This cache brings you to the edge of Keris Estate, a location that was once part of the Singapore’s film industry. Unfortunately, most of this has been completely lost to history, save for the name of the roads in the estate. The cache's title, "Akan Datang", is Malay/Singlish for "Coming Soon..." which is often used to advertise the premier of an upcoming film. And, so, the curtain rises... as we explore the story of the rise and fall of Cathay-Keris Studios, and cover a little bit of the film history of Singapore.
History
Formed in 1953, Cathay-Keris Studio was one of two key film producers (the other being Shaw Brothers) during the peak of filmmaking in Singapore in the 1950s and 1960s. Its rival, the Shaw Brothers Studios at Jalan Ampas (in the Balestier Area), still stands, but here, nothing is left of the studio buildings.
In 1953, Cathay’s chairman Loke Wan Tho teamed up with Keris Film Productions’ managing director Ho Ah Loke to form the film production company, Cathay-Keris Studio. Cathay-Keris was to challenge the dominance of Shaw Brothers’ Malay Film Productions in the Malay film industry. Loke collaborated with Ho in the production of Buloh Perindu. which was released in 1953. The film is believed to be the first Malay-language film shot in colour and the longest road in the estate, Jalan Buloh Perindu, is named after this movie.
Cathay-Keris Studio was set up at 532-D East Coast Road, adjacent to Cathay’s Ocean Park Hotel. The former Japanese Army barracks at the site were converted into offices and a canteen, and two studios were built. Due to a shortage of skilled workers, Cathay-Keris started with only one film director and about 60 staff. Experienced directors such as L. Krishnan, B. N. Rao and K. M. Basker were later recruited from Shaw’s studio, and they helped to train the crew and technicians on the job.
Cathay-Keris went on the produce more black-and-white Malay-language films including Pontianak in 1957. The film was dubbed in Cantonese for the Hong Kong market, and even sold to an American television station. In 1958, Basker directed Selendang Delima, a film inspired by a bangsawan (Malay opera) stage production, which is also immortalised in the name of another road in the estate.
In 1962, Cathay-Keris partnered a team of French filmmakers to produce Your Shadow is Mine, but the film was a box-office disaster. In June 1962, Cathay-Keris co-produced A Star of Hong Kong with Cathay’s Hong Kong studio. The film, starring Hong Kong star Yu Ming and Japanese leading man Akira Takarada, features English, Mandarin and Japanese dialogue. In June 1963, Cathay-Keris produced its first overseas film, Malam-di-Tokyo, which was shot in Japan. Unfortunately, these productions did not bring about the much-needed box-office success for Cathay-Keris.
Facing competition from television and the loss of the Indonesian market due to the Indonesian Confrontation (1963–66), Cathay-Keris retrenched 45 studio staff in 1965 and a further 17 staff in 1966. In 1973, Cathay-Keris produced its last film, Satu Titik di-Garisan, marking an end to Malay film production in Singapore. For the next few years, the studio focused on production of advertisements, public relations filmlets and news reports before stopping operation in 1977.