Zuzu

I've long been a fan of Josephine Baker, but have never seen more than clips of her films. This is one of her most famous films, in which she co-stars with Jean Gabin. Unfortunately, it's pretty worthless. It's a musical, but it really doesn't want to be a Hollywood musical. It wants to be semi-realistic, and the songs only take place on stage, so there's only a couple of them, and they're right at the end. The first seventy minutes are ridiculous, moronically plotted, and boring. Baker and Gabin are twins, in reality two adopted children of a circus man (Pierre Larquey). When they grow up, Gabin is a sailor and Baker a laundress. Kind of. Gabin immediately isn't a sailor, but is instead an electrician working in the theater, where Baker gets accidentally discovered when the big star (Illa Meery) is acting up. Baker's secretly in love with her brother, but her co-worker (Yvette Lebon) catches his eye. Oh, and Gabin is sleeping with Meery, too, maybe. At least in one random scene. Ugh, the whole plot is a mess. And then we get to the giant musical number, which is so silly it would make Busby Berkeley laugh in derision - and that should be a hoot, but it's so over-edited that it becomes annoying. The film only comes to life when Baker is given center stage, which is not close to often enough. Even then, she's burdened with ludicrous costumes, like the one that makes her look like she has yeti fur growing out her tits. Damn, I was really looking forward to this.

This is a simple story that really has no surprises but how can you resist a film that stars the legendary Josephine Baker? The worst part is that you don't hear her sing until the last 20 minutes and then you hear this tremendous voice that would put Mariah Carey to shame. It's also astonishing to see how different standards in film were in France. There is nudity here and it's kind of weird to see a film from 1934 that has nudity. Actress Illa Meery seems to have no problem with it. Also, their is a scene where Meery is in the same bed with her fiancé and while there's no nudity it's the suggestion of their relationship that's evident. In another scene Jean Gabin is walking down the street with a girl and his hand moves down to her rear. You can see that while Baker was not a trained actress she was a natural performer even when not singing. Her energy and personality more than carry the film and she easily steals scenes from her trained counterparts such as Gabin. That makes this film worthy of the archives. Not a great film but you can't resist watching a legendary performer that only made less than two dozen films.

I enjoyed everything about this movie: camera, pacing, acting, dancing, plot, characters, French language, and historic value. Above all I enjoyed Josephine Baker's incredibly subtle singing, and the beautifully written and orchestrated songs. And the background music is also superb. The whole movie has an atmosphere of generosity and good cheer, and a pleasant absence of Hollywood glitter. They really don't make them like this anymore. Not for those who want blockbusting glamor. This is a modest film, but there is charm in modesty. Less is more.

I agree the movie is no "Gone with the Wind" but for 1934 and for a black woman it is quite an achievement indeed. The only thing comparable at the time was Halleluja! in the States starring Nina Mae McKinney -- and a stereotypical one at that. La Baker is stunning in the C'est Lui number - for which there still has been no comparison for a black American Actress - Lena Horne never got a white chorus of handsome men. Yes, the quality is poor by today's standards but look at Bette Davis's 1934 turn in Of Human Bondage or even It Happened One Night from the same year. None of them has really great film quality. It was, after all, 1934. So enjoy. If you like Josephine, you won't be disappointed.

This isn't a very good movie, even by the standards of its time. And Josephine Baker only hints at what made her a legend. But it's worth seeing just to get a glimpse of this great performer who, against overwhelming odds, prevailed against the endemic racism of her time by leaving the US and going to Paris, where she became a star. It's too bad more of her performances aren't preserved on film.