Cosa Nostra Asia - Chris Mitchum (1974) - Cross Harbour Tunnel

As a final post for this film (yep, that's all I got for this one), there is also some brief in-car footage of the Hong Kong Island-end of the Cross Harbour Tunnel.

Cosa Nostra Asia - Chris Mitchum (1974) - Hung Hom Interchange, Hung Hom

Perhaps the producer, Bobby Suarez, had some obsession with this view of Hong Kong because it was repeated in They Call Her Cleopatra Wong a few years later. The images in that old post though are much better quality (taken from a DVD print).

Cosa Nostra Asia - Chris Mitchum (1974) - Kai Tak Airport

On no fewer than three occasions we are shown footage of a plane landing at Kai Tak in order to shift the story back to Hong Kong. Thankfully, each of the clips is different so I have included them below. I know I have a few aviation geeks who read this stuff, so please feel free to enlighten me as to the planes and airlines. This first sequence was shot from the harbour-side of the runway as the plane lands from the west.

My local, more knowledgable friend has suggested the following, feel free to correct if necessary: "First sequence looks like a KLM DC-8-63 in 'white top' livery. The second one is either a DC-8 or 707...The third is an Alitalia DC-8, just based on the fact that Alitalia didn't fly 707s until later".

The second sequence looks very likely it was shot from the top of Checkerboard Hill because it looks like the swimming pools in Kowloon Tsai Park at the bottom of the frame.

The final sequence was filmed from the north side of the runway with Hong Kong Island in the background.

Cosa Nostra Asia - Chris Mitchum (1974) - Hong Kong Harbour

The story flits from (supposedly) Chicago to Hong Kong as various gang members travel between the two places. However, all subsequent scenes with the actors supposedly in Hong Kong were actually filmed in Taiwan. This just leaves us with a variety of establishing shots that may or may not have been shot specifically for the movie. Our first one is a view across the harbour from the Peak. Unfortunately the picture quality means there isn't much detail to see as the camera starts with a view of the old Yau Ma Tei Typhoon Shelter before panning down towards Central on Hong Kong Island.

Old YMT Typhoon Shelter

Ferry Point Estate and former Govt dockyard

Kowloon Docks and Ocean Terminal

The "new" Connaught Centre

Looking over Central with Furama Hotel and HMS Tamar dockyard

Cosa Nostra Asia - Chris Mitchum (1974) - Sai Kung

Before Robert Mitchum came to Hong Kong to star in The Amsterdam Kill, his son, Christopher, had already been in this part of the world for one of Golden Harvest's first efforts: H-Bomb. A few years later he was back for a Filipino-produced spy film called Cosa Nostra Asia (producer Bobby Suarez later went on to make They Call Her Cleopatra Wong).

It's a weird film that is supposedly set largely in Hong Kong but appears to have been mainly shot in Taiwan, with a brief library shot of Chicago (as an establishing shot for the HQ of the Mafia) thrown in for good measure. To be honest, the quality of the copy available online makes it very hard to identify many of the locations, but there are enough to make it worth including. A big thanks to AP who was the one who made me aware of this movie last year.

The film opens with Chris (Mitchum) single-handedly raiding a drug warehouse before going off on his motorbike to spy on a drug exchange. I don't believe any of this was filmed in Hong Kong - at least I can't say with any confidence - but weirdly there is a brief scene as he makes his way through the mountains to the drug rendezvous that looks familar (regular readers might recognise it - see second image), as well as a brief view of the general area around the Tai Mong Tsai Road, north of Sai Kung town centre. I *think* it's Chris Mitchum riding the bike along these dirt trails, but it's too dark to be 100% confident. 

It's a bit dark but this is Tai Mong Tsai area with
YimTin Tsai and Kau Sai Chau in the background

Sai Kung hills- recognise them?