The Siren of the Tropics (1927)

Directed by Mario Nalpas and Henri Étiévant
Starring Josephine Baker, Pierre Batcheff and Régina Dalthy

Andre Berval is a man with a problem.

He's in love with a beautiful woman named Denise, but unbeknownst to him, his employer and her godfather has designs on the young woman.

The villainous boss dispatches Berval to the Antilles under the pretext of surveying some land.  In reality, it's part of a not-so-elaborate plot for another employee named Alvarez to remove Berval from the romantic equation.

Complicating matters is a young native girl in Antilles named Papitou.  How does she complicate things?  First, she falls for Berval and those feelings put her into a position to save him on more than one occasion.  Second, Papitou is played by Josephine Baker and the movie becomes really uninterested in the original love triangle as it recognizes this side character has star power.

Can the rest of the cast wrest control back from the talent that is Baker?  And will we even care who Berval chooses in the end?  (Spoiler: The answer to both questions is "no.")

I'm torn.

The Siren of the Tropics is a directionless mess.  On the one hand, it wants to be about a young couple in love whose blossoming romance is threatened in its cradle by the woman's godfather.  The villain is infatuated with her and will resort to anything to keep them apart.  But the film's eye is constantly wandering away from that central conflict, which could be frustrating.

However, the source of the film's distraction is Papitou, the character played by the extraordinary Josephine Baker.

Honestly, any director worth his salt would have made the same decision.  The other characters in the film are staid and boring.  Papitou is life and energy.  The other characters sit in chairs and contemplate their next scheme or love.  Papitou jumps onto the chair, the desk, random pieces of furniture.  If you were casually watching all of these folks wander through life, your eye would be drawn to her too.

Of course, once the film focuses its attention on her, it has no idea what to do with her.  One moment she is showing off her agility escaping from Alvarez.  Next we see her dancing.  Then she's pratfalling all over a ship bound for France.  More dancing.  Saving her unreciprocated lover.  It's dizzying.

The force of Baker's personality stands out, but it's not hard to differentiate yourself when you are surrounded by an assembly of milquetoast characters.  It's honestly pretty puzzling why Papitou would fall for Pierre Batcheff's Andre Berval; she spends half the movie saving him.  Berval and Denise are perfect for one another as neither one has any personality to get in the way of their relationship.

The Siren of the Tropics is notable for Baker's authoritative arrival on the silver screen.  Sadly it's in a dud of a movie.  Her turn as a supporting character takes over the film and almost saves it.  But only almost.

** out of *****

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It (1927)

Cyrus trying to ignore the It-ness of Betty

Directed by Clarence G. Badger and Josef von Sternberg
Starring Clara Bow, Antonio Moreno and William Austin
Produced by Famous Players-Lasky Corporation and Paramount Pictures


Betty Lou Spence is one in a seemingly endless stream of employees at the local department store.  The women (and they all appear to be women) work under the supervision of the men (and the bosses are all men).  When Betty Lou and her coworkers aren't arguing about the store's return policy with their customers, they are ogling the owner of the store Cyrus Waltham.

Of course, Betty Lou isn't exactly like the other employees. You see, she has "It."

What is "It"?  It is basically a kind of natural magnetism that allows the owner to attract members of the other sex.  Cyrus has it.  And Betty Lou has it.

Or so we are told.  Cyrus doesn't seem to notice Betty, but his best friend Monty picks up on "It."  Betty is after Cyrus, but is willing to go out on a date with Monty as long as it gets her into the same restaurant as her real target.  Once Betty and Cyrus lock eyes in the restaurant, it's over. They fall for one another immediately.

Unfortunately, there is still an hour left to the movie so we need some obstacles to them ending up together.  Like Betty slapping Cyrus for kissing her on the first date.  Or Cyrus mistakenly believing Betty is a single mom (her roommate really is).  Or Cyrus being sort of, almost engaged to another woman.

Can they hurdle all of the obstacles or will "It" come between them?

Gorgeous and funny

It is the cotton candy of silent film, filled with sugar and air.  I know it's not good for me, but damn if I can't stop eating it.

The plot rotates around this contrivance that people have "It." Monty plays the role of "It" judge, rating each person according to their It-ness.  Every woman wants Cyrus, but once Monty pegs Betty as having It, there is only one way the plot can go.

I mention obstacles and most of them are pretty mindless.  After a fun date at an amusement park, Cyrus pecks Betty on the cheek and she slaps him and rushes off in a huff.  It seems way out of character, and sure enough, the moment she's back in her apartment, she's gleefully reenacting the kiss with a stuffed animal.

Then there is the whole mistaken baby thing.  Betty's roommate Molly has a newborn (who looks to be going on 2 years old), but the mother is also recovering from an illness.  One day, some women show up to take the child to a home because Molly is sick and doesn't have a job or a husband. Betty steps in and claims the child is hers (which is better because she has a job and is healthy).  Never mind that the job would mean she's not around to care for the baby.  Somehow that's an improvement.

Monty of course overhears Betty's claims that she's an unwed mother and informs Cyrus, who responds by... offering to take Betty on as his mistress?  Really?

Betty is so mad she hatches a revenge plot that includes seducing Cyrus into proposing to her so she can laugh in his face.  She carries out the plan and when the moment comes?  She actually laughs in his face.  She feels bad afterward, but still...

I know I'm focusing on the flaws, but the movie skips over them so quickly you hardly notice. The actors make you buy every moment. Clara Bow is incredible as Betty she has this independent streak that makes her stand out from the crowd.  Between her styling her own dress and taking the prim and proper Cyrus to an amusement park, Bow is now enshrined in my manic-pixie-dream-girl hall of fame.

William Austin = Comedy Gold

The other real cast standout is William Austin as Monty.  He makes you by the "It" in It. Monty is a heap of nervous tics and wide eyed stares and Austin is hysterical throughout.  Even when the serious moments threaten to weigh down the film, one fevered look from him and you know you are still firmly rooted in a comedy.  It's a ridiculous and over-the-top performance, but the movie needs him around.

As I said, I loved this movie.  Bow is another on my must watch list now, as is Austin.  It never goes for melodrama, preferring to keep things light and strike just the right tone.  If this were being made today it would probably be a sitcom, but I'm glad we have this caliber of cast supporting this material.

****1/2out of *****

NOTES:

• Yes, that was THE Gary Cooper in an almost nothing role as a newspaper reporter.
• Ever heard the expression "It Girl"? Thank this movie for that.
• Finally, I just have to point out the amusement park in this.  One of the rides is a big turntable that you sit on until it speeds up enough to send you flying off of it.  Another was this bridge that bucked worse than a rodeo bull.  And finally, park attendees are getting thrown around inside this rotating barrel.  It looked more like an episode of Wipeout than an amusement park.

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