The Taxi Driver - David Chiang (1975) - Shek Kip Mei Estate

This next shot, also part of the opening sequence, is a shot between several of the Shek Kip Mei Resttlement Estate blocks. I can even tell you exactly which ones because there is a key location in these images that still exists. At the far distance is a building with what looks to elongated window apertures. They're not windows in fact but just the concrete patterns on the side of St Thomas' Church on Berwick Street. This means we are looking down the gap between Blocks 7,8,9 and 10 of the old estate. This same gap these days is now blocked at either end by newer (circa 80s) buildings.

l-r Block 8, Block 7

St Thomas's Church in the far centre

l-r Block 9, Block 10

Hong Kong (series) - Rod Taylor (1960) - Shek Kip Mei Estate, Kowloon

We interrupt usual programming to complete our episode breakdown of the 1960 Rod Taylor Hong Kong series. I originally covered this show several years ago (actually 2019/2020) but couldn't complete the whole series because a single episode - Suitable for Framing - was unavailable. I couldn't find a copy anywhere.

The excellent Rod Taylor fansite was my first point of reference for the complete list of epsiodes, which were initially hosted on Youtube. But the list has since been updated to point to the Internet Archive and the missing episode, Suitable for Framing, has been located.

Sadly, it was largely a studio based episode whereby a shady character (played by Richard Loo) tries to get Glenn Evans framed for murder. There are some exterior shots but none that haven't been used before, other than this one.

I know this was taken in Shek Kip Mei because the angle on Lion Rock on the background is the same one that can still be seen from looking NE up Nam Cheong Street (I live in the area so am very familiar with it). But narrowing down the specific buildings seen in-shot is a bit more difficult.

However, I believe this was taken from Berwick Street between - what was - Block Q and Block P looking up to Block CC in the far distance with Lion Rock above it. This equates to where the Shek Kip Mei "Shopping Centre" (i.e. wet market) now stands at the corner of Berwick Street and Nam Cheong Street (same view today on Street View).