Foxbat - Henry Silva (1977) - Bonham Strand Public Latrine, Sheung Wan

Here's another one pulled from the recent bluray review. The scene when A-Cheung gets out of the car and hides in a toilet was filmed along Bonham Strand. For anyone familiar with the area where Bonham Strand meets Morrison Street and Wing Lok Street there is now a triangular paved area (the paving stones make up a large compass face on the ground) that is marked on maps as a rest garden. Wing Lok Street is now split into two by this rest garden, but back in 1977 it was a continuous road and the triangular island formed between the three roads hosted the toilet block that can be seen in the film. I tried to find out when it was built but could only find a mention in a 1941 public works document asking for tenders.

Anyway, as you can see on the screen caps it was constructed in a sort of streamline moderne/art deco style of building. When was it demolished? I'm not sure but it is perhaps worth mentioning that sometime in the early 80's the old south block of Western market, which used to stand on the southern part of Bonham Strand here, was demolished to make way for the ugly carbuncle that goes by the name of the Sheung Wan Municipal Services Building. So perhaps the toilet block was demolished at the same time and the area remodelled to its current configuration? If anybody can give me more accurate dates or events I would appreciate it.

The top image below is looking from east to west along Bonham Strand. Morrison Street is running left to right immediately behind the car. As you can see the toilet block behind the car consisted of a single storey and double storey part. Maybe the upper part was a bath house? This is quite a common thing for toilets in HK (not that I spend much time hanging around them I hasten to add...)

 Front of the low block, you can see the Bonham Strand street sign.

The above image shows the view looking north up Morrison Street, where the car is. The actor who plays A-Cheung (Yi Lui - 伊雷) is walking along Bonham Strand and in the background behind the car you can see a no right turn sign on Wing Lok Street. Wing Lok Street at the time continued behind the toilet block, but that part is now part of the rest garden.

Finally, the last shot below shows us looking back the other way up Morrison Street with the toilet block on the right. The brightly lit shop in the background was the "Kam Yuen Store". It occupied the ground floor of a building that still stands on the corner of Bonham Strand and Morrison Street. The current occupant of that space - at least the last time I was there - is a branch of Rich Harvest, a real estate agent. The ramshackle hoardings on the left are where Harmony Court now stands.

Foxbat - Henry Silva (1977) - Guildford Road, The Peak

This location should really have been included with this earlier post because that ost includes the viewpoint from the car parked on Guildford Road. I think at the time I was confused about the location of the fashion designer's house and neglected to see the link.

Anyway, as I have already outlined, the fashion designer's house has been tricky to find because the establishing shots were filmed on Craigmin Road, the exterior scenes were shot at Repulse Bay Road
and it appears that the interior party/dinner scenes may have been another place entirely due to the different shaped windows of the house for all the interior scenes.

This leads me to believe that they may have, possibly, been filmed at an old property called "Farnborough", once located at #1 Barker Road. It is one of the two properties that can be partially seen in my first link above and is the viewpoint from which the following screencaps were taken.

Gwulo.com mentions that this building was the original location of the German Swiss International School from 1975, so perhaps there are some alumni of this building that can remember if a film company used it for any extended period of time? Suffice to say it has since been demolished and redeveloped.

Foxbat - Henry Silva (1977) - Magazine Gap, The Peak

About a year ago I put up this post for Black Cobra Woman and it was an establishing shot used in the film for the residence of Jack Palance and his brother (played by Gabriele Tinti). The bluray version of Foxbat has scene that I don't recall from the dvd release. It's a quick shot from almost the same angle/position as the Black Cobra Woman one as Henry Silva's car drives down Peak Road towards Magazine Gap Road.

The large property on the corner is/was #40 Peak Road and as the camera pans to the right towards the harbour we can also see Katoomba in the last three screencaps.

Foxbat - Henry Silva (1977) - Former 36 Repulse Bay Road, Deepwater Bay

So, during the COVID19 lock down I have been re-looking at Foxbat (last covered back in 2017) courtesy of the bluray version. The additional resolution has allowed me to find a few more previously unidentified places, and this location was a real stumper.

Recall that in the film this property is supposed to be located at the top of Craigmin Road on the Peak because all the shots of people and cars approaching the property were filmed there. However, that was most definitely a red herring because it turns out this property was in fact located on the headland that sits between Deepwater Bay and Repulse Bay.

It's a great looking property and I haven't bothered investigating when it was built but suffice to say it has since been demolished and turned into a small collection of luxury houses, collectively called "Sunbeam", at 36 Repulse Bay Road.

If anyone can tell me who used to live here or anything else interesting about the place, please feel free to leave a comment or email me.

Foxbat - Henry Silva (1977) - Hollywood Road, Central

Another location identified by Thomas. Again, this was part of the bus chase scene which took in a fair chunk of HK Island. This particular shot was filmed along Hollywood Road at the junction with Elgin Street. I can't remember the sequence in my mind, but if this shot occurred after the one where the bus drives down Aberdeen Street then it would be in keeping with the real geography.

