Jump to content

Maria Menado

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In this Indonesian name, the surname is Dotulong.
Yang Hormat Dato' Sri
Maria Menado
SSAP DIMP
Menado in February 1959
Born
Liesbet Dotulong

(1932-02-02) 2 February 1932 (age 92)
Tondano, Dutch East Indies
Other namesLiesje Mandagi
CitizenshipIndonesia
Malaysia
Occupations
  • Actress
  • model
  • producer
Years active1951–1963
Spouses
A. Razak Sheikh Mohamed
​
​
(m. 1950; div. 1963)​
​
​
(m. 1963; died 1974)​
Mohammad Husain Yusof
​
​
(m. 1978; died 2000)​
Children5

Maria Menado (born Liesbet Dotulong; 2 February 1932), also known as Liesje Mandagi, is an Indonesian-born Malay actress, model, and producer who is known for her contributions to Malaysian cinema in the 1950s and 1960s. At the height of her fame she was voted “Malaya’s Most Beautiful” by Times Magazine and the “Best Dressed Woman in South East Asia” by publisher United Press International.[1] In addition to acting, she also sang and went on to direct and produce films under her own production company, Maria Menado Productions.[2] Menado is Minahasan and was born in Manado, Dutch East Indies (present Indonesia).[3]

Life and career

[edit]

Maria Menado was born Liesbet Dotulong on 2 February 1932 at Tonsea Lama in North Tondano, Dutch East Indies, to Abdullah Dotulong.[4][5] When she was seven years old, her parents died, and she was sent to live with her aunt and uncle in Makassar.[5] They eventually moved to Jakarta to escape fighting between the Dutch and Indonesian nationalists.[5] By the time Liesbet was seventeen, she was known locally for her beauty, and appeared as a fashion model in magazines and newspapers.[5] In 1950, she travelled from Bandung to Singapore in a group led by Fifi Young, who held a kebaya fashion show there.[6]

While she was with her aunt and uncle in Malaysia, Liesbet became interested in the Maria Hertogh riots, which were occurring at the time. Maria Hertogh was a Dutch girl who was sent to live with a Malay Muslim family, and became the subject of a highly publicized custody battle which led to religious race riots in Singapore. Due to Liesbet's interest in the case, and her birthplace of Manado, Indonesia, she was dubbed "Maria of Manado" by friends. The name stuck, and for the rest of her career in films she was referred to as Maria Menado.

After Maria's photos appeared in newspapers and magazines as a fashion model, her career as a film actress began in 1951. Shaw Brothers offered Maria the role of the leading lady alongside P. Ramlee in the film "Penghidupan".

However, it was her role as a vampire in the film "Pontianak" that gave Maria fame in 1957. "Pontianak" was the first Malay horror film. The script for this film is a collaboration with her ex-husband, A. Razak Sheikh Mohamed. Maria supplied the vampire stories she had heard while in Indonesia and they weaved the film's plot together.

Her transformation from a beautiful woman to a hunchback and then a vampire took hours of decorating. Maria also had to lean back without moving so that the change could be filmed little by little. Unlike now, there were no computer graphics back then to make corrections, and everything had to be done manually. However, the film reaches a fairly realistic level as can be seen from the reports of several people fainting after watching the shocking scenes. Its screening in Cathay cinemas lasted for 12 days. This is a major achievement, especially because Malay films have never been shown in Cathay cinemas. Maria then acted in the following two sequels, Dendam Pontianak (1957) and Sumpah Pontianak (1958).

At the height of her fame, she was given the role of an evil character alongside Shammi Kapoor in a Hindi film titled "Singapore". The film was shot in Singapore and Mumbai. In a period of 12 years, Maria acted in more than 20 films including her own production, Maria Menado Production (M. M Production) through the film Siti Zubaidah in 1961. She was the first Malay female film producer.

Maria herself plays the main role as Siti Zubaidah. Her involvement as a producer is not only proud but she has played the role of producer and actress at the same time which is rarely done by a producer.

Three other films produced by her company are Darahku, Bunga Tanjung and Pontianak Kembali.

In 1963, Menado married Sultan Abu Bakar of Pahang, who was 27 years her senior. The marriage ended Menado's film career as her films were no longer allowed to be screened in the theatres or on television.[7] They had three children: Tengku Norashikin Sultan Abu Bakar, Tengku Idris Sultan Abu Bakar, and Tengku Baharuddin Sultan Abu Bakar.[7]

Awards and nominations

[edit]
    • Darjah Indera Mahkota Pahang ( D.I.M.P) - Dato' (1980)
    • Darjah Sri Sultan Ahmad Shah Pahang (S.S.A.P) - Dato' Sri (24.10.2017)
Year Award Film Category Results
1957 Malaysian Film Festival Pontianak Best Actress Won
1951/1952 Malaysian Film Festival Penghidupan Best Supporting Actress

