SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 4 - JOSEPHINE BAKER 2 Films 2:00 a.m. (ET)/11:00 p.m. (PT) ZOU ZOU (1934) The French film Zouzou (1934) is a rare opportunity to see one of the great African-American entertainers of the 20th century. Josephine Baker, known primarily as a singer/dancer on the stage, cabaret, and music halls, made only a handful of films, and Zouzou was her personal favorite, the closest, she said, to whom she was in real life. Zouzou is a Creole laundress, brought up in the circus along with her foster brother, Jean. She yearns for a life onstage, and longs for the love of Jean, who falls for her best friend. Zouzou manages to save Jean from a false murder rap, and to become an overnight star as well. The screenplay, based on a novel by Baker's then-lover and mentor, Pepito Abatino, was tailored for her talents. Born in St. Louis, the daughter of a laundress, Baker was a Broadway chorine by her early teens.� In the 1920's, she went to Paris and starred in Le Revue Negre and the Folies Bergere, causing a sensation by dancing topless, clad only in a bunch of bananas.� By the time she made Zouzou, Baker was one of the biggest stars of the French music hall.�Zouzou's big musical number, "Haiti," features Baker in a skimpy feathered costume, recalling her early Paris success. Baker's co-star in Zouzou was Jean Gabin, a young actor just starting out in films.� He would become one of France's leading actors, sometimes called "the French Spencer Tracy," for his subtle, earthy acting style.� Gabin, too, had begun his career in the music hall, and he and Baker became lifelong friends.� Over the years, Gabin would frequently join Baker onstage at her nightclub, Chez Josephine, and they would sing and dance together. The ad campaign for Zouzou imitated the Hollywood campaign for Garbo's first talkie, Anna Christie (1930), which proclaimed, "Garbo Talks!" -- "Baker Talks!"� But even that didn't get the film distribution in America.� Baker was never as big a star in America as shee was in France.� She made a few more films, but film never quite captured what made her so special.� Baker was philosophical about her failure to score in movies: "Everybody has a place.�Some stars are Broadway stars, and some are film stars, and some are recording stars.�I happen to be a stage star."�She always maintained a fondness for Zouzou nevertheless. Director: Marc Allegret Producer: Arys Nissotti Screenplay: Carlo Rim (based on the novel by G. Abatino) Cinematography: Boris Kaufman, Michel Kelber, Jacques Mercanton, Louis Nee Editor: Denise Batcheff Set Direction: Lazare Meerson, Alexandre Trauner Music: Alain Romans, Vincent Scotto, Georges Van Parys Principle Cast: Josephine Baker (Zouzou), Jean Gabin (Jean), Pierre Larquey (Papa Mele), Yvette Lebon (Claire), Illa Meery (Miss Barbara), Palau (Saint-Levy). BW-93m. By Margarita Landazuri 4:00 a.m. (ET)/1:00 a.m. (PT) PRINCESS TAM TAM (1935) They called her "Black Venus," the first African-American woman to become an international sex symbol. As such, she paved the way for such later entertainers as Lena Horne, Eartha Kitt and Dorothy Dandridge. But to do all that, Josephine Baker had to leave the U.S. for Europe. After two marriages and a hit on Broadway�all while she was still in her teens�Baker sized up the racism of her native country and fled to France, where she became a headliner at the Folies Berg�re within a few years. She tried film in the silent era, but that wasn�t the best medium for a musical star. She came back to the movies for a hit in the 1934 French film Zouzou. That rags to riches story about a laundress who becomes a musical star, was such a hit that her manager and fianc�, Pepito Abitano, used the same formula for her follow-up, Princess Tam Tam, the following year. This time, however, he added a touch of the Pygmalion myth, with a French novelist (Albert Pr�jean) converting her from Tunisian street urchin to high-society sensation in order to get back at his straying wife. Producer Arys Nissotti gave Baker the kind of backing her star presence deserved. For the African scenes, the company went on location in Tunisia, capturing street scenes of life there in the �30s. As back-up singers for her big production number, they tapped one of Europe�s top singing groups of the decade, the Comedian Harmonists, a German act that would soon be disbanded by the Nazi government of their homeland because three of its members were Jewish. They would later be the subject of a successful film and stage musical, both called The Harmonists. But the center of the film was Baker, who got to showcase her skills at singing, dancing, acting and comedy�not to mention the intense sensuality that made her a legend in France. The latter may have been too much for U.S. audiences, particularly given the film�s depiction of interracial romance. Although the film had a successful opening in New York, it was denied the Production Code Administration�s Seal of Approval, keeping it out of most mainstream theatres in this country. Yet it remained a popular offering in independent theatres catering to black audiences through the �40s. The picture was rediscovered in 1989, when the print was restored by Eastman House in Rochester, New York. Director: Edmond T. Greville Producer: Arys Nissotti Screenplay: Yves Mirand (dialogue), Pepito Abatino (scenario) Cinematography: Georges Benoit Art Direction: Guy de Gastyne Music: Arthur Nissotti Principle Cast: Josephine Baker (Alwina/Princess Tam Tam), Albert Pr�jean (Max de Mirecourt), Robert Arnoux (Coton), Germaine Aussey (Lucie de Mirecourt), Georges P�clet (Dar), Jean Galland (Maharajah of Datane) BW-78m. By Frank Miller