 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Film production |
| Founded | 1937; 88 years ago (1937) |
| Defunct | 2005; 20 years ago (2005) |
| Fate | Acquired 2005 |
| Headquarters | , |
Key people | Azucena Vera-Perez (General Manager) Marichu Maceda (President) José O. Vera (Executive Producer) Pepito Vera-Perez (Producers) Goyito Vera-Perez (Associate Producers) |
| Owner | Vera-Perez family |
Sampaguita Pictures was a Philippinefilmproduction company. It was named for the Philippinenational flower,sampaguita. Though no longer functioning, the company's Sampaguita Compound remains in Quezon City.[1][2][3][4][5]
Sampaguita Pictures was established in the last quarter of 1937. Its first feature-length film wasBituing Marikit, starring Elsa Oria andRogelio dela Rosa. It was a box-office hit. The company continued to make films in theaction,musical,horror andsuspense genres.
BeforeWorld War II began, and theJapanese occupied the Philippines, several Sampaguita films enjoyed box office success in the region. Some of them employed the famous tandem ofCarmen Rosales andRogelio dela Rosa, likePanambitan,Pagsuyo,Jazmin and many more. But the first film made at the Sampaguita studio by Carmen and Rogelio wasTakipsilim.
After the war ended and the Philippineswas granted its independence by the United States, Sampaguita made several war pictures in 1946, includingGuerilyera, with Carmen and newcomer Celso Baltazar,Maynila, the comeback picture of Corazon Noble featuringTita Duran, andIsumpa mo Giliw, with husband-and-wife team Angel Esmeralda and Corazon Noble.
After several warmusicals became popular, the studio created a new star team with real husband and wifePancho Magalona andTita Duran. They made several hits includingBulaklak Na Walang Pangalan,Huwag Ka Nang Magtampo,Sa Isang Sulyap Mo Tita, andSa Isang Halik Mo Pancho.
In 1950, the studios were hit by fire and hundreds of film prints were destroyed. But in 1951, they top-billed the unknownTessie Agana, the daughter ofLinda Estrella, in her first lead role inRoberta, with another child actorBoy Alano and the film became the highest-grossing Philippine film of all time.[6]
In the early fifties several actors appeared in the studio's productions, includingAlicia Vergel and her husbandCésar Ramírez inUkkala,Diwani, the Philippine folk heroBernardo Carpio,MN and many more.
In 1952 the Filipino-AmericanGloria Romero made her first full-length film as the partner of Cesar Ramirez in an action costume picturePalasig.
Another famous husband-and-wife team were Rita Gomez and Ric Rodrigo. They were popular together in their filmDiyosa.
The infamous tandem of husband-and-wifeLolita Rodriguez andEddie Arenas made some dramas together, likeKundiman ng Puso,Busabos,Cicatriz andMapait na Lihim. The two later divorced. Arenas is still active in Philippine cinema while Rodriguez moved to theUnited States.
Another husband-and-wife team in the 1950s wereAmalia Fuentes andRomeo Vasquez. Fuentes made her last appearance for Sampaguita in 1964, before leaving for another studio.
Though not as well remembered, many supporting actors and actresses, such asImelda Concepcion,Nelly Baylon andNaty Bernardo worked in the Sampaguita system.
Susan Roces took her first lead role as a boxer inSabungera oppositeLuis Gonzales, but the film was not a box office hit. Fuentes and Roces are famous for their rivalry when they made the filmCover Girls in the 1960s.
By that time, a new manager, Dr. Jose R. Perez, took over the reins of Sampaguita.
In 1960, Sampaguita madePitong Pagsisi supported by 20 Sampaguita stars, including the return ofParaluman who reigned in the studio in the late 40s.
In 1970s, the studio continued producing films albeit on a limited production, especially with theNora Aunor-Tirso Cruz III tandem culminating in the 1971 filmGuy and Pip. In 1982, after its last successful filmBatch '81, Sampaguita Pictures stopped producing films and focused solely on distribution and post-production of films until 2005.
In March 1987, Sampaguita Pictures celebrated its 50th anniversary with a television special produced by Marichu Perez Maceda, the wife of politicianErnesto Maceda.[7]
In 1996, the company ventured into television withGMA Network; they produced thedramaanthology seriesPira-pirasong Pangarap which lasted until 2003, which started another co-productionNagmamahal, Manay Gina. Both series were hosted by Gina de Venecia.
Unitel Pictures currently owns Sampaguita's film library. All of the films are currently archived and handled by theABS-CBN Film Archives and theFilm Development Council of the Philippines' National Film Archives of the Philippines.[8]
The next year she madeRoberta which held the box-office record for local films for ten years [sic].