Flight to Hong Kong - Rory Calhoun (1956) - Caine House, Arsenal Street

Our next movie is Flight to Hong Kong, made at the tail-end of 1955 and released in 1956. It gets a mention in the 1955 Hong Kong Report saying it was one of 3 overseas productions to film in the colony that year (the other two being Soldier of Fortune - which was actually shot at the tail end of 1954 - and Love is a Many-Splendored Thing). Apparently, Sabre Productions (the production company of the director Joseph M. Newman) arrived in Hong Kong in December to shoot on location. What a shame then that the only copy I can find is a black and white VHS transfer (that was originally recorded off the Turner Classic Movie channel) that has rather poor picture quality. 

Anyway, the movie starts off as a sort of docudrama as we are given a voice over about the state of modern international crime. The voice over is supposedly provided by a member of the Hong Kong Police Force and describes how the colony's force is at the forefront of combating international crime. At the same time we get some nice proper shots of Caine House as it used to look back in 1955.

Caine House is still around of course, despite the HQ site being redeveloped. Anyway, here is an interesting comparison from thirty years later courtesy of China Rose.

China Rose - George C. Scott (1983) - Police HQ Arsenal Street, Wanchai

Just on the cusp of the line between Central and Wanchai is Arsenal Street where the Police HQ stands. The one that stands there now is new and the older version (pre-1990's redevelopment) can be seen below. Although the main site has been completely redeveloped, the building in the last picture is Caine House which is still standing.

Foxbat - Henry Silva (1977) - Arsenal Street, Wanchai

We're just on the cusp of Wanchai District with this next shot. Although the ambulance turns left into Canal Street West in the previous scene, it actually ends up popping out by the waterfront along Gloucester Road by the Police HQ.

Sadly most of the screen grabs I have are badly interlaced and my efforts to fix them have resulted in an equally eye-crossing blockiness, so I just have one that is okay to look at. The shot below is looking south back along Arsenal Street from the elevated lane that goes into the eastbound direction of Gloucester Road. At the right of the screen you can see the old Police HQ that has since been replaced by the current version. 

Seeing as this is Arsenal Street, it's interesting to note that the compound had an extra couple of white painted watchtowers along that stretch of road before they were knocked down during the redevelopment. The compound still has two on the wall facing Gloucester Road as well as a big one on top of one of the roofs.

You may recall Robert Mitchum walking along that same stretch of wall during The Amsterdam Kill.

The Amsterdam Kill - Robert Mitchum (1977) - Caine House, Wanchai

A brief look at the older building, Caine House, that forms part of the Wanchai District Police HQ on Arsenal Street. Here we see Mitchum walking along by the outer wall that fronts Arsenal Street before turning through the (now gone) main entrance. You can just make out the underside of one of the watchtowers as Mitchum walks underneath. This along with another was removed when that part of the site was redeveloped, but there are still two left along the wall on Gloucester Road.