Ever-electric Josephine, the American in Paris

The Josephine Baker Collection

Kino, $30 each

The legendary African American performer (1906-75) got her start as a child, singing and dancing for spare change in the streets of St. Louis. She was a chorus girl on the St. Louis stage until, tired of that city’s oppressive racism, Baker ran away from the city -- and her first husband -- at 17. And within a few short years she was the toast of Paris, first as a member of the La Revue Negre and then as part of the all-black revue at the Folies Bergere, where she caused a sensation with her famous banana dance. At the height of her popularity in France, she made three films -- 1927’s “Siren of the Tropics,” 1934’s “Zou Zou” and 1935’s “Prince Tam Tam,” all of which are receiving their DVD debuts.

Siren of the Tropics

The silent romantic drama, which for years existed only in a fragment, has recently been restored. Though there are a few frames missing here and there, the jumps and skips don’t detract much.

Baker, just 21 at the time, is a natural on-screen as a free-spirited, animal-loving native woman, Papitou, who falls in love with a handsome white prospector sent by his conniving boss to the French Antilles to check out a mine.

Even when Papitou learns he’s engaged to his boss’ daughter, she follows him back to Paris and, through several twists of fate, comes to dazzle Paris’ music halls.

Though the film is silent, her dance numbers seem to leap off the screen.

Baker, who would often dance topless, does appear nude in the film.

Extras: Stills gallery; an early silent film short, “The Fireman of the Folies Bergere,” which marks her first appearance on camera; and the documentary “Josephine Baker: The Performance,” which features clips, interviews with New York Times critic Margo Jefferson and the entertainer’s adopted son, Jean-Claude Baker.

Zou Zou

Baker made her sound debut in this dramatic musical, a box-office success in France. The film also features the great French actor Jean Gabin in one of his early screen performances

Directed by Marc Allegret, “Zou Zou” finds Baker yet again in love with a white man who doesn’t return her affections. Baker plays a Creole-born woman who had been brought up with a white boy (Gabin), her “twin,” by their adopted father in the circus. Now an adult, Zou Zou realizes she’s falling in love with her foster brother, Jean, but he only has eyes for the beautiful blond Claire, who works with Zou Zou in a laundry at a Paris music hall. When Jean, who also works in the theater as an electrician, is unjustly accused of murder, Zou Zou asks the theater owner if she can become part of the show so she can earn enough money for his defense. Zou Zou becomes a big star, and Jean is released from prison. But he leaves the prison with Claire on his arm.

The finale finds the heartbroken Zou Zou performing the haunting song “Haiti,” dressed in feathers and sitting on a perch in a huge gilded cage.

Unfortunately, the print used for the DVD transfer is in bad shape, with dirt, skips and tears. It’s far below the usual Kino quality.

Extras: A video tour of the New York club Chez Josephine, song selections, stills galleries and the documentary “Josephine Baker: The Woman.”

Princess Tam Tam

The print used for the DVD of this Pygmalion-esque musical comedy is as below par as “Zou Zou’s.”

That’s a shame because the print quality makes it difficult to enjoy Baker’s comedic talents as she plays a mischievous shepherd girl who is passed off as a princess, becoming a star of Parisian society. Highlights include the song “ ‘Neath the Tropic Blue Skies.”

Extras: Song selections, a stills gallery and the documentary, “Josephine Baker: The Films.”

-- Susan King