Comedy is serious business for Romy Villaflor

EDDIE Gutierrez (left) and Susan Roces

The first picture that Romy Villaflor directed for Dr. Jose R. Perez when he was promoted from assistant director to full-pledged director in 1962 was “Susanang Daldal,” starring the top star of the newly organized VP Pictures, Susan Roces.

VP had acquired the film rights of the popular Hiwaga Komiks serial from Pablo Gomez, and Susan had agreed to play the title role of a chatterbox as the principal character.

To create the comedy situations, director Romy would have to rely heavily on the rest of the cast—Eddie Gutierrez, Dolphy and Panchito as his sidekicks, and the other love team composed of Jean Lopez and Lito Legaspi as their romantic rivals.

Susan’s character as Susanang Daldal was endearing and loved by the viewers. But, what happens when she meets Amaliang Mali-mali (Amalia Fuentes) and they are pitted against each other?

The next film directed by Romy Villaflor for VP Pictures in 1963 was “Amaliang Mali-mali vs. Susanang Daldal.”  This time there were no comedians like Dolphy and Panchito, only the neophyte Aruray and Jose Mari as Amalia’s lover boy.

But Eddie Gutierrez was still very much around, and a new love team was introduced—Dindo Fernando and Juvy Cachola.

In writing the screenplay for  the movie, Romy had to delve deep into Filipino folk culture, realizing that there is one “mali-mali” in almost every barrio. Young or old, the “mali-mali” is even more daunting than the “daldalera” because she gets startled and flies off the handle at the slightest provocation.

Acceptance

Given his acceptance of the “unusual” being “usual,” it was up to Villaflor to create the comedic situations to make his film hilarious—and he came through with flying colors!

Another VP film which Villaflor directed from his own screenplay was “Hi Sosayti,” 1964.  Here, we find Villaflor at his best, manipulating the events in a situational comedy where he focuses on Panchito Alba as  the distressed father of three “high society” girls who arrive from the USA, played by Susan Roces, Liberty Ilagan and Meldy Corrales.

They do not know that their father had gone bankrupt and is playing his last card, using a millionaire who is “crazy in love” with his eldest daughter (Susan).  He expects her to marry him and go back to the States with her sisters to continue living the “high society” life they have been used to.

Villaflor also directed Nida Blanca in two Sampaguita-VP movies: “Sosayting Tindera” (1963), and “Bumunot Ka’t Lumaban” (1964).

During the ’70s, and ’80s, he was busy directing films for other producers like Evergreen Films, “Make My Day” (1989),  starring Val Sotto, Vic Sotto, Tito Sotto, Jimmy Santos, Aiza Seguerra, Bamba, Isabel Lopez and Jeffrey Santos.

After the demise of Doc Perez in 1975, most of Villaflor’s films were for Dolphy’s RVQ productions—“Mga Anak ni Facifica Falayfay” (1987), “Enteng, the Dragon” (1988); “Da Best In Da West” (1989), “Stariray,” and many others!