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LVN Pictures
LVN Pictures, Inc. was a Filipino film studio that was considered one of the biggest in the history of Philippine cinema and its foremost establishment in motion picture post-production until 2005. In its heyday of motion picture production, LVN Pictures has been compared to that of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (MGM) of Hollywood because it had, under contract, the biggest stars and film craftsmen of the period. Before its closure in 2005, LVN Pictures was known as one of the oldest living film studios in the country.
LVN Pictures was formed by the De Leon ["L"], Villongco ["V"], and Navoa ["N"] families before the onset of World War II in 1938. At that time, the American-occupied Philippines was a ready market for American films, which further influenced various filmmakers like Jose Nepomuceno (the Father of Philippine Movies) to set up various film production companies to produce Tagalog movies.
With its creation, LVN Pictures offered a rival to then-newly established Sampaguita Pictures of the Vera-Perez family. LVN chose the big piece of land in P. Tuazon Boulevard, C. Benitez and St. Peter Street in Cubao, Quezon City as its home, and for the next seven decades, the lot would become the backlot and administration location of the studio. The LVN Gate, with the initials of the studio emblazoned in red letters and set in white beams, became as famous as the Paramount Pictures gate, and the big LVN Studios logo atop the Main Building became as famous as the MGM logo atop its main building. To oversee its production facilities, Doña Narcisa de Leon of the De Leon family took over the company as its president and "Executive Producer". She was the first Filipina film mogul. Eventually due to circumstances, the uninvolvement of the Villongco (which was preceded by the demise of one of the founders Carmen "Doña Mameng" Suarez Villongco) and Navoa families in the 1960s onwards, she bought a majority of their shares, which made LVN a De Leon family company.
The studio's first offering was the musical Giliw Ko (one of the very few Pre-War Filipino Films still extant today), which starred the three biggest stars of the era (Ely Ramos, Fernando Poe, Sr. and Fleur de Lis [who subsequently became Mona Lisa]) and introduced Mila del Sol. The movie, released in 1939, was a box-office success. In 1941, LVN introduced another trend. The first Filipino film in color (utilizing the "Varicolor" process), Ibong Adarna, was produced by LVN and was directed by Vicente Salumbides. The color sequence of the film, which was the singing of the bird, was painstakingly hand colored. The film also starred Mila del Sol, Fred Cortes and Manuel Conde and was a box-office success. Nevertheless, the growth of the studio was hampered due to World War II and the Japanese Occupation, which ravaged Manila and the rest of the Philippines from January 2, 1942, to February 1945. Due to the hardships of the war and to avoid being used as a Japanese propaganda center, LVN closed shop.
During this period, LVN Pictures has discovered and developed the following stars: Rogelio de la Rosa, Jaime de la Rosa, Mila del Sol, Fred Cortes, Norma Blancaflor, Lilia Dizon, Rosa Rosal, and Vicente Alberto to name a few.
After the Liberation of Manila in 1945, LVN Pictures immediately resumed film productions. The LVN stars who had to do stage shows when it closed shop was again making movies. LVN produced Miss Philippines (1947) with Norma Blancaflor and Jose "Pempe" Padilla, Jr., Ginang Takaichi (1948) with Lilia Dizon and Sa Tokyo Ikinasal (1948) with Rogelio de la Rosa, Tessie Quintana, Celia Flor and Armando Goyena, all of which pertain to the Japanese occupation of the Philippines. In the 1950s, at the height of the Communist threat in the Philippines, LVN Pictures collaborated with the Philippine government in vilifying communism by producing three films that were against Communism, namely Kontrabando (1950), FAMAS Award-winner Korea (1952), and FAMAS Best Picture Huk sa Bagong Pamumuhay (1953). Aside from these, LVN also produced its specialty, the musicals, namely Sarung Banggi (1947) and Mutya ng Pasig (1950), to name a few.
