I filmed La Sirène des Tropiques without reading the screenplay. No one cared or was considerate enough to have it translated into English for me. Why bother, right? Besides, this famous screenplay was only put together during the shoot … So, I was Papitou in La Sirène: at the Nathan studio on Rue Francoeur, and at Théâtre Mogador, and in the middle of a Negro village in Epinay, and in Fontainebleau and in the Hague … I saw ghosts of all colours and they saw me in all colours in this film… They transformed the Éclair studios, in Épinay, into a Negro village … They were filming Madame Récamier next door. We were odd neighbours, to say the least. Negroes and sans-culottes became drinking companions in a corner of the studio. This made Monsieur Barre, administrator of the Établissements Louis Aubert film company, say: “See? The Niger’s not as far from the Seine as they say…” And I danced the Charleston while they held their executions … I had absolutely no training in cinematography. I fell into cinema without a clue, “comme une fleur” like they say [Folie du Jour-Folies Bergère] here. Actually, I was quietly pushed, like this. And then: “You’re on your own, Mademoiselle”. I had what you might call “a name that sold well”. That’s always a good lifebelt. Not one director thought to give me the basics, not one thought to help me, to teach me what I didn’t know, what you should know before you start filming. So I swam… And by that I mean I couldn’t, I didn’t know how. If I had to go to a cinema court today for what I filmed, I have no doubt that I’d be found guilty – but also, first and foremost, irresponsible … So what, sometimes there’s a high price to pay for experience. I know that now. I don’t ever want to dance, sing, perform or shoot just because of my name.

Joséphine Baker, Fearless and Free. A Memoir, Vintage, New York 2025