There are some really fun titles being put out on the Celestial/Shaw Youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@ShawBrosCinema). Even though there aren't many Hong Kong locations to be had in this next movie, The 5 Billion Dollar Legacy, it's worth watching for the twists and turns in the plot if you like that sort of thing. The film stars Margaret Hsing Hui as Peifang, one of three illegitimate daughters of a reclusive Hong Kong businessman who has a huge business empire in Tokyo. He's writing up his will and has tracked down his only family, the three women, with a desire to let them share in his vast fortune.
The girls meet up for the first time on their way to Japan and once there find everything is not quite as it seems. Although most of the film appears to have been shot either in the studio or at a location in Japan, the opening scenes show the father's letters to his daughters as they travel from Japanese postbox to HK via the airport and then a local sorting office, were filmed in Hong Kong.
The film was directed by Japanese director, Inoue Umetsugu (he also directed a few other films on the blog e.g. Sunset, The Yellow Muffler and Operation Lipstick).
These first few images show the Royal Mail truck leaving Kai Tak after picking up the mail delivery.
I can't identify the Hotel Paradise in The Lady Professional, but the villa in The 5 Billion Dollar Legacy was located on Lake Shoji as the dialogue says. They travel along Hwy/Route 706 and turn left up a dirt road. You can see a tunnel on the right.
ReplyDeleteThe 2014 Streetview still showed a sign for 'Shoji Hotel' where the dirt road began in 1970. I think they drove past what is now the Hotel Hatsukari-So in the film. No luck searching Shoji Hotel in English. I'll try using the Japanese name to find if it really was a villa turned hotel.
Hi Rodney, sadly, despite quite a few trips, I'm not that familiar with Japan. It would be nice to find though so we can see a modern comparison. Phil
DeleteI found out that Hotel Shoji was never a villa. It was conceived and constructed by a Brit in 1895, which may explain the Tudor elements. I was not able to find a picture of the clock tower. Actually, the pictures I saw did not show much of the structure. However, I am almost certain it was the 'villa' from the movie.
ReplyDeleteThe hotel itself was sold in 2008 and might have continued to operate for some while under new ownership. Then it was abandoned possibly after 2014, when the new sign along Route 706 was covered up. The road and tunnel in the film were the old version. That tunnel has since been abandoned and sealed off though it can still be seen, albeit not on streetview, along with the original gate of the hotel they drove through in 1970.
By the way, I am surprised the Tube allows anyone to watch this movie without signing in because of the nudity. Maybe the channel will later re-upload it with the nudity cut.
thanks for the info, Rodney. Interesting stuff. Can you reveal the location for people to check it out? I wonder if the nudity got past because it's just pictures on the wall? A bit cheeky of Shaws but funny.
Deletehttps://maps.app.goo.gl/tX6BiqNtCt4k9WAW6
ReplyDeleteHere is the new tunnel that opened in 1989 and the extended service road up to the now-disused Shoji Hotel. The original road they from the film was further left of this current one and basically right on the water. The old tunnel entrance and exit are blocked off, but the structure still exists out of Streetview.