Benson - Robert Guillaume (1984) - Aberdeen Harbour

In the second episode, Made in Hong Kong: Part 2, following the disappearance of the Governor, Benson and Kraus retire to Aberdeen to plot their next move. We get a night shot of Jumbo as well as some daytime shots of the pair as they get shuttled around on a sampan.

Benson - Robert Guillaume (1984) - Jumbo Restaurant

Clayton has gone missing because he's been kidnapped by the baddies. The other three go for dinner at the Jumbo and then head back to shore on one of those little shuttle boats that used to run from Shum Wan Pier Drive and elsewhere.

My Three Sons - Fred MacMurray (1965) - Aberdeen Harbour

Here's an obscure one that, not being American, I had never heard of until recently. My Three Sons was a fairly long-running comedy drama show starring Fred MacMurray as the widowed father-of-three young sons and the show followed them through their daily lives. It ran from 1960 through to 1972 over 12 seasons.

For the purpose of this blog there is a single episode from Season 6 (broadcast in 1965) that featured Hong Kong as the setting. Episode 12 is called The Hong Kong Story and details how the main character, Steven Douglas (MacMurray) travels to Hong Kong with his sons and their Uncle Charlie for the purpose of business. Uncle Charlie is an ex-sailor who met and fell in love with a local girl when he was in Hong Kong and he hopes to find her despite 35 years passing. George Takei (pre-Mr Sulu) even makes an appearance as a local Chinese business associate who greets them at the airport.

Sadly, as with many low budget shows, the episode only features library/stock footage of Hong Kong for its various establishing and transitional shots, but there are some interesting views to look at and I am including the show for completeness more than anything else. If anyone is interested in watching the episode, Knack Entertainment on Youtube has Season 6 loaded up as one long video on their channel.

The episode starts its journey to Hong Kong by showing us what we think is the plane's view of its approach to Kai Tak, but in fact is just a helicopter shot of Aberdeen that takes in the cemetery, town, and then harbour.

(above) Aberdeen Chinese Permanent Cemetery

Look carefully at the bottom of this last image and you can see the old Aberdeen dry docks where Nam Ning Street now runs.

Company - Ajay Devgan (2002) - Aberdeen Harbour

Mallik and friends spends the day on a boat discussing business. This was all shot inside the confines of Aberdeen Harbour.

Gen Y Cops - Edison Chen (2000) - Aberdeen Harbour

Actually, before I forget, we will stay in Aberdeen for the sequence where the FBI catch up with Edison and all hell breaks loose. Props to Paul Rudd in this scene because the man goes and takes a full on head first dive into Aberdeen Harbour waters for this scene and seems to have survived. I know the water has cleared up a lot since the boat people were largely moved onto land, but still...

In the background of the top image you can see what was the Wild West Minetrain rollercoaster that was in Ocean Park until just a few years ago. I believe it was decommissioned in September 2021 as the theme park was in the process of modernising. However, it's so long since I went there I have no idea what it has been replaced by.

Paul Rudd's legs 😁

...and Millions will die! - Richard Basehart (1973) - Aberdeen Harbour

There are a few scenes of Aberdeen Harbour throughout the film, as well as a chase between Gallagher (Leslie Nielsen) and Pruit (Basehart) later in the film.

The Fighting Dragon - Yasuaki Kurata (1975) - Aberdeen Harbour

After meetimg up at the cemetery, the three head over to Aberdeen where Lung raises questions about the master's death. He's very suspicious of the circumstances and, lo-and-behold, they are suddenly attacked. The first shot shows the Sea Palace whilst the second one appears to show the lower railing of the Tai Pak. This was a year before the Jumbo (version 2) finally appeared on the scene in 1976.

Hafen der Düfte - Veronica Ferres (2013) - Aberdeen Harbour

Edward takes Victoria out on a little boat trip to visit his mates/gang members who has one of (what I think is) the stolen antiques. There's quite a lot to see in these few screencaps, including the now sunken Jumbo, the now delapidated Tai Pak (apparently due a refurb at somepoint), and (look carefully) what looks to be the construction of the MTR's new South Island Line bridge over the harbour. The latter was inaugurated at the end of 2016.

