Amazon.com

This 1935 variation on Pygmalion is a clever French vehicle for Josephine Baker, the Missouri woman who found stardom in Paris as a dancer and singer. The black performer plays an African shepherd, Alwina, a wild and exotic creature who meets a celebrity novelist, Max (Albert Prejean), the latter in a desperate search for inspiration. He finds it in a bemused notion to polish away Alwina's earthy sexuality and turn her into a princess presentable to upper-crust Parisian society. Meanwhile, Max's estranged wife, Lucie (Germaine Aussey), has concocted an affair with a black prince, thus giving the City of Lights much to buzz about when both spouses turn up as separate halves of interracial couples. Career director Edmond T. Greville (The Hands of Orlac) brings a light touch to Princess Tam Tam, only his fifth film of many, and the Continental wit on display is occasionally comparable to some of Ernst Lubitsch's best ideas. Baker trills and leaps about and dances during a few scenes, and does exceedingly well in the Eliza Doolittle-like part. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Classic Josephine Baker comedy-drama
Although better filmed and better directed than Jospehine Baker's previous feature film, "Zou Zou," this movie has less soulfulness and zest, and is more genuinely offensive, in terms of how it portrays a black woman's role in European society. The premise is simple enough: it's a remake of Shaw's "Pygmalion," this time with a French novelist going abroad to Tunisia and finding a new muse in the guise of the wild, uninhibited Alwina, a shepard girl who sings, dances and shoplifts her way through life. Our Gallic hero takes her under his wing, transports her to Paris and passes her off as African royalty, training her in the finer points of civilized life, such as wearing shoes and not dancing the boogaloo in public, all the while making side comments about her wild native ways. Sure, the film is a product of its time, and some degree of racism is to be expected, but we also have to be honest and admit that it gets in the way of enjoying this film, and helps define its central essence. Also, it just seems more forced and predictable than "Zou Zou," which in addition to a more interesting plot also had better performances from Baker. Worth checking out, to be sure, but a little troublesome nonetheless.

Josephine Baker shines!
Princess Tam Tam" is one of only two talkies made by the legendary Josephine Baker. It is, in this viewer's opinion, the better of the two, and quite a delightful movie.

The story is reminiscent of "Pygmallion:" Awina (Baker), a Tunisian woman, is taken in by a pompous French writer and transformed from a street beggar to a "cultured" society matron. Said writer is only attempting to enrage his estranged wife and gather material for his next book, but he manages to convince Awina that he is enamoured with her. The wife, meanwhile, is carrying on an affair of her own. When the writer returns to Paris with his 'exotic new love,' the wife and her friends work to expose Awina as a fraud. As this is a musical comedy, all's well in the end, as both Awina and the author find success and happiness (apart!).

What makes "Princess Tam Tam" special is the manner in which it captures Josephine Baker's irrepressible and unique spirit. She has several opportunities to show off her inimitable and uninhibited style of dance, her fantastic sense of humour and her 'star power.' At the same time, the film is not merely a star vehicle: the storyline and supporting cast work well to create a film with some substance. There is lovely cinematography and some stunning views of the desert and Roman ruins (sections of the film were actually shot on location in Tunisia).

One criticism about this film is the quality of the English subtitling. The actual French dialogue is, in a number of cases, much richer and more entertaining than the sparse subtitles would suggest.

Josephine Baker Shines!
"Princess Tam Tam" is one of only two talkies made by the legendary Josephine Baker. It is, in this viewer's opinion, the better of the two, and quite a delightful movie.

The story is reminiscent of "Pygmallion:" Awina (Baker), a Tunisian woman, is taken in by a pompous French writer and transformed from a street beggar to a "cultured" society matron. Said writer is only attempting to enrage his estranged wife and gather material for his next book, but he manages to convince Awina that he is enamoured with her. The wife, meanwhile, is carrying on an affair of her own. When the writer returns to Paris with his 'exotic new love,' the wife and her friends work to expose Awina as a fraud. As this is a musical comedy, all's well in the end, as both Awina and the author find success and happiness (apart!).

What makes "Princess tam Tam" special is the manner in which it captures Josephine Baker's irrepressible and unique spirit. She has several opportunities to show off her inimitable and uninhibited style of dance, her fantastic sense of humour and her 'star power.' At the same time, the film is not merely a star vehicle: the storyline and supporting cast work well to create a film with some substance. There is lovely cinematography and some stunning views of the desert and Roman ruins (sections of the film were actually shot on location in Tunisia).

One criticism about this film is the quality of the English subtitling. The actual French dialogue is, in a number of cases, much richer and more entertaining than the sparse subtitles would suggest. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Poor first talkie vehicle for Josephine Baker
A more extensive review of mine appears on the imdb. This is
a poor film by any standards. The sound is not very good and
the editing is very choppy and crude. Acting is merely
acceptable and the Baker mystique does not translate well to
the screen in this-her first talkie (she had made one silent
in 1927, of which only three reels survive). Kino's source
material is of a lower standard than their usual pristine
archive prints - there are lines, jumps and focus problems. It
may have been the only print available at the time.

