Kartinah (1940)

Interesting facts

Kartinah is a now-lost 1940 romance film from the Dutch East Indies that was written and directed by Andjar Asmara. The film, Andjar's directorial debut, follows a nurse and her superior as they fall in love in the Air Raid Preparation team. Produced by The Teng Chun's New Java Industrial Film, Kartinah was heavily subsidised by the country's government and through product placement. Although it was a critical failure, the new actors signed with the studio for Kartinah gave New Java Industrial Film increased production capabilities.

Production

Andjar Asmara, who directed Kartinah, had previous experience as the editor-in-chief of the film magazine Doenia Film (1929–1930) and dramatist for the theatrical group Dardanella. He was invited to direct by The Teng Chun, an ethnic Chinese film producer and head of Java Industrial Film; Andjar also wrote the film's script. Several cast members were drawn from the Dardanella troupe, including Astaman, Ali Joego, and M. Rasjid Manggis, while R.

Andjar and his wife, Ratna, were each given 1,000 gulden for their work, Andjar as director and Ratna as an actress. The couple also received a 10 per cent share of the net profits. This fee, twice that earned by stars for other studios, was made possible by a subsidy from the LBD.

Kartinah was originally meant to be titled Kartini. However, this proved controversial owing to the title's reminiscence of the female emancipation figure, Kartini. Filming began in early 1940 and received the attentions of numerous local groups, who visited the set. The film was in black-and-white.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.