Kung Fu Killers - Grant Page (1974) - Park Hotel, Tsim Sha Tsui

Okay, not the Park Hotel as we would normally expect to see it, but rather the view from the roof courtesy of an interview between Grant Page and Stuart Whitman. You may remember that Whitman was in town for the filming of Shatter and Page managed to get hold of him for a talk about kung fu. The white buildings at the back correspond roughly with the current HK PolyU buildings, so it's possible they were part of the original campus, however, I'm not certain.

Note the KCR track that still ran from the old terminus in Tsim Sha Tsui and was on the other side of the old Chatham Road Army Camp which is just out of site below the hotel, along Chatham Road (today's East TST area where the History and Science museums stand). Anyway, a big thanks to Thomas once again for identifying the location, but does that mean this is the hotel where Page stayed and where they filmed the bar fight in the finale of Shatter? Still not sure.

Kung Fu Killers - Grant Page (1974) - Prince Edward Road West, Kowloon

I have Arthur to thank for solving this long standing stumper. I had sort of given up due to the seeming generic nature of the buildings on the screen grab, but Arthur has explained it all below.

"...I think the white building in the photo is perhaps 春苑 at 317 Prince Edward Road West, and the camera maybe located at the corner of Short Street and Prince Edward Road West. The dark building on the left was the previous incarnation of St. Teresa Hospital, which vaguely shows an image of Mary in this screen capture. A similar design also shows on the exterior wall of the current building. This location just struck me when I walked past it last weekend!"

So many thanks to Arthur once again for his keen sight and exceptional memory. Here are the screen captures. It from a nice sequence when Grant Page is driving around Kowloon on a motorbike on his way to test out his new rope.

The building at the back, as Arthur mentions, is the previous version of St Teresa's Hospital and the white building is 春苑 (Chun Yuen: built 1963) or Springvale as it is known in English. Here is the current Streetview. Springvale is the white building behind the mustard-coloured one and the new St Teresa's building beyond that.

Kung Fu Killers - Grant Page (1974) - Avenida da Republica, Macau

Here is an obscure one of my stumpers that was finally solved by the inquisitive mind of Gweilo8888. So many thanks to him for pulling this particular rabbit out of the hat. The scene just involved Aussie stunt maestro, Grant Page, riding a bicycle somewhere in Macau - not a particularly interesting shot to be honest but one that interested me because of the Maxim's logo on the shop behind.

In case you don't know, Maxim's is one of the major food companies in Hong Kong and run a variety of eateries large and small in the territory. The chances are that if you have even been for Dim Sum in Hong Kong then it was probably a Maxim's run restaurant that you ate at. The parent company is Dairy Farm (in turn part of the Jardine Matheson empire run by the Keswicks) illustrating in some way the fact that most large companies in HK are run by a very few select family interests (and yet, HK is consistently rated the most free economy in the world HA! what a joke!).

Anyway, I digress, here is the screen grab to remind you.

And here is the result of gweilo8888's endeavours:

I noticed the eighth frame grab has a Maxim's logo, but I'd never heard of that chain extending to Macau. I did a little digging and turned up a still-extant restaurant called Henri's Galley at 4 Avenue da Republica, which as of 1982 was said by Asiaweek to be "formerly known as Maxim's". And indeed, pictures of it today still show the word Maxim's in small lettering: 

https://postmediacanadadotcom.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/macau.jpg?w=660 

Their website says they date back to 1976, but it seems they existed at the same location as just "Maxim's" prior to that date, because they're also listed at "Av. Republica, 4-G e G" in the 1974 "Anuario de Macau", two years before Henri's was said to have been founded. 

Another, earlier entry in Google Books from the 1970 "Papineau's Guide to Hong Kong, and Spotlight on Macau" mentions "...the Top Bar at the Hotel Estoril and — for drinking al fresco — the sidewalk cafes of Maxim's and the Solmar, both on the Rua da Praia Grande", so that's another possible location. 

And yet another book, the 1962 Fodor's Japan and East Asia has the quote "Other acceptable restaurants serving Western or Oriental food are the Solmar, Matilda Esplanada, the Estoril's main dining room, Tamaya and Maxim's" -- so there was a Maxim's in Macau at least a dozen years before this film, but the snippet sadly doesn't give us a street address. 

My guess is that the shot was either of 4, Avenida da Republica or somewhere on what was once called Rua da Praia Grande but is now Avenida da Praia Grande. Either would be on the waterfront, so perhaps the ninth frame grab was right nearby, as well...
Perhaps if you drop them an email (henris@macau.ctm.net) they might be able to tell you whether the frame grab shows their restaurant in the 70s, or what their earlier address was if they did indeed move. The current owner, Raymond Vong, seems to be the son of the founder, Henri Vong, so he'd likely know the history...

