Acting
The original "Pontianak" was made in 1957 directed by B.N. Rao and starred Maria Menado.The film was such a hit that in quick succession, two sequels were made "Dendam Pontianak" aka "Revenge of Pontianak" later in the same year (1957) and "Sumpah Pontianak" aka "The Curse of Pontianak") in 1958,both with Maria Menado."Dendam Pontianak" started the trend of introducing more than one supernatural being into the story,the other character being an old witch Nenek Kebayan(The Old Woman of the Forest)and by the time "Sumpah Pontianak" was made that had increased to four-female vampire Pontianak,an Orang Hutan(Wild Forest Man),a kind of bird-lizard creature and a Hantu Raya or "King Ghost"."Sumpah Pontianak" is an entertaining Malay horror movie with cheap special effects.The main female character Comel is infected by been infected with sumpah pontianak,the curse of the vampire and the villagers begin to die!
After the success of Pontianak, Balakrishna Narayana Rao (B. N. Rao) directed and released a sequel to his horror film – Dendam Pontianak. It came out in the same year as Pontianak, and Menado reprised her role in this sequel.
The film's story revolves around the tragic love affair between Kassim Selamat, a poor musician, and Sabariah, the only daughter of a wealthy woman. The movie is notable in that the opening act starts out as a light-hearted romantic comedy, but at the 30 minute mark turns into a dramatic tragedy. Like a number of P. Ramlee's works, the film criticizes the unofficial caste system that separates the wealthy from the poor.
Haji Bakhil, a miser, have two servants, Labu - the cook, and Labi - the driver. The two of them have secret admiration for Haji Bakhil's beautiful daughter, Manisah. After a hard day's work, Labu and Labi started talking about their girlfriend not knowing that they both admire the same women. During bedtime, they lamented to each other about their life being poor and wondered what would happen if they were rich and famous. Labu pretended that he was a doctor and Labi a magistrate judge
The story of Husin, who has just started working at a new place, is shocked by a call from his wife Aminah about his father, Pak Yusof, who has not returned home since leaving in the morning. After searching extensively, Husin finds Pak Yusof at a bus stop in a state of fear. Pak Yusof has forgotten his way back and does not know where he is. Husin is puzzled by Pak Yusof's behavior and takes his father to the clinic to be examined by a doctor. According to the doctor, Pak Yusof has Alzheimer's disease. Thus begins a challenging episode for Husin and his family.
Karim (Abdullah Chik) and Khatijah (Rose Yatimah) are undergraduates at the University of Malaya pursuing degrees in Medicine and History respectively. They are young, progressive in their thinking, and very much in love with each other. On a visit back home, Khatijah discovers that she is arranged to be married, without her knowledge, to the local village 'lebai' (healer), Din, who is a recent widower and father of six. Khatijah is torn between her fledging love for Karim and her adherence to centuries of tradition. Determined to win the hand of Khatijah, Karim sets aside his prejudiced view of the "mystical arts" and travels deep into the wilderness of Malaysia to study under a respected traditional healer, Pak Salleh (Dollah Sarawak).
A period drama with Malay symbolisms, myth and folklore, the title Chuchu Datok Merah points to the mental image Malays have of themselves as descendants of Hang Tuah, the legendary Malay warrior of Malacca. Awang Janggut is very much a pseudo-warrior. Instead of a “keris”, a warrior’s weapon, he owns a prize-winning rooster. His battlefield is the cock fight arena. Home is a big but empty house inherited from his ancestor, and prefers living in poverty to working. The closest he comes to the high life of a warrior is when a rich businessman employs him as a bodyguard after he prevents hooligans from taunting the latter’s daughter Siti. Despite knowing Awang is married, Siti continues to flirt with him, causing him to leave his pregnant wife alone. She eventually falls sick and has a miscarriage. The film is a social criticism of people who rest on their laurels and ancestry instead of working for themselves. It is also one of the finest examples of the anti-hero in Malay cinema.
Ghazali, a local musician, and his friends came to the rescue of Tengku Zaleha when her car got stuck in the mud during a downpour.. She requested to take up piano lesson from Ghazali, knowing this would give her a chance to meet him everyday. Their relationship became closer but was quickly separated when Tengku Zaleha's father and brother found out. Ghazali was beaten by several men till he fainted. In the meantime, Tengku Zaleha was brought back to Singapore and forced to marry Tengku Mukri. Few years later, she went back to Anggerik Villa and Ghazali just couldn't believe his eyes when he saw her as he thought she was dead. Tengku Zaleha was torn between two worlds but later decided to end her marriage. When Tengku Mukri realized what was going on, he couldn't accept the fact as his wife had left him, a man of status and wealth, for a commoner like Ghazali.
