Si Pitoeng (1931)

Pitoeng is the original Batavian champion whose popularity draws from lenong folk performances. People believe that the Rawabelong champion has the ability to “disappear” because he always manages to escape the pursuit of Dutch police. He is perceived as the local version of Robin Hood: who only robs the rich to give to the poor.

Date of release
1931-02-06
Genres
History, Action, Drama
Director
Nelson Wong, Joshua Wong, Othniel Wong

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Filmed in: Indonesia

Si Pitoeng is a film from the Dutch East Indies that was released in 1931. Directed by the Wong brothers and starring Herman Shim and Ining Resmini, it was the first film based on the life of Si Pitung, a bandit from Batavia.

Production

Si Pitoeng was produced by Halimoen Film. The Indonesian film historian Misbach Yusa Biran suggests that the theme was chosen by the film's financiers. Si Pitoeng was the first film about Pitung. The kroncong singer Ining Resmini, who had previously acted in Rampok Preanger (1929), was cast as Pitoeng's love interest, while the peranakan Chinese actor Herman Shim was cast as Pitoeng. Filming was completed in Bojong Loa, Bandung.

The film was directed by the Wong brothers, who had studied film in the United States. The brothers' influence led to the film, despite being based on an Indonesian bandit, coming across as an American film; some viewers described it as a sort of Western. The brothers had been directing films since Lily van Java (Lily of Java) in 1927 and generally dealt with Chinese-Indonesian themes.

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

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