The Josephine Baker Story

An entertaining and informative film about Josephine Baker, the well-known dancer who subsequently became a leading civil rights campaigner. Lynn Whitfield is quite a bit lighter-skinned than the real Josephine Baker, but she still gives an excellent performance (although the end credits do acknowledge the use of a 'dance double'). Understandably, the film does simplify some aspects of Josephine's life (particularly her complex private life). Louis Gossett and Ruben Blades are also excellent in supporting roles. One minor criticism (only added because my original wording was too short for IMDB) is that the film devotes a bit too much time to the notorious racist journalist and broadcaster Walter Winchell.

This is certainly a well-intentioned movie, and the star, Lynn Whitfield, certainly gives a very moving performance. Much of the movie focuses on Baker's career after the War, where she becomes involved in the civil rights movement. It's very well-meaning, certainly, but not the part of her life and career that interests me, so I found that that part of the movie dragged. Her years in Paris as a performer in the 1920s and 30s get short shrift, and that's a shame, because it's what made a star of her.

The movie takes its particular stance on how Baker saw her early Paris performances. While it's an interesting interpretation - very sincere - I don't know how accurate it is. The one aspect of Baker's performances that doesn't get developed in this movie is her role as a comedian. In certain ways, she was something of a Black Fanny Brice. Something of that comes through her early newsreels, but it's missing from the way Ms. Whitfield was directed to portray Baker.

In the end, for me, this amounted to a very fine performance by Whitfield. But how accurate a depiction of Baker it provided, at least for her early years as a successful performer, I don't know.

In the early 20th century there weren't many avenues of success for Black people in America. Josephine Baker found that out early and made a break for it and went to France. She was going to do things her way no matter what whether that meant dancing semi-nude, or coming back to America to perform, or adopting twelve kids. That was both good and bad. It helped her rise to the heights she rose to and it also caused her to fall as hard as she fell. When she wasn't appreciated in the U.S. for her talents, she took them overseas to France and became a sensation. France was far more progressive and tolerant than the U.S. and wasn't threatened by a Black woman's talents.

Not many people go out on top in sports and entertainment and Ms. Baker was no exception. Fortunately, she wasn't undone by drugs and alcohol like so many. If anything, her biggest impedance was her own stubbornness and good ol' American racism.

This is not a great movie, it's barely a good movie, just scraping across the average line. However, mainly in part to a fantastic leading performance from Lynn Whitfield makes this an enthralling, if very abbreviated, encapsulation of Josephine Baker's life. Baker is not a performer I have much knowledge of so this was massively educational as well as entertaining. It certainly makes me want to find out more about Josephine and delve into her back catalogue of music and film. The story telling is disjointed and some of the characters seem unrealistic even though they are on actual persons. Thankfully, the performances of the stunning Lynn Whitfield and Louis Gossett Jr make this a great watch and one I will return to again in the future.

Some outstanding performances here by Whitfield, Blades, Gossett, and others in this overly long biography of an important, outspoken, and controversial African American woman, who was years ahead of her time. It was quite a revelation to see how African Americans were treated in St. Louis and in New York in the decades before the civil rights advances of the 50's and 60's. We all know about the history of the South, but in many places up North, things were nearly as difficult for minorities in the 1930's and 40's.

The story of Josephine Baker had to be told since so many of us are not familiar with her achievements. And HBO and the cast did an outstanding job doing so. The movie was entertaining and sexual, eye-opening and thought provoking. It covered American society as well as French and even gave us some insights into Josephine's heroics and patriotism during WWII and her push for equality of the races in the U.S. military. I would have preferred to see the movie end while Josephine was at the top and still young, rather than drag on with her numerous adoptions and comeback attempts. That's why it was not a major motion picture.....too long and drawn out for theater audiences.

A good movie to watch at home while putting away the laundry or brushing the dog.