Asia-Pol Secret Service - Wang Yu (1966) - Harcourt Road, Central

After losing his target, Wang Yu hits the streets in his coupe to try and locate the girl from the bomb car. The following is taken from a driving scene as the car makes its way into Central along Harcourt Road. In the second image you can see the white, high block of City Hall in the distance which means the car was passing HMS Tamar at that point. The road is still a flyover here.

Asia-Pol Secret Police - Wang Yu (1966) - Kimberley Road, Tsim Sha Tsui

After getting into a fight with the bad guy in the China Town Bar, the baddie flees through the rear exit and along the alleyway that used to run between Kimberley Street and Road. That back alley has now gone - replaced by the Kimberley Hotel - but the section that leads to the stairs you can see in image 2 is still there, as are the stairs. The last images shows Wang Yu with an old building in the background that stood on the west side of the stairs (now replaced by a building called "Kimberley 26").

Asia-Pol Secret Service - Wang Yu (1966) - Kimberley Street, Tsim Sha Tsui

Despite following the guy from Man Mo Temple, Wang Yu ends up Kowloon side and watches him as he enters the China Town Bar on Kimberley Street. This was a real place and was located on Kimberley Street. Doug has a nice bar card for it in his FLICKR collection. Anyway, Wang Yu follows him inside bu not before we get a good look around the area. For those wondering what happened to the bar, the block was redeveloped and became the Kimberley Hotel. The lowest image is from a scene later in the film when they return to the bar but I included it because it captures the large restaurant with the golden columns (image 1). I think it says Taiwoo Restaurant, but the captures aren't quite clear enough to be certain. Perhaps someone else is able to confirm in the comments below.

Asia-Pol Secret Service - Wang Yu (1966) - Man Mo Temple, Sheung Wan

Wang Yu takes a visit to Hong Kong's most filmed temple on Hollywood Road, Man Mo Temple. It's there where he notices someone has followed him and so he returns the favour.

Asia-Pol Secret Service - Wang Yu (1966) - Carlton Hotel, Tai Po Road

After the young girl he has just saved leaves him on the ferry, Wang Yu makes his way to his hotel. It's the Carlton Hotel on the Piper's Hill section of Tai Po Road in North Kowloon. We've see the hotel on the blog a couple of times previously (I Spy and Game of Death) but never the front or interior, so this is a nice addition to have. It was quite the spot during its heyday with live shows and quality food as well as the usual hotel amenities. The hotel crops up again later (bottom 3 images) when Wang Yu's colleague from Japan is sent over to make contact with him and appears on the restaurant terrace. The reason I know it's the hotel is because of the familiar wrought iron railings that can also be seen on the other two productions I linked to above. As mentioned in other posts, the hotel was replaced by Villa Carlton.

Asia-Pol Secret Service - Wang Yu (1966) - Central Piers

Following on from Wang Yu's close call with the car bomb, the next shot shows the some of the old piers that were once located along the 1960's (and in fact stayed there until the 90s) Central shoreline. On the left with the orange coloured flat roof is the old "Outside Harbour Services Pier". It was newly opened in 1966 when the film was shot and, as its name suggests, it served parts of Hong Kong outside of the main harbour area such as Lantau (Mui Wo), and Cheung Chau. Next to it was the slightly older (by about 2 years) "Inner Harbour Services Pier" which served northern Kowloon (Sham Shui Po and Tai Kok Tsui). Finally, just on the right of frame you can just see the corner of the single lane on/off ramp for the old Central Vehicular pier. For reference, that pier was located more or less where the IFC1 tower stands today.

Asia-Pol Secret Service - Wang Yu (1966) - Kung Lok Road, Kwun Tong

A sort way along Kung Lok Road and Wang Yu spots some derelict ground away from people and pulls the car over in preparation for the bomb to explode. The location of this spot of open ground was a bit difficult to find but I was helped by the buildings in the background that allowed me to pinpoint it. Remember the Johnson Industrial Mansion/Chuan Yuan Factory Building in this post? Well, it can be seen in the background of image 1 just above and right of the white car. The building that occupies the right side of the frame is the (then) newly built "Wah Mei Lau" of the Kwun Tong Garden Estate. Moving left is the aforementioned factory building on Kwun Tong Road and next to that is another industrial building consisting of two parallel low rise blocks. I dont know the name of this building, but I will tell you that it occupied the plot now filled with Manulife Place (348 Kwun Tong Road). The empty space where the car stops is where "Hyde Towers" now stands.

Asia-Pol Secret Service - Wang Yu (1966) - Hong Ning Road, Kwun Tong

The previous post of Shui Ning Street was viewed from the vantage point of the location of this next post - Hong Ning Road. All that has happened is that the camera has turned 90 degrees to the right so it is now pointed down Hong Ning Road as Wang Yu's car drives up. As you can see in the second image, the car takes the left hand turn onto Kung Lok Road. The buildings on the corner block here (Hong Ning Building and its neighbour the Tung Ming Building) are still around, so this view is very similar today - apart from slightly more development down the hill. I'm not sure what the gold cross was for but Hong Kong is a very religious organisation-dominated place so it was probably either a church or church-run school (most local schools in HK are religiously affiliated due to the Colonial Govt's policy of gifting parcels of land to them on the proviso that they set up a school on it). 

