Best screen debuts ever

KORONEL. Memorable introduction in “Santiago.”

Each and every show biz season, scores of new stars are showcased by producers in “introducing” roles, breathlessly hoping that two or three of them will survive and end up as screen icons for the long term.

Looking back at a wide range of such “introductory” roles, it’s instructive to see that striking and memorable first impressions are key to the success of such stellar gambits.

On the local movie scene, for instance, we can still remember the first shot of the very young winner of Sampaguita Pictures’ Miss Number One star discovery contest in the ’50s, Amalia Fuentes. She didn’t say a word, but she didn’t have to—her flowing and achingly lovely countenance did all the “convincing” that had to be done for star-struck viewers to realize that this starlet was special.

Amalia’s male counterpart, Juancho Gutierrez, was darkly, moodily compelling in his own right, but his star would take longer to rise, while Amalia’s career got off to a big, bright start.

Decades later, the same thing happened when Hilda Koronel was given her own, even more dramatic “introducing” shot in “Santiago.” Director Lino Brocka brilliantly conceptualized a great first shot for Hilda: After a fire caused by armed strife during the Second World War, a lone survivor slowly clawed her way out of the ashes and embers, her dirty but lovely face contrasting beautifully with her bleak and stark surroundings—and viewers gasped. —What a great intro for the lovely, new star!

In international films, such cinematic “grand entrances” are the stuff of which screen legends are made: The coldly and yet luminously beautiful Greta Garbo in her early starrers. Ingrid Bergman in “Stromboli” and “St. Joan of Arc.” Marilyn Monroe in “The Asphalt Jungle” and “Some Like It Hot.” Peter O’Toole in “Lawrence of Arabia.” Albert Finney in “The Entertainer.” Jodie Foster in “Taxi Driver.” Julie Andrews in “Mary Poppins.” Terence Stamp in “Rob Roy.” Richard Burton in “Look Back in Anger.” Michael Cane in “Alfie.” Debbie Reynolds in “Singin’ in the Rain.” Julie Christie in “Dr. Zhivago.” Catharine Deneuve in “Umbrellas of Cherbourg.”

These and other iconic stars went on to grace many more movies with their great looks and/or talent, memorably showcased in their early, “introducing” portrayals which were staged so unforgettably that many moviegoers became their fervent and perfervid fans – for life!