Saturday, June 4, 2011

Soldier of Fortune - Clark Gable (1955) - Barker Road Peak Tram Stop, The Peak

This location is actually used twice in the film - both at the beginning and end. It's where Hank Lee stands surveying the harbour just before the opening credits, and, in the final scene.

I've included the back-projected scene with hayward because it shows off the house on the Peak behind her head. Also note the green tram car - one of this vintage is now on display in front of the Peak Galleria - and a worthy addition to another wise tacky tourist area.


Barker Road Tram Stop was opened at the same time as the tram line itself - in 1888 - and is still there and in daily use by the people who live around Barker Road and surrounds. Incidentally, if anyone has read Martin Booth's Gweilo (or Golden Boy) childhood memoir, there is a chapter where he describes riding the tram with his mum as they were filming these scenes at Barker Road.

2 comments:

AP said...

Hi Phil, Could this be the spot where the opening title shot of 'Enter The Dragon' was filmed from? Clouse says it was filmed from Barker Road. Seems like the perfect spot.

Cheers,

Antony

Phil said...

Hi Antony, actually, I am pretty sure Clouse is not recalling correctly as there is no where along Barker Road with the same angle/view. He reused the opening title from Enter the Dragon when he made Golden Needles and you can see the rough position (within a few metres) of where that shot was taken from on this post: https://hongkongandmacaufilmstuff.blogspot.com/2014/01/golden-needles-joe-don-baker-1974-view.html
Cheers
Phil

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