| Polisaka perpetuum Terpendam | |
|---|---|
 Advertisement, Poestaka Timoer | |
| Produced by | Tan Khoen Yauw |
| Starring | |
Production company | |
Release date |
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| Country | Dutch East Indies |
| Language | Indonesian |
Poesaka Terpendam (Perfected Spelling: Pusaka Terpendam; Indonesian for Buried Treasure) is a 1941 film from the Dutch East Indies produced by Tan's Film and starring Roekiah, Djoemala, and Kartolo.
Two young men, Agoes and Badjoel, travel from Palembang to West Java and are told of the beauty of two sisters, Zaenab and Djoeleha, who live in Cicadas village with their father. The friends decide to visit Cicadas. Meanwhile, a local bandit leader named Ramelan has asked for Zaenab's hand in marriage. She and her father Ardi refuse, and Ramelan is forced to leave.
Through an old letter found on Ardi, Ramelan learns of a buried treasure containing some 30,000 gulden. He decides to dig it up, kidnapping Zaenab and Djoeleha in the process. Seeing this, Agoes and Badjoel follow Ramelan to his gang's hideout in a cave and fight to save the treasure and girls.
After rescuing the girls and defeating the bandits, Agoes and Badjoel are allowed to marry Zaenab and Djoeleha. The treasure, meanwhile, is divided amongst them. [1]
Poesaka Terpendam was produced by Tan's Film and starred Roekiah and Rd Djoemala. It also featured Titing, Kartolo, Ismail, Ramli, and Wolly Sutinah. [2] Shooting for the film, originally titled Poesaka Pendeman, began in June 1941. [3] Scenes for this black-and-white film were shot in Banten, including Lake Tasikardi in Serang and Lake Tikoro in Rajamandala. The film featured several kroncong songs, some sung by Roekiah. [4] [5]
Poesaka Terpendam was released on 22 October 1941, on the Eid ul-Fitr holiday. It was debuted simultaneously at the Sampoerna Theatre in Surabaya, the Luxor Theatre in Yogyakarta, the Centraal Theatre in Buitenzorg, and the Rialto Theatre in Senen, Batavia. [4] [5] A preview in Poestaka Timoer promised a great performance from Roekiah as well as an extraordinarily comic one from Kartolo. [4]
Pertjatoeran Doenia dan Film wrote that it was the only film to date in which Djoemala seemed out of place; the reviewer wrote that Djoemala seemed overly stiff and unnatural during the fight scenes. [6] A review in De Indische Courant praised the film's scenery. [1]
The film is likely lost, as are all Indonesian films from before 1950 according to American visual anthropologist Karl G. Heider. [7] As elsewhere in the world at the time, movies produced in the Indies were shot on highly flammable nitrate film, and after a fire destroyed much of Produksi Film Negara's warehouse in 1952, old films shot on nitrate were deliberately destroyed. [8] However, Kristanto records several as having survived at Sinematek Indonesia's archives, and film historian Misbach Yusa Biran writes that several Japanese propaganda films have survived at the Netherlands Government Information Service. [9]
Terang Boelan is a 1937 film from the Dutch East Indies. Written by Saeroen, directed by Albert Balink, and starring Rd Mochtar, Roekiah and Eddie T. Effendi, Terang Boelan follows two lovers who elope after one is almost forced to marry an opium smuggler. The film was shot in the Indies and Singapore, and was partially inspired by the 1936 Hollywood film The Jungle Princess. It was aimed at native audiences and included keroncong music, which was popular at the time, and several actors from Balink's previous work Pareh (1936).
Roekiah, often credited as Miss Roekiah, was an Indonesian kroncong singer and actress. The daughter of two stage performers, she began her career at the age of seven; by 1932 she had become well known in Batavia, Dutch East Indies, as a singer and stage actress. Around this time she met Kartolo, whom she married in 1934. The two acted in the 1937 hit film Terang Boelan, in which Roekiah and Rd Mochtar played young lovers.
Raden Mas Kartolo was an Indonesian actor and songwriter. Born in Yogyakarta to a noble family, he entered the theatre and married the actress Roekiah around 1933. The two, living in Batavia acted in numerous movies together, starting with the 1938 hit Terang Boelan. However, Roekiah was always cast with other actors as her romantic interest. After Roekiah died in 1945, Kartolo brought the family to Yogyakarta and worked with Radio Republik Indonesia until his death. One of his sons, Rachmat Kartolo, went on to be an actor in the 1960s and 1970s.
Pah Wongso Pendekar Boediman is a 1941 detective film from the Dutch East Indies. The first production by Star Film, it was produced by Jo Eng Sek and features camerawork by Cho' Chin Hsin. Starring Pah Wongso, Elly Joenara and Mohamad Arief, it follows the social worker Pah Wongso as he investigates a murder to clear his protégé's name.
Gagak Item is a 1939 bandit film from the Dutch East Indies directed by Joshua and Othniel Wong for Tan's Film. Starring Rd Mochtar, Roekiah, and Eddy T. Effendi, it follows a masked man known only as "Gagak Item". The black-and-white film, which featured the cast and crew from the 1937 hit Terang Boelan, was a commercial success and received positive reviews upon release. It is likely lost.