The so-called First Golden Age of Philippine Cinema commenced in the 1950s with the flourishing establishment of the so-called Big Four studios, namely LVN Pictures, Sampaguita Pictures, Lebran International and Premiere Productions, with each studio specializing in different genres. Sampaguita Pictures specialized in high-glossed society pictures and musicals. Premiere Productions and Lebran International specialized in action pictures. LVN, on the other hand, became known for its "superproductions," the Hollywood equivalent of "epic" films that was complemented by the LVN superstars that starred in these films. The various superproductions of LVN were Ibong Adarna (1955), Lapu-Lapu (1955) and the movie classics Badjao (1956), Anak Dalita (1957) and Biyaya ng Lupa (1959). At this time, LVN Pictures emerged as the biggest film studio in the Philippines, releasing two to three films a month from 1955–1956.
Indeed, during this time, LVN Pictures housed the biggest and most popular stars of the period. With Narcisa de Leon still helming LVN Pictures, the studio managed to maintain its resident female contravida (antagonist) FAMAS-winner Rosa Rosal, the then undisputed King of Philippine Movies and FAMAS-winner Rogelio de la Rosa, FAMAS-nominee Lilia Dizon, FAMAS-winner Jose Padilla, Jr., Jaime de la Rosa, Celia Flor, Mila del Sol, Corazon Noble, Norma Blancaflor and a handful of other stars. In addition, LVN added to its roster FAMAS winners Charito Solis (introduced in Niña Bonita in 1955), Nida Blanca, Leroy Salvador, Armando Goyena, Tony Santos, Sr., Oscar Keesee, Gil de Leon, Eddie Rodriguez and a handful of other stars. Delia Razon, Daisy Romualdez, Nestor de Villa, Mario Montenegro, Norma Vales, Lou Salvador, Jr., Marita Zobel and Sylvia La Torre are the other stars added to LVN during this period. In addition to stars, LVN also prided itself in the film artisans that it had on contract. The make-up legend Manahan Sisters, directors Lamberto Avellana and Gerardo de Leon (who became FAMAS winners), musician Tito Arevalo and editor Ike Jarlego were few of the many talented film artisans that were, one year or another, in contract with the studio.
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LVN Pictures
LVN Pictures, Inc. was a Filipino film studio that was considered one of the biggest in the history of Philippine cinema and its foremost establishment in motion picture post-production until 2005. In its heyday of motion picture production, LVN Pictures has been compared to that of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (MGM) of Hollywood because it had, under contract, the biggest stars and film craftsmen of the period. Before its closure in 2005, LVN Pictures was known as one of the oldest living film studios in the country.
LVN Pictures was formed by the De Leon ["L"], Villongco ["V"], and Navoa ["N"] families before the onset of World War II in 1938. At that time, the American-occupied Philippines was a ready market for American films, which further influenced various filmmakers like Jose Nepomuceno (the Father of Philippine Movies) to set up various film production companies to produce Tagalog movies.
With its creation, LVN Pictures offered a rival to then-newly established Sampaguita Pictures of the Vera-Perez family. LVN chose the big piece of land in P. Tuazon Boulevard, C. Benitez and St. Peter Street in Cubao, Quezon City as its home, and for the next seven decades, the lot would become the backlot and administration location of the studio. The LVN Gate, with the initials of the studio emblazoned in red letters and set in white beams, became as famous as the Paramount Pictures gate, and the big LVN Studios logo atop the Main Building became as famous as the MGM logo atop its main building. To oversee its production facilities, Doña Narcisa de Leon of the De Leon family took over the company as its president and "Executive Producer". She was the first Filipina film mogul. Eventually due to circumstances, the uninvolvement of the Villongco (which was preceded by the demise of one of the founders Carmen "Doña Mameng" Suarez Villongco) and Navoa families in the 1960s onwards, she bought a majority of their shares, which made LVN a De Leon family company.
