“I would highly appreciate very much if you would at least acknowledge any materials used or at least ask for a permission first. Unless specified, all other materials are from the private collection of the blog owner. Thank you very much!”

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

THE BANNING OF GERRY DE LEON'S "HUWAG MO AKONG LIMUTIN" (1960)


One of the scenes that sparked a controversy in 1960

Even the great Gerry De Leon was not spared by the Board of Censors. His first, Si Eva at si Adan (1954), a comedy on sexual identities, raised a furor with the Board of Censors. In 1960, Huwag Mo Akong Limutin, a drama on infidelity and impotence, was banned. The board cited three grounds: 1.marital infidelity; 2. abortion; and 3. kidnapping.

The controversy somehow lies on how one interpret the censorship guidelines--- the primary function of motion picture censorship is to guard against the exhibition of motion pictures that warp, corrode, or break down established and accepted moral codes and encourage or abet immoral acts. It exists primarily to protect moral institutions of our society. An article (below- click image to read) was written on the controversy and why the movie must be allowed to be exhibited.


The Plot:
Huwag Mo Akong Limutin has Oscar Keesee an invalid husband. His wife, Arsenia Francisco loves him. She does not want to be unfaithful, but the situation drives her to the company of another man.

Cesar Ramirez, son of Oscar Keesee, is a businessman. Deeply taken up in his business, he neglects the social life of his wife, Cynthia Zamora who, in turn, is driven to the company of another man. Left by his wife, Cesar Ramirez, in a moment of drunkenness, mistakes Aura Aurea for his wife. A try at abortion by Aura fails.
A kidnapping attempted by Cynthia also fails.

In the end, Arsenia Francisco, Cynthia Zamora, Ramon D’Salva, the other man, die violently. Cesar Ramirez marries Aura Aurea.
The censorable situations--- marital infidelity, abortion and kidnapping--- were presented in the picture as condemnable ones.

The movie, which was reconsidered and reviewed again, was later permitted to be shown with cuts. Manong Gerry cried foul--- his movie was severely mutilated by the censors.

The movie went on to win and romped away 8 Famas awards--- Best Picture; Best Director (Gerry de Leon); Best Supporting Actor (Oscar Keesee); Best Supporting Actress ( Arsenia Francisco); Best Cinematography (Ricardo Marcelino); Best Film Editing (Gerry de Leon); Best Musical Scoring (Tito Arevalo) and Best Sound (Demetrio de Santos).



Literary Song-Movie Magazine/ 1960
(click images to enlarge)

2 comments:

TheCoolCanadian said...

Simon:

You always intrigue us by your posted materials lately.
:)

Gerry De Leon hated the Board of Censors.

In fact, all Filipino filmmakers hate the Board of Censors, anyway.

De Leon even called the Censors: "PUSAKAL" (Ruthless). And I totally agree. They have been like this since the 1940s.

There was even a time (Martial Law years) when the Philippine Board of Censors for Motion Pictures required every writer to get an approval first of his storyline before he or she could negotiate with any film producers. Of course it required an approval fee. If they reject your material, the fee is forfeited! Where in the world can you find such censorship?

You’re right, only in the Philippines.

And now, the censors are dipping their fingers everywhere. They even have the power to SUSPEND a performer from appearing on TV if that talent had said something that the Censors think was not supposed to be said. SOB! I would hate to be working on Philippine TV these days.

Anonymous said...

Local comics also suffered censorship. Do you have any information on whether or not there were some efforts by local comics companies or personalities to challenge the APEPCOM or KPPKP?

LinkWithin

Blog Widget by LinkWithin