"Banal O Makasalanan" (1955)- Stars Mario Montenegro, Delia Razon, Jose de Cordova, Jose Vergara, Arturo Moran, Vicenta Advincula, Candida Balderrama, Lita Gutierrez/ Directed by Susana C. De Guzman
Based on a radio serial by Susana C. de Guzman, Banal O Makasalanan (1955) tells of Salome (Delia Razon), a seductive and alluring daughter of Herodias and stepdaughter to King Herod (Joseph de Cordova), who discovers faith and Christianity through her love for a Roman centurion named Cornelius (Mario Montenegro).A prophet named Juan Bautista (or John the Baptist) denounced Herodias marriage to Herod, her former husband’s brother, as a sin. Herodias bitterly resented Juan’s denunciation and promptly ordered Juan’s arrest and wanted him killed. Herod, fearing that John may be the messiah foretold by prophecy, would not do it. However, Herodias devised a plot and used Herod’s birthday celebration as an opportunity to carry the plan. She let Salome performed a dance that pleased Herod no end. He offered her anything she desired. Encouraged by Herodias, Salome asked Herod for the head of Juan on a platter. Reluctantly, Herod was compelled to obey her desires and ordered Juan to be beheaded (see clip below).
Courtesy of LVN Pictures
Salome had nightmares and sleepless nights because of that incident and Cornelius was there to comfort her. When news of a new prophet named Jesus gaining ground in the countryside, Cornelius was asked by Salome to investigate. Disguised as an ordinary man, he seek out the Man they called Jesus. Through his own eyes, he witnessed how Jesus performed miracles like using only a few loaves of bread and several fish to feed thousands of men, women and children. Cornelius told Salome about this and asked her to go with him and lead a new life. Salome declined the offer.
Courtesy of LVN Pictures
Simon,
ReplyDeleteAgain it's good to see a clip of probably my favorite actress of that time Delia Razon... but, this is a very big BUT: I was very disappointed with the dance number, whatever there was of it. Susana de Guzman apparently deemed it unnecessary to show too much of the infamous dance that caused John, the Baptist to loose his head, instead probably telling the audience to just go watch the Hollywood version of the same title (shown 2 years earlier in 1953) wherein Rita Hayworth capably did a quite exotic, fiery and seductive Dance of the Seven Veils. I said probably, because the real reason must have been the moral ethos of that time in the Philippines and reflected in local movies. It was quite obvious too, Ms. Razon is no dancer, but no matter I like all these clips you've been showing of her. Thanks Simon.
Rod:
ReplyDeleteI'm with you, here.
But then again, since we've both seen Ms Hayworth did that amazing dance number in SALOME, we find ourselves comparing Ms Razon's dancing with hers.
I have cousins in Sorsogon who are Syrians, and I remember seeing them belly-dancing, and wow, were they ever good. A belly dancing lesson for Delia Razon would have made a lot of difference. Again, maybe due to budgetary reason, and probably playdate commitments, Susana de Guzman had to do everything OIDO and ASAP. It is indeed obvious that she just have to wing it to do the dance number.
This is where the 1970s were a little bit better because Mother Lily would spend extra budget for incidentals such as dance lesson, voice enhancements, Lobsters and steaks, and imported flowers, and what-not, when a scene needs them.
Also, in the old days, everyone was under contract and they were all constricted by it. In the 1970s, almost all actors were freelancers and would accept a film assignment to the highest bidder.
Plus, Miss de Guman was no Gerardo de Leon or Lamberto Avellana in terms of technical savvy and vision. But, despite the shortcomings of her films, as a viewer, I still feel her good intention in expounding on the lives of ordinary people during her time. And despite its Biblical content, as a viewer, I somehow felt the presence of Filipinos instead of the Romans in this feature. It reminds me of Pier Paolo Pasolini's ARABIAN NIGHTS where the cast was a mixture of nationalities that the ethnicity of the performers became encrypted and were mounted on sets of exotic, nondescript locations that the whole exercise takes the viewer into terra incognita.
This one, by de Guzman, gave me the same feeling and I guess I really enjoyed the film clips.
JM,
ReplyDeleteNot only was I comparing the dance number to Rita Hayworth's Salome but I was frantically trying to remember, as I was writing the previous comment, where else I'd seen a Salome Dance number that if I remember right was even more fiery than that performed by Ms. Hayworth. Salome was supposed to be a young teenager, and Ms. Hayworth was in fact near over-the-hill when she did that number. Well, and now I remember, it's in the movie King of Kings with Jeffrey Hunter. It's Holy Week so that movie must be showing everywhere in Manila. Through the magic of google I find that the dancer was a 16 year American actress named Brigid Bazlen, America's answer to Bridget Bardot. I'm now frantically trying to find my copy, which as usual I can't find in my impossibly disorganized mess, hahaha.
Rod:
ReplyDeleteFunny how I vaguely remember the belly dancing by Brigid Bazlen in the 1961 version. Maybe it was because Hayworth was more well-known and therefore easy to remember.
I'd say Sally Rand's dancing in the Cecille de Mille's 1927 version of King of Kings was of course another well-known dance number (she was an extra), six years after the release of the film just because her fan dance in the 1933 World's Fair was considered scandalous that time and therefore made her rather well-known (with tinge of notoriety, of course). This version, by the way, also shows Philosopher/novelist AYN RAND (not related to Sally), as one of the extras. I should be looking for these two versions of King of Kings. I know I have them somewhere in my basement. :)
JM,
ReplyDeleteIs that right? Ayn Rand was in the original King of Kings by Demille. Maybe I'll see if it's available at our library. Salome's posting also started me looking at other versions of the infamous dance. There's also a flamenco-infused version, by Carlos Saura (he of the Flamenco Trilogy of Blood Wedding, El Amor Brujo, etc), also titled Salome, which I have not seen yet. I saw some clips in You Tube though. BTW, the only reason I remember Brigid Bazlen, was I saw King of Kings maybe 3-4 months ago and I was just awed at her sexy performance. America's answer to Bardot apparently did not pan out, however. She made one more movie (How the West was Won) got married and disappeared. She died of cancer at age 39.
Rod:
ReplyDeleteCarlos Saura is something else, isn't he.
I've seen all his flamenco-treated features and all of them are breathtaking, including of course his Salome.
My faves, though, are EL AMOR BRUJO and LORCA'S BLOOD WEDDING. Saura, I dare say, have enhanced Lorca's material by his clever way of incorporating Flamenco into the film version. Tremendous energy from beginning to end, and yes, you leave the theater huffing and puffing from adrenalin rush, especially after sipping a cup of matching espresso with double-baked biscotti. He-he.
:)