So for future posterity, and hopefully to clear up some of the misunderstandings and myths surrounding the place, I have excavated the post from the depths of the internet graveyard and resurrected it here.
For those who are new to the Bruce Lee world, or at least not so familiar with the various Hong Kong locations utilised in the film (here's a collection of posts I have built up over the years), the tournament scenes were filmed on the, long since demolished, terraced tennis courts of a former grand mansion called Palm Villa, located in Tai Tam on the south side of Hong Kong Island.
How did the villa and its grounds get to be featured in the movie? The story I heard (true or not? I have no idea) was that Bruce, Bob Clouse and some crew members were out scouting for possible locations when they noticed the tennis courts. They were quite noticeable from the road. They stopped by and discovered that the property was being looked after by M.W. Lo (his older brother M.K had died in 1959). By pure luck, Bruce and the Lo's shared some family history - it's complicated but basically Bruce's maternal grandfather, Ho Kom Tong, was the half-brother of Sir Robert Ho Tung, who had a daughter, Victoria, who was married to M.K Lo.
It appears that this family connection was enough to persuade M.W to let the film company use the property. It may also have helped that M.W wasn't actually living at the property at the time, even if he was stillusing the tennis courts. He had his own large mansion, "Longview", on the opposite side of the road, replete with it's own grass tennis court. It has since been turned into a row of luxury town houses though.
Incidentally, it may have been at this point that Bruce instructed Lo & Lo to be his appointed solicitors. A role they fulfilled until they were unceremoniously dumped in favour of Adrian Marshall following Bruce's death. If the above story is true about the tennis courts discovery then the firm can only have been instructed by Lee in the last few months of his life.
What happened to the villa and the tennis courts?
A very typical Hong Kong story enfolds whereby the land on which the villa stood was consolidated with neighbouring plots (containing the large mansions Tytam Villa and Stanley Lodge) and redeveloped into what is now the American Club's "Country club" (they have a "town/city club" as well in Exchange Square. You can download a history of the club here). The land on which the tennis courts stood was later developed into a large condominium called "Pacific View".
The tennis courts were completely obliterated by the redevelopment and there is not a single piece of them left. I feel I need to say this because many people come to the location thinking that the fight scenes were filmed inside the current American Club's grounds and it just isn't true. Some scenes were filmed in stil-extent parts, but not the main fights I'm afraid.
So, this is a big topic to cover,and the best way to start is probably by presenting this rather excellent black and white aerial image taken circa early 70s. I've also edited it and added some colour to highlight and demarcate between the three mansions that were located here: Palm Villa, TytamVilla and Stanley Lodge. All three would eventually be sold and the land redeveloped into the current American Club.
For those who are new to the Bruce Lee world, or at least not so familiar with the various Hong Kong locations utilised in the film (here's a collection of posts I have built up over the years), the tournament scenes were filmed on the, long since demolished, terraced tennis courts of a former grand mansion called Palm Villa, located in Tai Tam on the south side of Hong Kong Island.
A 1982 image showing Palm Villa and its tennis courts on the right
The history of the place is a bit hard to track down exactly but it seems that noted Hong Kong lawyer, M.K Lo(aka Lo Man-kam), leased the land in 1919 and the villa was completed the following year. M.K Lo and his brother M.W Lo (aka Lo Man-wai) were the founders of Lo & Lo law firm. The brothers were keen tennis players and actually quite skilled, so the fact that they had a section of the land turned into grass tennis courts shouldn't be that surprising. In fact, M.W is one of the enshrinees at the Hong Kong Tennis Association Hall of Fame.
How did the villa and its grounds get to be featured in the movie? The story I heard (true or not? I have no idea) was that Bruce, Bob Clouse and some crew members were out scouting for possible locations when they noticed the tennis courts. They were quite noticeable from the road. They stopped by and discovered that the property was being looked after by M.W. Lo (his older brother M.K had died in 1959). By pure luck, Bruce and the Lo's shared some family history - it's complicated but basically Bruce's maternal grandfather, Ho Kom Tong, was the half-brother of Sir Robert Ho Tung, who had a daughter, Victoria, who was married to M.K Lo.
It appears that this family connection was enough to persuade M.W to let the film company use the property. It may also have helped that M.W wasn't actually living at the property at the time, even if he was stillusing the tennis courts. He had his own large mansion, "Longview", on the opposite side of the road, replete with it's own grass tennis court. It has since been turned into a row of luxury town houses though.
