I Spy (TV Series) - Robert Culp (1965) - Castle Peak Bay, Tuen Mun

The I Spy team really did manage to make it to almost all corners of our humble abode, so it's of no surprise to find out that they also made it all the way out to what is now Tuen Mun new town, but in 1965 was still the unreclaimed Castle Peak Bay. This one had me scratching my head for a while because I just couldn't place it. However, despite the blurry glimpse of the mountain (see picture 4 below) there was enough detail for me to think it may be Castle Peak (Chinese name: 青山 Tsing Shan).

Actually, it looks as though this scene was used in two separate episodes: No Exchange on Damaged Merchandise and Carry Me Back to Old Tsing Tao (the latter, if you remember also used nearby Dragon Garden as a location).

I've been informed by a helpful person on Facebook called Vincent that this road is the stretch of Castle Peak Road that currently sits next to Chi Lok Garden. Of course, it is completely changed and unrecognisable now (you can't even see the lower hills in the distance due to development) to the point that it's exact location is impossible to pinpoint and putting a Streetview picture up for comparison will show you nothing but buildings.

However, I do believe that the bit of land we see sticking into the water behind the car in the first picture is the (now landlocked) hill that contains the Sam Shing Temple.

I Spy (TV Series) - Robert Culp (1965) - Humphreys Avenue, Tsim Sha Tsui

Another great bit of spotting courtesy of Thomas who managed to nail this rather obscure street shot via the building in the far background. Further looking revealed that the Sitlani Tailors prominently featured here used to be (until the early 2000's) situated at 10 Humphreys Avenue. I think they have moved around the corner to Cameron Road since then.

Not quite the same angle but almost, courtesy of Streetview of course.

According to Centamap, the buildings on the right are pretty much the same ones that were there in 1965, but there are only one or two on the opposite side of the road and if you look carefully you may be able to match one or two portions (such as the one directly above the parking meter in the screen grab).

The building at the end of the road certainly is the same one (which is how Thomas was able to match it) - it's called the James Lee Building and was built/opened in 1961 - just a few years before this show was filmed.

I Spy (TV Series) - Robert Culp (1965) - Neon Montage, Kowloon

Okay, not my typical post here and I was struggling with what to do with it because it involves a sequence in the Carry Me Back To Old Tsing Tao episode where we have a montage of nighttime neon filling the screens, made up of multiple locations and identifiable, pretty much, only by the signs themselves. So anyway, I figured it would be fun for some if I put them all up here in one post and say where I think they are and then anyone can chip in and give me any more places they recognise.

Here's the first, which I know - courtesy of the Fourseas, Singer and Rodania signs on the right - features the junction of Nathan and Austin Roads at the northern end of Tsim Sha Tsui. But what about those other signs? Tokyo Night Bar, Tokyo Night Inn? As we locate these places I'll add them to the list of labels at the bottom.

Here is a shot of that part of Nathan Road from the 1960's showing the same signs, but in daylight (Courtesy of the excellent book 香港走過的街道). Incidentally, the building that now occupies the site on the right is still called the Fourseas building and it sits between Austin Road and Tak Shing Street.

Then we appear to move down the road (past the Singer sign) and can see the Pink Lady Bar. I believe the Pink Lady Bar was located on Hankow Road further to the south.

Pink Lady Bar also reveals Dawson & Co behind it and well as Y.K Ma Furniture and Antiques. Can you spot anymore? Where was (and what was) Dawson & Co? Perhaps it was the same tailors that can still be found in HK, if so, where were they located in 1965? Y.K Ma on the other hand seems to be a famous name in the antique business and I found a reference that calls him legendary here. Sadly, my knowledge of this are is non-existent, so if there are any informed antique people out there who know where Y.K Ma's business was based in 1965, please leave a comment.

So what else do we have? Another junction - but this time I'm not sure it's the Nathan/Austin one, perhaps Nathan/Jordan Rd? Anyway, it has the HK Silk Centre along there as well as some signs I can't read.

And then that scene merges with one a bit easier to identify...the Tai Pak Seafood floating restaurant. If you want to read some interesting details of the Tai Pak then go to the comments section of this post I did a few years ago. But this version is unquestionably the one at Aberdeen.

Next up, we have the Kobe Bar, Cherry Bar. After covering Gambit on this blog, I now know that they were actually right next to each other. For proof you can checkout this Gambit post. There also looks to be the (rather dim by comparison) sign for Mandarin Garments at the top right. I've found references to a Mandarin Garments Factory, but this wasn't registered until 1969, several years after this episode was filmed. So where was this one, perhaps Cameron Road as well?

Last but not least we have the final two images showing the New Savoy Bar and the Oriental Pearl Night Club and Bar. Now I have found a reference to both the Savoy Bar (on Granville Road) and the New Savoy Plaza (on Prat Avenue), but no reference to the New Savoy Bar. So information welcome. As for the Oriental Pearl Night Club and Bar - well, the companies register has notes to this place opening in 1964 and closing in 1969, but not mention of the location. However, I was lucky enough to stumble across this photo which shows it next to Rikki's Bar, the latter I believe was located on corner of Cameron and Carnarvon Roads. So it looks like it was on Cameron Road.

Anyway, please feel free to leave comments with regards to the locations, or perhaps even some vague reminiscences of drunken nights spent at these places :-)

I Spy (TV Series) - Robert Culp (1965) - Carlton Hotel, Tai Po Road

This is only the second time I have seen this location being used - although I suspect it was featured in many more films I haven't seen yet. The last time I featured it on this blog was for Game of Death. However, this series. I Spy, was of course filmed about 13 years before Game of Death was released. This is another scene from Carry Me back to Old Tsing Tao.

In this last picture we can see what was the So Uk Estate - now largely demolished to make way for new apartments - famous for giving us the Hui brothers (Michael, Ricky and Sam) amongst others. Note the amount of hills in the background. Most of these had already been removed by the time Game of Death was filmed so that roads such as Lung Cheung Road and Cornwall Street could be put down.

You can just make out the hazy outline of Hong Kong Island in the background, to the right of Cosby's head is an island which I can only assume is probably Stonecutter Island - once part of the British Garrison but now occupied by the PLA. And AP has kindly stitched together some of the top screen grabs to give us a nice wide view of the hotel grounds.

The hotel was demolished some time in the 1990's to make way for Villa Carlton and Monte Carlton. You can still head up Tai Po Road to this spot but the view would be drastically different now courtesy of the proliferation of high rises in Kowloon below.

I Spy (TV Series) - Robert Culp (1965) - Dragon Garden, Castle Peak Road

After a couple of weeks break we return to I Spy, but a new episode called Carry Me Back to Old Tsing Tao. Viewers of either of my two blogs should immediately recognise the first location we see because it was subsequently featured in The Man with the Golden Gun and Noble House (amongst others). But, it seems, that Bill Cosby and Robert Culp were there first. We are of course talking about Dragon Garden. Here are the grabs.