This then is a mixed bag- interesting for historical purposes
and for those fans of Ms. Baker's vocal recordings. She only
made four films and only three talkies are available on video.
Other films in her imdb filmography consist of musical scenes
lifted from the four core films. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Superb! Brings women artists and their era to life
Greta Schiller's award-winning documentary Paris Was A Woman (1995) explores the extraordinary women, many of whom were lesbian or bisexual, in the Left Bank's thriving cultural scene between the wars. Through Schiller's exceptional filmmaking, and Andrea Weiss's brilliant research and screenwriting, we come to know the living, complex women who so often stand only as cultural icons: novelists Gertrude Stein, Djuna Barnes, Colette, Natalie Barney, painter Marie Laurencin, photographer Gisele Freund, publishers/booksellers Sylvia Beach and Adrienne Monnier, New Yorker journalist Janet Flanner, singer Josephine Baker, and many others. Schiller also looks at their connection to the male artists of the time, including Picasso (whom Stein discovered and promoted), Joyce (who drove Beach to bankruptcy when she published his then-illegally obscene masterpiece, Ulysses), and Hemingway (who began as Stein and Toklas's errand boy; we see - and hear - his stylistic debt to Stein).

In a mere 75 minutes, with a spellbinding use of archival photos and film footage, Schiller manages to recreate the mood and flavor of this unique community of women who came to The City of Lights (and Love) from the U.S., England, and every corner of the world. This inspired, and moving, film brings to life their passion both for the arts and for a freedom in their personal lives which still resonates today.

We also get to know the less well-known, but no less fascinating, women of this enclave, who gravitated to the famously different salons of Stein (witty and cerebral) and Barney (wild and sensual). The film draws on groundbreaking research, newly-discovered home movies (there is nothing like actually seeing and hearing Gertrude Stein, both in her public and private personas), and intimate storytelling that combines interviews with the people who lived then (Barney's spry housekeeper of 40 years, Berthe Cleyrerque, is unforgettable, as is Janet Flanner) with contemporary scholars (whose brief remarks, sprinkled throughout the film, are illuminating rather than pedantic). Time and again, Schiller and Weiss manage to find exactly the right photos, footage, and sound clips to reveal these women in their complexity as flesh and blood people who in some cases - such as Stein - shaped the course of modern culture.

Paris Was A Woman is not only superb history, it is also inspired filmmaking. Schiller, who edited as well as directed and co-produced, uses the energy of narrative flow, balancing of viewpoints, juxtaposition of the intellectual and revealingly anecdotal, structural use of period music, and delicious humor to bring alive this world in cinematic, and human, terms.

The DVD, from Zeitgeist, includes many excellent supplemental features, including the complete home movies which were excerpted in the film plus additional footage (of Stein, Toklas, Colette, Picasso, Thornton Wilder, poet Paul Valery, and more), two entire sequences cut from the film (one on Stein and Joyce, the other on Hemingway, Stein & Toklas), and dozens of archival photographs (depicting the lives of the women - one memorable split photo shows Colette dressed as a man on one half and as a woman on the other, as well as their paintings, Djuna Barnes's own hand-colored drawings from her 1928 book The Ladies Almanack - which satirized her fellow lesbian literati, and much more).

I highly recommend this exceptional film!

Good subject matter, nice photography
There is nothing like viewing a well written book "Live!" Even tho a lot of photos were taken in the 1930s, it really shows the alternative life-style that women had in Paris. Seeing Gertrude Stein and hearing her voice, along with many others was quite an experience. I personally knew Samuel Steward (a.k.a. Phil Sparrow), college prof. turned tattoo artist. His part in the video was small, but very informative. He lived in Paris for a while and was a good friend of Alice B. Toklas and Stein until they died. His book "Dear Sammy" is a joy to read. Phil kept this part of his life underground until several years before his death.

I was shocked to learn that Sylvia Beach had published James Joyce's ULYSSES at her own expense, and Joyce didn't pay her one dime when he received a very large royality from a major publisher a few years later.

A darn good video to watch, and does give one the urge to "Move to Paris."

