Gotta love Josephine Baker. She could sing and act and dance like gangbusters. Her career, which began in the ‘teens, didn’t take off until she got to France — but then, did it ever. According to her official bio, she was the top-grossing entertainer in Europe by 1927. Which is when — in January — she recorded this version of “Blue Skies.” (MP3)

Later, during WWII, Baker helped the French underground; she was awarded the Legion of Honor for her efforts. She was a strong proponent of civil rights back home in the US, refusing to perform at segregated clubs and speaking out against racism — which at one point included taking on powerful columnist Walter Winchell. She was married (about) five times and adopted a dozen children from as many nations, calling them her “rainbow tribe” and paving the way for adoption-inclined celebrity moms of the future. That Josephine Baker — always ahead of her time.

The 1927 movie It was immediately a hit. It wasn’t the story — shopgirl falls for owner, is thwarted by misunderstandings, gets what she wants — so much as the acting. The movie made Clara Bow’s bright star shine even brighter. But she wasn’t alone: a spunky shopgirl needs a shopkeeper. Enter Antonio Moreno.

Moreno had gotten a foothold in Hollywood in the heydey of the silent serials, when Pauline was facing her perils; he fought bad guys and jumped into rushing rivers and rescued helpless heroines. By the time It came around, he’d starred with a galaxy of starlets: Gloria Swanson (My American Wife), Mary Miles Minter (The Trail of Lonesome Pine), Pola Negri (The Spanish Dancer), Bebe Daniels (The Exciters), Constance Talmadge (Learning to Love) and Greta Garbo (The Temptress).

If movie magazines are to be believed (and, generally, they aren’t), Moreno was of a serious demeanor, not inclined to be tempted by flibbertigibbets. In a 1924 Movie Weekly article entitled “The True Story of My Life,” Moreno wrote “I always needed to look up to a woman. That is why a flapper has never seriously intrigued me.” Maybe it was this seriousness — real or constructed for fan mags — that made him such a good foil for Clara Bow in It. Without his slightly stuffy Cyrus, her Betty Lou couldn’t have been so disarming.

While we’re in 1927, a little love for Antonio Moreno.