The Champions - Stuart Damon (1967) - Hennessy Road, Wanchai

Next up in our montage of Hong Kong establishing scenes is a view along Hennessy Road. This particular street corner is the junction with Marsh Road and you can see the same curved building in this earlier photo over on Gwulo.com. I'm still not sure when this library footage was shot but you can see that the adverts on the corner of the building were in place during the late 50s. Those with a bit of HK knowledge might be able to discern the old Tung Tak pawnshop building that was this side of the Marsh Road junction. You can see its old vertical blue sign on the left in both images below.

Hacker - Callan McAuliffe (2016) - Hennessy Road, Wanchai

One of the locations of the ATMs where Alex and Kira go on their massive withdrawal spree is a now defunct branch of Hang Seng Bank at 200 Hennessy Road. 

Hacker - Callan McAuliffe (2016) - Wooloomooloo, Wanchai

I now believe the previous view of Happy Valley (see here) was taken from the 31/F open terrace area of Wolloomooloo because low-and-behold there is a later scene where Sye (Daniel Eric Gold) is seen doing some sort of deal with some local criminals on the terrace with its impressive views.

This isn't the first time the restaurant has been used for a film/TV shoot as long time readers may remember it featured on the UK TV serial Strangers back in 2018, although obviously this film was made first.

Karate from Shaolin Temple - Kazuma Kenji (1976) - Hennessy Road, Wanchai

Part of Musashi's car ride to the boss's house is done along Hennessy Road in Wanchai. The Canal Road flyover can be seen in the images below when it was still two separate flyovers, one for each lane/direction. Since then the two parts have been joined together to widen the road to allow more traffic.

Hafen der Düfte - Veronica Ferres (2013) - Hennessy Road, Wanchai

Another shot from the film'sopening Hong Kong scenes, as Victoria continues to make her way to her hotel, was taken from the pedestrian crossing next to the Caltex petrol station on the corner of Johnston and Hennessy Roads. It's a view also used several times later in the film.

Crossing Hennessy - Jacky Cheung (2010) - Tung Tak Pawnshop

 Just opposite from Hair's Way was the Tung Tak Pawnshop. The shot in the film shows Oi Lin and Xu "crossing Hennessy" Road (one of the few times this actually happens in the film) as seen by Loy's mum as she looks on from the hairdressers. In the background you can see the pavement columns of this rather excellent looking buildings which has sadly since been demolished. This was a bit of cultural vandalism on the part of the owners (and the Govt for allowing it) as it was the only remaining curved corner shophouse in existence on Hong Kong Island. Anyway, that's why I thought it worthy of its own place, even if it only appears briefly in the background. For more info see here.

Crossing Hennessy - Jacky Cheung (2010) - Honolulu Cafe, 176-178 Hennessy Road

Hennessy Road for real this time as Oi-lin's aunt makes her take Loy out for a coffee after he delivers a free dehumdifier to the shop as a gift. This film was quite influential in making this cafe quite popular at the time and it features extensively throughout. I've never been but it looks like it is still around and I hope it remains so. Unfortunately, the Hong Kong Government fails to understand or appreciate the benefit that the local film industry has on tourism. Unless you intend to stay in expensive hotels and part with loads of cash at the (too) many jewelery stores in the city, then you are not really a priority. What a shame.

Anyway, this place also has a website, and several branches it seems, but it's the main site at 176-178 Hennessy Road that features in the film.

Crossing Hennessy - Jacky Cheung (2010) - Queensway

Finally, a little shot that gives us a brief glimpse of the road that features in the film's title. This is a brief transition shot as the story jumps from Man-yu's new studio back to the reality of Loy's life in Wanchai. This is a view down Queensway showing the section where Hennessy Road, just beyond the brown Methodist Church HQ, smoothly becomes Queensway at the corner of Johnston Road. This shot was most likely filmed from the pedestrian bridge at the southern end of Arsenal Street.

Mad Mission 3: Our Man from Bond Street - Sam Hui (1984) - Mitsukoshi Department Store

Older Hong Kongers will remember when Causeway Bay contained several Japanese Department stores: Daimaru, Matsuzakaya, Sogo and Mitsukoshi. Only one of these remains,SOGO, and that's only because its Japanese owners sold the name to the Chinese businessmen who bought the company.

Mitsukoshi was located in what was 500 Hennessy Road, the Hennessy Centre. This is the department store where Albert/Kodojack (Karl Maka) goes with his wife Nancy (Sylvia Chang) and suddenly realises how he was tricked by Sam/Kingkong using a pair of fake arms.

