Master and commander: Manuel Conde and 'Genghis Khan'

It seems unlikely that in the 1950s, a Filipino would set out to make a movie about the great warrior and founder of the Mongolian empire. But legendary filmmaker Manuel Conde did just that. Despite financial difficulties and little resources, Conde transformed the hills of Angono, Rizal into the Gobi Desert and made Genghis Khan, arguably the greatest film about its titular conqueror, and a movie which signaled the arrival of Filipino talent in world cinema.
Prior to Genghis Khan, Conde cut his teeth acting, directing and writing for film studios like LVN. His films, such as Principeng Hindi Tumatawa, Doon Po Sa Amin, and Siete Infantes de Lara, were critical and box office successes. At the age of 30, his output consisted of more than 70 plays, pictures, and sketches for the cinema and the stage. But it wasn’t until three years later that he would make the film that would introduce him to international acclaim.
Conde started an eponymous production company, Manuel Conde Productions, and made films that he really wanted to make, films that veered away from the romantic idylls usually produced by bigger studios.
Ahead of his time
“Ganon mag-isip ang dad ko, ahead of his time,” recalls Conde’s son Jun Urbano, himself an actor popularly known as Mr. Shooli, as well as one of the most successful commercial directors in Philippine advertising.
“My dad had to source funding from everybody, from my uncles, friends, family. Yung mga iniisip niya, napakalaki kaya minsan hirap na hirap,” Urbano shares.
Manuel Conde’s first production under MC Productions was Si Juan Tamad. The film marked the first collaboration between Conde and National Artist for Visual Arts Carlos “Botong” Francisco. After that, Conde worked with the Francisco for the costumes and designs of his movies, and having Francisco on board made Conde’s vision even grander, as audiences and critics would later see in Prinsipe Paris and Apat na Alas.
Francisco’s work on these films served as the benchmark for costumed epics of the era. These films became Conde's training for the sprawling production of Genghis Khan. Conde wanted everything to be accurate, from the swordfights to the tiniest detail in the costume.
Sprawling EPIC
Genghis Khan was made on a measly budget of P125,000 and 25 cans of raw film stock worth P30,000. But these constraints did not bar Conde from realizing his epic. He worked with Francisco on the film’s production design and costumes, which were made by his wife Julita (the materials were sourced from Benguet and Divisioria). He even utilized headlights of jeepneys and trucks to light the night sequences.
“Kulang ng budget eh, minsan mahihinto yung shooting two to three days kasi hindi pa dumadating yung pera. Naka-prepare lahat, except the money [like] yung pambili ng gasolina for the generator,” Urbano recalls.
“Yung mga props na yan, wala pang mga plastic fiber glass noon. Yung sheet ng yero talagang ginugupit at mino-mold para maging armor. Yung mga espada, galing sa jeep,” Urbano shares.
“Sa bahay lang namin sa Sampaloc ginagawa ng nanay ko yung costumes. pagkatapos kukunin ko na yung mga sketch ni Botong Francisco at ginagawa ko na teks. Kung alam ko lang!” he adds.
Another crucial detail of the film was the Mongol horses. The horses that were used were from the karitelas in Rizal. Audiences laughed at these smaller horses during its local premiere on Nov. 7, 1950, seeing as these horses were no towering Mongol steeds; they were so short the actors’ feet hung only six inches from the ground.
Genghis Khan didn’t do well at the local box office, and it closed after five days in theaters. But come its premiere at the Venice Film Festival in 1952, a surprising fact arose: It turns out that the short horses used were the specific breed of horses during the reign of Genghis Khan.
International recognition
The film was brought to the Venice Film Festival as a result of Conde’s Hollywood visit, which was a part of his winnings for Siete Infante’s award as the “Most Popular Motion Picture” of the Philippine Movie Popularity Poll of 1951-1953. It was during his US visit that he met James Agee, a famous writer and critic who became key to Genghis Khan’s international acclaim.
While Conde’s other films like Siete Infantes and Sigfredo were picked up for international screenings and distribution, Agee and Conde worked on Genghis Khan. It was entered in the main competition of the Venice Film Festival. Critics commended the film not only for its well-choreographed action sequences, but also for its immense scope and unparalleled vision. Writer Jack Quigg even said Conde was a combination of the talents of Daryl Zanuck, Errol Flynn, Cecile B. de Mile, and F. Hugh Hubert.  
Conde then sold the film rights to United Artists. Genghis Khan was dubbed into 17 languages and earned $17 million worldwide.
Reclaiming lost heritage
In time for the 80th Venice Film Festival this year, Genghis Khan was finally resurrected on screen and restored to its full glory. The digitally restored version was made in Bologna, Italy based on the film prints found in Italy, France, and United Kingdom.  The prints were recently repatriated to the Philippines and will now be part of the National Film Archives.
To many Filipinos, watching Genghis Khan on screen, 60 years after its premiere is about more than just appreciating Conde’s grand masterwork. It’s about bearing witness to the return of our cinematic heritage — a heritage that has long been considered lost.
For Jun Urbano, though, having witnessed his dad build an empire out of jeepney parts and aluminum, watching Genghis Khan again was revisiting a great part of his childhood memory.
“Actually, malungkot ako at masaya nung napanood ko ulit siya,” he says. “Malungkot ako kasi lahat ng nakita ko doon wala na. Tatay ko, si Elvira Reyes, si Lou Salvador. Kahit papano, niloko-loko ako nyan [ni Lou]. Ten years old ako noon, bibisita ako sa set, bininbiro ako. Wala na silang lahat. So yung boyhood memories ko bumalik. Masaya ako kasi merong testament na ginawa ng dad ko ito. Nakikita ko na kumikilos si Manuel Conde; kung pano siya mag-salita, narinig ko ulit.”
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Supreme thanks Monchito Nocon of the Film Development Council of the Philippines. For more information about Manuel Conde, read Nicanor G. Tiongson’s The Cinema of Manuel Conde, available from UST Press.
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Tweet the author @geeksturrrr.