Manila, Open City

Last updated
Manila, Open City
Directed by Eddie Romero
Written byEddie Romero
Produced byEddie Romero
Starring
CinematographyDik Trofeo
Edited byElsa Abutal
Music byLeopoldo Silos
Production
company
Nepomuceno Productions
Release date
  • June 12, 1968 (1968-06-12)
Running time
86 minutes
CountryPhilippines
Languages

Manila, Open City (International Title: American Tank Force) is a 1968 war film written, produced, and directed by Eddie Romero about the Battle of Manila in World War II. [1] The film was screened upon the launching of the National Film Archive of the Philippines in December 2011. [2]

Contents

The film is in the public domain. [3]

Plot

In the final days of World War II, Allied forces approach Manila. The occupying Japanese army turns on the locals. [4]

Cast

Production

The film was one of a series of war movies Romero made which featured American actors, others including Lost Battalion (1960), The Walls of Hell , The Ravagers , and The Raiders of Leyte Gulf . The film featured John Ashley who would team with Romeo on Brides of Blood and a series of other horror movies. [5] [6]

Romero says the production company imported Ashley and Alex Nicol, and it was on this film he met John Ashley. [7] [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinema of the Philippines</span> Film industry of the Philippines

The Cinema of the Philippines began with the introduction of the first moving pictures to the country on August 31, 1897, at the Salón de Pertierra in Manila. The following year, local scenes were shot on film for the first time by a Spaniard, Antonio Ramos, using the Lumiere Cinematograph. While most early filmmakers and producers in the country were mostly wealthy enterprising foreigners and expatriates, on September 12, 1919, Dalagang Bukid , a movie based on a popular musical play, was the first movie made and shown by Filipino filmmaker José Nepomuceno. Dubbed as the "Father of Philippine Cinema," his work marked the start of cinema as an art form in the Philippines.

<i>Black Mama White Mama</i> 1972 film by Eddie Romero

Black Mama White Mama, also known as Women in Chains, Hot, Hard and Mean and Chained Women, is a 1973 women in prison film directed by Eddie Romero and starring Pam Grier and Margaret Markov. The film has elements of blaxploitation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Ashley (actor)</span> American actor, producer and singer

John Ashley was an American actor, producer and singer. He was best known for his work as an actor in films for American International Pictures, producing and acting in horror films shot in the Philippines, and for producing various television series, including The A-Team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eddie Garcia</span> Filipino actor, television personality, film director and producer (1929–2019)

Eduardo Verchez Garcia, colloquially known as Manoy, was a Filipino actor, television personality, film director and producer. Widely regarded as the "greatest Filipino actor of all-time", Garcia appeared in nearly 700 film and television roles. Garcia had the highest number of appearances in Philippine films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eddie Romero</span> Filipino film director (1924-2013)

Edgar Sinco Romero,, commonly known as Eddie Romero, was a Filipino film director, film producer and screenwriter.

<i>Beast of the Yellow Night</i> 1971 Filipino-American horror film

Beast of the Yellow Night is a 1971 Filipino/American horror film, directed by Eddie Romero and starring John Ashley, who co-produced the film with Romero. It was the fourth release for Roger Corman's distribution company New World Pictures. It was released as a double feature with the West German horror film, Creature with the Blue Hand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gloria Romero (actress)</span> Filipino actress and model

Gloria Anne Borrego Galla, known professionally as Gloria Romero, is a Filipino-American actress and model with a career spanning more than 70 years and over 250 acting credits. Referred to as the "First Lady of Philippine Cinema", she is noted for her sophisticated and demure image. Her work was in a range of genres, from romantic comedy to religious-family drama, and earned her various accolades, including two International Film Festival Manhattan Awards, six FAMAS Awards, three Gawad Urian Awards, three Luna Awards and numerous honorary lifetime achievement awards to her credit.

<i>Beyond Atlantis</i> (film) 1973 film by Eddie Romero

Beyond Atlantis is a 1973 Filipino-American science fiction horror film directed by Eddie Romero, written by Charles Johnson, based on a story by Stephanie Rothman, and starring Patrick Wayne and John Ashley.

<i>The Woman Hunt</i> 1972 film directed by Eddie Romero

The Woman Hunt is a 1972 film directed by Eddie Romero and starring John Ashley, Pat Woodell, and Sid Haig.

<i>The Mad Doctor of Blood Island</i> 1969 Filipino film

The Mad Doctor of Blood Island is a 1969 Filipino horror film, co-directed by Eddie Romero and Gerardo de Leon, and starring John Ashley, Angelique Pettyjohn, Eddie Garcia and Ronald Remy.

<i>Brides of Blood</i> 1968 Filipino film

Brides of Blood is a 1968 Filipino horror film, co-directed by Eddie Romero and Gerardo de Leon, and starring John Ashley, Kent Taylor, Beverly Hills, Eva Darren and Mario Montenegro. It was the first movie that Ashley made in the Philippines, beginning a long association between Ashley and that country. Brides of Blood was the second in a series of four horror films produced by Romero and Kane W. Lynn known as the "Blood Island" series, which also included Terror Is a Man, The Mad Doctor of Blood Island and Beast of Blood. Brides of Blood was later released to television syndication in some areas as Island of Living Horror.

