Harry's Hong Kong - David Soul (1987) - Former Victoria Barracks, Central

The first major scene in this show is when Harry pops along to visit his policeman friend who is overseeing a parade. I must admit I am not 100% sure about the location here because I cannot find a single image online to corroborate. My gut feeling is that these are part of the former barrack blocks that once lined the hillside inside Victoria Barracks (now Hong Kong Park).

There was a line of five blocks (named Blocks A through E) that once sat where Pacific Place mall now stands and they have been seen on this blog on a couple of occasions previously (Block A was used in Project A and Block D was seen in The Protector).

Unfortunately, finding good images of each of the blocks is difficult and I have yet to see ones of Block B and C so perhaps this is what we are looking at below? If anyone knows one way or the other then it would be great to get confirmation. There are still similar blocks to be found in Hong Kong but they all differ in terms of height, column type, arch shape etc and I can't find any to match the ones below. Perhaps Neil MacDonald will once again come to my rescue... :)

The Million Eyes of Sumuru - George Nader (1967) - Rawlinson House Now and Then

As promised, I made the trip over to Hong Kong Park today to grab some modern comparisons of the scenes we can see in The Million Eyes of Sumuru. It's hard to believe that 1967 is almost 50 years ago and yet some places in Hong Kong haven't really changed that much at all.

Anyway, below are my best efforts at comparison (I was doing it from memory rather). Picture one shows the view from near the entrance by Cotton Tree Drive. Obviously the tree growth obscures our more open view but the angle is more or less spot on.

Picture two shows the view from the top of the small road next to the entrance to Rawlinson House. Okay, so I was a bit further up the slope than intended but I think in the film grab the guys are only a little bit further down from where the kiosk is. I think, but this is obviously just a guess, that the kiosk is around where the right hand side gatepost was.

If you look closely at the picture below of the old garage, you might just be able to make out the steps that are behind it. I am hoping this is the same set of steps that are still in this part of the park. I would find it strange if steps had been removed and replaced so I am going to bet that the current steps up the hill are the same ones we see behind the garage. What do you think?

The picture below shows the building's front entrance (at least I assume this side was the front entrance and not the opposite end that looks onto Cotton Tree Drive). This is now the main entrance for the Marriage Registry that now occupies Rawlinson House. In the film, Frankie Avalon hides behind the central pillar when one of Sumuru's followers comes out to investigate what triggered the alarm.

And finally, once Avalon has entered the building, he stops by the window with the mismatched balustrades. Guess what, it's still there and I tracked it down to a window about halfway down the side of the building. It's not possible to see from the film because there's a tree in the way, but the balustrade on the far left of the window is in fact one of the original ones as you can see from my picture. How am I sure this is the same window? Well, none of the others had the same configuration of balustrades, so assuming nothing has changed since the filming then this appears to be the one.

Anyway, it was an interesting wander around the park today and it's nice to see this kind of stuff after 50 years. If anyone was stationed at the barracks back in the 60's it would be great to hear from anyone with any memories of the place and particularly if they recall the filming taking place.

The Million Eyes of Sumuru - George Nader (1967) - Rawlinson House, Hong Kong Park

The bad guys have a hideout and it turns out that it was Rawlinson House in what is now Hong Kong Park. Back then it was in the middle of Victoria Barracks and was painted white, these days it's been given a sort of orange makeover and been turned into the Marriage Registry. Thankfully one of the buildings that was kept and restored whilst 90% of the other buildings in the barracks area were demolished.

In the first shot we see the heroes arriving in a car and a building can be seen up on the hill, I can't quite make out if this is Rawlinson House that we initially see but it certainly occupies a small hill in the park and this would mean the car is going in via what is now the entrance from Cotton Tree Drive. Of course, it could be this one was one of the other buildings in the park that has since gone, so I will keep my mind open at this point.

The next shots shows Nader and Avalon walking up the road to the building entrance where there is a garage. You can still walk up this road although the garage that formed part of the building has since been demolished.

And in case you were still having doubts about where we are, we then get a glimpse of the front of the property. Feel free to compare it with this shot from the AMO. I do have shots of this area but unfortunately they were taken during a friend's wedding so they may not appreciate being splashed all over the internet, so I will go back and take some comparison shots if I get a chance this week.

