Yikes! When "Siren of the Tropics" began I felt like I was going through an earthquake! That's because the print from Kino had a very noticeable shake--and continued doing so through the film. Now it is possible that you might not notice it as much as me and won't get motion sick watching it, as I watched it on a 58 inch TV that only exacerbated the problem.
The story begins in France. A rather despicable rich guy and his wife are arguing--he wants a divorce and she suspects he wants this so he can marry their goddaughter--who they have been caring for over the years! Yuck! However, the young lady has no idea he's thinking of her this way. Instead, she's in love with nice-guy, André. When the nasty rich guy finds out about this, he pretends to give his approval and sends the future groom to a supposedly wonderful temporary assignment--to oversee his mines in Africa. However, the rich jerk sends word to his evil overseer, Alvarez, to kill André! And, soon enough, Alvarez tries--though I must admit the attempt is really lame! Much of the reason André survives is because his body is discovered by a strange local girl, Papitou (Josephine Baker). Soon, reinforcements arrive--Alvarez is captured and André's fiancée and her godmother arrive. The three of them go back to France and soon after, Papitou manages to take a ship bound for France as well.
Papitou is very fortunate, as she first comes upon a job as a governess (scenes of her with the children were very reminiscent of her real life, as Baker had over the years adopted a rainbow of children). Soon, she is discovered by some theater owners who want to feature her and her dancing in their upcoming show (again, not far from real life, as Baker was a huge hit in France due to her exotic dancing).
When the evil rich guy learns that she is ALSO in love with André, he sets up André and claims the innocent man is having an affair with the dancer. Ultimately, André demands a duel with the rich jerk because he learned he was behind the attempt on his life AND the supposed affair). Not wanting to see her beloved André die, Papitou arrives at the site of the duel and intervenes--killing the pig. In the end, however, she is a good woman and understands that André does not love her--and she gives his fiancée her blessing.
This is a very watchable film and is quite interesting as it gives you a chance to not only see Miss Baker in her first film but to also see her dance. Additionally, while you may or may not want to see it, you also see a lot of the lovely Miss Baker naked--and the film makers seemed to contrive many situations where you can see her topless--and a bit more. The nudity, though exploitational, also seemed rather innocent as well.
The most serious problem with the film was Miss Baker's acting. While generally very good, there is one scene where she over-emotes horribly--and I assume the director was really at fault for this. For example, in the scene where the fiancée arrived in Africa, watch Baker's reaction. It is SUPPOSED to be surprise, sadness and perhaps anger. Instead, she just appears to have a bad case of schizophrenia or drug addiction! Too bad, as she was quite good in much of the film--and her craft did improve in subsequent films.
The story begins in France. A rather despicable rich guy and his wife are arguing--he wants a divorce and she suspects he wants this so he can marry their goddaughter--who they have been caring for over the years! Yuck! However, the young lady has no idea he's thinking of her this way. Instead, she's in love with nice-guy, André. When the nasty rich guy finds out about this, he pretends to give his approval and sends the future groom to a supposedly wonderful temporary assignment--to oversee his mines in Africa. However, the rich jerk sends word to his evil overseer, Alvarez, to kill André! And, soon enough, Alvarez tries--though I must admit the attempt is really lame! Much of the reason André survives is because his body is discovered by a strange local girl, Papitou (Josephine Baker). Soon, reinforcements arrive--Alvarez is captured and André's fiancée and her godmother arrive. The three of them go back to France and soon after, Papitou manages to take a ship bound for France as well.
Papitou is very fortunate, as she first comes upon a job as a governess (scenes of her with the children were very reminiscent of her real life, as Baker had over the years adopted a rainbow of children). Soon, she is discovered by some theater owners who want to feature her and her dancing in their upcoming show (again, not far from real life, as Baker was a huge hit in France due to her exotic dancing).
When the evil rich guy learns that she is ALSO in love with André, he sets up André and claims the innocent man is having an affair with the dancer. Ultimately, André demands a duel with the rich jerk because he learned he was behind the attempt on his life AND the supposed affair). Not wanting to see her beloved André die, Papitou arrives at the site of the duel and intervenes--killing the pig. In the end, however, she is a good woman and understands that André does not love her--and she gives his fiancée her blessing.
This is a very watchable film and is quite interesting as it gives you a chance to not only see Miss Baker in her first film but to also see her dance. Additionally, while you may or may not want to see it, you also see a lot of the lovely Miss Baker naked--and the film makers seemed to contrive many situations where you can see her topless--and a bit more. The nudity, though exploitational, also seemed rather innocent as well.
The most serious problem with the film was Miss Baker's acting. While generally very good, there is one scene where she over-emotes horribly--and I assume the director was really at fault for this. For example, in the scene where the fiancée arrived in Africa, watch Baker's reaction. It is SUPPOSED to be surprise, sadness and perhaps anger. Instead, she just appears to have a bad case of schizophrenia or drug addiction! Too bad, as she was quite good in much of the film--and her craft did improve in subsequent films.