1946–1949: Post-war recovery and studio system emergence , 1945 The outbreak of
World War II in 1939 severely disrupted the Philippine film industry and completely halted production. After the war, the late 1940s was a time of rebuilding and growth in the Philippines, aided by the U.S. financial assistance and war reparations from Japan. In no time, the film industry slowly recovered from wartime destruction, with studios re-establishing themselves and new ones emerging. From a combined 300 movie houses in the Philippines before the war, the rebuilding of theaters increased and exceeded the former in no time. These studio systems adopted the Hollywood-style studio system, with contract stars, directors, crews, and technicians. Film outfits that were established in the late 1930s such as
Sampaguita Pictures and
LVN Pictures, resumed film production in 1946. The latter produced
Manuel Conde's
Orasang Ginto, the first post-war film released in theaters, while Sampaguita released Octavio Silos'
Ulila ng Watawat— followed by three more war films later that year. Also in 1946,
Dr. Ciriaco Santiago founded the
Premiere Productions, which produced a number of action films throughout the decade and most of
Gerardo de Leon's directorial works during the period. The most recent of the four, Lebran Productions was later established in 1949 by Rafael Anton with his associates, targeting both local and various Asian markets by releasing films dubbed in two languages— Filipino and English versions.
1950–1952: Artistic innovation and global breakthrough '', produced by Philippine-based
LVN Pictures and Indonesia-based Persari, distributed by
20th Century Fox. The first color film to be processed in the Philippines was produced by LVN Pictures in 1950,
Nemesio Caravana's
Dayang Dayang. Also in 1950, a group of writers from
Manila Times Publishing, Co. established the first formal local award-giving body—
Maria Clara Awards. Despite its promising run for three consecutive years, the Maria Clara Awards was discontinued due to dissatisfaction with the voting process, which included film columnists and writers, and later prompted calls for a more reliable and professional award-giving body, the
FAMAS Awards. According to Conde, the film was produced for ₱125,000 and garnered positive reviews for its technical innovation upon its screening at the
Venice Film Festival. American film and distribution company
United Artists, owned by
Amazon MGM Studios, bought the distribution rights of the film and it was later dubbed in sixteen languages. It became the first Filipino film to have bought the rights to worldwide distribution by
major film studios in the United States. Film critic
Nicanor Tiongson discussed in one of his lectures in 2016 how Conde "opened doors of opportunities for local cinema to be known internationally", stating that he "went beyond the usual narrative, traditional genres and ventured into subject matter that would have been too monumental by the average producer." In January 1951, a fire struck the compound of Sampaguita Pictures and destroyed an estimated of ₱5 million worth of properties, including hundreds of film prints and equipments. At the verge of bankruptcy, the film studio released
Roberta (1951) starring then child actress
Tessie Agana. Upon its release, the film broke all box-office records in the Philippines and became the highest grossing Filipino film of all time. Later in 1951,
Gerardo de Leon's
Sisa under Premiere Productions was released. Adapted from
Dr. Jose Rizal's
Noli Me Tangere, the film starred
Anita Linda in the title role, which later earned her a Maria Clara Award for Best Actress. The following year, Premiere Productions released the adventure fantasy
Ang Sawa sa Lumang Simboryo under the direction of Gerardo de Leon. The film is credited for popularizing action-adventure genres inspired by Filipino folklore and comics. The film also won both Best Picture and Director at the
first edition of the FAMAS Awards. In August 1952, LVN Pictures produced Gregorio Fernandez'
Rodrigo de Villa, which starred
Delia Razon and
Mario Montenegro. The film was the first Filipino co-production with a foreign film outfit, Indonesia's Persari Productions, Inc. In August 1953,
LVN Pictures produced
Lamberto Avellana's
Huk sa Bagong Pamumuhay as part of the propaganda effort of the government against the expansion of communism in the Philippines. The film pioneered the use of themes such as social realism, land reforms and rural poverty that were rarely explored in mainstream cinema at that time. won Best Actress at the
Asia-Pacific Film Festival in Cambodia for the film
Kandelerong Pilak. In June 1954,
Ifugao was released. Directed by Gerardo de Leon under Premiere Productions, the film starred
Efren Reyes Sr. and Leila Morena.
