Tuesday, March 26, 2013

THE FIFTIES # 242: LEOPOLDO SALCEDO IN "MULTO SA OPERA" (1954): FPJ'S FIRST MOVIE APPEARANCE?/ Re-posted


"Probably the Pinoy version of "The Phantom of the Opera."


"Multo sa Opera" (1954)
Fernando Poe Productions
Release Date October 18- 26, 1954
Music Tito Arevalo
Story Vic Marcos
Direction Mario Barri
Cast Leopoldo Salcedo/ Introducing Nina Navarro/ Tony Mogueis, Lydia Resma, Ching Macadasco/ Guest Stars-Ben Perez, Elvira Reyes




Someone wrote me that he read an article that FPJ made his first movie appearance in the 1954 movie, Multo sa Opera. I knew from the very start that FPJ started his movie career in 1955 in a starring role in Anak ni Palaris. This was something new so I decided to research on it. I came up with an ad and a photo of the said movie but it didn’t say anything of FPJ’s appearance in the movie. I emailed Ms Baby K. Jimenez, long-time personal friend of FPJ and Susan Roces, and inquired about this. She was not aware of this nor FPJ mentioning this. She relayed my message to Ms. Elizabeth Poe, the eldest sister of FPJ and this was her reply---

..."As for Ronnie's appearance in Multo sa Opera, I am not aware of this. When my papa passed away Ronnie was only 11 yrs old. The last movie produced by the Fernando Poe Production was Multo, my uncle Jose Samson produced this with the ok of my mumpy who didn’t know anything about the business. It was a last ditch to save the production and the studio but it laid an egg. We lost everything. It was Mumpy who produced Anak ni Palaris with the insurance money we got. As she said, it was the best investment she ever made. Ditto. Take care. God bless."
On my personal assessment, Ronnie may have appeared in Multo sa Opera so as to acclimatize him in the world of cinema before going solo two months later. Since the director (Mario Barri) was his director in his supposed first movie, Anak ni Palaris and the producer, Jose Samson, was his uncle, there’s a great probability that he appeared in the said movie. Things could have been lot easier if FPJ was still alive today or if the film still exists.
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3 comments:

  1. UnknownOctober 31, 2008 at 5:48 AM

    Great detective work, Simon! Even if it leaves the question hanging somewhat in the air, which makes the hunt for the truth that much more intriguing.

    On an FPJ-related note, a friend of mine in Denmark discovered an ex-rental VHS copy of .357 Muslim Magnum. Can you believe FPJ made it to Denmark???

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  2. Video 48November 1, 2008 at 9:02 AM

    You're right, Andrew.It's like "the search for Weng Weng" thing. I'm really excited and fascinated about the whole thing. Thanks for the visit!

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  3. UnknownJune 2, 2018 at 9:01 PM

    One-of-a-kind blog...simply superb. Just curious, if FPJ was born in August 1939 and his father died in October 1951, he was already 12, not 11. Anyway, I recalled very distinctly that I saw a very young FPJ in a swashbuckling movie shown in "Mga Aninong Gumagalaw" that starred Efren Reyes and Johnny Monteiro. Kulot na kulot ang mahabang buhok, payat at parang babae na kawangis ni Ian Veneracion. I strongly suspect he was only 13 or 14 years old. So the film must have been produced in 1953 or 1954. Thanks for this opportunity.

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