The Chairman - Gregory Peck (1969) - Keelung, Taiwan

Better late than never, the last entry on the blog that comes as a result of my early summer trip to Taipei. This one will be familiar with anyone who read my The Sand Pebbles posts because this one also features Keelung.

I have yet to read a Gregory Peck or J. Lee Thompson bio (actor and director, respectively) so I can only suppose that Taiwan became the proxy for Mainland China once it became obvious that filming couldn't continue in Hong Kong. Their presence made the local Communist faction start their usual mouth frothing and as a result the Colonial Government requested they leave.

So we have a scene where Peck goes on a walkabout through a seemingly drab but lively environment and the existence of a recognisable piece of local architecture means we can easily identify the area in question as being in Keelung - the port city to the north east of Taipei.

In the top centre left of the first image above there is a familiar looking building. You may recall it was also seen in the Keelung-shot parts of The Sand Pebbles. It's the Lin Kai County Building (林開郡洋樓) that can be see behind Steve McQueen's head in this image.

The central waterway has since been covered and now has the Aiyi Road flyover above it, but you can see where various intersecting roads cross the water via bridges. The first is the Zhongyi Rd right at the water front next to the aforementioned Lin Kai building. Next up is another bridge where Rensan Rd crosses the water. Finally we get to the intersection where the camera stops and it's where the Rensi Road crosses over.

It looks as though most of the buildings around here have been redeveloped, however, the corner building with the open awnings (last two images above) does appear to have survived. Either that or its replacement appears to have copied it almost brick for brick - which I feel is unlikely.

It appears that this is the same area where we next see Peck doing his walkabout and by comparing the image of him below with some of the details in the screen caps above, it does look as though this is the point where he is standing.

The Chairman - Gregory Peck (1969) - Zhinan Temple, Taipei

Another of the fruits of my trip to Taiwan earlier in the summer was to visit Zhinan Temple. It's the location used in The Chairman as the venue where Peck's character meets Mao face to face.

These days, despite being a fair way up a mountain, it's easy to reach courtesy of the MRT system and the Maokong Gondola near Taipei Zoo. Back in 1969 when this film was made I imagine the logistics involved in transporting two actors (Gregory Peck and Ric Young) as well as a bunch of extras and camera equipment was a little bit more challenging. Even though there are roads, it's still a fairly arduous trip. I went here twice (took the missus the second time) and walked back to the zoo on the first trip but opted for the speedy minibus the second time. They're both worth doing if you get the chance.

Anyway, the temple is actually split over several adjacent sites and we get to see two of them on film. The first part is as Peck & co approach some semi circular steps that lead up to a rather impressive Pai Fong (ceremonial archway). I'm having a bit of trouble identifying the proper name for this area but it appears that it might be the oldest part of the complex and is called Chunyang Temple.

There has definitely been some extensive remodeling since the film was made. The top photo (below) shows the entrance from the terraced garden (it's quite steep) that Peck and Young walk up at the beginning of the scene. If you compare with the top screen image you can see the same low wall in the background. The remodeling is quite obvious when you compare the next image. It shows a part of the podium that juts out and how the concrete wall has been changed. However, the most obvious change is the complete reconstruction of the archway at the top of the steps. The original, seen on film, was much more intricate and ornate whereas the current one just looks like poured concrete with a nice roof.

In the next part of the sequence we catch a brief glimpse of Peck walking along underneath some sort of covering. This is actually what is referred to on wiki as the Long Corridor. It looks as though this was an architectural feature of the Summer palace in Beijing and its style has been replicated here. I can confirm it is still there and covers the pathway that leads us up to the main site seen on film - Ling Xiao Temple - which can be seen in the third image below.

There is a pathway that leads up the side of the corridor (you can see it in picture #2 below) and this was most likely where the camera was positioned. I think the archway you can see in the second image above is the same one that's still there. Sadly, the temple building itself was undergoing some major renovations whilst I was there and was covered in scaffolding, so my attempt to replicate the same angle from the film doesn't quite have the impact I was hoping for. However, you can see it's the same place.

The final part of this on-location sequence sees Young and Peck walking up the front steps and onto the podium/terrace before entering the temple through a side door. Once again, my pics are a bit of a let down due to the scaffolding, but you get the general idea. What I did notice though is that a structure has been built on the left side which means the films camera angle would be blocked today.
 

If I get the chance next year, I shall try and return to get some scaffolding free images (assuming it will be gone by then). Also note the new addition to the front of the temple, and on the left of the third photo you can see the structure that blocks the film's old camera angle. The doorway is still there though (last image).

The Chairman - Gregory Peck (1969) - Jordan Road, Yau Ma Tei

Is it Yau Ma Tei or Kwun Chung? I think the former as this location is on the north side of Jordan Road whereas Kwun Chung seems to mainly occupy the southern side (I bet most of you are wondering where on earth Kwun Chung is - it's the proper name for the area generally referred to these days by its MTR station: Jordan.

