Giliw Ko

Giliw Ko is a 1939 Filipino musical romance film. The first production of LVN Pictures, it established the production company's tradition of musical extravaganzas. Directed and written by Carlos Vander Tolosa, it stars Ely Ramos, Fernando Poe, Ely Ramos, Mila del Sol, and Fleur de Lis.

Plot

Guia is a provincial girl who becomes infatuated with images of Hollywood and the attention lavished on her by Antonio, the son of the wealthy landlord. Antonio is also the bandleader of a radio orchestra who convinces Guia to come to Manila with him and sing American songs on the radio. In Manila, Guia eventually becomes disillusioned, defies Antonio by singing in Tagalog, and returns back to the province and into the arms of her childhood sweetheart, Jose.

Cast

Ely Ramos as Antonio Lopez
Fernando Poe as Jose
Mila del Sol as Guia
Fleur de Lis as Rosie
Ben Rubio as Mang Takio
Precioso Palma as Don Alvaro
Cecilia Joaquin as Mang Juan
Viva Ortega as Doña Lucia
Nieves Obieta as Atang
SSS Trio as themselves
Kiko & Conde

Production

Several scenes of the film were shot at the mansion of Narcisa de Leon, the producer and matriarch of LVN Pictures.

Release

The film was released on July 29, 1939 at the Manila Metropolitan Theater. President Manuel L. Quezon was in attendance.

Restoration

In 1998, for the Philippines's centennial, the Australian government, through its National Film and Sound Archive, gifted the country with a restored copy of Giliw Ko. In 2022, ABS-CBN [Film Restoration Project] announced it was undergoing a new scan of the film print.