George Krugers
G. Kruger (fl. 1926–1937), also written G. Krugers, was an Indo cameraman and film director active in the Dutch East Indies (modern Indonesia) during the early 20th century. He is recorded as having worked in film since the mid 1920s, and in 1927 he made his directorial debut, Eulis Atjih. His film Karnadi Anemer Bangkong was the first talkie in the country's cinema, but was a commercial failure as the majority Sundanese audience considered it to be insulting them. After making two works for Tan's Film in the early 1930s, Kruger moved to Hong Kong, where he died in 1937.
Silent film
Kruger, a man of mixed European and Indonesian descent[1] was reportedly born in Hong Kong. He is recorded as having been active in film in the mid-1920s, leading the laboratory at N.V. Java Film;[2] he may have been one of its founders, together with the Dutchman L. Heuveldorp.[3] The company exclusively produced documentaries until 1926,[2] when Heuveldorp directed the country's first feature film, Loetoeng Kasaroeng. Kruger served as a cameraman for the film, which was based on a Sundanese folktale, also processing the film in his laboratory in Bandung.[4]
The following year, having left N.V. Java Film to form his own company, Krugers Filmbedrijf (Kruger Film Company),[2] Kruger directed his own film.[5] Titled Eulis Atjih, it followed the beautiful Eulis Atjih as she falls into poverty after being left by her husband.[6] For the international release Kruger emphasised the ethnographic aspects of the film. The film was a commercial failure,[7] but Kruger told his backers that the film had recouped its expenses. By 1928 he was reportedly working on film adaptations of the folktales Roro Mendut and Prono Tjitro, although it is not known if he finished them.[8]
Talkies
The first talkies shown in the Indies, Fox Movietone Follies of 1929 and The Rainbow Man (both 1929), came from the United States and were screened in late 1929.[2][9] This encouraged Kruger to make Karnadi Anemer Bangkong (Karnadi the Frog Catcher), an adaptation of the book by Yuhana.[7] The comedy, made with a single system camera that Kruger had obtained with the help of his Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers membership, was the first locally-produced talkie released in the country,[10] but had poor technical quality.[11] It was a critical failure, as the majority Sundanese audience felt that they were being insulted; contemporary director Joshua Wong suggested that this poor reception was partly owing to the main character eating a frog, something which is forbidden for Muslims.[7] Following this failure, Kruger made the documentary Atma De Vischer (Atma of the Vischers; 1931)[7] before being signed to Tan's Film.[12]
With Tan's, Kruger made two films. First he was asked to handle cinematography on Bachtiar Effendi's 1932 talkie Njai Dasima,[13] an adaptation of G. Francis' 1896 novel Cerita Njai Dasima (Story of Njai Dasima).[14] He then directed and produced Terpaksa Menikah (Forced to Marry; 1932), which was advertised as featuring songs and comedy. The film was a commercial failure, leading to all rights being acquired by Tan's.[13] He is recorded as planning a further two films, De Nona (Of Ladies) and Raonah, but neither was made.[7]
During 1934 and early 1935, all feature films released in the Dutch East Indies had been produced by The Teng Chun.[15] This situation was created by the Great Depression, which had led to the Dutch East Indies government collecting higher taxes, advertisers asking for more money, and cinemas selling tickets at lower prices; this ensured that there was a very low profit margin for local films. During this period cinemas in the country mainly showed Hollywood productions.[16] Against this background, Kruger – upset over his critical failures – left the Indies in 1936 and moved back to Hong Kong, where he suffered a mental breakdown and died in 1937.[17]
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1926 | Loetoeng Kasaroeng(The Mystical Monkey) | Cinematographer |
| 1927 | Eulis Atjih |
Director |
| 1930 | Karnadi Anemer Bangkong (Karnadi the Frog Chaser) |
Director and producer |
| 1931 | Atma de Vischer (Atma of the Vischers) |
Producer, sound director, and cinematographer |
| 1932 | Njai Dasima | Sound director and cinematographer |
| 1932 | Terpaksa Menikah (Forced to Marry) |
Director, producer, sound director, and cinematographer |
References
Footnotes
- ^ Biran 2009, p. 55.
- ^ a b c d Filmindonesia.or.id, G. Kruger.
- ^ Susanto 2003, p. 240.
- ^ Biran 2009, pp. 60–61.
- ^ Biran 2009, p. 97.
- ^ Filmindonesia.or.id, Eulis Atjih.
- ^ a b c d e Biran 2009, p. 76.
- ^ Biran 2009, p. 75.
- ^ Biran 2009, pp. 131–132.
- ^ Biran 2009, p. 137.
- ^ Susanto 2003, p. 241.
- ^ Biran 2009, p. 98.
- ^ a b Biran 2009, p. 139.
- ^ Biran 2009, pp. 99–100.
- ^ Biran 2009, pp. 380–381.
- ^ Biran 2009, p. 145.
- ^ Biran 2009, p. 143.
Bibliography
- Biran, Misbach Yusa (2009). Sejarah Film 1900–1950: Bikin Film di Jawa (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Komunitas Bamboo working with the Jakarta Art Council. ISBN 978-979-3731-58-2.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help); Unknown parameter|trans_title=ignored (|trans-title=suggested) (help) - "Eulis Atjih". filmindonesia.or.id (in Indonesian). Jakarta: National Library of Indonesia and Sinamatek. Archived from the original on 6 July 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
- "G. Krugers". filmindonesia.or.id (in Indonesian). Jakarta: National Library of Indonesia and Sinamatek. Archived from the original on 17 August 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
- Susanto, A. Budi (2003). Identitas Dan Postkolonialitas Di Indonesia. Yogyakarta: Kanisius. ISBN 978-979-21-0851-4.
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External links
- G. Krugers at IMDb