Yakuza on Foot - Tomisaburô Wakayama (1969) - Tai Pak Restaurant, Aberdeen

The two gangs are on their way for some lunch at the Tai Pak when Oriental Traval once again attack them. So a shootout follows from the lower deck of the restaurant as the attackers zip past in a boat.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Adam Baldwin (2000) - Aberdeen Harbour

Mr Wong, the enigmatic tour guide, berths his boat in Aberdeen Harbour, just across the water from the Jumbo Kingdom restaurants, which can be seen in quite a few shots. Don't forget I did a radio show a couple of years ago when the Jumbo was "eliminated".

Jumbo Palace in the background 

Jumbo (R.I.P)

Mr Hercules Against Karate - Alberto Terracina (1973) - Aberdeen

In another bit of geographical gymnastics, although not quite as weird as merging Victoria Peak with Sydney Harbour, the back of Tiger Balm Gardens apparently leads directly into Aberdeen Harbour as the pair run away from the henchmen by diving into the not-so-clean waters of Aberdeen. This is the eastern end of the harbour because, low-and-behold, in the background of several shots is the dilapidated carcass of the original Jumbo restaurant. Old readers may remember years ago (2011) when I first identified the old Jumbo in the background of a shot from Enter the Dragon. It seems that at least one narrator (I'm looking at you Frank Djeng) had picked up on this for the recent Enter the Clones of Bruce - Enter the Dragon locations featurette, but failed to look further into the location of the Sammo fight. Shame on you. 

Anyway I digress. If anything, it was just an indication of how long the burnt out wreck was left to fester at the side of the harbour since it tragically caught fire in October 1971 i.e. the best part of two years at least.

We see it again, albeit in low-res, during the Aberdeen harbour sequence. The first image below shows Terracina braving the harbour waters to escape the henchmen and, in the second image, you can see the old Jumbo on the left hand side. This shot was taken from the promontory where the Aberdeen Seminary is located. Even in low-res it looks like a sorry sight. In image three, you can see its collapsed roof in the background.

Anyway, that appears to be all from Ming, Ragazzi! aka Mr Hercules Against Karate. The final scenes appear to have been shot at a sort of Chinoiserie-style building, but it's not somewhere I recognise and it wouldn't surprise me if it was in Thailand or the Philippines. If you know better then feel free to let me know (remember, I posted the film link in the first post).

Mad Mission 3: Our Man from Bond Street - Sam Hui (1984) - Aberdeen Harbour

Peter Graves (yes, that Peter Graves of the Mission Impossible TV series) plays a CIA agent for no other reason than to add some international gravitas to the film. It worked because Cinema City were able to secure some very lucrative international distribution deals as a result. He was so expensive (by Hong Kong standards) that all they could afford to get him to do was sit in a rickshaw in various parts of town and do a little comedy thing with a self-destructing tape message. We first see him as he is standing on a junk as it is towed through the middle of Aberdeen Harbour.

Royal Warriors - Michelle Yeoh (1986) - Jumbo Floating Restaurant

The trio reunite for a celebratory dinner at the Jumbo Restaurant in Aberdeen. This was back when the "Jumbo Kingdom" consisted of the triple delight of the Jumbo, Tai Pak and Sea Palace. All can be seen in the top and bottom images. However, their meal takes place on board the Jumbo proper.

The Thieves - Kim Yoon-seok (2012) - Tai Pak Floating Restaurant, Aberdeen Harbour

Despite the Jumbo being towed away and sunk in the middle of the pandemic, the Tai Pak is still in Aberdeen harbour and supposedly undergoing some sort of renovation and rebirth. We shall see, time will tell. It would be a shame if Aberdeen was to lose its sole remaining floating restaurant. In the meantime here it is functioning as the location where our two heist gangs, Korean and Chinese, meet up to plan their big heist of all heists. 

The first images show the Jumbo and its old kitchen unit that was attached to the back. Coincidentally, a few weeks before the Jumbo sunk, this kitchen structure also capsized and sunk in Aberdeen Harbour.