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Panggilan Darah (Indonesian for 'Call of Blood') is a film from the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), written and directed by Sutan Usman Karim and produced by Tjho Seng Han for Oriental Film. Released on 30 June 1941, the black-and-white film starred Dhalia and Soerip as orphaned sisters trying to make a living in the colonial capital of Batavia (now Jakarta) as housemaids for a man named Iskak, before moving to Kudus to work at a clove cigarette factory. They later discover that they are Iskak's nieces and are welcomed into his home. The film was shot on location at an orphanage and two factories in Central Java and was a modest commercial success in the Dutch East Indies and Singapore. The acting drew critical praise, while the soundtrack, with nine kroncong songs, was reviewed favourably. Despite this success, Oriental was unable to meet its expenses; the company merged with Multi Film soon afterwards. Panggilan Darah, which was screened as late as 1952, may now be a lost film.
This picture shows a 1941 advertisement for the film in the Dutch-language magazine De Orient.Advertisement credit: Oriental Film; retouched by Chris Woodrich