He must have been a film fan because it appears that the crew had the run of the whole property, and possibly the interior as well - although there are no confirmed pictures of the interior that can help us identify it or not. But anyway, here are some shots from the exterior and garden taken during the party scene in the evening time.
Some terrible kung fu is on display and I think the expression on Fred's face below says it all as he looks down on the events from one of the house's balconies.
The initial part of the sequence though shows Bolt talking to the house owner - some crooked Japanese dude - and it is possible that these were filmed on location. I'm only guessing though. Comments welcome. It seems as though when the Govt initiated their long overdue Heritage study (encompassing over 1000 buildings and sites in the territory), the occupiers (I'm assuming still the bickering Fok siblings) wouldn't let anyone in to take photos, so we just have to assume and hope that perhaps this is a rather unique view inside a very private home.
Some terrible kung fu is on display and I think the expression on Fred's face below says it all as he looks down on the events from one of the house's balconies.
Inside the Fok residence...or not?
Moving on and we have some better scenes shots during the day when Bolt makes his final assault on the bad guy's house.
The wall in the top couple of grabs looks a bit fake to me, but I can confirm this was the actual wall and gateway of the place. It's still there but is now covered in ivy. In the third shot we can see a white building in the distance - I'm no expert on this area of HK (or any area of the Island for that matter), but I suspect this is part of Queen Mary Hospital. Comments welcome.
The wall in the top couple of grabs looks a bit fake to me, but I can confirm this was the actual wall and gateway of the place. It's still there but is now covered in ivy. In the third shot we can see a white building in the distance - I'm no expert on this area of HK (or any area of the Island for that matter), but I suspect this is part of Queen Mary Hospital. Comments welcome.
Also in the third picture we can see a decent portion of the house including the round pavilion on the side of the property. The fourth picture shows the main bad guy looking out from the same balcony/verandah that Fred was on when he was watching the bad kung fu. Finally the lower picture shows us the other side of the garden which, according to the blurb over at Gwulo, is part of the servant's quarters and garage. Look to the left and you can see a small terrace overlooking what was, at the time, a rather picturesque Telegraph Bay. These days Telegraph Bay has been filled in and instead we have the monstrous (by monstrous, I mean 'white elephant' size) joke that is Cyberport.
Anyway, here is a quick grab courtesy of Streetview that shows some of the same portion seen on film as well as the outer wall and the gate seen in the last picture.
23 comments:
Hi Phil,
As for the buildings in the background, there were some greyish low rises in the screen capture. Those were likely the old Ebenezer School for the blind. The whitish high rise I'm not familiar with. Probably need some older maps to check with.
T
I hadn't even seen those ones, Thomas. Sounds like somewhere I should be attending myself...:-/
Hi Phil,
I was uncertain until I downloaded the JPG and blow it up. I think Jessville is in the screen capture in the far right. The high-rise looked like residential, but it does not match the current building.
T
Blimey Thomas, you've got a keen pair of eyes on you. I think you may be right, I can just make out a what looks to be the cupola at the front.
I guess the unknown block seems to be in front of the hospital on Pokfulam Road - perhaps the precursor to today's "Royalton" or "Radcliffe". I guess that's what you meant earlier.
Cheers
Phil
Hi Phil,
Maybe a bit above Pok Fu Lam Road. There is a Government quarters around there under demolition now which seem to show itself in your street view capture. Might be the precursor of it. I guess some 1970-80 street maps should be able to give us the names of the high rises.
T
Phil, my grandfather lived in the area in the 1970s and I drove by Stone Manor many times. In the fourth screen grab from the bottom (where Fred is about to knock out the henchman with sideburns), the residential building in the background that has a narrower, taller section is the Nurses Quarters Blk B.
If you look at the streetview now, it looks like the block has been extended by a few floors and the height difference between the tall section (stairs?) and the floors on either side of it has been reduced.
By the way, what is that red thing the henchman is trying to hold called? I need one on my lawn if I ever become a tycoon.
Hi anon, yes, there's been lots of additional development to the hospital over the years. I think the red thing is a miniature Torii gate - it's a Japanese style ornament based on the large traditional gate arches. Phil
Thanks, Phil. I shall look for a miniature Torii gate if I hit the jackpot.
As for the interior of the mansion, I am quite sure that it was shown on the tele a few years ago when one of family members was interviewed in the house. I don't remember it looking like the oak paneled, old English country manor that is in the screen grabs. Will let you know if I find the video.
I found this post about Stone Manor whilst trying to identify an old house, possibly in the Castle Peak Road areas. Likely need your help with that one, but I will ask in the comments of the relevant post.
