Cinema
Salabusab
Cesar Gallardo · 1954
Synopsis
An adventure story brought to the screen from a serial that appeared in the magazine Liwayway, of which the sources have kept the advertising pitch, a rough and daring hero who is gentle at heart, rather than the detail of the plot.
Context
Premiere Productions, the company that then supplied the country with action films, shot the story in Manila and released it on 19 February 1954, with Efren Reyes in the lead. The subject comes from a series by Francisco V. Coching, who wrote and drew his own serials for the weekly Liwayway; the Philippines made him National Artist in 2014. The country's popular cinema drew almost all its subjects from this source, and few of these serials failed to find their film.
Who it is for
In Tagalog. The film is not in circulation and its running time appears in no catalogue: it is known through its awards record and the comic series it comes from.
Prizes and reception
Best Picture and Best Director at the third ceremony of the Philippine film academy, for the 1954 production.