While the artist Joséphine Baker enters the Pantheon this Tuesday, a look back at her four main forays into cinema, notably with a film alongside Jean Gabin.
Singer, dancer, magazine leader, resistance fighter, committed to the fight against racism … Joséphine Baker, who entered the Pantheon on Tuesday, was a multifaceted woman whose atypical career also led her to frequent the stages of movie theater. Discover in our slideshow above her four main forays into the world of the seventh art, including a film that saw her give the reply to Jean Gabin.
The Revue des Revues (1927)
Star Films Edition
In 1927, after a few modest appearances on the screen, Josephine Baker sees his playing time increase in La Revue des revues. This silent feature film tells the story of Gabrielle (Hélène Hallier), a difficult everyday woman who dreams of becoming a magazine leader at the prestigious Folies Bergère. In her journey to become a star, she will cross the path of an actor (André Luguet) and attend music hall shows, including two numbers by a certain Joséphine Baker in her own role.
The Mermaid of the Tropics (1927)
The Cinematographic Center
The same year, Josephine Baker landed the first role in La Sirène des tropiques. In this silent romance, the artist plays Papitou, a young dancer secretly in love with André (Pierre Batcheff), a young engineer whom she met while the latter was on a surveillance mission in the Antilles. Note that the feature film, directed by Henri Etiévant and Mario Nalpas, sees a certain Luis Buñuel officer as assistant director.
Zouzou (1934)
H. Roussillon Films / Arys Productions
In 1934, Josephine Baker takes a step forward by taking the title role of Zouzou, a young orphan adopted by an old fairground. Growing up in a circus alongside Jean, played by Jean Gabin, she will go so far as to sacrifice her loves to become a music hall star. It should be noted that the feature film, directed by Marc Allégret, is Joséphine Baker’s first experience in talking cinema.
Princess Tam Tam (1935)
Arys Productions
In 1935, Josephine Baker stars Princess Tam Tam, who sees her play Alwina, a young Tunisian who discovers Parisian life thanks to a famous French novelist who has decided to make her the heroine of his next novel. After this lOng film co-written by her companion and mentor Pepito Abatino and in which she sings two songs, Joséphine Baker will only make a few brief appearances on the screen, notably in Moulin-Rouge and False Alert.