Asia-Pol Secret Service - Wang Yu (1966) - Shui Ning Street, Kwun Tong

Another jump in geography as we are shown a wide angle shot of Wang Yu's car driving up a slope in front of a squatter village. However, we are still in the Kwun Tong area because the road the car is driving up is Shui Ning Street. At the top of the road, next to the white high rise on the left of frame, the road does a 90 degree right hand turn onto Wan Hon Street. The development (and subsequent redevelopment) here since the film was shot is immense and most of what you see is now covered with high rise apartments. However, the squatter area in front isn't - it was turned into Hong Ning Road Recreation Ground. The camera itself is located on Hon Ning Road on the west side of the ground.

Asia-Pol Secret Service - Wang Yu (1966) - Kwun Tong Road, Kwun Tong

What had started off as a logical route from Chatham Road South to North and then through to Ma Tau Wai Road now goes all weird as Wang Yu is now driving west along Kwun Tong Road. The key landmarks for identifying this spot is the ridgeline of Black Hill in the background, as well as the Far East Factory Building, Johnson Industrial Mansion/Chuan Yuan Factory Building - all still around and located on the west side of the junction with Yan Yip Street.

The Johnson Industrial Mansion/Chuan Yuan Factory Building is worth noting because it helped me pinpoint a difficult location in an upcoming post.

Asia-Pol Secret Service - Wang Yu (1966) - Ma Tau Wai Road, To Kwa Wan

The next scene shows the pair being followed up Ma Tau Wai Road by someone in another car. In terms of realistic geography this is quite good for a film because the previous shot of the Fat Kwong Street Flyover is just back down the road a short way. 

At the far end of the road is one of the blocks for the Ma Tau Wai Govt housing Estate but before that, on the right hand side, you can see the building that is now (and may have been back then) the S.K.H Good Shepherd Primary School at the junction with Lok Shan Road. The only change here of late is that a new MTR station has been constructed and the main exit is now in a small low block in front of the school.

Asia-Pol Secret Service - Wang Yu (1966) - Chatham Road North, Hung Hom

From Chatham Road South when Wang Yu discovers the time bomb ticking in the back of the car, to Chatham Road North as he races away to get the car to a secluded location so as not to injure anyone else. This is the view through the bridge that supports the Fat Kwong Street Flyover and has changed not one bit in the subsequent (almost) 60 years since this movie was made. Everything else has pretty much been redeveloped though.

Asia-Pol Secret Service - Wang Yu (1966) - Chatham Road South, Tsim Sha Tsui

Wang Yu stops the car and hears a ticking coming from the back. He suddenly realises the girl has tricked him into the car to be killed when he realises all the doors are jammed shut. The location is between the junctions of Chatham Court and Observatory Road. Some of the buildings in the images below are still around. In image 1, the car is parked in front of the alleyway next to a building with a cantilevered second floor. This is Golden Mansion at 83-85a Chatham Road South. South Sea Apartments behind it is alos still around.

Image 2 shows the opposite side of the road and some of the Nissen huts that formed part of the Chatham Road Army camp - Camp Kowloon. For a reminder of what it looked like, check out this still from Narazumono.

The lowest image shows the view looking north along the road with the St Mary's Canossian College building in the distance. But just before there are two blocks on either side of Austin Avenue. Grandview Mansion and Winston Mansion. Both are still around as I write but the building on the left of frame has since been redevloped into the Popway Hotel.

Asia-Pol Secret Service - Wang Yu (1966) - Nathan Road, Yau Ma Tei

After leaving the airport in the girl's car, there is a rather nice panning shot as the car travels south along Nathan Road at the junction with Gascoigne Road. In the top image the camera is looking north towards the junction with Public Square Street. The small building that looks like a house is actually the old Yau Ma Tei Government School. It was built in 1905 and demolished in the mid-70s - not a bad life span for a building in Hong Kong. The white building on the left hand side, covered in scaffolding, is the Kowloon Government Office building. It looks as though the film captured the building as it was being given its finishing touches as it was opened the same year (it's still there for the time being).

In the lower image you can see the Alhambra building on the right hand side on the corner of Kansu Street. The block of smaller shophouse buildings on the other side of the road was replaced by Honour House and the Hang Shing Building with the old Fortuna Hotel the next building along.

Asia-Pol Secret Service - Wang Yu (1966) - Kai Tak Airport

A treat for Kai Tak fans as Wang Yu arrives in Hong Kong and is immediately targeted by the gangs who have coerced a girl to trick him to driving her home. We get to see the runway, apron, old observation platform, as well as the arrivals hall and exit. 

Asia-Pol Secret Service - Wang Yu (1966) - Kai Tak Approach

After a few aerial shots, supposedly the view from Wang Yu's plane, the next sequence shows his plane landing at kai Tak. The sequence was shot from Checkerboard Hill in Kowloon Tsai - or at least the east side of it as you can see by the presence of some of the hilltop in the first couple of images.