La Revue des Revues

Don't be fooled by the packaging of the DVD release of La Revue des Revues, which bears the promise “featuring Josephine Baker” while displaying a portrait of the barely-clad entertainer vamping merrily: in fact, Baker turns up in only two very brief scenes (properly dressed on both occasions) in this long lost 1927 production. Combining the worst back stage clichés with a seemingly endless series of clumsy performances, the meager plot of La Revue des Revues revolves around the adventures of Gabrielle (a jowly Helene Hallier), a chorus girl whisked to unlikely cabaret stardom as part of a publicity stunt. The story, however, is often junked in favor of awkward dance numbers (there was no sound originally, making this something of a silent movie musical), each worse than the previous with marzipan showgirls wearing goth-worthy makeup high-kicking their way through zany numbers (“One Night in Mexico,” “The Orgies,” an inane Egyptian temple piece). And, strangely, Taranta-Babu's modern jazz soundtrack—created for this release—bears little rhythmic relation to the onscreen action. Baker shimmies through a “plantation” number and then turns up doing the Charleston in a jazz club setting, but these brief flares of energy and sensuality seem out of place in this otherwise lackluster revue. Recommended for Baker completists only. (P. Hall)