Incidentally, it may have been at this point that Bruce instructed Lo & Lo to be his appointed solicitors. A role they fulfilled until they were unceremoniously dumped in favour of Adrian Marshall following Bruce's death. If the above story is true about the tennis courts discovery then the firm can only have been instructed by Lee in the last few months of his life.
What happened to the villa and the tennis courts?
A very typical Hong Kong story enfolds whereby the land on which the villa stood was consolidated with neighbouring plots (containing the large mansions Tytam Villa and Stanley Lodge) and redeveloped into what is now the American Club's "Country club" (they have a "town/city club" as well in Exchange Square. You can download a history of the club here). The land on which the tennis courts stood was later developed into a large condominium called "Pacific View".
The tennis courts were completely obliterated by the redevelopment and there is not a single piece of them left. I feel I need to say this because many people come to the location thinking that the fight scenes were filmed inside the current American Club's grounds and it just isn't true. Some scenes were filmed in stil-extent parts, but not the main fights I'm afraid.
So, this is a big topic to cover,and the best way to start is probably by presenting this rather excellent black and white aerial image taken circa early 70s. I've also edited it and added some colour to highlight and demarcate between the three mansions that were located here: Palm Villa, TytamVilla and Stanley Lodge. All three would eventually be sold and the land redeveloped into the current American Club.
Aerial image circa 1970 showing the tennis courts and adjacent properties
Source: HK Govt
Source: HK Govt
It may not be that clear from this image, but Palm Villa had a garden area immediately adjacent to the house. This garden still exists and is now an outdoor multi-sports pitch for the club. It is the only existing former piece of the villa located within the grounds of the club and serves as a good place marker for putting the old site and its various elements into a modern context. It's also happens to be the location of one of the night-time scenes.
Despite the appearance, there were only three tennis courts, and I have done my best to mark them below as the "upper", "middle" and "lower" courts. The upper and middle courts sit next to another garden that contained a low central circular wall containing a tree. When I initially investigated this place I thought it may have been the base of a fountain, which is why it is marked that way below, but it was so long ago I can't remember why I thought this.
Most of the filming of the tournament scenes was done on what I have labeled the"middle" tennis court: the initial fights between Roper et al, Lee's fight with O'Hara, Roper's fight with Bolo and the final mass melee, were all filmed here and the following merged screencap illustrates this nicely. It shows the initial pan across the tennis courts from the film with the lower tennis coursts and beach on the left, the middlecourt (centre right) and the fountainarea extreme right. The upper tennis court is the one at the backright. It's a nice image to have and gives you a better feel for the place and the relative locations of the various areas I've marked out
Despite most of the filming being done on the middle tennis court, a few other areas were used for other parts of the film as well as publicity stills and I'll go through them now. There are a couple of places that I still can't place and I'll show them at them end. Feel free to make suggestions for the possible locations. To help you visualise the areas, I've marked them on the image below (click to enlarge).
1. First Guard Encounter
Following Bruce's initial night time excursion scene when he encounters a dog (it's one of my unidentifed locations, see further down), he then runs up what looks like some long steps and knocks out a guard on top of a small structure. These steps were located on the garden section of the villa i.e. the bit that still exists, and I have marked the "1" on top of the outhouse where he runs into the shadows. If you look closely you can see the steps in the image above, just above the "1". I don't believe they were meant to be steps, but more likely small terraces for holding potted plants such as Bonzai. Here's the reminder. You can see the top of the outhouse in the lower images.
I'm speculating here, but I believe the reason that the remaining wall looks shorter than in the film is because during the club's construction, rather than remove the steps, the pitch was likely created by just filling it up with cement to create level ground. However, I could be wrong, I'm just guessing. Feel free to comment. This could mean though that the steps may still exists under several layers of concrete. It's also possible some reconstruction has gone on as I do remember noticing that part of the wall had been rebuilt at some point.
One day if (or when) they eventually excavate it (see The Future below), we may get to find out. In the meantime, here is the same wall when I snapped a picture of it back in 2011. This section of wall would have been roughly where the outhouse was located.
Note, this is the only small bit of the film that I can say - definitively - was filmed inside the grounds of the club.
Note, this is the only small bit of the film that I can say - definitively - was filmed inside the grounds of the club.
