Fred Young (director)


Fred Young was an ethnic Chinese film director and producer active in the Dutch East Indies and its successor state, Indonesia. He reportedly studied film in Hollywood as a youth, but only entered the nation's film industry in 1940. After he made his debut as a writer with Sorga Palsoe, he was involved in some 36 productions, 23 as director.

Biography

Young was born in Semarang, Central Java, to Njo Gwan Djoe and Ong Kien Nio on 31 October 1900. As a child he was adopted by his uncle Njo Gwan Jong & Kang Toan Nio, who lived in Malang, East Java. He had a junior high school education in the Dutch East Indies. However, he reportedly was in Los Angeles, US, by the 1920s, learning about film with The Teng Chun and Nelson Wong. Young would work with The later in his career.
Young entered the film industry in 1940 when he wrote Sorga Palsoe. Later that year he joined with SI Liem to establish Majestic Film in Batavia. The company's first production, Djantoeng Hati, was directed by Njoo Cheong Seng, with Liem and Young serving as producers. Majestic's second production, Air Mata Iboe, a tragedy which followed a young man who takes vengeance on his siblings after they refuse to shelter their mother, was produced by Young, directed by Njoo, and starred Njoo's wife Fifi Young.
When the Japanese occupied the Indies beginning in 1942, closing all but one film studio, Young went into the theatre, establishing the Bintang Soerabaja theatre company. He did not return to film until 1949, after Indonesia proclaimed its independence, when he helped establish the Bintang Soerabaja Film Company and made his directorial debut, Sehidup Semati. That year he made one further film, Sapu Tangan.
Young remained highly active throughout the 1950s, directing, writing, or producing 24 films in that decade alone. During the 1960s, during a time of increased discrimination against Chinese Indonesians, he began to write under the Indonesian-sounding pen name Utomo. By the mid 1960s he had slowed in his filmmaking, but made a short resurgence in the 1970s. He died in Malang, East Java, on 2 June 1977.

Filmography

During his career Young was involved in 36 films, directing 23 of them.
  • Sorga Palsoe – Story
  • Djantoeng Hati – Producer
  • Air Mata Iboe – Producer
  • Sehidup Semati – Director and story
  • Saputangan – Director and story
  • Bengawan Solo – Story
  • Ratapan Ibu – Director
  • Bintang Surabaja 1951 – Story
  • Djembatan Merah – Director
  • Damarwulan – Director and producer
  • Harumanis – Director and story
  • Antara Tertawa dan Airmata – Director
  • Ditepi Bengawan Solo – Director
  • Chandra Dewi – Director and screenwriter
  • Dewa Dewi – Producer
  • Kumala Dewa Dewi – Producer
  • Sangkar Emas – Director
  • Sorga Terakhir – Director, screenwriter, and story
  • Putri Solo – Director
  • Rosita – Producer
  • Saputangan Sutra – Director and producer
  • Srigala Topeng Hitam – Producer
  • Lenggang Djakarta – Producer
  • Halilintar – Director, producer, and story
  • Sebatang Kara – Director
  • Guntur – Producer
  • Rumah Gila – Director, producer, screenwriter, and story
  • Setulus Hatiku – Director and producer
  • Putri Solo Kembali – Director and producer
  • Radja Karet dari Singapura – Director
  • Air Mata Ibu – Director and producer
  • Dibalik Awan – Director, producer, screenwriter, and story
  • Bengawan Solo – story
  • Aku Mau Hidup – Producer and story
  • Putri Solo – Director, producer, screenwriter, and story
  • Bunga Roos dari Cikembang – Director, producer, and screenwriter