Hemisphere Pictures was a film production and distribution company that specialised in movies from the Philippines. More information is available at Kane W. Lynn.

<i>The Twilight People</i> 1972 Filipino-American horror film

The Twilight People is a 1972 Filipino-American horror film directed by Eddie Romero. It was produced by Romero and John Ashley, and written by Romero and Jerome Small. It stars Ashley and features, in an early film appearance, Pam Grier in a supporting role.

<i>Savage Sisters</i> 1974 film by Eddie Romero

Savage Sisters is a 1974 women in prison film made in the Philippines and directed by Eddie Romero.

<i>Only the Brave Know Hell</i> 1965 Filipino-American film directed by Eddie Romero

Only the Brave Know Hell is a 1965 Filipino-American war drama film directed by Eddie Romero and co-written by Romero and Cesar Amigo, starring John Saxon, Fernando Poe Jr. and Vic Diaz. It was produced by Hemisphere Pictures, which consisted of Eddie Romero, Kane W. Lynn and Irwin Pizor. In the Philippines, the Pilipino-language version was entitled Hanggang May Kalaban while the English-dubbed version was entitled Only the Brave Know Hell, both of which were released in February 1965, while in the United States, it was released as The Ravagers in December 1965.

Kane W. Lynn (1919–1975) was an American film producer who made a number of movies in the Philippines with producer Irwin Pizor and Filipino director Eddie Romero as Hemisphere Pictures, or the House of Horror as they often referred to themselves. Later Pizor quit the company after an argument, and when Romero left to form a production company with actor John Ashley, Lynn tired of making movies and his Hemisphere Pictures became just a movie distributor, mainly handling adult films and low budget B-movies. It was his guidance that kept Hemisphere Pictures solvent and constantly moving forward, releasing a diverse product line of low-budget independent movies from the early 1960s through the mid-1970s.

<i>The Walls of Hell</i> 1964 Filipino film directed by Eddie Romero and Gerardo de Leon

The Walls of Hell, also known as Intramuros is a 1964 Philippine-American film directed by Eddie Romero and Gerardo de Leon and starring Jock Mahoney. The film was made back-to-back with Moro Witch Doctor (1964). It was produced by Hemisphere Pictures.

The Passionate Strangers is a 1968 Philippine film produced by M. J. Parsons and was written and directed by Eddie Romero. Cesar Amigo and Reuben Canoy wrote the screenplay, and Eddie Romero developed the story. Nestor Robles created the soundtrack for the film. It starred Michael Parsons, Mario Montenegro and Vic Diaz. Turner Classic Movies states the film was released in the United States in 1968 with a 78-minute running time.

<i>Aguila</i> (film) 1980 Filipino film directed by Eddie Romero

Aguila (transl.Eagle) is a 1980 Philippine period drama film written, produced and directed by Eddie Romero, touted as "the biggest event in local movie history" and "the biggest Filipino film ever made". It features an ensemble cast topbilled by Fernando Poe Jr.

<i>Muslim .357</i> 1986 Filipino film directed by Ronwaldo Reyes

Muslim .357 is a 1986 Philippine action film directed by and starring Fernando Poe Jr. as an undercover officer of the Philippine Constabulary. The film was both a box-office and critical success, earning nominations from various award giving bodies in the Philippines, twice winning the Best Actor award for Poe's performance. This, along with Poe's earlier portrayal of a Muslim hero in Zamboanga (1966), endeared Poe even more to Muslim audiences who are known to be passionate about the outcome of Poe's movies story-wise.

References

  1. Server, Lee (1999). "Eddie Romero". Film Comment. 35 (2): 44–51. ProQuest   210262875.
  2. Nocon, Ramon (27 October 2011). "Finally, a national film archive". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
  3. Magno, Alexander T. (16 July 2015). "Old documentary films show fierce Battle of Manila". CNN Philippines . Archived from the original on 4 October 2015. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  4. Deocampo, Nick (2016). EIGA: Cinema in the Philippines During World War II. PublishDrive. ISBN   9786214200832.
  5. "Award Winning Director Eddie Romero Dies at 88". Giulf Times. 30 May 2013.
  6. Vagg, Stephen (December 2019). "A Hell of a Life: The Nine Lives of John Ashley". Diabolique Magazine.[ permanent dead link ]
  7. Leavold, Andrew (2006). "Strong Coffee with a National Treasure:An Interview with Eddie Romero". Cashiers du Cinemart.
  8. SERVER, LEE, and EDDIE ROMERO. “EDDIE ROMERO: Our Man in Manila.” Film Comment, vol. 35, no. 2, 1999, pp. 44–51. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/43455360.