Karnadi Anemer Bangkong
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''Karnadi Anemer Bangkong'' (''Karnadi the Frog Contractor''; also known as ''Karnadi Tangkep Bangkong'', meaning ''Karnadi Catches Frogs'') is a 1930 comedy from the
Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...
directed by G. Krugers. It is considered the country's first
talkie A sound film is a motion picture A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, percep ...
, although parts were silent and the sound quality was poor. Based on a popular
Sundanese Sundanese may refer to: * Sundanese people * Sundanese language * Sundanese script Standard Sundanese script (''Aksara Sunda Baku'', ) is a writing system which is used by the Sundanese people. It is built based on Old Sundanese script (' ...
novel, the film was considered controversial by the native audience.


Premise

Karnadi is a young
Sundanese Sundanese may refer to: * Sundanese people * Sundanese language * Sundanese script Standard Sundanese script (''Aksara Sunda Baku'', ) is a writing system which is used by the Sundanese people. It is built based on Old Sundanese script (' ...
frog chaser who enjoys eating the frogs he catches. He later takes the identity of a rich man and tries to adapt to the latter's surroundings, but is eventually discovered.


Production

''Karnadi Anemer Bangkong'' was directed by G. Krugers, an
Indo Indo may refer to: * Indo-, a prefix indicating India or the Indian Subcontinent * Indonesia, a country in Asia ** INDO LINES, callsign of Indonesian Airlines ** Indo people, people of mixed European and Indonesian ancestry ** Indo cuisine, fusion ...
filmmaker who had worked on the
Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...
' first domestic production, '' Loetoeng Kasaroeng'', in 1926. The story was adapted from the best-selling novel ''Roesia nu Goreng Patut'', written by the Sundanese authors
Joehana Akhmad Bassah (also Bassakh; ; fl. 1923–30), best known by the pen name Joehana (; EYD, Perfected Spelling: Yuhana), was an author from the Dutch East Indies who wrote in Sundanese language, Sundanese. He worked for a time on the railroad befor ...
and Sukria. Krugers had previously adapted another of
Joehana Akhmad Bassah (also Bassakh; ; fl. 1923–30), best known by the pen name Joehana (; EYD, Perfected Spelling: Yuhana), was an author from the Dutch East Indies who wrote in Sundanese language, Sundanese. He worked for a time on the railroad befor ...
's works, ''
Eulis Atjih ''Eulis Atjih'' is a 1927 film from the Dutch East Indies (modern-day Indonesia); it was the second feature film produced in the country, after ''Loetoeng Kasaroeng'' in 1926. The silent film follows the lives of a native Indonesian family sent i ...
'', in 1928. The film was released shortly after the first
talkie A sound film is a motion picture A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, percep ...
s shown in the Indies, ''
Fox Movietone Follies of 1929 ''Fox Movietone Follies of 1929'', also known as ''Movietone Follies of 1929'' and ''The William Fox Movietone Follies of 1929'', is an American black-and-white and color film, color pre-Code musical film released by Fox Film Corporation. Plot ...
'' and ''
The Rainbow Man ''The Rainbow Man'' (known as ''La valle delle rose'' in Italy) is a 1929 American pre-Code musical film, musical drama film. A copy of ''The Rainbow Man'' is preserved by the Library of Congress Packard Campus. Cast *Eddie Dowling as Rainbow ...
'' (both 1929), were released. Attempting to capture this new technology, Krugers used a single system camera that he had obtained with the help of his
Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) (, rarely ), founded in 1916 as the Society of Motion Picture Engineers or SMPE, is a global professional association of engineers, technologists, and executives working in the m ...
membership. Krugers was unable to record all of the dialogue necessary for the film, so some parts used
intertitles In films, an intertitle, also known as a title card, is a piece of filmed, printed text edited into the midst of (i.e., ''inter-'') the photographed action at various points. Intertitles used to convey character dialogue are referred to as "dialo ...
; thus, the film was a
part-talkie A part-talkie is a partly, and most often primarily, silent film which includes one or more synchronous sound sequences with audible dialog or singing. During the silent portions, lines of dialog are presented as "titles"—printed text briefly ...
.


Release and reception

The release title of ''Karnadi Anemer Bangkong'' is uncertain; the title ''Karnadi Anemer Bangkong'' has been used based on a 1970s newspaper article by M. Esha, written from memory. The film was reportedly poorly received by the majority Sundanese audience, possibly because of Karnadi's fondness for frog meat (which is forbidden for Muslims). The film's poor reception led Krugers to abandon independent filmmaking, joining
Tan's Film Tan's Film was a film production house in the Dutch East Indies (modern Indonesia). Established by the brothers Tan Khoen Yauw and Tan Khoen Hian on September 1, 1929, its films were mostly targeted at native ethnic groups. Starting with '' Njai ...
for two productions before leaving the country in 1936. The production is likely a
lost film A lost film is a feature or short film that no longer exists in any studio archive, private collection, public archive or the U.S. Library of Congress. Conditions During most of the 20th century, U.S. copyright law required at least one copy o ...
. The American visual anthropologist
Karl G. Heider Karl Heider (born January 21, 1935) is an American visual anthropologist. Life and education Heider was born in Northampton, Massachusetts. Heider is the son of psychologists Fritz and Grace (née Moore) Heider. He had two brothers; John and ...
writes that all Indonesian films from before 1950 are lost. However, JB Kristanto's ''Katalog Film Indonesia'' (''Indonesian Film Catalogue'') records several as having survived at
Sinematek Indonesia Sinematek Indonesia, or Sinematek for short, is a film archive located in Jakarta. Established in 1975 by Misbach Yusa Biran and Asrul Sani, the archive was the first in Southeast Asia, and remains the only one in Indonesia. It is home to roughl ...
's archives, and Biran writes that several Japanese propaganda films have survived at the
Netherlands Government Information Service The Netherlands Government Information Service (''Dutch:'' Rijksvoorlichtingsdienst, abbrev.: RVD) is a Dutch government agency. The RVD is the official information service of the Dutch government and is the spokesbody for the prime minister, the ...
. The film is generally considered the first domestically produced
talkie A sound film is a motion picture A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, percep ...
in the Indies. However, other talkies soon followed: the
Wong brothers The Wong brothers were three ethnic Chinese film directors and cameramen active in the cinema of the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). The sons of an Adventist preacher, the brothers – Nelson (1895–1945), Joshua (1906–1981), and Oth ...
' '' Indonesia Malaise'' (1931), for example, was released the following year and placed greater emphasis on sound. These early films had poor sound and much static, but through repeated experimentation the quality was eventually brought to acceptable levels.


Notes


References

Footnotes Bibliography * * * * * * * *


External links

* {{Use British English, date=September 2012 Dutch East Indies films Films directed by G. Krugers 1930 comedy films 1930 films Films based on Indonesian novels Indonesian black-and-white films Indonesian comedy films