Showing posts with label Clark Gable. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Clark Gable. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Soldier of Fortune - Clark Gable (1955) - Cheung Sha Wan Boatyard, Kowloon

Despite me covering most of the locations from Soldier of Fortune some years ago (I did a post over on Gwulo back in 2009 which served as a sort of precursor to the establishment of this blog), there are still a couple of places that had defied pinpointing. One of the locations is a fairly innocuous street scene, but the other was a local boat yard to which Michael Rennie - in his role as the Marine Police Inspector, Merryweather - visits just prior to him getting stuck on board Hank Lee's adventure-bound fishing junk.

The scene is quite interesting because it looks like a real event going on (as opposed to being staged for the film) as a new boat is launched from its dry dock into the nearby water. The only problem I was having is the exact location as to where this may have been filmed.

It's taken a while but I have finally managed to pinpoint it to one of the local boatyards that operated along the pre-reclamation waterfront where Cheung Sha Wan becomes Lai Chi Kok. The key to the location was a familiar looking ridge line that I couldn't place until it dawned on me that I was looking at Lion Rock from the west.

Anyway, after consulting some aerial images from 1949 and 1959 it appears that the location for this particular local ship yard was at the very southern end of Hing Wah Street and this location tallies with the current location of Sham Shui Po Sports ground. The NW corner of the track to be precise.

Hugh farmer's Industrial History of Hong Kong has an article on ship breaking in the area and one of the images contains a similar angle of Lion Rock in the background, albeit slightly more south because it looks as though the ship building activities were along the south west facing Cheung Sha Wan waterfront area, whereas the ship breaking industry discussed in Hugh's article appears to have taken place along the south eastern facing section, essentially the space now occupied by Lai Chi Kok MTR station.


In the penultimate image above the actor, Michael Rennie (playing Merryweather), has moved his head and you can see Lion Rock poking out from behind the distant ridge line. The derrick in the background of the last shot is the landmark that can be discerned on aerial imagery and helped me pinpoint the location.

Friday, March 31, 2017

Soldier of Fortune - Clark Gable (1955) - Behind the Scenes Photograph, Barker Road Peak Tram Stop

Another little picture that I found courtesy of a glossy celebratory magazine released in 1988 by the Peak Tram Company to celebrate 100 years of the Peak Tram.


The caption to the photo reads:
On location at Barker Road station for "Soldier of Fortune" in the 1950s, Clark Gable with John Arnold of the Peak Tramway Co.
The film was shot during November and December of 1954. Barker Road was seen twice in the film, once at the beginning as Gable surveys the view and once more at the end when Susan Hayward's character decides to stay with him in Hong Kong and goes to meet him there.

Hayward was famously unable to make it to Hong Kong to film her on-location scenes (her ex-husband had a court order issued preventing her from taking their children overseas) and so a double, Dale Logue, was used as her stand in. Hayward's close ups and dialogue scenes were all filmed back in the US studio.

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Soldier of Fortune - Clark Gable (1955) - Tak Shing Ferry to Macau

I have been re watching Soldier of Fortune recently (following on from the post concerning Ronald Chow) and found a few more grabs that are worthy of including such as this brief glimpse of the Macau<>Hong Kong Ferry: Tak Shing.


I don't have any information about the vessel other than that it was a real ship that toiled between Hong Kong and Macau. In the film it is the ferry that Hayward's character, Mrs Hoyt, catches to Macau and witnesses the arrest of Richard Loo's character by Communist sailors.

I did notice that the ship gets a mention on this thread over on Gwulo (and I have added a picture to the thread) and Thomas Ngan - frequent saviour of my identification exploits here - has mentioned that Ian Fleming traveled on the ferry when he visited HK.

Okay, it's not a film location as such (well, I guess it is a mobile one) but worthy of including here.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Soldier of Fortune - Clark Gable (1955) - Jordan Road Vehicular Ferry Pier

Also known as Jordan Road Ferry Pier because it was located at the westernmost end of Jordan Road in Kwun Chung - when it was still part of the waterfront (obviously...).


Of course, the ferry pier became a victim of the "Kowloon West" mass reclamation and was demolished in 1996. The West Kowloon reclamation has put paid to the aforementioned waterfront.

Soldier of Fortune was filmed in 1955, a few years before the Ferry Point Estate was constructed just to the immediate north of the ferry pier.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Soldier of Fortune - Clark Gable (1955) - Kennedy Town Praya, Hong Kong

Originally I though this was where Connaught Road turns inland into Des Voeux Road in Sheung Wan, however, given that at one point we can see what can only be the northern slope of Mount Davis in the background has led me to believe that this is the part of the tram line where Des Voeux Road West leads into Kennedy Town Praya around Shek Tong Tsui.

It's the location of Hank Lee's Godown. Here is what was a nice open view over to the Kowloon mountains in the background.


