Philippine Cinema during the World War II

By: Joel Ian D. Espenilla &Alaiza Marie P. Flancia

Wartime Films and the Effect on Philippine Films

• The Japanese occupation introduced a new player to the film industry – the Japanese; and a new role for film – propaganda

• The Pacific War brought havoc to the film industry in 1941

• The Japanese invaders commandeered precious film equipment for their own propaganda needs.

Japanese Films with a Twist of Filipino

• The films that the Japanese brought failed to appeal to audiences the same way the Hollywood-made movies or locally-made films did. Later on, Japanese propaganda offices hired several local filmmakers to make propaganda pictures for them.

The Downfall of the Film Industry

• The war years during the first half of the Forties virtually halted filmmaking activities save for propaganda work that extolled Filipino-Japanese friendship.– The Dawn of Freedom (Abe Yutaka & Gerardo de

Leon)– Tatlong Marias (Gerardo de Leon)

Entertainment during the War

• Despite the destruction and hardships of the war, the people found time for entertainment; and when movies were not being made nor imported, they turn to live theater, which provided alternative jobs for displayed movie folk.

• The war years may have been the darkest in film history

Renaissance of the Theater Industry

• Live theater began to flourish again as movie stars, directors ad technicians returned to the stage.– a way to keep them from being forgotten and at

the same time a way to earn a living

Heroism in Film Industry

– In 1945:• A Philippine version of the war movie had

emerged as a genre in which were recreated narratives of horror and heroism with soldiers and guerillas as protagonists

• Audience still hungry for new movies and still fired up by the patriotism and hatred for foreign enemies did not seem to tire of recalling their experiences of the war.

Movies

• Garrison 13 (1946)• Dugo ng Bayan (1946)• Walang Kamatayan (1946)• Guerilyera (1946)– ‘the heroes and villains of the war”

“World War II left its scars on the Filipino’s imagination and heightened his sense of

reality…”

Directors and Actors/Actresses

Gerardo de Leon

• Began making films in the late 1930s after finishing medical school, becoming licensed as a physician, and serving a stint as an actor.

• Directed dozens of movies in almost every genre over the next 30-odd years

– Bahay Kubo (1938) a musical– Adaptations of Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere (1961) and

El Filibusterismo (1962)– Sanda Wong (1955)– Pedro Penduko (1954)– Blood Brothers (…)– Handful of anti-American forces during World

War II

• The first filmmaker to be recognized as

“Philippine’s National Artist” shortly after his death

Carmen Rosales

• A consummated actress, a singer, a dancer, and a master of improvisation and mime.

• A guerilla fighter during the World War II– Involved in the killing of a makapili (Japanese

Collaborator)– A sharpshooter who toted a .45 and wore a

moustache to disguise herself

• Movies:– Guerilyera (1946)– Kaaway ng Bayan (1946)– Si, Si Senorita (1947)– Kampanang Ginto (1949)– Kaaway ng Diyos (1949)– Batalyon XIII (1949)

Tito Arevalo

• A Filipino actor and musician

• Movies/Theater performances:– Ang Tiktik (1941)– Ang Iyong Ina and Ikaw Na (1946)– Sanggano (1947)

Mila del Sol

• Clarita Villarba Rivera• A Filipina film actress and entrepreneur• Volunteered for the Red Cross during the

World War II• Movies:– Orasang ginto (1946)– Garrison 13 (1946)– Batalyong XIII (1949)

Movies

Dugo ng Bayan (1946)

• Directed by Fernando Poe Sr.• Starred by Fernando Poe

Sr. and Patricia Midares • A tribute to the Soldiers of

the World War II

Garrison 13

• Starred by Mila del Sol and Carmen Rosales• The movies showed the atrocities committed

by the Imperial Japanese Army in the Philippines during the war

Walang Kamatayan (1946)

• A drama film• Directed Tor Villano• Starred by Rolando Lwanag, Fred Penalosa,

Gregorio Ticman, Don Dano, and Manuel Barbevto

Guerilyera (1946)

• Directed by Octavio Silos• Starred by Carmen Rosales• A movie about a Filipina guerilla fighting

against the Japanese invaders