Djoewariah

Ng. Ratu Djoewariah (also known as Djoeariah; Enhanced Spelling: Juwariah) was an Indonesian actress active in the 1940s and 1950s. Djoewariah originated from Lampung. She entered cinema in 1940, when she was signed by Union Films in Batavia, Dutch East Indies (now Jakarta, Indonesia), for Bajar dengan Djiwa. In her film debut, she played the role of Djuliah, a young woman who is sold to a loan shark by her father. This was followed by another two films, both produced in 1941. In Wanita dan Satria she appeared alongside Ratna Djoewita and Hidajat in the story of a playboy who ultimately receives his comeuppance, whereas in Asmara Moerni, Djoewariah as a maid who becomes the target of the affections of a young doctor (played by Adnan Kapau Gani).Union Films was closed in 1942 following the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies, and film production throughout the 1940s was much slower than it had been under the Dutch. During this time Djoewariah acted on stage, touring with Fred Young's Bintang Soerabaja troupe; she is recorded as acting for them in a 1944 performance of the stage play Sehidup Semati. The occupation ended in 1945, and President Sukarno proclaimed an independent Indonesian nation. During the ensuing national revolution, Djoewariah remained active as a stage actress and kroncong singer, winning a vocal competition in September 1947; by this time she was a member of the Fifi Young troupe, named for its star.In 1949, as the revolution was winding down, Djoewariah returned to film with a role in the film version of Sehidup Semati. During the following five years she appeared in several roles of decreasing prominence. She made her last two films in 1954. In Karina (Gadis Pasaran), she portrayed a woman who had to become a radio singer in order to support her family after her husband is exiled to Papua. Meanwhile, in Kantjil Mas (Pedang dari Damascus), she portrayed a queen of Basan who attempts to wrest all power from her sister and co-queen before ultimately being defeated by a swordsman from Damascus. Ultimately, in 1954, Djoewariah left the cinema to return to the stage.