Zoebaida is a 1940 film from the Dutch East Indies directed by Njoo Cheong Seng. A romance set in Timor, it starred Njoo's wife Fifi Young and was the film debut of Soerip. Shot over a period of 27 days in a Dutch-owned studio, the film received middling reviews. It is likely lost.
Air Mata Iboe is a 1941 drama film from the Dutch East Indies directed and written by Njoo Cheong Seng. Starring Fifi Young, Rd Ismail, Ali Sarosa, and Ali Joego, it followed a mother who raises her children lovingly but is ultimately betrayed by her eldest sons when she falls upon hard times. The film, billed as a "musical extravaganza," featured a soundtrack by R. Koesbini, and an eponymous title song written by Njoo.
Panggilan Darah is a 1941 film from the Dutch East Indies written and directed by Sutan Usman Karim and produced by Tjho Seng Han for Oriental Film. The black-and-white film starred Dhalia and Soerip as orphaned sisters trying to make a living in the colonial capital of Batavia before moving to Kudus to work at a clove cigarette factory.
Sorga Ka Toedjoe is a 1940 film from the Dutch East Indies directed by Joshua and Othniel Wong for Tan's Film. It follows an older couple who are reunited by another, younger couple after years of separation. The black-and-white film, the first production by Tan's Film after the departure of Rd Mochtar, featured kroncong music and was targeted at lower-class native audiences. It was a commercial and critical success. Roekiah and Djoemala took leading roles in three more films before Tan's closed in 1942. Sorga Ka Toedjoe is now thought lost.
Ismail Djoemala was an Indonesian actor active in the 1940s. He was often cast alongside Roekiah as her romantic interest.
Mega Mendoeng is a black-and-white drama film from the Dutch East Indies directed by Boen Kin Nam and produced by Ang Hock Liem for Union Films. Starring Rd Soekarno, Oedjang, Boen Sofiati, and Soehaena, it follows two young lovers who are separated by lies but ultimately reunite at the village of Mega Mendoeng in Bogor. This film, Union's seventh and final production, was shot concurrently with Soeara Berbisa and completed over a period of three months. It was released in early 1942 and screened as late as July of that year, but may now be lost.
Koeda Sembrani is a film from the Dutch East Indies which began filming in 1942 and was completed sometime before 1943. Released by Tan's Film and directed by Joshua and Othniel Wong, it was the last film featuring the romantic partnership of Roekiah and Djoemala.
Si Gomar is a 1941 film from the Dutch East Indies which was written and directed by Tan Tjoei Hock and produced by The Teng Chun. Starring Hadidjah, Mohamad Mochtar, and Tan Tjeng Bok, the movie follows a brother and sister who are separated by robbers and almost marry before their cousin recognises them.
Tjioeng Wanara is a 1941 film from the Dutch East Indies directed and produced by Jo Eng Sek. Starring R Sukran, Elly Joenara and AB Djoenaedi, it featured more than 500 people in supporting roles. The film follows a young prince named Tjioeng Wanara who must reclaim his throne from the cruel King of Galuh; it is adapted from the Sundanese legend of the same name.
Singa Laoet is a 1941 film from the Dutch East Indies. Directed by Tan Tjoei Hock and produced by The Teng Chun, it starred Tan Tjen Bok, Mohamad Mochtar, and Hadidjah.
Star Film was a film production company in the Dutch East Indies. Established by Chinese-Indonesian businessman Jo Eng Sek and Chinese cameraman Cho' Chin Hsin in 1940, it produced five black-and-white films in 1940 and 1941; two of these were directed by Jo, and the remainder were directed by Wu Tsun. Another film was under production when the studio was closed following the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies. Star helped establish the careers of actors such as S Waldy and Elly Joenara, and produced screenplays written by Rd Ariffien and Saeroen; its output, however, is probably lost.
Union Films was a film production company located in Batavia, Dutch East Indies. Established by ethnic Chinese businessmen Ang Hock Liem and Tjoa Ma Tjoen in 1940, it produced seven black-and-white films before it was dissolved in 1942; all are thought to be lost. The company's films were directed by four men, mostly ethnic Chinese, and launched the careers of actors such as Rendra Karno and Djoewariah.
Soeara Berbisa is a 1941 film from the Dutch East Indies. Produced by Ang Hock Liem for Union Films and directed by R Hu, this black-and-white film stars Raden Soekarno, Ratna Djoewita, Oedjang, and Soehaena. The story, written by Djojopranoto, follows two young men who compete for the affections of a woman before learning that they are long-lost brothers.
Oriental Film was a film production company in Batavia, Dutch East Indies. Established by ethnic Chinese businessman Tjo Seng Han in 1940, it completed four black-and-white films before it was closed in 1941. All the company's films were screened into the 1950s but may now be lost. They were directed by two men, Njoo Cheong Seng and Sutan Usman Karim, and launched the careers of actors such as Dhalia and Soerip.
Pah Wongso Tersangka, also known under the Dutch title Pah Wongso Keert Terug, is a 1941 film from the Dutch East Indies directed by Wu Tsun for Star Film. Saeroen's first work for the company, it is a sequel to the 1940 detective film Pah Wongso Pendekar Boediman, and stars the social worker L. V. Wijnhamer, Jr as a man who comes under suspicion and must clear his name. This possibly-lost film was styled as a comedy.