African Film Archive

Zouzou

1934 — Marc Allegret — France

feature · musical, romance · pre-history

One of Josephine Baker's major starring film roles and often called her breakthrough French film role, this musical casts her as a circus-raised Creole laundress who becomes a stage sensation while secretly loving the foster brother played by Jean Gabin.

Fun fact: Baker called Zouzou her personal favorite among her film roles, saying it came closest to who she felt she really was.

Notes: Non-African-directed French production, included per methodology as clearly labeled pre-history era work; scholars discuss it as an early instance of a major studio role for a Black woman, produced within a colonial-era French context.

Verification: verified · Sources: [1] [2] [3]

Poster source: Wikipedia