Djoemala
Ismail Djoemala (also credited Rd Djoemala; Perfected Spelling: Ismail Jumala; 1915/18 – 10 June 1992) was an Indonesian actor active in the 1940s. He was often cast alongside Roekiah as her romantic interest.
Biography[edit]
Djoemala was born in Batavia (now Jakarta, Indonesia), the capital city of the Dutch East Indies.[1] Sources disagree on his year of birth; the catalogue Apa Siapa Film Indonesia gives 19 September 1915,[2] while Indonesian film historian Misbach Yusa Biran gives 1918.[1] Although later billed as "Raden" Djoemala, the actor was not of noble descent. He had some schooling,[1] completing his junior high school in 1934.[2]
A tailor by trade, Djoemala had owned the Broadway Store located on Kramat Raya Street.[3] In 1940 he was approached by Tan's Film and cast for their new production, Sorga Ka Toedjoe (Seventh Heaven). He was cast opposite Tan's mainstay Roekiah, whose regular on-screen partner, Rd Mochtar, had recently left the company owing to wage concerns.[4] Djoemala was chosen for his good looks and tall body.[5] In the film, Djoemala played Hoesin, who reunites the long-separated Hadidjah (Annie Landouw) and Kasimin (Kartolo; Roekiah's husband) to win the hand of Roekiah's character Rasmina.[6] The film was a success, and one reviewer opined that Djoemala was as good as, if not better, than Mochtar.[7]
The pair's next film together, Roekihati, cast Djoemala as a city-dweller named Mansoer who falls for a village girl named Roekihati (Roekiah), but is nearly forced to marry another woman.[8] In 1941 Djoemala and Roekiah acted in another two films together, Poesaka Terpendam (Buried Treasure) and Koeda Sembrani (The Enchanted Horse).[9] Although all of these films were moderate critical successes, ultimately the pairing of Djoemala and Roekiah was unable to draw as many viewers as Mochtar and Roekiah had done.[10] Biran writes that Roekiah's singing and the comedic antics of Kartolo were all that Tan's could depend on during this period.[1]
Following the Japanese occupation of the Indies in February 1942, Tan's was closed. Djoemala is not recorded as having acted in any further films.[11] During the occupation he joined a theatre troupe, Pantjawarna, in West Java, while in the Indonesian National Revolution (1945–49) he fought as a guerrilla.[2] After the revolution he returned to working as an entrepreneur and tailor, dying in Jakarta on 10 June 1992.[2]
Filmography[edit]
- Sorga Ka Toedjoe (1940)
- Roekihati (1940)
- Poesaka Terpendam (1941)
- Koeda Sembrani (1942/43)
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d Biran 2009, p. 249.
- ^ a b c d Apa Siapa 1999, pp. 156–157.
- ^ Biran 2009, p. 295.
- ^ Biran 2009, pp. 175, 241.
- ^ Biran 2009, p. 223.
- ^ L. c. 1940, pp. 1–80.
- ^ Soerabaijasch Handelsblad 1940, Sampoerna.
- ^ Filmindonesia.or.id, Roekihati.
- ^ Biran 2009, p. 224.
- ^ Apa Siapa 1999, p. 410.
- ^ Filmindonesia.or.id, Rd Djoemala.
Works cited[edit]
- Apa Siapa Orang Film Indonesia [What and Who: Film Figures in Indonesia] (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Indonesian Ministry of Information. 1999. OCLC 44427179.
- Biran, Misbach Yusa (2009). Sejarah Film 1900–1950: Bikin Film di Jawa [History of Film 1900–1950: Making Films in Java] (in Indonesian). Komunitas Bamboo working with the Jakarta Art Council. ISBN 978-979-3731-58-2.
- L. (c. 1940). Sorga Ka Toedjoe [Seventh Heaven] (in Indonesian). Yogyakarta: Kolff-Buning. OCLC 41906099. (book acquired from the collection of Museum Tamansiswa Dewantara Kirti Griya, Yogyakarta)
- "Rd Djoemala". filmindonesia.or.id. Jakarta: Konfidan Foundation. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
- "Sampoerna: Sorga ka Toedjoe (In den zevenden hemel)" [Sampoerna: Sorga ka Toedjoe (Seventh Heaven)]. Soerabaijasch Handelsblad (in Dutch). Surabaya: Kolff & Co. 30 October 1940. p. 6. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
- "Roekihati". filmindonesia.or.id. Jakarta: Konfidan Foundation. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
External links[edit]
- Rd Djoemala at IMDb
