Scoop's notes: This biopic had two very large obstacles to overcome. First , it covered Miss Baker's entire life, and therefore had to give incidents and characters the "highlight reel" treatment. Second, it was filmed on the cheap, entirely in Budapest, with about six international actors and a bunch of Hungarians. Despite those limitations, HBO did its usual classy job on the movie, and turned it into a fairly interesting picture. Although it is a straightforward biopic which just recites the facts chronologically, Miss Baker's life was so full and so intriguing that even a dry documentary-style presentation is interesting. She was born to a poor fatherless black family in East St Louis, but became the toast of Paris before she was 30. Her life may have a half dozen good movies in it. Nine fascinating facts: 1) She was one of the legendary jazz-age flappers, more scandalous than most because she did it all starting in 1925 in the liberated climate of Gay Paree, where she could sing and dance virtually naked. 2) When Hitler invaded, she stayed in France and worked closely with the resistance. I have read accounts from American intelligence officers who claimed that this was no hype. Apparently Baker's spying had genuine value, and she was a major contributor to the allied cause. 3) When she finally had to leave France, she became famous for her biracial USO shows, which were legendary in their promotion of brotherhood between black and white soldiers. 4) After the war she got rich and famous, and acquired a magnificent chateau. 5) She returned to the USA the first time, before the war, in order to become the first black woman to head the Ziegfield Follies. 6) In her second return to the USA, she conducted a legendary feud with Walter Winchell. This time it was after the war, in the anti-Communist hysteria, and the ever hysterical Winchell accused Baker of being soft on communism. The early successes and sell-outs on her tour were poisoned by Winchell's negative reports, so Miss Baker ended up returning to France earlier than she had intended. 7)  When she returned to France, she and her white husband became famous for adopting children from many different ethnic backgrounds - their "rainbow experiment". 8) She managed to lose her fortune, but then made a late-in-life comeback, and celebrated her 50th anniversary on the Paris stage. 9) I'm not sure of the exact number, but she was married a hell of a lot of times. The Josephine Baker Story is an easy watch. I'd say the only great weakness of the film is that it attempted to cover so much material in such a short time. That is more than cancelled out by many major positives: It's colorful. Miss Whitfield does a great job acting and dancing, and won an Emmy for this role. (Some of her dancing and all of her singing is doubled). The music consists of Jazz Age standards. True to the Baker character, Whitfield is nearly naked throughout the entire first half of the movie, and she looks great. The DVD even has a widescreen version of the film - pretty amazing for a film made for TV before DVD was available! I don't need a lot more than good music, good photography, and beautiful nudity, but the story is interesting as well. Tuna's additional notes: HBO did their usual stand-up job on this one. Not only is this a fascinating story well told in a balanced manner (they showed her shortcomings as well), but the sound track, which mainly consisted of French ballads with a little Cole Porter thrown in, was wonderful. It also has what may be the most beautiful female nudity I have ever seen on film. Lynn Whitfield shows her breasts and her buns through the first half of the film, and not only does she have a beautiful body, but the exotic lighting and sets make the exposure very special.