Weiße Fracht für Hongkong - Dietmar Schönherr (1963) - Cherry Street, Tai Kok Tsui

Another one of the old finds that I forgot to post back in the day. This one is from a sequence that sees the two male protagonists in the film, played by Brad Harris and Dietmar Schönherr, taking a rickshaw ride around whilst they sightsee. They stop on Cherry Street at the northern end of the old Yaumatei Typhoon Shelter.

The low-rise windowed building on the left was a row of factories/godowns, whose northern end (off screen to the left) marked the end of Argyle Street. It wasn't until this building was demolished that Argyle Street and Cherry Street were able to link up like they do today.

Weiße Fracht für Hongkong - Dietmar Schönherr (1963) - Kin Lee Shipyard, Siu Lam San Tsuen

To continue with the theme of lost shipyards (see my last post) here is one from a little bit later (1963). In this case it is the location used for the finale of the German production, Weiße Fracht für Hongkong, as Brad Harris throws himself around various structures kicking bad guys long before Jackie Chan had ever thought of doing it.*

Anyway, it turns out that the Kin Lee Shipyard (建利船廠) was located next to the area that was to become Lok On Pai desalination plant. To be honest there wasn't much around here back in the 60s (and into the 70s) other than the nearby Castle Peak Hotel so it wouldn't surprise me if the production crew stayed at the hotel when they were filming these scenes. I haven't been able to find out much about the company (in fact I don't even know what its Anglicised name was and the one I have used it just a guess) other than a couple of snippets in Chinese newspapers from the 50's that suggested it may also have had a shipyard in Kwun Tong, so if anyone can fill in the blanks please feel free to comment or email.

For the exact location I can only say that it now has a large residential development on it (how many times have I said this before on this blog?) called "Aqua Blue" so if any readers live there they may find this little post of some interest.

* In a nice coincidence, one of the ruffians is played by Siu Tin Yuen, the father of Yuen Woo Ping and the man who made his name in later years as Beggar So in Jackie Chan's Drunken Master.

Weiße Fracht für Hongkong - Dietmar Schönherr (1963) - #2 University Drive, Hong Kong University

The second additional post for Weiße Fracht für Hongkong is one that I really should have got earlier because the nearby University Lodge was also featured in the film. Here is the reminder of that location. I don't really know much about this place at all other than where it is, so perhaps there are some HKU alumni who can fill in the details. I understand it was built in the 1950s and was originally accommodation for University staff members, but I have no idea if it remains as such, or even if it is still around. I will head over there to check it out for myself at some point. Until then  here is the car park/ground floor area of the building, with an unimpeded view of the harbour, as it appears on film in 1963.

Weiße Fracht für Hongkong - Dietmar Schönherr (1963) - 53 Stubbs Road, Wanchai

It's been a long time since I posted about this early 60s German film, but since I published the initial posts I have been able to track down another couple of locations that were proving elusive, or at least difficult to ascertain.

The first location is this scene shot in a large private garden somewhere above Hong Kong island. We don't get to see much of the house itself, sadly, but the view from the garden is impressive and I was scratching my head for a while. I did wonder if it was taken from 53 Stubbs Road at the time but the lack of available photography meant I couldn't say for sure. Luckily, the mapping office now makes its aerial photographs available for online perusal and after looking at some shots from the same year as the film, I can confirm this was indeed 53 Stubbs Road.

The site is now occupied by the Gehry designed Opus building - one of Hong Kong's most exclusive addresses - and it seems that all modern online references to the address concern this new building rather than the older, private house. However, in the design brochure there is a mention (on page 17) that the site had been in the possession of Swire since the 1940s and that the house was used by one of the company's executives.

Update 2026: I was lucky enough to be able to tag along on a trip to the Swire archives in Quarry Bay a couple of years back (thanks to David Bellis of Gwulo.com) and asked the archivists if they had any other images of this property, only to be told a very flat no. This is a bit unfortunate given that it was one of their properties, but I guess that' just the way it goes sometimes. 

Weiße Fracht für Hongkong - Dietmar Schönherr (1963) - Nathan Road, Mongkok

I've been able to place some more of the neon screen shots from this film, and as predicted by Thomas, they are around the general area of this previous post. The first one is a shot of the sign for the 巴黎百貨公司 or, in English, the rather grand sounding Paris Department Store. It appears to have been a rather more humble store trying to convey a more sophisticated image than was the reality.

Anyway, it and the neighbouring Hill Shoes (山打鞋) were both located in the large block that contained the King Wah Restaurant and Paramount nightclub. The reason this has cropped up now is because I only just posted a picture of the very same building just the other day. What a nice coincidence! Now, perhaps someone is able to tell me if Manning Shirt was the same company as Hill Shoes, or were they just sharing some signage?

巴黎百貨公司

山打鞋

Weiße Fracht für Hongkong - Dietmar Schönherr (1963) - Nathan Road, Mongkok

A mystery location discovered by Thomas. This rather blurry neon shot from Weiße Fracht für Hongkong is along the Mongkok section of Nathan Road. He's right because there is an almost identical shot - but vastly clearer - on Gwulo showing more or less the same angle and neon signs. So, as we can see, the "otel" sign (top centre right) is actually part of the Sunya Hotel. This means we are looking south, probably from the junction with Argyle Street. Here's the film grab:

Sai Kung Waterfront - Now and Then

Seeing as this place has cropped up a couple of times over the last few weeks - in Shirley's World and Weiße Fracht für Hongkong - I figured a trip out there was in order. It's a long time since I went to Sai Kung and the weather was nice and sunny over the bank holiday weekend (yes, we get the Monday off in Hong Kong too), so I thought I would head in and try to get some shots of some film locations.