For a bit of further confirmation, I think I may try and seek out the window space from the next shot, notice that the balustrades next to Frankie Avalon are of mixed design. The balustrades on the right hand side are the design that seem to feature throughout the building, but it looks as though at least 4 were replaced at some point. It would be nice to see if this little feature can still be discerned on the building. Watch this space. 

Emmanuelle 2 - Sylvia Kristel (1975) - Flagstaff House, Central

Here's one that hasn't been used before, and the fact that it was in what was, at the time, still part of the Victoria Barracks in Central (since turned largely into Hong Kong Park). Flagstaff House is now the Museum of Tea Ware and well worth a visit, even if you aren't too interested in tea - but it's worthwhile remembering that Hong Kong was pretty much founded on the British quest for tea and the subsequent means of funding it...(by trading opium - in case you are historically challenged)

In the film it's the house where Emmanuelle lives with her husband and their entourage of servants and hangers-on. I can't vouch for the interior rooms but it's quite possible they were used for filming as well - either that or there was a very convincing studio set.

So, I did eventually make it back to Hong Kong Park over the summer (2016) and took a few comparative pictures. One thing I did notice is that in the second screen shot with the car, the building had extra columns extending beyond the front entrance. It was a small portico that has since been removed. Why? I have no idea because I don't think its position interfered with anything there currently. What a shame.

Flatfoot in Hong Kong - Bud Spencer (1975) - H.M.S Tamar, Hong Kong

No, not a ship, just a very famous military base named after a ship. The famous waterside military base was taken over by the PLA in 1997 (of course) and the iconic blocky mushroom-like building was renamed to the "Chinese Peoples' Liberation Army Forces Hong Kong Building".

Another recent change is that it's no longer prime waterfront property, but like many other previous waterside location has now been moved slightly inland (relatively speaking) thanks to the Central to Wanchai reclamation project that now has the new Govt HQ sitting on it.

In 1975 it's not so much the Tamar site that is interesting (which it is of course) but rather what can or cannot be seen in the background. In the case of the snap below we can see the hillside behind and what used to be Victoria Barracks. This view is now completely blocked by Pacific Place and the barracks themselves have been replaced by Hong Kong Park. Some of the old barrack buildings remain, but not the ones you can see here on the hillside at the back.

The Protector - Jackie Chan (1985) - Former Victoria Barracks, Central

I have Pete Spurrier to thank for this one because he is the one who first suggested that this building was part of the former Victoria Barracks (as opposed to Central Police Station where I initially thought it could be) - sure enough old photos confirm the same buildings and if you look closely at the film you can see a large D painted onto the side of what I assume is this same building.

The D is a red herring because the actual letter given to this block was B. I have no idea why it was later replaced with a D (which referred to a different much smaller block that once served as the HQ of the Brigade of Gurkhas. Anyway, Blocks A through E, all built in the 1860's, were all demolished to make way for Hong Kong Park.

They looked like pretty cool buildings and it's a shame these ones have gone. Of course though several other former barrack blocks do still exist inside HK Park and are being used for multiple purposes.

Here is an older view of the block courtesy of the HK Public Records Office. Taken from the same angle as it was filmed, more or less.

Project A - Jackie Chan (1983) - Former Victoria Barracks, Central

On the site where Hong Kong Park now sits there used to be a large British Army barracks called Victoria Barracks. Some of the old blocks still exist and are being used for other purposes, but blocks A to E that used to be on the hillside have since been demolished and have been used by JC a couple of times. The first time was in Project A,  one of the blocks - Block A to be precise - had a false front staircase fitted to it and stood in for the Marine Police HQ. Notice the pattern of the archways, from bottom to top we have a small arch and bigger arch and then a square opening to the upper floor verandah - this design was very specific to the barrack blocks at Victoria Barracks.

It's interesting to note that on both of JC's Project A films (part 1 and 2) neither time has he used the actual Former Marine Police HQ to represent the Marine Police HQ, because in part 2 he used the old barrack buildings over at the Lei Yue Mun holiday camp.

Anyway, in case you are wondering what the building used to look like without the decoration, here is a shot taken from the other end of the parade ground/car park courtesy of the HK Public Records Office.