Filmography

[edit]
Year Film Director Studio Notes Ref.
1951 Live (Penghidupan) L. Krishnan Malay Film Productions Co-starring Malaysian actor P. Ramlee. [8]
1951 Pearl Island (Pulau Mutiara) S. Ramanathan Malay Film Productions [9]
1952 Jewel in the Slum (Permata di-Perlimbahan) Haji Mahadi Malay Film Productions Often considered the first film by a Malaysian director. [10]
1952 Farmer Girl (Gadis Peladang) B. S. Rajhans Malay Film Productions
1954 Temptation (Nafsu) L. Krishnan Cathay-Keris Film Productions [11]
1954 Gamble (Pertarohan) L. Krishnan Cathay-Keris Film Productions [12]
1955 Riding on Love/Loving Another (Kasih Menumpang) L. Krishnan Cathay-Keris Film Productions [13]
1955 Happy Holidays (Selamat Hari Raya) L. Krishnan Cathay-Keris Productions [14]
1955 My Brothers and Sisters (Saudaraku) Laurie Friedman Cathay-Keris Productions [15]
1957 Vampire (Pontianak) B.N. Rao Cathay-Keris Productions The first in the popular Pontianak trilogy, now believed to be a lost film. [16]
1957 Vampire's Revenge (Dendam Pontianak) B.N. Rao Cathay-Keris Productions The second in the Pontianak trilogy, now believed to be a lost film. [17]
1958 The Curse of the Vampire (Sumpah Pontianak) B.N. Rao Cathay-Keris Productions The third and final film in the Pontianak trilogy. [18]
1958 The Elusive Man (Orang Lichin) L. Krishnan Cathay-Keris Productions [19]
1958 Pomegranate Shawl (Selendang Delima) K.M. Basker Cathay-Keris Productions [20]
1958 The Sun (Mata Hari) Ramon Estella Malay Film Productions [21]
1959 Habis Gelap Datang Terang (Gone Dark Comes Light) Ho Ah Loke & Usmar Ismail Merdeka Film Enterprise & Perfini
1960 Singapore Shakti Samanta Eagle Films [22]
1961 Sultan Mahmud Dies (Sultan Mahmud Mangkat Dijulang) K.M. Basker Cathay-Keris Film Productions [23]
1961 Victim of Malice (Korban Fitnah) Usmar Ismail Malay Film Productions [24]
1961 Siti Zubaidah B.N. Rao Cathay-Keris, Maria Menado Productions The first film Menado produced and released under her production company, Siti Zubaidah is adapted from a famous Malaysian poem. [25]
1962 Tun Fatimah Salleh Ghani Cathay-Keris Film Productions [26]
1963 King Bersiong (Raja Bersiong) K.M. Basker Cathay-Keris, Maria Menado Productions Released under Menado's production company. [27]
1963 My Blood (Darahku) Ramon Estella Cathay-Keris, Maria Menado Productions Released under Menado's production company. [28]
1963 Cape of Flowers (Bunga Tanjong) Ramon Estella Cathay-Keris, Maria Menado Productions Released under Menado's production company. [29]
1964 The Vampire Returns (Pontianak Kembali) Ramon Estella Cathay-Keris, Maria Menado Productions An addition to the Pontianak series, released under Menado's production company. [30]
2015 Our Sister Mambo Ho Widing Cathay Asia Films

References

[edit]
  1. ^ The Star Online
  2. ^ Dr. Rilly Ray Rajkumar (4 September 2014). From Fear To Freedom. Dorrance Publishing. pp. 97–99. ISBN 978-1-4809-1094-2.
  3. ^ Utusan Malaysia, 2007 (Malaysian)
  4. ^ "'Sihir' Maria Menado di Perfilman Tanah Melayu". suara.com (in Indonesian). 2018-08-10. Retrieved 2023-04-29.
  5. ^ a b c d ZIEMAN. "A role she will always be remembered for". The Star. Retrieved 2023-04-29.
  6. ^ Siapa Dato' Maria Menado, retrieved 2023-04-29
  7. ^ a b "Dato' Sri Maria Menado Isteri Terakhir Sultan Abu Bakar". Retrieved 2023-04-29.
  8. ^ "Filmography (1950-1959)". Singapore Film Locations Archive. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  9. ^ "Filmography (1950-1959)". Singapore Film Locations Archive. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  10. ^ "Filmography (1950-1959)". Singapore Film Locations Archive. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  11. ^ "Filmography (1950-1959)". Singapore Film Locations Archive. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  12. ^ "Filmography (1950-1959)". Singapore Film Locations Archive. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  13. ^ "Filmography (1950-1959)". Singapore Film Locations Archive. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  14. ^ "Filmography (1950-1959)". Singapore Film Locations Archive. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  15. ^ "Filmography (1950-1959)". Singapore Film Locations Archive. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  16. ^ "Filmography (1950-1959)". Singapore Film Locations Archive. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  17. ^ "Filmography (1950-1959)". Singapore Film Locations Archive. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  18. ^ "Sumpah Pontianak". Singapore Film Locations Archive. 26 December 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  19. ^ "Filmography (1950-1959)". Singapore Film Locations Archive. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  20. ^ "Filmography (1950-1959)". Singapore Film Locations Archive. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  21. ^ "Filmography (1950-1959)". Malay Wikipedia. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  22. ^ "Filmography (1960-1969)". Singapore Film Locations Archive. 23 October 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  23. ^ "Filmography (1960-1969)". Singapore Film Locations Archive. 23 October 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  24. ^ "Victim of Slander". IMDb. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  25. ^ "Filmography (1960-1969)". Singapore Film Locations Archive. 23 October 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  26. ^ "Filmography (1960-1969)". Singapore Film Locations Archive. 23 October 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  27. ^ "Filmography (1960-1969)". Singapore Film Locations Archive. 23 October 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  28. ^ "Filmography (1960-1969)". Singapore Film Locations Archive. 23 October 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  29. ^ "Filmography (1960-1969)". Singapore Film Locations Archive. 23 October 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  30. ^ "Filmography (1960-1969)". Singapore Film Locations Archive. 23 October 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Maria_Menado&oldid=1254265530"