Gloria Sevilla received a nomination for Best Actress while Reyes, for his role in the film, won Best Actor at the second Asian Film Festival in Singapore, becoming the first Filipino actor to do so. The film also won two more awards at the film festival, including Best Director and Best Screenplay. Later that year, LVN Pictures produced Lamberto Avellana's
Kandelerong Pilak which starred
Lilia Dizon and
Teody Belarmino. The film received wide critical acclaim and was the first Filipino film to be shown at the
Cannes Film Festival. Dizon's performance in the film also helped secure the Best Actress award at the
Asia-Pacific Film Festival in Cambodia, presented to her by the Prince of Cambodia who would later become the King,
Narodom Sihanouk. The following year, the romantic drama
Higit sa Lahat was released. Produced by LVN Pictures under the direction of
Gregorio Fernandez, the film starred
Emma Alegre and
Rogelio de la Rosa. The film received wide critical acclaim and took home Best Picture and Best Actor for de la Rosa at the Asian Film Festival in Hong Kong. The 1950s was also a productive period for the Visayan cinema, also called Cebuano cinema. Thirteen regional film outfits produced an average of eight to thirteen films a year. The first documented account of a regional film being shown in Manila was
Salingsing sa Kasakit, which was dubbed in Filipino.
1956-1959: Challenges and decline of the studio system Due to poor return of investments, Lebran Productions ceased operations in 1956. The film won the Golden Harvest Award at the Asian Film Festival in Hong Kong, becoming the first Filipino film to achieve it. The following year, the adventure drama
Badjao competed at the
Tokyo Film Festival with Avellana, Rosal and Santos returning as the director and lead actors, respectively. Around this period, television began to compete with cinema, with emerging stations such as
DZBB-TV and
ABS-CBN (formerly
Bolinao Electronics Corporation) airing imported shows and local variety programs. In February 1958,
Amalia Fuentes,
Romeo Vasquez, and
Rosa Mia topbilled the romantic drama
Ako ang Maysala directed by Armando Garces. Produced by Vera- Perez Productions, a subsidiary production arm of Sampaguita Pictures, Vasquez' performance earned him a Best Actor award at the Asian Film Festival. In May 1958, Gregorio Fernandez'
Malvarosa was released. The film starred
Charito Solis, Leroy Salvador,
Carlos Padilla Jr.,
Eddie Rodriguez, and
Rebecca del Rio, for which she won Best Supporting Actress at the Asian Film Festival. In September 1959, Manuel Conde continued the
Juan Tamad film series with the release of
Juan Tamad Goes to Congress, produced by LVN Pictures. The film series is credited for introducing satire as a viable genre, using humor to address various social issues, which film critic
Dr. Nicanor G. Tiongson opined in a 2016 lecture at the
University of the Philippines, "radical and very dangerous at that time." By the end of the decade, the remaining major studios, including the smaller units, began facing rising production costs and labor disputes that further strained studio finances. The tensions between studio management and film workers led to strikes and disruptions. Film critics
Annette Kuhn and Guy Westwell wrote in their book
A Dictionary of Film Studies (2020) that the "under-capitalized Filipino-produced films struggled to compete with imports from the US, Europe, and Mexico." In 2012, German writer
Tilman Baumgärtel argued that the decline of the studio system can also be attributed to the rise of Deegar Cinema Inc. in 1953, "which encourage independent producers to borrow money from its production fund." As a result, several major stars and technicians of the period "bailed out of the big four", started their own production companies and offered bigger salaries "since they did not have a high operating costs of maintaining studios." LVN Pictures ceased film production in 1961 and shifted to post production such as color processing laboratory. The collapse of the studio system in the 1960s led to an acceleration of filmmaking activities among independent companies, ushering a new era in Philippine cinema. ==Style==