The studio's first offering was the musical Giliw Ko (one of the very few Pre-War Filipino Films still extant today), which starred the three biggest stars of the era (Ely Ramos, Fernando Poe, Sr. and Fleur de Lis [who subsequently became Mona Lisa]) and introduced Mila del Sol. The movie, released in 1939, was a box-office success. In 1941, LVN introduced another trend. The first Filipino film in color (utilizing the "Varicolor" process), Ibong Adarna, was produced by LVN and was directed by Vicente Salumbides. The color sequence of the film, which was the singing of the bird, was painstakingly hand colored. The film also starred Mila del Sol, Fred Cortes and Manuel Conde and was a box-office success. Nevertheless, the growth of the studio was hampered due to World War II and the Japanese Occupation, which ravaged Manila and the rest of the Philippines from January 2, 1942, to February 1945. Due to the hardships of the war and to avoid being used as a Japanese propaganda center, LVN closed shop.
During this period, LVN Pictures has discovered and developed the following stars: Rogelio de la Rosa, Jaime de la Rosa, Mila del Sol, Fred Cortes, Norma Blancaflor, Lilia Dizon, Rosa Rosal, and Vicente Alberto to name a few.
After the Liberation of Manila in 1945, LVN Pictures immediately resumed film productions. The LVN stars who had to do stage shows when it closed shop was again making movies. LVN produced Miss Philippines (1947) with Norma Blancaflor and Jose "Pempe" Padilla, Jr., Ginang Takaichi (1948) with Lilia Dizon and Sa Tokyo Ikinasal (1948) with Rogelio de la Rosa, Tessie Quintana, Celia Flor and Armando Goyena, all of which pertain to the Japanese occupation of the Philippines. In the 1950s, at the height of the Communist threat in the Philippines, LVN Pictures collaborated with the Philippine government in vilifying communism by producing three films that were against Communism, namely Kontrabando (1950), FAMAS Award-winner Korea (1952), and FAMAS Best Picture Huk sa Bagong Pamumuhay (1953). Aside from these, LVN also produced its specialty, the musicals, namely Sarung Banggi (1947) and Mutya ng Pasig (1950), to name a few.
The so-called First Golden Age of Philippine Cinema commenced in the 1950s with the flourishing establishment of the so-called Big Four studios, namely LVN Pictures, Sampaguita Pictures, Lebran International and Premiere Productions, with each studio specializing in different genres. Sampaguita Pictures specialized in high-glossed society pictures and musicals. Premiere Productions and Lebran International specialized in action pictures. LVN, on the other hand, became known for its "superproductions," the Hollywood equivalent of "epic" films that was complemented by the LVN superstars that starred in these films. The various superproductions of LVN were Ibong Adarna (1955), Lapu-Lapu (1955) and the movie classics Badjao (1956), Anak Dalita (1957) and Biyaya ng Lupa (1959). At this time, LVN Pictures emerged as the biggest film studio in the Philippines, releasing two to three films a month from 1955–1956.
Indeed, during this time, LVN Pictures housed the biggest and most popular stars of the period. With Narcisa de Leon still helming LVN Pictures, the studio managed to maintain its resident female contravida (antagonist) FAMAS-winner Rosa Rosal, the then undisputed King of Philippine Movies and FAMAS-winner Rogelio de la Rosa, FAMAS-nominee Lilia Dizon, FAMAS-winner Jose Padilla, Jr., Jaime de la Rosa, Celia Flor, Mila del Sol, Corazon Noble, Norma Blancaflor and a handful of other stars. In addition, LVN added to its roster FAMAS winners Charito Solis (introduced in Niña Bonita in 1955), Nida Blanca, Leroy Salvador, Armando Goyena, Tony Santos, Sr., Oscar Keesee, Gil de Leon, Eddie Rodriguez and a handful of other stars. Delia Razon, Daisy Romualdez, Nestor de Villa, Mario Montenegro, Norma Vales, Lou Salvador, Jr., Marita Zobel and Sylvia La Torre are the other stars added to LVN during this period. In addition to stars, LVN also prided itself in the film artisans that it had on contract. The make-up legend Manahan Sisters, directors Lamberto Avellana and Gerardo de Leon (who became FAMAS winners), musician Tito Arevalo and editor Ike Jarlego were few of the many talented film artisans that were, one year or another, in contract with the studio.