Princesse Tam Tam (1935)

[dfordoom]

PRINCESSE TAM TAM is a 1935 French musical show-casing the talents of the one and only Josephine Baker. The plot is fairly slight – it’s a kind of Pygmalion story, in which a couple of French literary types take a Bedouin girl and “civilise” her and then pass her off as a princess. Josephine Baker sings, she dances as only she could dance, and she proves herself a reasonably adept comic actress. She looks magnificent, and although I’m sure the dances are very tame compared to the live performances that made her the toast of Paris they’re enough to give a good idea of the reasons she was such a sensation. The movie climaxes with a musical production number worthy of (and clearly very much influenced by) Busby Berkeley. It’s an effective blend of comedy, romance and music, and while it does reflect the time at which it was made it’s noticeably much less racist than American films of that era. It also boasts some great locations (I believe it was filmed partly in Tunisia), and some marvellous sets. Baker is likeable as well as talented, and although there’s not a great deal of substance to this movie if you’re prepared to accept it as the kind of lightweight but delicious soufflé that it is then there’s an enormous amount of enjoyment to be had. I loved it, and I’ll be seeking out more of her French films.

[Moraldo Rubini]

How cool to see that someone discovered Josphine Baker's Princesse Tam Tam. I still haven't seen it, and am pining to see it along with Zouzou. Zouzou also features a young Jean Gabin, before he created Pépé le Moko and so many other great characters.

[dfordoom]

I grabbed it when Deep Discount DVD were having a sale on Kino DVDs. I really want to see Zouzou now, but I may have to wait for their next sale!

And I loved Jean Gabin in Pepe le Moko!

[Sue Sue Applegate]

I've always wanted to see both of these films.

[Moraldo Rubini]

I noticed that Kino DVD is selling a three-disc set of Zou Zou, Princess Tam Tam and Siren of the Tropics...

[Sue Sue Applegate]

Thanks, Moraldo!