1951-1960 Asian Epic L. Krishnan Singapore

L. Krishnan – Raden mas (1960)

adminJune 13, 2018

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Quote:
Between the end of the Second World War and the early 1960s, the Cathay Organization and Shaw Brothers produced a string of films in Singapore, that were made for the Malay-speaking audience in what was then called Malaya. Both companies are today better know for their Cantonese Kung Fu flicks and other genre movies, that they started to produce when they moved to Hong Kong after Singapore separated from the Malay federation and became an independent, Chinese-dominated city state in 1963. This was the end of this “Golden Age of Malay cinema”, since it became difficult to distribute Singapore-made films in Malaysia due to political pressure.

However, the films they produced during this period were colorful, oriental affairs, that were often based on Malay folklore and folk tales and the Malay Bangsawan opera and often feature the traditional Malay martial art of silat. Since there were not enough movie workers available in Singapore, the companies often imported directors from India and the Philippines. Therefore, it produced the unique situation that Chinese, Indians and Filipinos produced meandering, “One Thousand and One Nights”-style spectacles, often in a language they did not even understand.

These films are not very well known internationally, this film is not even listed in IMDB.

Plot (from the VCD box):
One day during a palace celebration, Pangeran, brother of the Sultan of Java, fell in love with a beautiful dancer and decided to marry her. The marriage was short lived with his wife killed shortly by his enemies. Pangeran decided to resettle in Singapore with his daughter Raden Mas.

The Sultan of Singapore upon discovering Pangeran royal blood, decided to marry him off with his daughter. However, the marriage took a sour turn, as Pangeran’s new wife became jealous of his love for his daughter and begin making plans to get rid of him and Raden Mas.