Ng's mansion in this story is a rather grand and opulant place located in Jardines Lookout. The address is 10 Perkins Road and a rather big clue to its location is given in the top image below. So blatant was this that I initially assumed it was a fake sign and perhaps 10 Perkins Road was one of Ng's real life properties. I don't think it was, but as a test I had a look at a 1991 aerial image of Jardines Lookout and located the property that matched the one seen in the images below and guess what - yep, 10 Perkins Road. Sadly, this grand old property is no more and it was replaced by a newer version in 1999. However, the property layout remains similar with the steep drive and front garden (though it now has a swimming pool in there). The new house retains the "Koshi Cottage" name.
Despite his immense wealth, Ng's real, main property at the height of his power was a rather more 'humble' place in Kowloon Tong (yep, the properties in Kowloon Tong are significantly smaller than some of those found at Jardines Lookout). In fact, I even wrote a blog post about it on my old history/exploration blog thing (now deleted, but you can see an archive
here). The property became a 'Love Motel' called the "Kent Hotel", but it abruptly closed a few years ago and the old house was
knocked down and replaced by something
twice as high and twice as ugly.
24 comments:
The first screencap showing the address should be from the finale when limpy gets nicked. I couldn't remember if the home appeared before that, but seems it did. What about the interior, any clues that it could have been from the real house?
Since you mentioned Kowloon Tong, there was grand home there that RTV/ATV used a few times. It had a steep driveway and impressive gardens. The design of the house itself was a bit like Bishop's House on Lower Albert Road. I never did find the location of that house, but seeing your screencaps and the steepness of this drive reminded me of it.
Hi Rodney, yes that's from the end. The interior could be anywhere really.There is a stained glass window from what I remember but whether it was the same location or not is beyond my abilities. I'm curious about the KT place you talk about because the area is flat, so I'm scratching my head as to where a steep driveway would be located...maybe on the Kowloon Tsai side?
I am not entirely sure it the RTV house was in Kowloon Tong, but based on its lot size and the proximity to other buildings (4-5 storey lowrise and taller 15-20 storey block almost right next to its garden), I deduced it was the general area. There are (still) some houses on Beacon Hill Road that I think used to be part of the HSBC mess. I thought the house in question would be around there, but found nothing like it on old maps.
Original houses in Yau Yat Chuen around Tat Chee Avenue are few and far between now. Although of the few that remain, I am quite sure I have seen them all on film on TV. Like you said, that area is very flat to have a steep drive. If you take a look at place for The Towers, 20 Broadwood Road over at gwulo, you can get an idea of what this RTV house looked like because it resembled a smaller version of it.
I just learned from your archived posts that you are an Alphard/Vellfire loving resident of KT. Incidently, I don't see many more Nissan Elgrands around. Some years back, a neighbour of mine took their kids to int'l school in an Elgrand and they were super brats that obviously took after the parents. One day this kid flagged me down when he needed to go out in the rain. The little scamp acted like I was so far beneath him that I had to drive him, so I laughed him off. I always regretted it ... not driving into a puddle to douse him.
yes, MPV's are the bane of KT. The road infrastructure in the area just wasn't built with masses of large vehicles clogging up the streets twice a day in mind. There are too many old houses being used as schools which only makes things worse. I live about a mile away but am in the area pretty much every day.
That style of house doesn't ring a bell. In KT most houses were of a limited style and footprint, with a few art deco-style exceptions, so a turreted house like that definitely sounds like somewhere else unless it is a more modern construction. Yau Yat Tsuen houses were very much art deco style I feel and, again, little scope for a steep driveway. My interest is piqued though, so if you can find a video of it online I would be interested in seeing it.
I had a look at the few grand houses on Homantin Hill Road, but couldn't find it there either. Most of those places had been felled by the wrecker before RTV did 'Gone with the Wind'. ATV has some of their old series in full on YouTube, but not 'Gone', which is showing on my TV super. I was able to confirm at least three houses I've seen on TV in the Kowloon Tong area were still standing in their original form at the time of Google's streetview's first visit in 2009.
