THE FILMS OF DANNY ZIALCITA (1965-1975)/ FIRST OF TWO PARTS

Left- "Lady Killer" (1965)- Stars Romano Castellvi, Maggie dela Riva, Stella Suarez and Lourdes Medel/ with Jose Romulo, Ben Perez, Jose Vergara/ Directed by Danny Zialcita

Right- "Target Domino" (1966)- Stars Romano Castellvi, Liberty Ilagan, Stella Suarez, Bessie Barredo, Tito Arevalo, Leni Trinidad, Val magno, Rolando Aquino/ with Roberto Gonzales, Marissa Delgado/ Directed by DLZ

He directs his movies with no scripts on hand. According to one of his actors, Noel Colet in a comment he made in a blog post, "He taught me how to come to the set with no script, learned my lines by dictation on the set for the first rehearsal and changed a few paragraphs on the second rehearsal and then on final take to mentally delete some lines and add a few more lines here and there. No other director can make a masterpiece using this process... on the set, impromptu. Ang galing!" That's how Director Danny Zialcita works!

Danny L. Zialcita or DLZ is one of the most underrated filmmakers in Philippine cinema. He started his career in the mid 60s directing action movies, mostly spin-offs of James Bond movies. That was the trend that time--- remember Tony Ferrer portraying the role of Tony Falcon, Agent X-44, Eddie Fernandez as Lagalag, Anthony Alonzo as Agent 69, Eddie Rodriguez as Paolo Stacatto or Cobra and many more. Zialcita's early works like Lady Killer (1965), Cabonegro (1966), Target Domino (1966) and Tiger Lady (1966) propelled a young Romano Castellvi to stardom. He sometimes used the acronym DLZ in the title credits in his early movies. In 1970, he did some sex-oriented movies, Gutom, Ina Ko Patawarin Mo Ako Ako'y Nagugutom, Hidhid and Polyanna (Bertigo) and by the middle of the 70s, Zialcita shifted to a more serious themes touching on sensitive and controversial topics like adultery and infidelity.

"Cabonegro" (1966)- Stars Romano Castellvi, Divina Valencia, Ben Perez, Flor Bien, Roberto Gonzales, Chito Reyes, Ben Manalo/ Directed by DLZ


"Tiger Lady" (1966)- Stars Romano Castellvi, Josephine Estrada, Rolly Aquino, Val Magno and Rodolfo 'Boy' Garcia/ Directed by DLZ


"Hammerhead" (1967)- Stars Bernard Bonnin, Liberty Ilagan, Elsa Bouffard, Leni Trinidad, Vivian Larrain, Eva Marie, Ben Perez and Eddie Arenas/ Directed by DLZ

"Incognito" (1967)- Stars Bernard Bonnin, Perla Bautista, Ronald Remy and Timi Yuro/ Directed by DLZ

"Palos Strikes Again!" (1968)- Stars Bernard Bonnin, Sofia Moran, Alfonso Carvajal, Ely Ramos, Liza Belmonte, Vic Andaya and Joe Sison/ Directed by DLZ

"Palos Fights Back!" (1969)- Stars Bernard Bonnin, Sofia Moran, Marion Douglas, Ben Perez, Alfonso Carvajal, Rolly Aquino/ Directed by Danny Zialcita


"Tres Pistoleros" (1970)- Stars Johnny Vicar, Conrado Cordova, Paolo Baron, Rhodora, Merle Fernandez and Rossana Marquez/ Directed by DLZ

"Gutom" (1970)- Stars Rossana Marquez, Conrado Cordova, Alicia Montemayor, Vic Andaya, Mario Escudero, Renato del Prado, Mar Quijano, Angel Confiado/ Directed by DLZ


"Ina Ko Patawarin Mo Ako Ako'y Nagugutom" (1970)- Stars Rossana Marquez, Roldan Aquino/ Story and Directed by DLZ


"Hidhid" (1971)- Stars Rosanna Ortiz, Annabelle and Jessica/ with Johnny Madrid, Frank Zarate and Rod Navarro/ Directed by Danny L. Zialcita


Polyanna (Bertigo)/ 1972- Stars Rosemarie Gil, Jessica and Johnny Madrid/ with Johnny Vicar, Frank Zarate/ Directed by DLZ


"Ugat" (1974)- Stars George Estregan, Rosanna Ortiz and Pinky de Leon/ with Elizabeth Oropesa, Rod Navarro, Rusty Salzar, Roderick Paulate, Dondon Nakar, Alfonso Carvajal, Teody Belarmino/ Directed by Danny Zialcita


"Ang Biyuda ay Misteryosa" (1975)- Stars George Estregan, Imelda Ilanan, Lito Legaspi and Chanda Romero/ with Mario Escudero, Bella Flores, Ruben Rustia, Alfonso Carvajal/ Directed by Danny Zialcita


"Ito'y Isang Baliw na Baliw na Diagdig" (1975)- Stars Gina Pareno, Pinky de Leon, Elizabeth Oropesa, Rosanna Ortiz and George Estregan/ Directed by Danny Zialcita


"Laging Umaga" (1975)- Stars Gina Pareno, Anna Gonzales, Rebecca, Eddie Garcia and George Estregan/ with Mario Escudro, Pancho Pelagio, Ernie Ortega/ Directed by Danny Zialcita

Filmography (1965-1975)
Ang Biyuda ay Misteryosa (1975)/ Crown Seven Film Productions
Ito ang Baliw na Baliw na Daigdig (1975/ Alaminos Films, Inc.
Laging Umaga (1975)/ Alaminos Films, Inc.
Gumapang Ka sa Lupa (1974)/ Alaminos Films, Inc.
Ugat (1974)/ Alaminos Films, Inc.
Polyanna (1972)/ Tuit-Tuit Productions
Hidhid (1971)/ MOD Films Organization
Gutom (1970) /Layson Productions
Ina Ko Patawarin Mo Ako Ako’y Nagugutom (1970)/ Layson Productions
Tres Pistoleros (1970)/ Essex Films, Inc.
Palos Fights Back (1969)/ SS Films Co.
Palos Strikes Again (1968)/ Adroit Productions
Bart Salamanca (1968)/ Adroit Productions
Masquerade (1967)/ Emar Productions
Incognito (1967)/ Zeta Productions
Hammerhead (1967)/ Bonanza Productions
Cabonegro (1966)/ Magna East Productions
Tiger Lady (1966)/ GM Film Organization
Target Domino (1966)/ Magna East Productions
Lady Killer (1965)/ Magna East Productions