Actually, the waterfront was more of a consolation prize because my main objective for the day was to head up Chuk Yeung Road and try to find the area where the final fight of The Young Master was filmed, and after about an hour of walking (uphill in some rather tiring heat) I came to the spot where I believed it to be (about 200 metres further north from the fire lookout). Sadly, the walk up there was a bust because not only is the area vastly overgrown, but also the AFCD have roped it all off (not just there but a whole swathe of the hilltop) in some sort of native species re-plantation project. So, until I can get some proper access, this one will remain an unconfirmed piece of guesswork.

The waterfront area in question is right in the town centre and despite the many years that have passed since both Shirley's World and Weiße Fracht für Hongkong were filmed, the place is still quite recognisable.

Here's the reminder for Shirley's World. It was from the episode Evidence in Camera and Shirley (with co-star John Gregson) are in a boat in the small harbour after visiting the family that pinched her camera.

Remember that the village opposite is called Tui Min Hoi (which literally means "opposite side of the sea"). Anyway, here is how it currently looks.

 Following on from that is a brief glimpse of the same area, only this time ten years earlier as Dietmar Schönherr and Brad Harris wander around almost the whole of Hong Kong in about 5 minutes flat. The bumpy ridgeline at the back is Fu Yung Pit and Buffalo Hill.

The view of the hills at the back is now obscured by the covered fish market and a development called Lakeside Garden (can you tell which is which? ;-))

This final shot is looking east along the waterfront. I had to take my picture a bit further back from the pier (because it was a bit too busy and most of that area is now under cover due to some awnings for the harbourside restaurants) but you get the idea.

Weiße Fracht für Hongkong - Dietmar Schönherr (1963) - Kadoorie Pier, Tuen Mun

Much of the film's finale takes place inside the grounds of a ship building company. I'm still in the process of figuring out the exact position but just after the bad guy escapes he can be seen running down Kadoorie Pier with a great view of Castle Peak in the background. The pier is still around but now has a canopy. The map lists it as Castle Peak Pier, I think the Kadoorie name has been attached because of its proximity to the Kadoorie villa on the headland and the eponymous beach next door. 

Weiße Fracht für Hongkong - Dietmar Schönherr (1963) - Stubbs Road, Wanchai

In a very quick scene when the bad guy picks up his female victim (just prior to her being dumped, unconscious, into Lobster Bay) we see them driving down Stubbs Road in Wanchai. The reason I know this is Stubbs Road is because of the appearance in the background of King Yin Lei at #45.

The building is still there of course, but the roof on it is new due to the previous owner, Cheung Chung-kiu, demolishing it in a display of property developer vandalism (in general, the unwritten rules are if you can do as much damage as possible to render the property beyond salvage then less people will complain when you knock it down - taking out the windows to let the rain in is another commonly used ploy). Luckily members of the public manage to help save it by reporting the damage.

On another note, I see that Streetview has images of this part of Stubbs Road from 2017, which means the camera car must be doing some badly needed rounds.

Weiße Fracht für Hongkong - Dietmar Schönherr (1963) - Eucliffe, Repulse Bay

This one is a real treat because this iconic building disappeared a long time ago and it's rare to see decent closeups of the place. It's the Eucliffe mansion that once stood on the western side of Repulse Bay. The residential development that stands on the site is called Royal Cliff and was completed in 1994 but I believe the building itself was demolished in the late 1980's.

The building is famous for being one of Eu Tong Sen's three large HK castle-like mansions (the other two being Euston in the mid-levels and Sirmio on the north shore of Tai Po), all of which have been redeveloped. Eu was the founder of the large herbalist store Eu Yan Sang which can still be found in HK but perhaps the building itself is more infamous for being the location of a gruesome massacre of Allied troops (one of many, unfortunately) by invading Japanese troops.

Anyway, in the film it is supposedly a prison where Dietmar Schönherr and Brad Harris are locked up in before managing to escape. This is one of those posts that deserves a few more pictures than just the usual one or two, so here they are.

Weiße Fracht für Hongkong - Dietmar Schönherr (1963) - Fei Ngo Shan Road, Kowloon

Fei Ngo Shan is the Chinese name for Kowloon Peak. If you ever get the chance to get up here then it is well worth the effort because of the views from the ridge over Kowloon to the south and the New Territories to the north.

The top picture shows the view to the north, taking in a large area of Sai Kung including the Ho Chung valley (the flat bit right of middle), Hebe Haven (the bit of enclosed water just beyond Ho Chung) and Port Shelter and beyond that even further the High Island area before it became a reservoir..

View towards Sai Kung area

The road forms a hairpin bend at this section as it moves from the north side of the ridge to the south, and from here we get the views over to Kowloon. In the top picture you can see pretty much all of the Kowloon peninsula including the Kai Tak runway sticking out into the bay and Stonecutter Island on the other side  (top right). The double-pointed hill between the actors in the second picture is actually Lion Rock with Beacon Hill beyond and to its left. Actually, you can get fairly similar views even today because most of the change has occurred away from the slopes of the hills.