They were directed by two men, Njoo Cheong Seng and Sutan Usman Karim, and launched the careers of actors such as Dhalia and Soerip.

Following the commercial successes of Terang Boelan (Full Moon; 1937), Fatima (1938), and Alang-Alang (Grass; 1939), the Dutch East Indies film industry – which had been severely weakened by the Great Depression – was revived.

[1] Funded entirely by the ethnic Chinese businessman Tjo Seng Han, the company's first headquarters were at 42 Matraman Street, in eastern Batavia (now Jakarta);[2] according to the weekly Sin Po, this studio had simple facilities.

[2] Tjo and Tjan hired Njoo Cheong Seng, a dramatist who had previously worked with the Orion Opera before establishing his own troupe, and his wife Fifi Young.

Terang Boelan had used stage starlet Roekiah and her husband Kartolo to great effect, and the actors had brought similar financial success to Tan's Film after they were hired.

Both women, teenagers at the time, had established stage careers and were known for their singing voices, which were put to use in several of Pantjawarna's twelve kroncong songs.

[14] This film was well received by critics, and Young's acting was praised in both the Bataviaasch Nieuwsblad and Soerabaijasch Handelsblad;[15] the latter characterised Pantjawarna as "a success for O.F.C.

[f][16] Deprived of their director and main star, Oriental hired the journalist Sutan Usman Karim[g] to direct their fourth production, Panggilan Darah (Call of Blood).

This film, written by Karim and starring Dhalia and Soerip, told of two young orphans as they tried to eke a living in Batavia.

[19] Following Panggilan Darah, Oriental – which had been losing money steadily – released its contract for the ANIF studio, which was taken over by the Dutch-run Multi Film.

[16] Some, such as Panggilan Darah, enjoyed international release; the film was screened in Singapore (then part of the Straits Settlements) by September 1941.