The upper shot shows the view to the immediate left of the lower one as the camera pans to the right. In Soldier of Fortune Hank Lee runs his business from the Pedder Industrial Co. Godown. Pedder is a name synonymous with Hong Kong because it was the name of the new colony's first harbour master and went on to be used for several sites around what is now Central. Pedder Street bears his name as does the nice old Pedder Building (built in 1924) along it which housed.

Perhaps this was a real building, or perhaps the filmmakers just thought it was an authentic sounding Hongkong-style name that would fit the film's setting. Who knows? Here's what the same strip of land looks like nowadays. At least this is the closest Streetview I can get without the view being blocked by a tram car.


Here is another shot from the film - looking west, which shows in the background the slope of Mount Davis. You can see how close to the water's edge the tram line used to run. No, the tram line hasn't moved at all since it was first built in 1904, but the water's edge now stands a further 100 metres to the north thanks to reclamation.


Here is another modern Streetview grab that shows the same approximate angle.

Friday, February 3, 2012

Soldier of Fortune - Clark Gable (1955) - Queen's Road East, Hong Kong

Whilst being driven by Hank's chauffeur up to his house, we get to see the car being driven along the 1955 version of Queens Road East. It's identifiable by the small road on the right which is actually Wanchai Gap Road - a slim thoroughfare that hits a steep incline and takes you up to Bowen Road, Stubbs Road and beyond.

Here are the screencaps, the first two showing the entrance to Wanchai Gap Road, the last one showing the area of Queen's Road East a bit further along towards where Stone Nullah Lane and Kennedy St join on the right. Note the "Asahi" advert on the side wall.


Just out of frame on the top picture is one of only two or three buildings that remain from this time: the old Wanchai Post office. I've taken the liberty of taking a modern day shot from Streetview for comparison, but this one shows the Post Office today. It's no longer a post office of course but is used by the Govt Environmental Protection Dept (not doing their jobs properly if you ask me).

Monday, January 30, 2012

Soldier of Fortune - Clark Gable (1955) - Des Voeux Road, Hong Kong

There's another great section of this film where Susan Hayward's stand-in (Dale Logue) rides a rickshaw around town in a vain search for her missing husband.


At one point we see her on a stretch of the Des Voeux Road which is almost as recognisable today even though all the buildings along it have changed - Hong Kong can be a bit weird like that. One feature that helps us place this shot is the building in the far background which is the old Wing On building. Wing On still occupies the same site today, albeit with a slightly more modern building.

The second recognisable part is the intersection of Des Voeux Road and Wing Lok Street which joins at a tangent to the left of the curved building in the background. The Streetview grab below shows pretty much the same angle as the film - the gold-windowed building (above the jaywalking pedestrian) being the modern day replacement of the curved one in the 1955 picture.


The bottom screen grab shows a closer view of the aforementioned Wing On building that can be seen in the background of the top picture. It is a good example of how film makers mess with geography because this second shot occurs almost immediately after the top shot even though Hayward's character can be seen moving away from it in the top shot.

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Soldier of Fortune - Clark Gable (1955) - KCR Train Terminus, Kowloon

A shot from the opening credits of Soldier of Fortune. The angle indicates this shot was taken from the roof of either the YMCA  or the Peninsula Hotel. It was a sad day when the Colonial Administration took the decision to knockdown the train terminus building in 1978.


It's not just the clock tower that can still be seen today, but also the small white tower that once supported the time ball in the grounds of the Marine Police HQ.

Soldier of Fortune - Clark Gable (1955) - Queen's Building, HK Island

Here is another shot from the intro taken from the harbour right in front of Queen's Building - once again showing the large COOK'S sign on the harbour-side of the building.


It's not just the old buildings that I find fascinating, but also the almost complete lack of development on the hillside at the back. It's difficult to see anything through the hundreds of high-rises these days. There are a few other things to spot though including the old HSBC building, the old Bank of China building, The Hong Kong Club (far left), what looks like the pitched roof of Blake Pier in the foreground and the former LegCo building (aka Supreme Court) behind it.

Soldier of Fortune - Clark Gable (1955) - Connaught Road, HK Island

There are lots of scene-setting shots in Soldier of Fortune that reveal a great deal of what HK was like in 1955. The following is from an extended view along - a then harbourfront - Connaught Road including one of the old police platforms used by traffic constables for directing traffic.


Being on the waterfront, as it was, Connaught Road is unrecognisable today and I've included a streetview grab below so you can see what the same stretch of road looks like today. Look carefully on the film grabs and in the distance you will see what was Queen's Building on the corner of Statue Square (just to the right of the police platform). Of course this was replaced by the Mandarin Oriental about 10 years later. This view is impossible now.