Foxbat - Henry Silva (1977) - Robinson Road, Mid-levels

A big thanks to Thomas for spotting this next one from Foxbat. It's one of the locations involved in the bus/ambulance/car chase through town that started in Pok Fu Lam and ends in Wanchai. The main clue here was really the s-shaped bend in the road and the buildings in the background that turned out to be a development called "The Panorama".

The two balconied buildings in the foreground have both sadly been redeveloped into something with less style and character. "The Panorama" is the white building at the back and sits on Conduit Road. You might be able to make out the construction of a new building below it - covered in scaffolding. This looks to be the start of what became "Right Mansion" at 29 Robinson Road and was completed in 1978, so the timeline for the filming fits quite well. Anyway, the modern Streetview version can be seen below.

Foxbat - Henry Silva (1977) - La Salle College, Boundary Street

Here is a great find by Arthur Yau who answered my pleas for help (again!) on locating an old building used for the hospital scene in Foxbat. Arthur has managed to identify the location as the former La Salle College over in Kowloon Tong and with the help of a family member, a La Salle alumni, has identified the various places in the screen grabs. But first here's an old picture of the place courtesy of this website: http://globalfriends.us/cskoob/those_days_album.htm.

The school was demolished in 1978 to make way for an apartment complex called Beverly Villas. Li Ka-shing, a man responsible for a fair share of built heritage destruction in HK, struck a deal with the school to build a new campus at the back (the flat area behind the school in the picture below) in return for the school giving up the building and the land it occupied. I suspect that by 1977, the school was already empty and the film crew had the run of the place because there is a fair amount of action going on inside.

And here are the screen grabs. The first one with the ambulance looks to be in front of the school because you can see the columns on the left.

For the next shot below of an open corridor, Arthur's friend has been able to identify it as "it was one of the two corridors linking two blocks with a open courtyard in between."

Next up are some curved stairs. It looks as though there were two sets up these steps, one either side of the main entrance building. If you look at the top B&W picture you can see them next to the parked cars. The steps on films were the ones on the left (west) side of the building). You can see the same steps in the lower pictures too, which also show the side of the main building.

And for this final picture below you can see the top of the stairs that led down to Boundary Street. These stairs were located just in front of the main entrance,and once again there were two sets leading down from a curved path in front of the school (see the B&W picture). Again these were the ones on the left in the B&W picture.

Anyway, another big thanks to Arthur for spotting this one. 

Foxbat - Henry Silva (1977) - Queen's Road Central, Hong Kong

One of the Foxbat mysteries solved courtesy of the indefatigable Thomas. It is part of the centrepiece car chase that takes us all over the Island. I was quite impressed at first by the fact that the chase was quite consistent in terms of the reality of Hong Kong geography and the chronology of the chase. However, this one has completely let me down because just after the cars leave the general Sai Ying Pun/Sheung Wan area they are seen in this shot heading down Queen's Road Central.

Why is this a problem? Well, as Thomas noted in his comments, Queen's Road is a west-bound one way road so there is no way the cars could travel from the west end of the island to Wanchai (where the chase ends up) via this road. Silly me, I should have realised :(

Anyway, once again Thomas hit the nail on the head and identified this particular stretch of the road as the section in Central near to the junction with Pottinger Street. In fact, in the last picture above you can just make out the recently demolished Redge House that stands on the corner with Pottinger Street (the lighter-coloured second building down on the right hand side).

Once again a big thanks to Thomas.

Foxbat - Henry Silva (1977) - Hennessy Road, Wanchai

One last one from Foxbat before I post up the mystery locations to my help page. It's the Chinese Methodist Church - the original one designed by Denis Bray's father and built in 1936 - that has since been replaced by a taller more modern (and slightly less interesting) version.

It's not obvious from this screen grab but the original building had some Chinese Renaissance elements to it including a pagoda like structure on the roof. The modern replacement - Methodist House - has tried to retain some of that feel but then has a massive skyscraper sticking out of the back.

Foxbat - Henry Silva (1977) - Hebe Haven, Sai Kung

The master villain (Roy Chiao) is caught up with at Hebe Haven as he tries to make his escape by boat. This is the eastern side of the bay where the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club is located - at the end of Che Keng Tuk Road.

Foxbat - Henry Silva (1977) - Harbour Drive, Wanchai

Not strictly Harbour Drive, but the end part of the car chase culminates in the newly reclaimed section of the Wanchai waterfront that now houses buildings such as the China Resources Building, Sun Hung Kai Centre and the nearby Wanchai Sports Ground.

For example, in the first picture we can see the bus continuing along Marsh Road towards this area that is still obviously a very young construction site.

The finale involves Philip Chen (who also happened to co-write the film) crashing his car through the top of the bus and the following two pictures show where it happens.

I initially though the low building with the open front was the old Wanchai Police Station, but it turns out we are looking a bit further to the east. The cream building (in the DVD screencap you can clearly see a Citizen advert on it) is actually still around (although I think the advert has long gone) and it is the City Centre Building/City Mansion (the name depends on whether you are looking at Google Maps or Centamap) that sits on the corner of Stewart Road (the music company Tom Lee currently occupy the first two floors). That means we are looking down Stewart Road in the second picture.

