Raden Soekarno, better known as Rendra Karno, was an Indonesian actor. Born in Kutoarjo, Central Java, Soekarno entered the film industry in 1941, making his debut appearance in Union Films' Soeara Berbisa. Over the next forty years he appeared in more than fifty films. He was also involved in the theatre during the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies and the Indonesian National Revolution. For his role in 1962's Bajangan di Waktu Fadjar, he was named best supporting actor at the 1963 Asian Film Festival in Tokyo.
Rendra Karno, 1954
Soekarno with Boen Sofiati in Mega Mendoeng (1942)
Rendra Karno (right) reading actors' demands to President Sukarno (centre) in front of Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, in 1956
Union Films was a film production company located in Batavia, Dutch East Indies. Established by ethnic Chinese businessmen Ang Hock Liem and Tjoa Ma Tjoen in 1940, it produced seven black-and-white films before it was dissolved in 1942; all are thought to be lost. The company's films were directed by four men, mostly ethnic Chinese, and launched the careers of actors such as Rendra Karno and Djoewariah.
Union Films
A Dutch-language advertisement for Union's first film, Kedok Ketawa (1940)
Advertisement for Union's last production, Mega Mendoeng (1942)
Image: Asmara Moerni cover