Sampaguita Pictures

Sampaguita Pictures
Former type film production company
Industry Motion pictures
Fate Absorbed by Unitel Pictures.
Founded 1937
Defunct 1982
Headquarters New Manila, Quezon City, Philippines
Key people Vera-Perez family
Owner(s) Vera-Perez family

Sampaguita Pictures was a Philippine film production company. It was named for the Philippine National Flower, Sampaguita. The company has been long-defunct since the 1980s with Mike de Leon's classic "Batch '81" being the last film released. Though no longer functioning, the company's compound still remains in Sampaguita Compound, Quezon City.

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History

Sampaguita Pictures was established in the last quarter of 1937. Its first feature length film was Bituing Marikit, starring Elsa Oria & Rogelio dela Rosa. The film was a box-office hit. The company has continued to make films in the action, musical, horror and suspense genres.

Before the Second World War began, and the Japanese occupied Manila, several Sampaguita films enjoyed box office success in the region. Some of them employed the famous tandem of Carmen Rosales and Rogelio dela Rosa, like Panambitan, Pagsuyo, Jazmin and many more. But the first film made at the Sampaguita studio by Carmen and Rogelio was Takipsilim.

After the war ended, Sampaguita made several war picturees in 1946, including Guerilyera, with Carmen and newcomer Celso Baltazar, Maynila, the comeback picture of Corazon Noble and featuring a little girl Tita Duran, and Isumpa mo Giliw, with husband and wife team Angel Esmeralda and Corazon Noble.

After several war pictures musicals became popular, and the studio created a new star team with real husband and wife Pancho Magalona and Tita Duran. They made several hits including Bulaklak na Walang Pangalan, Huwag Ka ng Magtampo, Sa Isang Sulyap mo Tita, and Sa 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 unknown little girl, Tessie Agana, the daughter of Linda Estrella, in her first lead role in Roberta, with another child actor Boy Alano and the movie was one of the biggest hits of the year.

In the early fifties several actors appeared in the studio's productions, including Alicia Vergel and her husband Cesar Ramirez in Ukkala, Diwani, the Philippine Folk Hero Bernardo Carpio, MN and many more.

It was 1952 when the half-Filipino half-American Gloria Romero made her first full length movie as the partner of Cesar Ramirez in an action costume picture Palasig.

Another famous husband and wife team were Rita Gomez and Ric Rodrigo. They were popular together in their movie Diyosa.

The infamous tandem of husband and wife duo Lolita Rodriguez and Eddie Arenas also made some dramas together, like Kundiman ng Puso, Busabos, Cicatriz and Mapait na Lihim. The two later divorced. Arenas is still active in Philippine cinema while Rodriguez moved to the United States.

Another husband and wife tandem in the 1950s were Amalia Fuentes and Romeo 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 as Imelda Concepcion, Nelly Baylon also worked within the Sampaguita system.

Susan Roces took her first lead role as a lady boxer in Sabungera opposite Luis Gonzales but the movie was not a box office hit. Fuentes and Roces are famous for their rivalry when they made the movie Cover Girls in the 1960s.

By that time, a new manager, Dr. Jose R. Perez, took over the reins of Sampaguita.

In 1960, Sampaguita made a movie entitled Pitong Pagsisi supported by 20 Sampaguita Stars, including the return of Paraluman who reigned in the Studio in the late 40s.

In 1971, the studio was merged with that of Vera-Perez Productions to form Sampaguita-Vera Perez pictures, but despite its fling with musicals later, especially with the Nora Aunor-Tirso Cruz III tandem culminating in the 1971 movie Guy and Pip, the studio closed a decade later after its last fling of success Batch 81. The company has been absorbed by Unitel Pictures, where Sampaguita's film library currently resides.

In 1995, the company ventured into television with GMA Network, both of them produced the drama anthology "Pira-pirasong Pangarap" which lasted until 2003, which started another co-production "Nagmamahal,Manay Gina." Both of the TV shows were hosted by Gina de Venecia.

All movies was aired on television via QTV-11's Pinoy Cine Klasika every Sunday afternoons.

Filmography

1930's

1940's

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s