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Soldier of Fortune - Clark Gable (1955) - Aberdeen Harbour, HK Island

Strictly speaking this shows a view of Staunton's Creek, but when I originally posted this I wasn't really aware of the difference between it and the main harbour. Aberdeen is just one of those places that keeps cropping up again and again in films - particularly ones aimed at foreign audiences. Probably because until recently it showed a very different side to Hong Kong with its floating shanty town - now disappeared.

It appears again at the beginning of Solder of Fortune and we see an angle taken from what I believe is Hong Kong side looking south towards Ap Lei Chau in the background. The presence of the northernmost corner of the Aberdeen Seminary (top left of the top picture) tells me the camera is sited along what is now Wong Chuk Hang Road (was it the same name in 1955, or all just part of Aberdeen Praya?).


Anyway, there is some familiar scenery in the bottom two pictures which show the various fishing and living vessels that still occupy Aberdeen Harbour even today.

Soldier of Fortune - Clark Gable (1955) - Stanley Bay, HK Island

One of the travelogue-style glimpses of the territory that we see during the opening scenes is of Stanley Bay on the southside of Hong Kong Island. Long before reclamation put paid to the beach here you can see it was a reasonably busy bay with lots of small fishing vessels moored in the shallows.


The strip of land in the background is the Stanley peninsula which houses a prison and PLA barracks (formerly Stanley Fort) as well as the famous military cemetery.

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Soldier of Fortune - Clark Gable (1955) - Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui

There is a scene at the end of the Soldier of Fortune when Hank (Clark Gable) is watching Hoyt (Haywood - or at least her double) board a PanAm bus on the Peninsula forecourt. The camera then pans left and we get a view of Salisbury Road in its former low rise glory. Behold!...an unspoilt view of the clock tower when it was still part of the train station.


Here's a shot of my own (for a change) showing a similar angle. Can you still see the clock tower?(Answer: No, you can't :-( ).

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Soldier of Fortune - Clark Gable (1955) - Bowen Road, Wanchai - Hong Kong

Immediately prior to the scene where we see Hank Lee's (Clark Gable) stupendous house in the guise of King Yin Lei, we are treated to a quick car tour which includes a short trip along Bowen Road.

More famous these days as a jogging spot and place to go and get your pet dogs killed by the infamous Bowen Road dog killer, the place is still quite picturesque and provides a great scenic walk that provides nice and cool shade on even the hottest of days.


The top shows nice views over Happy Valley, and look closely on the second pic and you will see the roof of King Yin Lei sticking out above the trees - much as it still does today.


Soldier of Fortune - Clark Gable (1955) - Barker Road Peak Tram Stop, The Peak

This location is actually used twice in the film - both at the beginning and end. It's where Hank Lee stands surveying the harbour just before the opening credits, and, in the final scene.

I've included the back-projected scene with hayward because it shows off the house on the Peak behind her head. Also note the green tram car - one of this vintage is now on display in front of the Peak Galleria - and a worthy addition to another wise tacky tourist area.


Barker Road Tram Stop was opened at the same time as the tram line itself - in 1888 - and is still there and in daily use by the people who live around Barker Road and surrounds. Incidentally, if anyone has read Martin Booth's Gweilo (or Golden Boy) childhood memoir, there is a chapter where he describes riding the tram with his mum as they were filming these scenes at Barker Road.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Soldier of Fortune - Clark Gable (1955) - Tin Hau Temple, Yau Ma Tei

No sooner have we left Temple Street in The World of Suzie Wong and we find ourselves seeing a view taken only 5 years earlier for Soldier of Fortune. Although judging from the screen grabs of both films, it looks as though a wall was constructed in front of the temple at sometime between the two films being made (i.e. sometime between 1955 and 1959/1960).


The scene also pans across so we see the temple as Clark Gable's character pops inside to consult one of his informants. Believe it or not this temple once stood at the waterfront - no, it hasn't been moved but the sea that used to be to the front of it has just been reclaimed so much that the place now sits over one kilometre inland. This is a common occurrence in HK.

Here is a more recent shot of the Temple front. I suspect that a bit of rebuilding of the temple has gone on as well as the wall that stands in front of it.

Soldier of Fortune - Clark Gable (1955) - The Peninsula Hotel, Tsim Sha Tsui

Twenty years before James Bond turned up on the forecourt of HK's iconic hotel, Clark Gable had done the same in Soldier of Fortune. It was the hotel where Susan Hayward's character was staying.

The truth is that Hayward never actually made it to HK because she was embroiled in a child custody battle with her ex-husband, so a stand-in (Dale Logue) was used for all the HK based shots and if you watch the film you will notice that all of Hayward's scenes were done in studio mockups or with a back-projection. Sadly this also means the Peninsula's Lobby in the film was als just a studio set - albeit a rather impressive one - as Hayward's presence in there suggests it wasn't the real one. Anyway, here are some more shots of that grand hotel's forecourt complete with the older fountain.