"SAN BERNARDO" (1966): FPJ DIRECTORIAL DEBUT

San Bernardo (1966) - Stars Fernando Poe, Jr. and Jess Lapid

From: Weekly Graphic/ April 1966

The shooting at La Mesa Dam in Novaliches of FPJ Productions’ San Bernardo didn’t look any different from that of the past pictures of Ronnie Poe. There were the usual rugged-looking villains ready to rough it up realistically before the movie cameras at a moment’s notice. There was the usual batch of horses, raring to gallop at the dig of spurs.

Yet, there was something out of the ordinary this time. Ronnie was going through his paces without anyone supervising him. He was even giving orders about camera placement and briefing the crew and actors on the succeeding sequence.

This is explained by the fact that San Bernardo is not only a Ronnie starrer but also the first directorial job for the superstar. The credit line for the direction bears the name D’Lanor, which is, of course, his real name spelled backwards. The actor-producer is bound to add dimension to his stature in the movies with his venture as a director.