...

) back in Paris. Max takes Alwina under his wing and teaches her the manners and social graces of a high-society princess. He then whisks her away to Paris and presents her as Princess Tam Tam from faraway Africa. Lucie is further enraged by all the attention that Alwina receives, and after a friend sees Alwina dance provocatively in the sailors' bar, Lucie calls upon her Maharaja to craft a plan which will destroy her husband's relation with "the princess." The Maharaja throws a grand party, inviting the upper crust of Parisian society. Alwina is unable to resist the exotic music, and promptly joins the large, staged dance number, embarrassing Max – until he realizes that the entire audience is on their feet, applauding Alwina. Lucie is furious. Lucie and Max forgive each other in the end and fall in love again, Alwina returns to Tunisia after the frustrating realization that, as the Maharaja puts it, "Some windows face to the West, and the others to the East." Ultimately, however, the entire European affair is revealed to be little more than an enactment of Max's novel-in-progress. Alwina never does go to Europe, and the primary events of the film are simply a staging of how Max has imagined them. Alwina is given Max's Tunisian estate, and Max's new novel is a success. The title of his new work is "Civilisation." When asked about Alwina while back in Europe, Max states that she is "better where she is". The film closes with a scene of Alwina and Dar back in Tunisia with their newborn child, with farm animals strewn about Max's mansion. In the final shot, a donkey eats the title page of "Civilisation" off Max's (now Alwina's) floor.

Cast

as Alwina * Albert Prejean as Max de Mirecourt *

as Coton *

as Lucie de Mirecourt *

as Dar *

Viviane Romance Viviane Romance (born Pauline Ronacher Ortmanns; 4 July 1912 – 25 September 1991) was a French actress. Viviane Romance was born in Roubaix, France. She began her career as a dancer at the Moulin Rouge in Paris and was elected Miss Paris of 193 ...

as Lucie's Friend *

as Maharajah of Datane Cast note: * The

Comedian Harmonists The Comedian Harmonists were an internationally famous, all-male German close harmony ensemble that performed between 1928 and 1934 as one of the most successful musical groups in Europe before World War II. The group consisted of Harry Fromm ...

, a sought-after German act, recorded "Sous le ciel d'Afrique" with Josephine Baker in September 1935, but they are not the quartet that sings in the movie. The recording with Baker was one of the first records made by the three Jewish members of the Comedian Harmonists after the split of the original group. The "Aryan" members remained in Berlin, the Jewish ones went to Paris, then to Vienna. Both groups supplemented themselves with three new members.

Production

The African scenes in ''Princess Tam Tam'' were filmed on location in Tunisia.Miller, Fran
"Princess Tam Tam (1935)"

TCM.com Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of Atl ...

The

Eastman House The George Eastman Museum, also referred to as ''George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography and Film'', the world's oldest museum dedicated to photography and one of the world's oldest film archives, opened to the public in 1949 in ...

restored the film in 1989.

Reception

Although the film had a premiere in New York City, the Hollywood censors of the

Hays Office The Motion Picture Production Code was a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of content that was applied to most motion pictures released by major studios in the United States from 1934 to 1968. It is also popularly known as the ...

refused to pass the film, which prevented it from being shown in the most theatres in rest of the country, although it did play independent theatres which catered to African-American audiences.

Poster

On 4 February 2010, Swann Galleries set an auction record for Svend Koppel's poster for the film at $9,000. The image, "Josephine Baker / Prinsesse Tam-Tam", from 1935, was later used by the

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...

on a postage stamp.Vintage Black Cinema Movie Poster Stamps Highlight African-American Cultural Experience
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References

External links

* * {{Edmond T. Gréville 1935 films French black-and-white films Films directed by Edmond T. Gréville Films scored by Alain Romans Films set in Tunisia 1930s French-language films French comedy-drama films 1935 comedy-drama films 1930s French films