La sirène des tropiques (1927)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Directors:

Henri Étiévant (co-director)
Mario Nalpas (co-director)

Writer:

Maurice Dekobra (writer)

Release Date:

4 February 1931 (Japan)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Plot:

Marquis Sévéro, a rich, lazy Parisian, wants to divorce his wife so that he can marry his own goddaughter Denise...

Plot Keywords:

Marquis | France | Jealousy | Native | Caribbean Antilles

Cast

Josephine Baker	...	Papitou
Pierre Batcheff	...	André Berval
Régina Dalthy	...	Marquise Severo
Regina Thomas	...	Denise
Georges Melchior	...	Comte Severo
Kiranine	...	Alvarez
Adolphe Candé	...	Le directeur
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Joe Alex
Colette Borelli
Janine Borelli
Jean Borelli
Pierre Hot

Also Known As:

Siren of the Tropics (International: English title)

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

France

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Company:

La Centrale Cinématographique

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Les triplettes de Belleville (2003)

Of interest to Josephine Baker and Popular Dance fans

I only saw the first and last two reels, supposedly all of the file that has survived. Josephine Baker's role is similar to her roles in Zouzou (1934) and Princess Tam-Tam (1935), the innocent from the tropics who is brought to civilization and finds it somewhat wanting. However, she does get to keep a man in the end.

Most interesting for Josephine Baker. It includes a short segment of one of her stage dances. Seeing her move in close-up is also a pleasure. The film is an oddity in that it was shot as a pantomime (there are no titles).