During the pre-war ear, gaining success in the silver screen was no ordinary achievement. No matter what role a person played in the movie, the ardent fans everywhere would somehow recognize him or her.
Even during that time, Manilan’s were avid moviegoers, and so today, the Guinness Book of Record places the average Filipino as the most frequenter for cinema in the word.
One dazzling movie personality that lived in Tondo during those years was an actress by the name of Molly de Gracia. Her name was so catching those producers did not bother changed her name.
Molly was of average height, although today she would be considered short for an actress. Her light peach complexion, bouncing lustrous dark brown hair and winsome face could make men look at her twice, and in the second it would be an ogling stare. Molly had well proportion body that sculptors would like to have as a model, and she had that natural elegance and charm, as well as aplomb that she easily landed in the movies.
How Molly got into the movies was not clear for when she, her sister and mother transferred to a big apartment in Tondo she was already appearing in the silver screen.
Molly’s mother was a corpulent woman whose faded beauty could still be discerned in her features inspite of her age. Molly must have inherited her peachy complexion and other traces of Spanish mestiza ancestry. Molly’s younger sister, Marianne, was still in school as she was picked up in the morning and brought back in the afternoon by an exclusive girl’s school bus. All the neighbors would see was the maid who would do the marketing as well as the buying of household needs in a corner stores.
As the de Gracia family chose to have a reclusive life, the neighbors accepted them as they were. In fact, the neighbors never found out at that time if Molly’s mother was a widow or simply separated from her husband.
Molly’s departure and arrival were irregular. Most of the time, she would be pick-up by a car or she may call a cab. People understood that actresses had so many activities with tight schedules in filming, rehearsing, personal appearances and other social engagements.
“There she is,” shouted a young fan when Molly walked out of her apartment door to a waiting car. Molly, like a seasoned actress, would wave and smile at the cheering crowd. When she comes out for a shooting, she would look stunning, drawing “oh’s” and “ah’s” from the milling crowds.
“That Molly”, someone in the local theater audience would shout whenever Molly appears in a movie, and the rest would clap in utter glee. Such was the effect of being a celebrity.
Molly’s roles changed from supporting cast to a short-lived heroine in the movies so far. She was not yet a full pledged star but many felt that she was well on the way. Molly was in early 20’s although she looked much older in the movie roles she played.
As time rolled by, Molly continued to work in movie production. Once in a while, she would go to provinces for location shooting or personal appearances.
Her neighbors wanted to know more about her. Curiosity must be an inherent Filipino trait. The approach used by the neighbors was to befriend Molly’s maid, who in turn was also eager to talk about her “senorita”.
“Senorita is not feeling well today. She became indisposed after successive days of shooting”, the maid would whisper to a neighbor at the corner store, who in turn would tell the others.
From that time one, the curious news mongerers in the neighborhood were all smiles as the life of the seductive and dazzling actress became an open book.
“Molly’s on the family way”, reported the maid to her town mate that lives near Molly’s house. The news spread like a wild fire. But no amount of prodding would reveal who the father was since the maid did not know.
Months passed by and Molly did not go out nor accept visitors. People in the neighborhood were just dying of curiosity. Then late one night, an ambulance came and took the actress. After three days, she came home.
“What happened?” queried her town mate, after she took Molly’s maid to the corner store.
“The senorita had a miscarriage but she is alright now”, the maid whispered.
After some months, the latest films of the company Molly worked for came out but her name was not there anymore in the ads and trailers. She did not have any more roles. Her illness must have been unkind to her, the neighbors surmised.
One early morning, Molly’s maid appeared at the door of her town mate’s house
Carrying her luggage. She said that she left, as she had not been paid for months. She was not even given money for fare home. Out of pity, the rumor hunger matrons chipped in and the maid left contentedly.
“My heart goes for her family”, opined a town matron living nearby when she learned that the de Gracias were unable to settle their bills including apartment rental. Much more, Molly’s sister stopped schooling due to financial straits. “I hope I can be of help but how can we when they seclude themselves like nuns in the convents”. She sighed.
Later, a foreign looking middle age man was seen visiting Molly at her apartment. At times, they would leave together, and then returned home late in the wee hours of the morning. Molly would be seen no longer in make-up and attired like a dazzling actress. Later, Molly’s mother settled all their back accounts and the school bus started picking Marianne again. The family also got a new maid.
One morning, the foreign looking man came in a limousine and went inside the apartment. The driver went in and when he came out, he was carrying the luggage of Molly and places them in the trunk. After a short while, Molly left with the man, as her mother stood by the door with tears in her eyes. It was such an emotional parting.
Rumors circulated that Molly married the foreigner, presumably an American and that they left for abroad. The neighbors could not confirm this as the new maid was rarely seen outside.
By that time, was clouds seemed to be hanging in the pacific skies. War, it appeared, was about to explode.
One early morning, a big truck hauled all the properties of the de Gracias. Molly’s mother and her daughter took a cab and followed the truck with their maid. Where the de Gracias transferred, or what happened to Molly, they never found out, for by then, the war was only a few weeks away. But in the minds of many, they would never forget the dazzling beauty of a woman who lived in their minds……