Nationality Indonesian | Occupation Actor | |
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Born 25 November 1924 ( 1924-11-25 ) Batavia, Dutch East Indies Died 20 December 1992, Jakarta, Indonesia Movies Begadang, Gitar Tua Oma Irama, Oma Irama Penasaran, Tjitra Similar Wolly Sutinah, Eddy Gombloh, Nawi Ismail, Mansjur Sjah, Aminah Cendrakasih | ||
Abdul Hamid Arief (25 November 1924 – 20 December 1992), most commonly credited as A. Hamid Arief, was an Indonesian actor who appeared in over a hundred and twenty films. Born in Batavia, Dutch East Indies, he started his acting career in theatre before migrating to film with 1948's Anggrek Bulan (Moon Orchid). His first starring role, and the one for which he first gained recognition, was as the title character in Pangeran Hamid (Prince Hamid, 1953). Over subsequent decades he was a productive film actor, often appearing in four or five films a year. He also acted in several television series.
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Biography
Arief was born in Batavia, Dutch East Indies, on 25 November 1924. He completed his education up to the junior high school level. He began his acting career with Djamaluddin Malik's travelling troupe Pantjawarna, later migrating to Bintang Surabaja, a travelling theatre troupe headed by Fred Young. By 1948 he had reached Batavia—renamed Jakarta during the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies (1942–1945)—and been cast in the South Pacific Film Corporation's Anggrek Bulan (Moon Orchid, 1948). In this film, which was directed by Andjar Asmara, Arief played a young man who must be protected from the predations of the "moon orchid", a beautiful yet dangerous young woman.
In 1949, Arief acted in four further films for the South Pacific Film Corporation, including Usmar Ismail's debut film Tjitra (Image). Soon afterwards he migrated to Fred Young's film company, also named Bintang Surabaja. Arief appeared in numerous films for the company, including Bintang Surabaja 1951 (Star of Surabaya 1951, 1950) and Selamat Berdjuang, Masku! (Fight Well, My Brother!, 1951). He also acted in films by the National Film Company (Inspektur Rachman, 1950) and Djamaluddin Malik's Persari. His star-making role, however, came with Pangeran Hamid (Prince Hamid, 1953), produced by Chok Chin Hsien's Golden Arrow Productions. In this film, he played a young prince named Hamid who retakes the throne after being driven out by a usurper.
After his contract with Golden Arrow ended in 1955, Arief became a free agent. He remained highly productive and acted for numerous companies, despite the slump the filmmaking industry underwent in the early 1960s. Beginning with 1965's Matjan Kemajoran (Tiger of Kemajoran), Arief took a number of roles as characters of European descent. Later roles of this type include the Englishman Edward William in Samiun dan Dasima (Samiun and Dasima, 1970) and the villainous Dutch colonial policeman Heyne Scott in the Si Pitung series, consisting of Si Pitung (1970), Banteng Betawi (Bull of Betawi, 1971), Pembalasan si Pitung (Revenge of Si Pitung, 1977), and Si Pitung Beraksi Kembali (Si Pitung Takes Action, 1981).
Overall, Arief appeared in more than sixty films in the 1970s. During this period he also became active on television, acting in the skit show Komedia Jakarta (Comedy of Jakarta). Misbach Yusa Biran, in his 1979 directory of Indonesian film actors, quotes Arief as saying "I actually do not have any talent for comedy. I am more interested in dramatic stories".
Arief continued acting in the first years of the 1980s, making his final feature film, Pengorbanan (Sacrifice) in 1982. However, he did not quit acting, appearing in the TVRI television series Rumah Masa Depan (House of the Future, 1984–1986, 1989). In 1988 he received a Surjosoemanto Award from the National Film Council for his dedication to the art. Arief died in Jakarta on 20 December 1992.
Filmography
During his thirty-four year career, Arief appeared in over a hundred and twenty films. He also produced a single film, Kembalilah Mama (Return, Mama, 1977).