I have tracked Adam Cheng's Instinct house to Tuen Mun. It was part of an interesting, possibly celebrity development. I'll see if I can find out more about it and add to the original comment at the other location page.
I have been fooled by ATV on their 'Gone with the Wind' house, but after yesterday's Tsing Pik Villa find on their YouTube, all is forgiven. I finally saw today they used two locations in 'Gone' and the reason I said the house had a steep driveway was because all the vehicular scenes were done at the second location, which I believe to be the top of Island Road (No. 37, 43, 45) in Deep Water Bay.
Now I have no idea what the driveway of the house that resembled The Towers looks like. The road above it does seem elevated and there are stairs that seemed to go directly from the sidewalk down to the gardens.
By the way, I've seen the Dallas episode. The Dallas fansite says it was the first time they filmed internationally, which is a surprise because it had been a huge hit from several years by then. Only the two leading ladies were here and Ol' J.R. didn't make the trip. I had several seasons on DVD, but definitely not this episode because it was from the infamous dream season from which the ratings never recovered.
yes, always best to approach locations with the concept of it possibly being an amalgamation of more than one. It happens frequently which is why I am often less confident about interiors. The island house scene is a perfect example. It could be 4 or more separate places. Anyway, nice that you have been able to track down the driveway. I'm a bit silly because I knew about this Dallas episode several years ago and even found a copy on Youtube but neglected to download it because I had so many other films to look at. Kicking myself now. Not worth buying the whole season just for one episode.
I was only able to identify the 'Gone' driveway thanks to your old post about 36 Repulse Bay Road. It appeared in the episode for the flashest of flashes and I saw the distinctive red roof and turret.
I thought I found the actual Towers-like house today, but, alas, it was a false flag because it had already been demolished by the time of filming. Just noticed the entrance to the house had Chinese-style stained glass windows. I am 110% sure RTV/ATV used it before in another series that depicted a similar era and I hope to find it on their YouTube. Early episodes of 'Gone' were set in the 1930s, but most of it is 1960-70s.
This is the RTV/ATV house I've been looking for. It appears at the end in the first link, second link in the beginning. Not the best angle, as it only shows the lower floor and none of the surrounding area.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvlxUCtfzfc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3H5Kmzb-dI
ooh, that one's a toughy, but definitely early colonial era I suspect given the columns. So maybe somewhere on the Peak? Reminds me a little of 27 Lugard Road, but without more on view it's hard to tell. Without any background for context it will be hard to find.
Yes, a tough one. The series in the YouTube videos, The Legend Returns, was set in the 1940s. The director used this angle to avoid anachronisms because a highrise that wouldn't have existed in the '40s would be visible. In episode 6 (first link), a residential building flashes on the far left side of the screen for a split second. It appears from 'Gone with the Wind' there is another highrise on the opposite side of the garden that isn't seen in 'Legend'.
An old house on Bowen Road, with its driveway accessed from Borrett Road, had those columns, but the rest of the exterior was different and the plot smaller. Given the proximity to other residential developments and the height of those buildings, I wouldn't think it would be the Peak.
I think the best bet is to look at all areas that had large colonial properties and then try to find some nearby highrises that could fit into that configuration (it looks like they are facing each other but at an angle,forming a sort of V shape...). Of course,it's been 40 years so older aerial images may help. I think between us we will eventually track it down.
The highrise at the back looks quite wide...I'mtalking Borret Manions/Branksome Grande kind of width, I feel. Maybe that could help narrow it down a little?
Just tracked it down and it is not a house, but rather the Ohel Leah Synagogue on Robinson Road. It appeared on today's episode of 'Gone with the Wind', but from the same angle as 'The Legend Returns'. However, you are correct about the background highrise because it is the Fairmont Gardens (16-floors because it skipped 9, 13, 14/F) and it is very wide like Borrett Mansions and Branksome.
What fooled me was that only a single-block building was visible in earlier 'Gone' episodes on the Robinson Road side of the garden like 'Legend'. That building was the previous generation of Primrose Court. The current building in its place and of the same name was completed in '93. Then when they used the other side of the garden, it showed Merry Court and what I think was 39-39A Castle Road, which made me think Kent Road area of Kowloon Tong/Beacon Hill instead.
