Merdeka: When Dendam Pontianak, Kaseh Sayang drew cinema crowds

 

With the Covid-19 pandemic raging, theatres are all closed and we can’t visit the cinema this Merdeka.

It was a tradition at one time to end any celebration – whether Merdeka Day or Christmas or Hari Raya Puasa or Deepavali or Chinese New Year – at the cinemas. Film producers would time the release of movies with big stars to coincide with these festivals.

In recent years, with movies on demand just a remote control away – and which you can watch lounging on your sofa munching peanuts – the cinema does not have the same draw. Some still go to the movies religiously on festival days, of course.

Watching movies at cineplexes is a different experience, compared with that of going to the stand-alone theatre in the past.

People older than me, and even my age, will remember the “movie experience” of an earlier period. The excitement would begin days before the show and someone would go to the cinema hall to do an advance booking a day or two earlier.

In the days before television, not to speak of the tablet and smartphone, going to the movies was a luxury. This was the case when Merdeka was announced in 1957.

Large crowds visited theatres in the various towns on Aug 31, 1957 as cinema owners had prepared to screen a range of films in the various languages in use in Malaya.

English movies were a big attraction even then and among the films screened on Aug 31 were Island in the Sun, Hollywood or Bust, The Unholy Wife and Gunfight at OK Corral.

Island in the Sun starred James Mason, Joan Fontaine and Joan Collins while Hollywood or Bust had Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis in the lead roles. Diana Dors cast her spell as The Unholy Wife on Rod Steiger, while Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas played historical characters Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday respectively in Gunfight at OK Corral which was directed by John Sturges from a screenplay by novelist Leon Uris.

John Wayne and Susan Hayward set the screen ablaze in The Conqueror, which was screened at theatres such as Lido in Penang.

Battle Hymn played at Rex Kuala Lumpur, Carmen Jones played at the Majestic in Taiping, while Curucu Beast of the Amazon was screened at the Rex in Melaka. If you think Curucu Beast of the Amazon is a funny name, how about Cha Cha Cha Boom! The latter movie, which played at the Capitol in Seremban, was full of music and dance, a precursor to popular dance movies such as Saturday Night Fever.

The Latin music of various well-known bands of those days such as Perez Prado and His Orchestra, Manny Lopez and His Orchestra, Bernie Lowe and His Orchestra, Helen Grayco, Lucerito Bárcenas and Sylvia Lewis featured in Cha Cha Cha Boom!

Among the Mandarin and Cantonese language movies screened on Aug 31, 1957 were Riot at the Studio starring Liew Un Chi and Ting Hau, Mama Sings a Song starring Sek Wai and Kor Yuen and Surprise. Walt Disney released The Living Desert in Cantonese.

Tamil movie fans too had plenty of choices, with Lido and Central in Kuala Lumpur, as well as the Sun in Ipoh, screening the BR Panthulu directed Thanga Malai Ragasiyam in which top star Sivaji Ganesen starred opposite TR Rajakumari. Other theatres, such as the Royal in Penang played the Gemini Ganesen-Padmini starrer Mallika.

Other Tamil movies that were playing on Merdeka Day included Pudu Valvu starring MK Thiagaraja Bhagavathar and Karrpukkarasi with Gemini Ganesen and EV Saroja in the lead.

Two Malay movies drew large crowds on Merdeka Day 1957: Dendam Pontianak, released by Cathay Organisation, and Kaseh Sayang released by Shaw Brothers.

Maria Menado demonstrated her ghostly talents in Dendam Pontianak which played at Cathay’s chain of theatres such as The Odeon in Kuala Lumpur and Penang and Cathay in Ipoh and Alor Star. It also starred M Amin, Puteh Lawak, SM Wahid and Mustapha Maarof.

The movie was directed by BN Rao from India. Rao directed a total of 34 movies in various Indian languages and Malay. His Malay films included Gul Bakawali, Mahsuri, Putri Cempaka Biru, Laila Majnun, Siti Zubaidah, Yatim Mustafa, Adikku, Abu Hassan Pencuri, Roh Membela, Gelora Hidup, Merana, Perjodohan, Hujan Panas, Putus Harapan and Siapa Salah.

Among the Indian language films Rao directed were Natya Rani, Bilhana, Ekambavanan, Aparanji, Madanakamarajan and Bhuloka Rambha.

In our country, Rao is probably best known for the Pontianak trilogy – Pontianak, Dendam Pontianak and Sumpah Pontianak – which launched the Pontianak genre in Malaysia and Singapore. As you can imagine, the films were highly successful.

The other Malay Merdeka movie was Kaseh Sayang starring Saadiah, Neng Yatimah, Haji Mahadi, Jins Shamsuddin and Hashimah Yon, among others. The movie played at various Shaw cinemas including Rex Penang, Rex Alor Star, Rex Ipoh and Lido Taiping.

The Shaw Brothers venture was written and directed by another filmmaker from India, Phani Majumdar. The talented Majumdar directed a total of 56 movies in various Indian languages and Malay before his death in 1994 at age 82.

Among the Malay movies directed by Majumdar were Hang Tuah starring P Ramlee, who was soon to become a legend, Saadiah, Nordin Ahmad, Aziz Jaafar and S Kadarisman, among others. Majumdar also directed P Ramlee in Anak-ku Sazali, where the actor played the double role of father and son.

Majumdar, who did not make as many Malay movies as Rao, also directed Sri Menanti and Rumah Panjang, among others. However, he made many Hindi movies with top actors such as Dev Anand in the lead, including Farar, Andolan, Dushman, Loafer and Baadban.

The Malay and Malaysian film industries owe much to filmmakers, especially directors, from India. In fact, the first Malay film, Laila Majnun (BN Rao made another version later), was directed by BS Rajhan from India. It was released in 1933.

The golden age of the Malay film industry – between the 1950s and the late 1960s – is said to have started with the release of the first post-war Malay film aptly titled Seruan Merdeka. Directed by BS Rajhan and produced by KRS Chisty, a businessman from India, it was released in 1946.

Indian filmmakers played a foundational role in the local movie industry. We could say they seeded the Malayan/Malaysian film industry. This includes local filmmakers such as L Krishnan, the famous director who nurtured talents such as P Ramlee, Kasma Booty, Mustapha Maarof, Latifah Omar and Rosnani Jamil.

Seruan Merdeka lived up to its name as its theme was interracial unity and, for the first time, featured both Malay and Chinese actors sharing the screen. Briefly, it was about two youths – a Malay and a Chinese – leading an underground movement of Malayans to fight the Japanese occupiers.

Seruan Merdeka was the first movie to have a multiracial theme and the first pre-independence film to promote patriotism and interracial unity.

I wish someone would digitise that historic movie, if the print is still available, so that the present generation can enjoy it too.

And I wish we could revive the spirit of interracial amity and cooperation depicted in that movie. I wish the essence of Seruan Merdeka the movie would become the Seruan Merdeka for all of us today as we celebrate 64 years of independence. - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.