Booloo

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.

• Colin Tapley as Captain Robert Rogers
• Jayne Regan as Kate Jaye
• Michio Itō as Sakai chief
• Herbert DeSouza as Rod DeSouza
• Fred Pullen as Nah Laku
• Mamo Clark as Native girl
• Swiatna Asmara as Native girl
• Claude King as Major Fenton

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.{{Sfn|Erkelens|2022|p=314}}{{Sfn|Anisah|2022|p=70–71}} They gave Andjar's wife, Ratna, a role as Sakai girl who was sacrificed in a ritual sacrifice to a white tiger.{{Sfn|Erkelens|2022|p=314}}

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.{{Sfn|Erkelens|2022|p=314}} 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.{{Sfn|Anisah|2022|p=71}} 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.nlb.gov.sg/biblioasia/2017/07/09/reel-life-singapore-the-films-of-clyde-e-elliott/|title=Reel Life Singapore: The Films of Clyde E. Elliott|last=Lin|first=Chua Ai|work=National Library, Singapore|accessdate=2017-09-08}}{{Sfn|Anisah|2022|p=73}}

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

Booloo received negative reviews, which criticized the story and editing. Frank Nugent of The New York Times called it "an exciting and quite entertaining blend of the real and the make-believe".{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9D05E1DE1138EE3ABC4850DFB1668383629EDE&mcubz=1|title=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|last=Nugent|first=Frank|work=The New York Times|date=1938-07-30|accessdate=2017-09-08}} Even though her scene had been cut, Ratna Asmara remain as the first Malay representation in Hollywood.{{Sfn|Anisah|2022|p=71}}

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• {{Cite book |last=Erkelens |first=Jaap |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qlt3zwEACAAJ |title=Dardanella, perintis teater Indonesia modern: duta kesenian Indonesia melanglang buana |date=2022 |publisher=Penerbit Buku Kompas |isbn=978-623-346-197-9 |language=id}}
• {{Cite book |last=Anisah |first=Umi Lestari, Julita Pratiwi, Efi Sri Handayani, Imelda Taurina Mandala, Lisabona Rahman, Siti |title=Ratna Asmara Perempuan di Dua Sisi Kamera |publisher=Indonesian Visual Art Archive |year=2022 |isbn=978-602-51638-5-2 |editor-last=Lusandiana |editor-first=Lisistrata |location=Yogyakarta |language=id}}

{{refend}}

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• {{IMDb title|0029935}}

Category:1938 films

Category:1938 adventure films

Category:American adventure films

Category:Films set in Singapore

Category:Films shot in Singapore

Category:American black-and-white films

Category:1930s English-language films

Category:1930s American films

Category:English-language adventure films

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