Never mind, this is actually a great piece of detective work by Thomas, so many thanks to him for once again coming through and pulling this one, seemingly, from nowhere. The shot is just one of several scene setting short shots that establish HK as the location for the following bit of film, and as we already mentioned on previous blog posts for this film, the director had been barred from filming and was told to leave HK a.s.a.p due to the politically charged nature of the film (let's just say it shows Chinese Communism for exactly as it is/was). So, I imagine this small shot was taken sneakily, I'm just a bit confused as to why this particular piece of Kowloon made it into film as opposed to any other.

Amazingly (or not) most of the buildings in this screen grab can still be seen today (or at least they can on the current version of Streetview which, I believe, is about 5 years old now). Here's the modern view. I'm wasn't convinced as much by the building on the left hand side, but after checking on Centamap, it is indeed also the same block as seen on film - the three closest blocks all being built in 1966 and the one with the angled front (far right in the screen cap) was actually built in 1960.

The Chairman - Gregory Peck (1969) - More Harbour views

The last of the scenes from The Chairman (at least until I can get a street scene identified) showing various views taken from the harbour. I guess this was all Thompson (the director) could take without attracting unwanted attention from the authorities after being given the old heave ho.

The first shots shows one of the old HYF vehicular ferries plying the route between Central and Jordan Road by the looks of the way the boat is facing. In the background we can see Ocean Terminal with the Hongkong Hotel immediately behind it and Star House. Now, officially, the Hongkong Hotel didn't open until 1970 so I guess the filmmakers managed to capture it when it was still being fitted out - it certainly looks like the building was already completed. Star House and Ocean Terminal were fairly new at this time anyway.

Here's another angle of Ocean Terminal - probably taken from the Mandarin Oriental Hotel using a telephoto lens. The angle certainly matches the view we saw in the earlier post. In the closer shot below though we can see Yau Ma Tei Typhoon Shelter behind Ocean Terminal and the Ferry Point Estate at the far end of it on the left hand side of the lower picture.

Finally, in order the demonstrate how clear everything used to be, compared to today's smoggy and hazy harbour views, here is a nice shot from the harbour looking over to the centre of HK Island (towards Causeway Bay and North Point area).

The Chairman - Gregory Peck (1969) - Hau Wong Road, Kowloon City

A small snippet from the same plane scene I posted about earlier but I kept this one for later because there is a quick glimpse of a famous HK restaurant in it.

There is a surprising amount of survivors from this small scene, most notably the Lok Hau Fuk Restaurant (樂口福酒家) whose sign can be seen in the first picture - it's the blue sign directly underneath the plane. I took a picture of this place several years ago on one of my early explorations of HK and by pure coincidence was told a few years later that it was featured in a famous local HK film (directed by Johnnie To) called The Mission (1999). Anyway, the restaurant is one of the few columned shop house survivors that can be found in Kowloon City along Hau Wong Road. Here is my picture (taken sometime around 2008 I think).

It's not a match for the film in terms of angle but that doesn't matter because we can get a pretty good match via Streetview. The grab below shows that most of the buildings seen in 1968 (The Chairman was released in 1969 but actually filmed the year before) including the restaurant, the curved building on the corner with Prince Edward Road West and the tenement behind it further along Hau Wong Road.

The only real change in this area (other than the rather significant removal of the airport to Chek Lap Kok) is that the lower screen grab shows a clear view over to the airport area as the plane flies over. This view is now obscured (and has been for many years) by the flyover built above Prince Edward Road. You can see it below and compare it to the last picture in the series posted above.

The Chairman - Gregory Peck (1969) - View over Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong

In the film Peck stays at an unnamed hotel, but it's quite obvious from the view that the film crew managed to gain access to a balcony/terrace (or perhaps roof) on the Mandarin Oriental. I guess it's possible they were staying there and took advantage of the location to get some shots in before having to leave.

We see the same view a couple of times, once as a scene setter and then later when Peck's character (he's called Hathaway in the film) peers out of his room window.

First there is the initial panning shot which I also merged into a fairly decent panorama as you can see. It's a pretty good look over the harbour taking in Kowloon as well as nearer sites such as the old Star Ferry pier with its famous and dearly missed clock as well as Queen's Pier (also dearly missed but due to make a return if it hasn't already) and the white block in the lower left is City Hall.

Then later in the film we get an additional look the other way showing the buildings along Connaught Road. Some of these buildings do still exist despite everything around them changing. You can also see the old vehicular ferry pier and the large car park that was eventually turned into Exchange Square.

The Chairman - Gregory Peck (1969) - Queen's Road Central, Hong Kong

Just a brief scene (as they all were by necessity) of Queen's Road Central as Peck's car drives through the city. The white building at the back is the newly completed (in 1968) Hang Lung House (although it looks to have since received some slight remodeling at the top) at 184 - 192 Queen's Road Central which puts us on the curve in the road just before we reach Hillier Street.

I've included the Streetview below for a decent comparison. I leave it to you to decide which version has the most character.