Thanks for the memories
First posted 09:28pm (Mla time) June 15, 2005
By Bayani San Diego Jr.
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on Page A26 of the June 16, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
MOVIE stars of the 1940s and '50s are trooping to the LVN Studios on P. Tuazon in Quezon City, to retrieve vintage photographs and have their classic movies copied on VHS tapes.
Recently, respected industry pioneers Lilia Dizon, Armando Goyena, and Delia Razon visited their old home studio, whose film processing facilities cease operations on June 30.
Razon ordered stills, as well as tapes of "Prinsipe Teñoso," "Doce Pares," and "Lapulapu."
Razon is pretty organized-her collection of photos is neatly stored in heavy-duty plastic albums and labeled according to film. She has also indicated co-stars' and directors' names, and the years the movies were released.
"I've collected these stills through the years," she tells Inquirer Entertainment. "On the first page of every album, I always put a portrait of Doña Sisang [Narcisa de Leon, LVN matriarch and founder]."
Razon says former colleagues who have secured such precious souvenirs include Lorna Mirasol, Oscar Obligacion, Luz Valdez, and Caridad Sanchez.
Christopher's mom
Dizon got tapes of two of her films-1948's "Kaaway ng Babae" and 1951's "Haring Kobra"-and stills from "Kandilerong Pilak," "Tucy Dides," "Doce Pares," and "Magkumpareng Putik."
She ordered three copies of a still photo from "Philippine Navy," which topbilled Goyena, Carlos Salazar, and her late husband Gil de Leon.
"I'm going to give a copy each to my children Pinky, Christopher, and Melissa," she says.
Dizon is not content with her haul and is planning to return for more. "I am looking for 'Bathaluman,'" she says.
In a previous interview, Rosa Rosal expressed concern about the fate of LVN's extensive catalogue of films and priceless collection of photographs and other memorabilia.
"What are their plans for the LVN museum?" Rosal wondered.
Her question is echoed throughout the industry.
"We really don't know," Razon says. "I've been asking around, but no one knows."
"The late Bernard Fernandez was in charge of the museum," another LVN alumni, Caridad Sanchez, volunteers. "He took good care of all the memorabilia. The museum should be maintained in honor of his memory."
Razon and Dizon have expressed sadness over the sorry state of film preservation in the country.
"My dramatic highlight in 'Luksang Tagumpay' disappeared," Razon sighs.
She recalls that, in the '70s, when GMA 7, then owned by Bob Stewart, borrowed LVN classics, the films were cut up to accommodate commercials. The excised scenes were never restored.
Melted for silver?
Another story often repeated in industry circles is how certain masterpieces were melted to get the silver in the old film stock. "I don't know how much that silver was, but they would probably be making more money [now] if they preserved those films instead," says Dizon, who starred in De Leon's "Sanda Wong."
If only they knew what was coming, Dizon and Razon say, they would have moved heaven and earth to protect their old movies.
"I did three movies for Tamaraw, an independent production company, and I know that it sold its movies to Hong Kong," Dizon says. "I hope there are copies of those somewhere in China."
Which is not far-fetched since, recently, a print of the original "Darna," with Rosa del Rosario, surfaced in Thailand.
Next stop for Razon and Dizon is the Tropicana photo studio in Malabon.
"I was told by my son Christopher that Tropicana had an exhibit at the Cultural Center of the Philippines and my glamour portraits were displayed," Dizon relates. "I remember Tropicana had this huge picture of me and it was displayed in a theater lobby.""It was bigger than life-size and it was from 'Ikaw ang Buhay Ko,'" Razon points out. "I remember it distinctly; she was in a black sequined dress."
Dizon is surprised by Razon's sharp memory.
"What we hear, we store in a filing cabinet in our brain," Razon insists.
Because in the end, she and Dizon agree, "All we have are our memories."
