Mario Montenegro plays lawyer of controversial rapist-convict

The Ruben in the 1963 Mario Montenegro starrer is Ruben Ablaza, the convicted rapist of Annabelle Huggins. The sensational rape case hogged the headlines in the early ‘60s.

Ruben Ablaza was jailed at the National Penitentiary, while Annabelle appeared briefly in movies. The film is focused on the defense of the accused, with the story of his lawyer, as played by Montenegro, merging with the rape case.

Ruben Ablaza himself had a special participation in the film, produced by Pilipino Pictures and released through Vera Perez Enterprises, sister company of Sampaguita Pictures. That should explain the presence of many Sampaguita stars led by Lolita Rodriguez. The director is also from Sampaguita, Eddie Garcia.

Some years back, the Annabelle Huggins story was written, produced and directed by Carlo J. Caparas, with Dawn Zulueta playing Annabelle and Cesar Montano as Ruben Ablaza. - RKC