Manila, Open City

1968 Filipino film

Charito Solis
James Shigeta
Alex Nicol
John Ashley
Ric Rodgrigo
Vic Diaz

CinematographyDik TrofeoEdited byElsa AbutalMusic byLeopoldo Silos

Production
company

Nepomuceno Productions

Release date

June 12, 1968 (1968-06-12)

Running time

86 minutesCountryPhilippinesLanguages

Filipino
English
Japanese

Manila, Open City (International Title: American Tank Force) is a 1968 war film written, produced, and directed by Eddie Romero about the Battle of Manila in World War II.^[1] The film was screened upon the launching of the National Film Archive of the Philippines in December 2011.^[2]

The film is in the public domain.^[3]

Plot

In the final days of World War II, Allied forces approach Manila. The occupying Japanese army turns on the locals.^[4]

Cast

Charito Solis as Sor Matilde
James Shigeta as Capt. Murakami
Alex Nicol as Col. Bergen
John Ashley as Morgan
Mario Montenegro as Marcos Liwag
Ric Rodrigo as Guerilla Commander
Vic Diaz as Col. Hamada
Ben Perez as Capt. Kondo
Nova Villa as a young girl
Eddie Garcia
Cachupoy
Amelia Amante

Production

The film was one of a series of war movies Romero made which featured American actors, others including Lost Battalion (1960), The Walls of Hell, The Ravagers, and The Raiders of Leyte Gulf. The film featured John Ashley who would team with Romeo on Brides of Blood and a series of other horror movies.^[5]^[6]

Romero says the production company imported Ashley and Alex Nicol, and it was on this film he met John Ashley.^[7]^[8]

References

^ Server, Lee (1999). "Eddie Romero". Film Comment. 35 (2): 44–51. ProQuest 210262875.
^ Nocon, Ramon (27 October 2011). "Finally, a national film archive". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
^ Magno, Alexander T. (16 July 2015). "Old documentary films show fierce Battle of Manila". CNN Philippines. Archived from the original on 4 October 2015. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
^ Deocampo, Nick (2016). EIGA: Cinema in the Philippines During World War II. PublishDrive. ISBN 9786214200832.
^ "Award Winning Director Eddie Romero Dies at 88". Giulf Times. 30 May 2013.
^ Vagg, Stephen (December 2019). "A Hell of a Life: The Nine Lives of John Ashley". Diabolique Magazine.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ Leavold, Andrew (2006). "Strong Coffee with a National Treasure:An Interview with Eddie Romero". Cashiers du Cinemart.
^ SERVER, LEE, and EDDIE ROMERO. “EDDIE ROMERO: Our Man in Manila.” Film Comment, vol. 35, no. 2, 1999, pp. 44–51. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/43455360.