Cinderella Star

At age 19, Charito Solis was introduced by her uncle, the film director F. H. Constantino to Doña Narcisa de Leon, the head of LVN Pictures, who cast her to star in her initial movie Niña Bonita, an adaptation of Frank Capra's It Happened One Night.   

 (courtesy of Video48)

To make a Filipino adaptation of Frank Capra's It Happened One Night, LVN launched a search for a new face, an instant star so to speak, and that new face turned out to be Charito Solis. The film was a hit and Charito became the 'Cinderella Star' and eventually one of Philippine cinema's most enduring icons. 

  

Unlike other LVN top stars that had to make their way, sometimes very slow, up the ladder, Charito had top billing in her very first role, Niña Bonita (1955). Her leading man was Jaime de la Rosa, one of the established stars in the LVN roster then. 

 (Excerpt from the book Dona Sisang & Filipino Movies/ 1977- source: video48)