''Siren of the Tropics'' ( French: ''La Sirène des tropiques'') is a 1927 French silent film starring

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 ...

. Directed by Mario Nalpas and

Henri Étiévant Henri Étiévant (13 March 1870 – 9 August 1953) was a French actor and film director. Born Henri Gaston Étiévan-Estival in Paris, he died in 1953 in the 11th arrondissement of Paris. Selected filmography * '' The Lady of Lebanon'' (1926 ...

and set in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

, the film tells the story of a native girl named Papitou (

Baker A baker is a tradesperson who bakes and sometimes sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient history Since grains ha ...

) who falls in love with a French man named André Berval (

Pierre Batcheff Pierre Batcheff (Russian: Пьер Батчефф; 23 June 1901? – 13 April 1932) was a French actor of Russian origin. He became a popular film actor from the mid-1920s until the early 1930s, and among his best-known work was the surrealist sh ...

Plot

The film is set in a fictional colony called Monte Puebla. Monte Puebla incorporates many colonial stereotypes, with the name suggesting that it could be a Spanish colony, the grass skirts and roofs suggesting a Polynesian influence, and the clothing being a jumble of multiple cultures.Guterl, Matthew Pratt. "Josephine Baker's Colonial Pastiche". ''Black Camera'' 1.2 (2010): 25–37. The story begins when a rich Parisian man named Marquis Sévéro wishes to divorce his wife and marry his goddaughter, Denise, but Denise is in love with an engineer named André Berval. In order to get rid of Berval, Marquis Sévéro sends him to the West Indies as a prospector, promising that he can marry Denise once he returns. After arriving in the West Indies, Berval meets a woman named Papitou. Papitou quickly falls in love with him, unaware of the fact that he is planning on marrying Denise upon his return to Paris. When Berval leaves the West Indies to return home, Papitou follows him despite the fact that he has a fiancée. Once she arrives in Paris, Papitou accepts that Berval loves only Denise, and finds her true calling as a music hall performer.

Cast

as Papitou *

as André Berval * Régina Dalthy as La marquise Severo * Regina Thomas as Denise *

Georges Melchior Georges Melchior (15 September 1889 – 2 September 1944) was a French actor of the silent era. He appeared in 67 films between 1911 and 1937. Selected filmography * ''Fantômas'' (1913) * '' L'Atlantide'' (1921) * '' The Clairvoyant'' (192 ...

as Le comte Severo * Kiranine as Le régisseur Alvarez * Adolphe Candé as Le directeur

Reception

Prior to the film's release, newspaper articles detailing Baker's tour through Europe piqued public interest.Ylva Hable. "To Stockholm, with Love: The Critical Reception of Josephine Baker." ''Film History: An International Journal'', Volume 17, Number 1, 2005, pp. 125–138. The film premiered in December 1927 in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, Sweden, and received almost unanimously positive reviews from film critics. The film was screened from December 1927 until July 1928, which was considered an exceptionally long running time. Most of these positive reviews focused on Baker's body, comparing her agile movements to those of animals. Following her positive reception in ''Siren of the Tropics'' and increased public interest surrounding her, Baker published an autobiography called ''Les mémoirs de Josephine Baker''. Following the film's very successful premiere, Baker also had a doll made in her likeness and sold in Stockholm, and starred in a toothpaste commercial. This positive reception of Baker's feature film debut set the stage for her starring roles in the films '' Zouzou'' (1934) and ''

Princesse Tam-Tam ''Princess Tam Tam'' is a 1935 French black-and-white film which stars Josephine Baker as a local Tunisian girl who is educated and then introduced to Parisian high society. Baker sings two songs, "Dream Ship" and "Neath the Tropical Blue Skies", ...

'' (1935).

References

External links

* * * 1927 films French silent feature films French black-and-white films French romance films 1920s romance films Films set in the Caribbean 1920s French films {{1920s-France-film-stub