Si Tjonat is a 1929 bandit film from the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). The silent film was directed by Nelson Wong and produced by Wong and Jo Eng Sek. It was shot in black and white and starred Ku Fung May and Herman Sim. Based on the novel (cover pictured) by F. D. J. Pangemanann, it follows an indigenous man who flees to Batavia (today Jakarta) and becomes a bandit after killing his fellow villager. After kidnapping an ethnic Chinese woman, he is defeated and brought to justice. The story had proved popular with ethnic Chinese readers and was often adapted to the stage by Betawi troupes as a lenong stage performance, but the film received mixed reviews. Although it was intended as a serial, no sequel was ever made; the production house, Batavia Motion Picture, closed soon afterwards. Several works in the same genre as Si Tjonat were released, including Si Pitoeng in 1931, which used the same director and star. The film has probably been lost.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Si_Tjonat

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1831:

Wallachian officials adopted Regulamentul Organic (cover shown), which engendered a period of unprecedented reforms that provided for the Westernization of the local society. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulamentul_Organic

1942:

World War II: The 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment was converted from a battalion to accommodate a larger number of volunteers spurred on by the Japanese invasion of the Philippines. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_Filipino_Infantry_Regiment

2003:

French DGSE personnel aborted an operation to rescue Colombian politician Íngrid Betancourt from FARC guerrillas, later causing a political scandal when details were leaked to the press. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Op%C3%A9ration_14_juillet

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

calvous: 1. (formal, medicine, rare) Lacking most or all of one's hair; bald, hairless. 2. (botany, rare) Lacking bristles or pappuses. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/calvous

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The ivyed oaks dark shadow falls Oft picking up with wondering gaze Some little thing of other days Saved from the wreck of time.   --John Clare https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Clare