2. Williams Exercising
When Williams goes "out into the moonlight, baby", he is located on the upper court where the #2 is on the image. You can see the steps behind him have a lighter catchwater running down the side. I've also marked the same location on the image below showing where Jim Kelly was standing. You can see the white line of the catchwater running up the slope next to the steps.
In the image below, Williams looks up to wave to the guard at the top of the steps. His fatal move. You can just see the top of the catchwater left of the guard's foot. But more important is the dim, arched doorway behind him (by the light). This is the sole remaining arched doorway of the estate that can still be seen from the pavement on Tai Tam Road. Everything else has gone but the doorway is still there, albeit sealed up. On a side note, on the other side of the wall, the American Club had installed a small brass plaque (see below).
When Williams goes "out into the moonlight, baby", he is located on the upper court where the #2 is on the image. You can see the steps behind him have a lighter catchwater running down the side. I've also marked the same location on the image below showing where Jim Kelly was standing. You can see the white line of the catchwater running up the slope next to the steps.
Steps and the white cement catchwater on the left
The arrow shows where Jim Kelly was standing
Memorial plaque located on the other side of the arched doorway
3. A Human Fly
On the opposite side of the upper court to where Jim Kelly was standing is the section where Bruce is seen running back up the slope on his way back to his room. At the top, Bruce climbs over the main (garden) wall into the area discussed above in point 1. As mentioned, this section of wall is still intact. The slope looks overgrown here and the foliage is hiding the stepping/terracing that was also a feature here.
Actually, there is another view of this same area in another film. Bruce Lee: True Story (aka Bruce Lee The Man the Myth) filmed its Enter the Dragon scenes (with Bill Lake as O'Hara) on this upper court so here is a reminder of how it looked in that film. You can actually see the stepping on the slope in these images. For a Brucey bonus, I've included a view of where Williams was standing in the lower image (hint: where the dudes are sitting down, back right).
The "human fly" crawled up the walled slope on the right
4. Fountain Area Doorway.
In this following shot, as Bruce embarks on his second excursion (I think?), he drops down to this doorway adorned with Han's pennants. This is the doorway that leads from the upper tennis court to the "fountain" area.
5. Jumping "Up" the Tree.
Speaking of the fountain area, the tree that Bruce jumps up into (by reversing the film of course, shame on you if you thought otherwise) was located in the middle of this area. Even in the dimlight of the screen capture below you can make out the circular base of the tree planter, which is also discernable on the original black and white aerial image at the top of the post.
You can also see the same tree through the arched doorway as the fighters leave the battlefield (i.e. the middle court) following Bolo's brutal dealing with the various inept guards who were unfortunate enough to let Bruce slip through their fingers. The image below is the central arched doorway from the middle tennis court to the fountain area. If you look closely at the number-annotated image at the start of this section, you can see the archway just to the right of the red number "4".
This is also the same area seen in the Enter the Dragon rip off/cash-in, Men of the Dragon, shot at the Palm Villa tennis courts when the golden lion statues were still in place. See my old post here which shows the tree looking as barren as it does above.
Bruce gets barked at
The first place I have yet to identify the location for is when Bruce first goes out on is night mission and jumps down in front of a small outhouse that contains a rather ferocious looking Alsatian. Here's the reminder. There is still an outhouse (more of a stone gazebo) in the former "garden" section of the club, but it doesn't match the one below and its position relative to the wall at the back doesn't match anyway.
There are a few outhouses that can be identified on the black and white aerial image but none seem to coincide with a wall or have the cobbled floor that can be seen in the lower image with the dog. It may be that this was closer to the actual main house? It doesn't appear to be the same outhouse that Bruce initially runs over in part 1 above either.
Cavern Entrance
The second area I haven't been able to locate yet is the section of the grounds where the "entrance" to the caverns was. This is where Bruce feels the airflow and lifts a trapdoor to reveal a cave below (and a cobra later on) and all of Han's nefarious goings on. The layout of the walls are not something that I can discern on the available aerial images.
Perhaps one day someone familiar with the layout of the villa and its extensive grounds will be able to come along and say with authority where these places were, but until then your guess is as good as mine.
Publicity Stills
I haven't marked this area on the black and white aerial image but the famous shots of Bruce messing around with both Bolo (Yang Sze) and Wu Ngan were all shot on the lower tennis court.