So the low rise building was actually the pre-cursor to the current AXA Centre. I can't find any information about it so can only assume it was just a row of shophouses like the ones that can be seen on the other side of Stewart Road. Anyway, it must have been knocked down not long after because the AXA Centre was built in 1982.

Foxbat - Henry Silva (1977) - Gloucester Road, Wanchai

The next shot of the ambulance is as it turns onto Gloucester Road from Arsenal Street. This is a great picture and it's a shame I haven't got a better quality version because there is a whole bunch of stuff to be seen. As well as the recognisable buildings in the background (which include the Bank of America Tower - then perhaps still known as the Gammon Centre? - Hutchinson House, Furama Hotel and the Connaught Centre - now Jardine House), there is a tantalising glimpse of Caine House in its former red coat of paint as well as the old China Fleet Club (behind the lamppost).

A little further on down the road and the ambulance is passing by the old Luk Kwok Hotel. That's the building with the red signage at the top. It's hard to see from this angle but it was actually a big advert for SANYO (it's the building immediately behind the ambulance in the picture below). I'm not to knowledgeable on the various buildings that can be seen but suffice to say most have already been replaced. I think the only survivors are the PICO Tower (newly built and on the other side of the Luk Kwok Hotel) and the Malaysia Building - the gold-coloured building in the background. Can anyone remember what the white building was on the right hand side?

Foxbat - Henry Silva (1977) - Marsh Road, Wanchai

After leaving the ambulance at Canal Road West because the double-decker bus won't fit under the flyover, Silva manages to somehow turn the bus around, head back up the way he came and take a turn into Marsh Road. The film camera looks to have been placed on the pavement at the side of the flyover, luckily almost exactly where the Google car took its Streetview pictures from so we can compare the exact same angle.

In the Streetview grab you can see that the famous Tung Tak Pawnshop - the low rise building at the back on the corner of Marsh and Hennessy. Sadly this place was eventually demolished only just last year. A sad way for such a nicely designed and historical building to go and yet another sad indictment of HK's official policy towards heritage conservation.

In the lower pictures the only change has been the replacement of the two end blocks by a newer building and its podium floor. It's called the Sun Group Building.

Foxbat - Henry Silva (1977) - Arsenal Street, Wanchai

We're just on the cusp of Wanchai District with this next shot. Although the ambulance turns left into Canal Street West in the previous scene, it actually ends up popping out by the waterfront along Gloucester Road by the Police HQ.

Sadly most of the screen grabs I have are badly interlaced and my efforts to fix them have resulted in an equally eye-crossing blockiness, so I just have one that is okay to look at. The shot below is looking south back along Arsenal Street from the elevated lane that goes into the eastbound direction of Gloucester Road. At the right of the screen you can see the old Police HQ that has since been replaced by the current version. 

Seeing as this is Arsenal Street, it's interesting to note that the compound had an extra couple of white painted watchtowers along that stretch of road before they were knocked down during the redevelopment. The compound still has two on the wall facing Gloucester Road as well as a big one on top of one of the roofs.

You may recall Robert Mitchum walking along that same stretch of wall during The Amsterdam Kill.

Foxbat - Henry Silva (1977) - Hennessy Road, Wanchai

More of the car chase as the ambulance heads down Hennessy Road before making the left hand turn into Canal Road West underneath the flyover. Note that all the buildings along here have been replaced. Not a single pavement column remains as far as I am aware.

Foxbat - Henry Silva (1977) - Queen's Road Central, Hong Kong

Immediately after Garden Road we see the vehicles - in a rare show of movie geographical accuracy - pull out onto Queen's Road Central. This was before the right turn (towards Wanchai) was replaced by a flyover.

This shot actually captures the former Hong Kong cricket ground (closed in 1975) undergoing its transformation into the now rather bleak and overly-concreted Chater Garden, which I believe opened the following year in 1978. Sorry, but in my Western-oriented foreign-deviled mind I am forever destined to associate the word "garden" with things like grass and the colour green rather than a drab grey and a proliferation of concrete. In Hong Kong, as long as it was built using Li Ka-shing's "Green Island" cement than that is about as green as it needs to be.

Anyway, note the very elegant and still standing Hong Kong club in the background. That was to stick around fora few more years before its eventual redevelopment. You can also spot the lower floors of the Furama Hotel at the back. And a little further along the road (see below) we get to glance back and can see the Hilton Hotel as well as what looks like a newly constructed Murray Road car park on the right.

Foxbat - Henry Silva (1977) - Garden Road, Central

Following on from the journey down Robinson Road, all the cars turn left and head down the hill along Garden Road with the Botanical Gardens on the left hand side. In the second photo we can just see a glimpse of some of the buildings that sit inside the Government House compound. The lower picture shows the bottom of Garden Road as the ambulance drives past the Murray Building (with the big arches - currently being converted into a hotel) and the old Hilton Hotel that was replaced by the Cheung Kong Centre in the 90's.