Mystery solved! well done, but what a shame it isn't an old private house. Last time I was by this area I was on Robinson Rd and the synagogue had a security guard walking along there telling people they couldn't take photos. What bullshit!
Ha, that's typical of Mid-Levels security guards, overstepping their bounds. As long as you are on the sidewalk, there's nothing he can do to stop you. If he thinks you are really that sketchy, he should have called the rozzers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj_Q5Bol9MM
Do you mind taking a look at the 50:00 mark of the video and see if you recognize the road or area? It is from RTV's 1978 big budget production 'In Cold Blood'. The late Leslie Cheung sung the theme song though he was not in the series.
There seemed to be quite a few light industrial businesses along that road. A couple films I saw during my pandemic hotel stay was shot in a similar area. I can't remember which films, but 'To Be Number One' was likely not one of them.
It looks like they have even put plastic up on the railings along Robinson Road to prevent sneaky beaky snaps. Oh dear!!
RE:road. Hmmm,seems quite straight, so my initial thought would be Castle Peak Road between Sheung Shui and Yuen Long, but I don't believe it had two lanes per carriageway in the 1970s. Maybe the wider section of Tai Po Rd between Tai Po and Fanling? Most likely a combination of two or more places though (street side +in car footage).
Castle Peak Road west of Yuen Long also looks quite promising.Seems the road was much bigger there...and that would account for the flat terrain seen through the window in some of the shots. Wouldn't surprise me if it was multiple locations though.
Thanks, Phil. It does indeed look like the area between Hung Shui Kiu and Yuen Long, where the dual carriageway is separated by a strip of grass and sparsely planted trees. A couple of characters in the series lived in HSK according to Wikipedia.
When RTV/ATV filmed in old houses, they seemed to use their actual interiors quite a lot more than TVB ever did. There is some great footage on ATV's YouTube that I am going through.
Cool. Actually,you can tell when they are actually on location because the video quality is much worse - i suspect a different size filmis being used so the picture quality (and sound) is usually much poorer on location for those old shows. Maybe they used tape instead of film?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmLEPlBfY80
Quite risque for 1978, episode one was filmed on location. That was a nice house in an area I'm not familiar with, so thanks for the identifying the road. Based on the road they use to arrive there in episode 12, it might have been a house on the Park Nara development site in Hung Shui Kiu. They drove southwest on Castle Peak Road and made a right turn on to an unpaved road immediately in front of the driveway. Today's light rail tracks are where the unpaved road was.
Unfortunately, Google streetview was just a bit late because the site was already being redeveloped at its first visit. Park Nara was completed in 2011 and the old house, extended if not rebuilt as something else, appeared to have still been on the site in 2007-2008.
Rodney, if you use https://www.hkmaps.hk/viewer.html and use the 1982 aerial images for the background map, you can see a property with a garden and a what appears could be a circular fountain in the garden, right on the Park Nara site. It's not definitve, but if there is other footage on other episodes of the realroute there then you could be onto a winner.
I should mention, if you go backfurther and look at the 1970 map,you'll see the property was called "Siu Yin Pit Sui" (probably should read "bit sui" as in "villa"). Look around and you'll see that whole area was full of what appears to be rather grand villa typehouses with large gardens (Sik Lo, Wing Lok Yuen, Fung Yuen etc)
Thanks, hkmaps.hk is usually my first port of call when looking for old properties. It seems most of the old maps spell it as "pit sui", though some houses have "villa" in the in name instead. I had never looked for large, garden houses beyond Boulder Lodge. What surprises me is how many of them in the Hung Shui Kiu, Ping Shan area had already been felled by wrecking balls in the mid-1980s because property prices there were not that high then.
Siu Yin Pit Sui itself only appears in episode one and the road in episode twelve. I have searched both its English and Chinese name, but neither have turned up anything yet. There are different variations of "Siu" and "Yin" that I should try. Currently, the only building named Siu Yin nearby is a single block within a 1982-1984 Housing Authority development, Siu Hong Court.
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