Extra bits - the rotunda
Bruce gets barked at
The first place I have yet to identify the location for is when Bruce first goes out on is night mission and jumps down in front of a small outhouse that contains a rather ferocious looking Alsatian. Here's the reminder. There is still an outhouse (more of a stone gazebo) in the former "garden" section of the club, but it doesn't match the one below and its position relative to the wall at the back doesn't match anyway.
There are a few outhouses that can be identified on the black and white aerial image but none seem to coincide with a wall or have the cobbled floor that can be seen in the lower image with the dog. It may be that this was closer to the actual main house? It doesn't appear to be the same outhouse that Bruce initially runs over in part 1 above either.
Cavern Entrance
The second area I haven't been able to locate yet is the section of the grounds where the "entrance" to the caverns was. This is where Bruce feels the airflow and lifts a trapdoor to reveal a cave below (and a cobra later on) and all of Han's nefarious goings on. The layout of the walls are not something that I can discern on the available aerial images.
Perhaps one day someone familiar with the layout of the villa and its extensive grounds will be able to come along and say with authority where these places were, but until then your guess is as good as mine.
Publicity Stills
I haven't marked this area on the black and white aerial image but the famous shots of Bruce messing around with both Bolo (Yang Sze) and Wu Ngan were all shot on the lower tennis court.
Extra bits - the rotunda
One of the last remaining structures related to the Palm Villa estate is a rotunda that sits on a podium outside of the current club's perimeter. This rotunda wasn't directly featured in the film but was picked up in the background of a few shots - for example, the image below shows the rotunda's white top behind the wall.
However, during the shoot it was given over to Ahna Capri as a dressing room. Apparently Bruce found out about this and demanded that he be allowed to use it as well. Ahna apparently agreed and later confirmed (off the record, during a fan event) that she had her own "Entered by the Dragon" experience during this time of shared dressing facilities.
The rotunda is on public land and can be accessed from the beach if you can find your way there (more on that later). I have never been inside but I understand it is quite badly vandalised and graffitied. I did manage to grab a snap of it from the other side of the wall when I was there in 2011 (see image below) but there are much better images online if you search for them.
The rotunda is on public land and can be accessed from the beach if you can find your way there (more on that later). I have never been inside but I understand it is quite badly vandalised and graffitied. I did manage to grab a snap of it from the other side of the wall when I was there in 2011 (see image below) but there are much better images online if you search for them.
The Beach
No, not the Leonardo DiCaprio one. Of course, the shingle beach features in the movie a couple of times, but mainly when the fighters arrive at "Han's Island" and are met off the boat by Bolo and Tania. The beach has changed very little, as you would expect, it's just getting to it these days is a bit of an adventure in its own right. I've written a bit more about that under the self explanatory title "Access Blocked to the Beach" below. But in the meantime here are my photos from 2011. You can see how far down to the beach the podium of Pacific View comes - and that is why there is no trace of the tennis courts left.
No, not the Leonardo DiCaprio one. Of course, the shingle beach features in the movie a couple of times, but mainly when the fighters arrive at "Han's Island" and are met off the boat by Bolo and Tania. The beach has changed very little, as you would expect, it's just getting to it these days is a bit of an adventure in its own right. I've written a bit more about that under the self explanatory title "Access Blocked to the Beach" below. But in the meantime here are my photos from 2011. You can see how far down to the beach the podium of Pacific View comes - and that is why there is no trace of the tennis courts left.
This place looks familiar...
...oh yeah, that's right!
No, not a pillbox, more likely a long-deserted fisherman's hut
Beach as seen fromthe club
The Future
When the land was originally sold to the American Club for redevelopment, the three mansions (Palm Villa, Tytam Villa and Stanley Lodge) were combined into a plot of land called RBL (Rural Buidling Lot) 1086 SA and the section of the tennis courts that eventually became Pacific View were RBL 1086 RP (Remaining Portion). The HK Govt map below shows how these two plots relate to each other.
When the land was originally sold to the American Club for redevelopment, the three mansions (Palm Villa, Tytam Villa and Stanley Lodge) were combined into a plot of land called RBL (Rural Buidling Lot) 1086 SA and the section of the tennis courts that eventually became Pacific View were RBL 1086 RP (Remaining Portion). The HK Govt map below shows how these two plots relate to each other.
Courtesy: HK Govt Geoinfo map
Notice how the two plots do not touch and there is a strip of land between them that encompasses the former garden area (now a multi-sport pitch for the club), as well as the circular outhouse? That's right, the former garden area that makes up the current pitch is not officially part of the club's land and is, in fact, leased to them on a year-by-year basis.