The store closed in 2006 after it was announced that the Hennessy Centre was going to be knocked down and redevloped into the current Hysan Place.

Spitfire - Lance Henriksen (1995) - Hennessy Road, Wanchai

Another shot of the taxi driving around as it turns out of the eastern end of Johnston Road and heads back west along Hennessy Road. Quite a few of these buildings are still around. 

Flight to Hong Kong - Rory Calhoun (1956) - Hennessy Road, Wanchai

Whilst Jean and Tony are trying to give the bad guys the slip, Tony heads over to a phone booth located at the junction of Hennessy Road and Queen's Road East to make a phone call to Mama Lin.

   

The Killer - Chow Yun Fat (1989) - Hennessy Road, Causeway Bay

Back to Causeway Bay and this time we're the oposite end of Yee Wo Street as Detective Lee chases the bad guy onto a tram.

Blade in Hong Kong - Terry Lester (1985) - Hennessy Road, Causeway Bay

This is a very busy shot taken on Hennessy Road east of the Canal Road flyover (which can be seen in the far background). It looks quite busy because of the distortion effect of the film camera lens which squishes everything together.

Asia-Pol Secret Service - Wang Yu (1966) - Hennessy Road, Wanchai

Still on the lookout for the girl, the next shot sees Jimmy driving west along Hennessy Road right next to the Wanchai Fire Station. The large gap between the buildings was because it's where the Bowrington Canal used to run before it was covered over and turned into today's Canal Road.

Tokyo Gang vs Hong Kong Gang - Ken Takakura (1964) - Hennessy Road, Wanchai

During a driving sequence, as Chang heads to the Hoover Cinema to evade his followers, we get to see a brief glimpse of the old Gilman Motors garage that was located on the triangular plot where Johnston and Hennessy Roads meet at their eastern junction. 

Anti-Corruption - Bill Lake (1975) - Southorn Playground, Wanchai

The tour of Wanchai continues with this panning shot of Southorn Playground between Johnston and Hennessy Roads. The building at the edge of the ground is the former War Memorial Welfare and Recreational Centre so this means we are looking east again and the last image shows Hennessy Road on the left. The building has since been replaced by the Southorn Stadium building on the right and the Southorn Centre on the left (which houses the popular Wanchai Computer Centre).

Anti-Corruption - Bill Lake (1975) - Hennessy Road, Wanchai

Another street level shot with a bar/cub sign that helps us place the location at the southern end of Fenwick Street where it joins Hennessy Road. The camera is on the south side of Hennessy Road and pans left to right. There's not much still around here other than the white building directly behind the buses on the right hand side in the second image. This building is still standing on the NE corner of the junction. At the time it was the "Hotel Singapore" but now it is the "Kew Green Hotel". This is the same building that was quarantined for a week in 2009 due to a Swine Flu outbreak with images of trapped guests waving out of the windows. It was the Wanchai Metropark at the time. The HK Govt sure seems to enjoy locking people up in hotel rooms (I'm speaking from experience after spending 3 weeks in one following my return from the UK).

Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong - Jamie Chung (2015) - Hennessy Road, Causeway Bay

Still in the opening establishing montage and this time over to Causeway Bay where Hennessy Road becomes Yee Wo Street outside the SOGO department store.

Hong Kong (series) - Rod Taylor (1960) - Hennessy Road, Central

Not far from the last post I did for Hennessy Road, but this time driving in the opposite direction and we have this shot from The Turncoat from a scene when Taylor is driving Lisa Lu back to her hotel. The section of Hennessy Road we are looking at is just past the junction with Fenwick Street. In the lowest image you can just see a small section of the Methodist Church poking in on the extreme right. On the left of the same image you can just make out the (blurry) shape of the building that sat on the eastern corner of the junction and had a company called the "Yung Ziang Trading Company on the ground floor level. Gwulo has a proper image of the same building here. The distant ridge is Braemar Hill.

Hong Kong (series) - Rod Taylor (1960) - Hennessy Road, Central

Not quite Central but on the cusp between Central & Western and Wanchai districts. This is a shot that appears for the first time in The Turncoat but was reused in a later episode called The Survivor.

The building on the right is the former Police Married Quarters that sat on the main Police HQ site along Arsenal Street. If you are confused about the location, because there was also a similarly named building on Aberdeen Street, then Gwulo has a page dedicated to it here. Arsenal House sits on the site now.