Rodney
Hi Rodney, yes, if you find the old video that would be great and would solve this question that I have wondered about for severaal years. Cheers, Phil
P.S Feel free to ask about other places, I have stumbled across quite a few grand old places over the past few years so you never know, I might just be able to help. If you don't want to comment here please feel to send an email to hkmovielocations@gmail.com
Phil, I looked for the video that featured (briefly) the interior. I only found the date of the interview - it was the very first episode of i-CABLE's Loving Sports (愛·體育) programme that initially aired on February 4 2019. i-CABLE's website has archives of past episodes, but it begins at Episode 34. I don't have Facebook, but you can search it the Loving Sports Facebook page might have it.
Rodney
much appreciated Rodney, I'll have a dig around and see if I can find it. Cheers, Phil
It seems the video interview is available at the i-CABLE sports website archives http://sports.i-cable.com/ci/archive/program/62 under a different title. You should see it on Page 6 of the archive. The actual room from the film isn't seen, but there is definitely oak-paneling in there, so I would guess Fok lent the interior as well to the producers back in '73.
I recall seeing Fok's old business partner Stan's home in an early Cherie Chung movie - it might be the aptly titled 1984 film Cherie.
Rodney
much appreciated Rodney, many thanks. Unfortunately I think I-cable expects me to have a login to view. But good news that the interior has some similar panelling. It seems unlikely an extravagant studio set would be constructed just for one small scene. I don't know if it resolved but I understand that there was some argument between the Fok heirs as to the distribution of the house and their respective living spaces inside. I don't know if it was ever resolved but it did go to court. Phil
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zG9YEpWcztc
Phil, this is the interview I mentioned a couple years ago. You can tak a look at the interior for comparison. The Loving Sports show seems to have its own YouTube channel now because the episode was not on i-cable's tube.
Great stuff Rodney,many thanks.I think I see some remnants of wood panelling on the stairs which makes me confident it was filmed inside the house. Great find.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jDzrArMGVM
Just came across this video from TVB's official tube. It is the first episode of the 1994's Instinct, which apparently is re-running at this hour on local TV. Has that house/area in the first 45 seconds appeared on the blog?
As soon as I saw the house, I remembered seeing it in a film or perhaps a TV series, but it was almost certainly a foreign production. I would guess I saw it around 1993-94, when I just got StarTV cable. Gosh, I wish I remember what it was, though I vaguely recall some bloke breaking in and getting his arse handed to him by some heavies and tossed in the pool.
It's not somewhere I recognise, Rodney, but looks like Kowloon Tong perhaps? Was that Adam Cheng in the main role?
I thought so too because the design of the house(s) and the lot size(s) scream Kowloon Tong. However, looking closely, the surrounding area seems too hilly and rural. The latter part of the episode was filmed in Ma On Shan around the time a massive housing development was built by one of the big boy property tycoons. I don't think there have ever been detached houses around there though.
Yes, that is indeed Adam Cheng, the stock market sinking phenom himself. Unfortunately, whenever his TV shows are broadcast, the market moves in the opposite direction of what I bet, so the only thing that he is guaranteed to sink is me. He plays an insurance tycoon in this and the series was the last acting credit of Paul Chu Kong (The Killer) .
there are a few of these 1950-style villas dotted around the place (even one in Tai Po called "Honka Garden") so I guess it could be anywhere. I'd have to spend a bit of time looking around but most likely it's somewhere that had development before the 1960s/70s. Lots of north NT places fit the bill, but also could be Kowloon, Sai Kung, Tuen Mun, HK island etc.
Phil, no worries about trying to find the Instinct house because I am quite sure it is used extensively in later episodes and I will try to watch it then for more clues. Will let you know if I find the definitive location.
I don't know if they were all that same house, but TVB filmed many shows on that street/residential area in the 1990s through early 2000s. The Lobster Bay ramp you identified today was also used extensively by TVB, whenever a storyline item called for a character to be offed by being 'driven' into the water in a drunken stupor. Almost certain it featured in Police Cadets '85, saw on the tele a few months ago.
Good luck. Having a bit more hill view in the background might help. I'd be interested in finding out where.
Not related to Bolt or Fok Manor, but Adam Cheng's Instinct spread was Block/House 4 at 9 Lok To Street, Siu Lam. It has since been demolished, but the first streetviews show it as it was. There were four almost identical houses in that Kowloon Tong style on Adam's side and they first appear in a '63 aerial survey. Today two remain in original form. Centaline calls that development Barbecue Gardens with occupation permits from Jan '60 to Jan '62.
I read that the entire 16 house lot was first purchased in '57 and subdivided in '59, so it seems all houses have the same No. 9 Lok To address and just the house/block numbers are different. The actress Betty Loh Ti lived with her husband at one of the houses, perhaps Block/House 9. I think a famous film director from that era might also had a house there.
Nice find Rodney, they definitely have a 50s/60s air to them. Nice-looking houses and I wish more people would build them like this today. Having historical streeview is such a great tool, but it makes me wish I had gone there when they were still standing.
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