Siren of the Tropics (La Sirene des tropiques) (fragment). 1927. Directed by Henri Etievant and Mario Nalpas.

(11/23/00)

Josephine Baker lit up the screen at the beginning of this film. She had an exciting presence, was completely uninhibited and the energy just poured out of her. She totally dominated the picture, but the effect began to wear thin after a bit.

This film is very incomplete. We have the beginning reels, the last two reels--and none of them have intertitles. The first part is set in the tropics with Baker as some kind of native. The last reels are set in a city of the western world. Her excitement doesn't carry into the second part of the film, even when she dances. (She is a showgirl of a sort.) In fact, the excitement began to pall for me even before the film left the tropics.

It does seem to be a very lively film. The first part has an unwelcome suitor energetically pursuing her. He attempts to get rid of a rival by cutting a rope bridge that the latter is crossing. The second half doesn't seem so interesting except for one wonderful moment when two men go to fight a duel and Baker shoots one of them from a tree, leaving the other totally bewildered.

This was probably a very entertaining film in its complete version.