Excellent glimpse into the lives of REMARKABLE WOMEN!
Andrea Weiss wrote "Paris Was A Woman" which contains so much more than any video could hope to include... but the film is an excellent glimpse and overview of extraordinary American women, who relocated to the left bank of Paris in the 1920's. They stayed during the war and amidst the bombings, from their sisterhood, arose some of the best classical literature known today. See Radcliffe Hall, Djuna Woods, Natalie Clifford Barney (my favorite), Collette (35+ years before "Gigi" hit broadway), Dolly Madison, Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Tolkas as well as James Joyce, Ernest Hemmingway and Pablo Picasso... and their loves, struggles and glorious triumphs. This film (and book)is moving, highly informative and amusing, too. So many heroines and talented artists and writers in one cultural place during one turbulent decade! I, absolutely, had to own the book! A definite must see and must read! ... Read more

Amazon.com

From an early age, Josephine Baker knew what she wanted and did whatever it took to get it. Whether building her career or her family, Baker heeded no one's advice but her own, becoming one of the world's highest-paid performers, adopting 12 children into her "Rainbow Tribe," losing her fortune, then returning triumphantly to the stage just days before her death in 1975. Intimate Portrait: Josephine Baker, narrated by Arsenio Hall, captures Baker's sex appeal, energy, determination, and the important legacy she left behind for women performers in all media. Blending rarely seen dance clips, archived interview footage, and commentary by choreographer Debbie Allen, actress Lynn Whitfield (who portrayed Baker in The Josephine Baker Story), and two of Baker's sons, this exquisitely choreographed video reveals more sides to Baker's life than one would have thought possible in an hour. --Larisa Lomacky Moore ... Read more

Reviews (6)

wonderful footage with trite commentary
With its commercials edited for home viewing, this video is the perfect length for a high school class screening. I wanted to present a unit on Josephine Baker in conjunction with Black History Month, and this was a good investment for my classroom.

The documentary footage of the video is fantastic, with images of St Louis during the riots of the 1920s, stills of Baker in New York City, and performances by Baker in Paris (with a strategically placed black bar, making the video suitable for younger audiences). Particuarly interesting are clips a 1951 interview with Baker upon her return to the United States. Also included are clips from the 1991 HBO film, "The Josephine Baker Story".

The video's commentary, however, was somewhat disappointing. Both Lynn Whitfield, who portrayed Baker for HBO's biopic, and choreographer-producer Debbie Allen are interviewed along with several of Baker's adopted children, and assorted biographers. But Arsenio Hall, the video's narrator, is a mysterious choice for an interview, as he has no discernable connection to the performer. His trite descriptions of Baker as having "a Jerry Lewis, Jim Carrey-like quality, though she was not a standup. She was a dancer," are especially irritating, as they bring no real information to the biography. They are merely filler. And Debbie Allen damages her credibility as a source by peppering her commentary with "Honey!" and "Child!" These glitches, however, are tolerable in the context of the documentary footage.

The life of Josephine Baker is a fascinating story which deserves a serious documentary, with a narrator who can correctly pronounce "Les Folies Bergères". But until we have that, this will have to do.

NO ONE LIKE HER!
Move over Tina Turner, Beth Midler, Patti LaBelle and Madonna! Before either one of you were born, there was Josephine. She set the standard and paved the way for performances that blew her audiences' aesthetic minds. She was the rage of Paris and Europe. Audiences bowed at her feet and gave praise to her name. Josephine was it!

Josephine Baker. Just who was this woman? Born of a Black washer woman and white man in St. Louis, MO, Josephine led a hard life. The St. Louis racial riots of 1917 left an indelible impression on this young girl who would grow to resent the racism of her country throughout her life. Josephine was wild, independent and would do what was necessary to move out of her condition.

Her tenacity, creativeness and sense of adventure in performing eventually landed her in Paris which she took by a storm. She brought with her a style, grace and energy which is shown in vintage footage of her early years. You will enjoy the performance of this woman whose feats can't be duplicated today.

Baker was more than just an entertainer. She was always outspoken against racism and believed in living life on her own terms. France honored her as a war hero and she adopted children of different races to prove that all humanity can live in harmony. This was before the civil rights movement came into being at full force.

Enjoy this woman's triumph on stage. Allow yourself to get angry at the United States for its rejection of this great Black woman. Be forgiving of her varied foibles and mistakes. Yet remember this, THERE IS ONLY ONE JOSEPHINE!

" Unforgettable "
I was a fan of Josephine Baker's and I had the liberty of seeing her walk down the Champs Elysees at the age of seven in 1956 or '57. And I must tell you that she was a sight. She had a certain magic about her that cannot be duplicated. Everything about her was just perfect. And ever since I saw that beautiful sight it has been sketched and burned in my head ever since.So when I heard that Lifetime was doing a biography of Josephine Baker I was drawn to it imediately. And when I saw this documentary I literally broke down and cried. Although I never had the pleasure of meeting Madame just watching her walk down the street and enjoying the view was quite enough. She was just unforgettable. And there is no one today or tommorrow who can touch her ,or ever will.

" Quite Simply Elegant "
This documentary was simply stunning. I saw wonderful and beautiful films , photographs , and rare footage of this beautiful women . This documentary opened my eyes to a women who didn't fight for just black civil rights, but for all human rights.

'' There is only one Josephine ! . '' -
Josephine Baker is one in a million, and all I can say is that it's about time she finally gets the recognition that she so deserves. Although she is no longer with us, we can always look back and apreciate the rich lavish history that this woman has left behind. ... Read more