Anyway the reason for this arrangement is a little more disconcerting for us Lee fans because the Government has plans to use this small strip of land to extend Tai Tam Road through it.The original idea was to remove the sharp bend of the current road where it goes around the Pacific View development. The govt has been cutting out sharp bends from rural roads for many years to make them safer and this is why the club can only lease the sports pitch on an annual basis. At some point in the future the government will decide it is time for the road to be built and the club will lose a portion of its grounds and facilities, and Lee fans will lose what little remains of the former filming location, including the garden and its original wall, the cicular outhouse and, of course, the beach. If that wasn'tmotivation for you to get over here and visit the place,I don't know what is. Who knows when the HK Govt will finally decide to pull that particular pin out of the grenade?
Access Blocked to the Beach!
Take note of the shape of the plot because the bottom left hand section of it appears to be currently causing a bit of controversy amongst visiting fans and local hikers alike. Here's a close up showing the path that connects Tai Tam Road to the public beach. If it's not obvious, the path is the double line that touches the blue dotted plot line just below where it says Block 1.
As mentioned earlier, the shingle beach is a significant filming location in itself and is really the one and only remaining features of the area that still looks the same as it did back in 1973.
A few years ago, access to the beach was straightforward. You went to a gate next to Pacific View and followed the path down to the beach. Easy peasy. However, it has recently been brought to my attention that this path is no longer accessible. It seems that someone at Pacific View decided they no longer wanted plebs likemeand you walking down to the beach and installed a numerpad on the gate with lots of accompanying signs designed to scare us away. Sometimes, people can be very petty here, unfortunately. Anyway, I wrote to the Lands Department for clarification of the situation and they basically said Pacific View could do what they want. Here's the email I received back - granted the grammar needs a bit of work, but you get the point.
It is noted that you raise a concern regarding a staircase accessing to a shingle beach behind the Pacific View.
Based on the available information obtained, please be advised portion of the mentioned staircase was within the private lot RBL 1086RP (Pacific View) area. In this regard, the management company has the right to block and lock of that portion of staircase under their sole discretion.
Despite the shingle beach is a public area without any enter restriction, but the Government is encouraged the public not to head for any location without a proper access in considered with safety concerned.Note the last paragraph though. This is basically the Lands Dept saying that as long as you don't break the law, you can still access the beach via other methods, they just don't want to encourage it because it might not be safe. So for all Lee fans around the world who spend non-insignificant amounts of money and time on flights to come here for movie tourism, I applaud you and point you to a video showing an alternative route. Although this route also involves initially utilising a path located on the Pacific View plot and then following a catchwater around the outside of the development. Be safe people!
Previous Commenters
Some memories that people posted on the old blog were worth keeping, so I have included them below. I'm hoping that publishing this new version ofmy original post will attract some new information and memories from people who visited the estate, or perhaps even played tennis there.
Jeff: This brings back some memories! I used to play tennis at these courts with M.W and his son Ken, and many other friends, every Sunday afternoon. I recall the courts being converted for the Bruce Lee movie, and we all had our photographs taken sitting on the large throne chair on one of the courts.
Kiska: M.W’s house was called Longview and was on the opposite side of the road to the American Club...I still have old cine film at M.W’s Sunday tennis parties. Only men were allowed to play tennis on his courts with the exception of Wimbledon lady winners, but we ordinary ladies were included in the social activities. I was invited to dinner and bridge at his house on several occasions...M.W was truly the grand old man of tennis and I remember him very fondly. He was also an intrepid bridge player and took me to the cleaners more than once!
Peter: I’m M.W Lo’s grandson, now living in New Zealand. I was fascinated to read that you have some movie footage of the tennis parties. My father and brothers used to play at those tennis matches...
Kiska: M.W’s house was called Longview and was on the opposite side of the road to the American Club...I still have old cine film at M.W’s Sunday tennis parties. Only men were allowed to play tennis on his courts with the exception of Wimbledon lady winners, but we ordinary ladies were included in the social activities. I was invited to dinner and bridge at his house on several occasions...M.W was truly the grand old man of tennis and I remember him very fondly. He was also an intrepid bridge player and took me to the cleaners more than once!
Peter: I’m M.W Lo’s grandson, now living in New Zealand. I was fascinated to read that you have some movie footage of the tennis parties. My father and brothers used to play at those tennis matches...
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