Booloo
Directed byClyde E. Elliott
Screenplay byRobert E. Welsh
Andjar Asmara
Story byClyde E. Elliott
Produced byClyde E. Elliott
StarringColin Tapley
Jayne Regan
Edited byEda Warren
Music byBoris Morros
Production
company
Distributed byParamount Pictures[1]
Release date
  • July 29, 1938 (1938-07-29) (US)
Running time
60–61 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States[1]
LanguageEnglish

Booloo is a 1938 American adventure film directed by Clyde E. Elliott. It stars Colin Tapley as a British soldier who attempts to prove the existence of a legendary tiger.

Plot

Captain Robert Rogers, a British Army officer, publishes a book about his father's exploits. After it is ridiculed as a hoax, Rogers leaves for the Malay Peninsula to prove the existence of Booloo, the legendary tiger that killed his father.[1]

Cast

Production

In August 1937, Paramount signed a contract with Indonesian dramatist, Andjar Asmara, as a screenwriter after the last show of his theatrical troupe Bolero in Medan, and goes to Singapore on 14 August.[2][3] They gave Andjar's wife, Ratna, a role as Sakai girl who was sacrificed in a ritual sacrifice to a white tiger.[2]

Paramount wanted another jungle adventure film after The Jungle Princess proved popular, and they recruited Clyde E. Elliott to shoot a film in Singapore. Elliott's two previous Malayan films, Bring 'Em Back Alive and Devil Tiger, had been criticized for lacking authenticity. Booloo addressed these concerns by using Asian actors when available. The film was half complete on 4 March 1938.[2] However, Paramount cut much of the footage starring these actors and reshot scenes in Hollywood as the scene between Colin Tapley and Ratna would be too real for audience and against Hays Code anti-miscegenation.[4] For example, the role of a native girl, originally played by Ratna was recast to a Hawaiian actress, Mamo Clark, but Ratna was still credited as Swiatna Asmara with the wrong name which is included to sell the name because it comes from an exotic region.[5][6]

Release

Paramount released Booloo in the US on July 29, 1938.[1]

Reception and legacy

Booloo received negative reviews, which criticized the story and editing.[5] Frank Nugent of The New York Times called it "an exciting and quite entertaining blend of the real and the make-believe".[7] Even though her scene had been cut, Ratna Asmara remain as the first Malay representation in Hollywood.[4]

Citations

Works cited

  • Erkelens, Jaap (2022). Dardanella, perintis teater Indonesia modern: duta kesenian Indonesia melanglang buana (in Indonesian). Penerbit Buku Kompas. ISBN 978-623-346-197-9.
  • Anisah, Umi Lestari, Julita Pratiwi, Efi Sri Handayani, Imelda Taurina Mandala, Lisabona Rahman, Siti (2022). Lusandiana, Lisistrata (ed.). Ratna Asmara Perempuan di Dua Sisi Kamera (in Indonesian). Yogyakarta: Indonesian Visual Art Archive. ISBN 978-602-51638-5-2.((cite book)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Booloo". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved 2017-09-08.
  2. ^ a b c Erkelens 2022, p. 314.
  3. ^ Anisah 2022, p. 70–71.
  4. ^ a b Anisah 2022, p. 71.
  5. ^ a b Lin, Chua Ai. "Reel Life Singapore: The Films of Clyde E. Elliott". National Library, Singapore. Retrieved 2017-09-08.
  6. ^ Anisah 2022, p. 73.
  7. ^ Nugent, Frank (1938-07-30). "THE SCREEN; Clyde Elliott Goes After the White Tiger and Other Jungle Beasts in 'Booloo' at the Criterion At the 86th Street Casino At the 86th St. Garden Theatre". The New York Times. Retrieved 2017-09-08.

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