Well, it looks like gweilo8888 hit pay dirt because an examination of Google's Streetview image of that address gave me enough consistency to say that it is the same place. Here is the Streetview picture, but note that the Maxims name that is visible on the picture in Gweilo8888's linked picture, has since been removed. Anyway, mystery solved. Many thanks to Gweilo8888.

Update: I paid a visit at the weekend and coincidentally found myself eating at the restaurant next to Henri's. Here's a quick picture.

Kung Fu Killers - Grant Page (1974) - Victoria Peak Garden, The Peak

A final showdown with Carter Wong before moving onto our next film. This time the two go head to head on top of one of the conical hills that sit in Victoria Peak Garden. The larger of the two hills currently contains a radio mast and sits right in front of the gardens pavilion. This second hill is slightly to the north and sits just next to a development known as "Overthorpe".

To reach it these days you need to take a right hand fork in Mt Austin Road just before you get to Mountain Lodge gate House but Streetview tells me there is a small sign saying "No Admission, Private Area", so I can only assume it is related to the nearby reservoir or radio station on the peak.

Carter Wong with the radio station behind him

The 1970's Wanchai reclamation in the background

The following pictures show you the hill in relation to what were (I believe) Mount Austin Mansions (centre right) and the precursor to today's Peak Gardens (centre left). The small footpath to the top of the hill and its circular base are still marked on the Govt's geoinfo map, so I am assuming it is still there behind all the foliage (you can't see them via GoogleEarth).

But why the circle at the top? I can only assume that at some point in the past before it was made off limits it perhaps housed a small pavilion. This next picture shows the view to the south with the unmistakable garden pavilion in the background (and the slope of the other aforementioned hill on the left). For those that didn't realise, the pavilion and raised terrace marks the position where the original Governor's Mansion used to stand.

Kung Fu Killers - Grant Page (1974) - Rua do Almirante Sergio, Macau

Some more inner harbour and a great example of how Macau has also had its own fair share of redevelopment and reclamation. The following series of screen shots shows us the inner harbour at the far end near to where the A Ma temple is situated. You can see how the road here was right on the waterfront.

Autostitch has done a fairly good job at creating a panorama out of these five pictures, so here it is below.

You can see the water right there, so it's interesting to be able to track down the same stretch of road now to compare. Luckily there are a couple of building stills standing. Here is the comparison courtesy of Streetview.

The green pastel building in the film grab is still around and it's the low building centre left behind the parked white car. Of the two buildings to its immediate left, although one retains the original arch, the building behind it has been redeveloped. The waterfront in front of this row has also gone and been replaced by a large residential building encompassed by Rua da Escola Nautica.

Interestingly, further up the road the arches have been kept fairly intact along the road side, but almost all of the buildings behind them have been knocked down and replaced by high rises. I wonder if it was a general decision made by the authorities to keep the arches or the developers just did it off their own backs?

Kung Fu Killers - Grant Page (1974) - St Paul's Church Facade, Macau

No trip to Macau is complete without checking out the old church ruins. So here is a picture of Grant Page checking it out...

...Yep, still looks buggered...

There's a reasonable amount of tourists on the steps in the last shot, however, compared to today  this looks positively peaceful.

Kung Fu Killers - Grant Page (1974) - Penha Church, Macau

A brief glimpse of the church itself followed by a panorama that could only really have been taken from the hilltop where the church is sited.

I say the panorama was most likely taken from atop of Penha Hill because there is a strikingly similar view seen in Ferry to Hong Kong that I posted about last year. Click here for the post I am referring to.

In fact we even get a brief zoom in to Green Island ( the same Green Island of the famous Green Island Cement fame) or to call it by its Portuguese name: Ilha Verde. You can see it below, in front of the distant mountain range.

Kung Fu Killers - Grant Page (1974) - Hotel Lisboa and the Macau-Taipa Bridge, Macau

A nice (but would be better in HD) view of the Lisboa Hotel - Stanley Ho's famous landmark hotel/ casino situated at the southern end of the Macau peninsula. I actually quite like the kitsch decor even though it's not to everyone's taste.

As the camera pans south (i.e. to the right) we get a glimpse of the Macau<->Taipa Bridge or to call it by its official Portuguese name - the Ponte Governador Nobre de Carvalho. Although I believe at the time of this filming, the bridge had yet to open to the public. Taipa is in the far background.

Kung Fu Killers - Grant Page (1974) - Inner Harbour, Macau

Page doesn't only visit HK, he also makes a quick trip over to Macau helping me top up my quota of Macau locations for the year :-)

The first shot we see is of a ferry docked at the Inner Harbour, right next to the famous (and now famously gone) floating Casino Macau Palace. We've seen it a few times before including way back in this post from the Bud Spencer film Flatfoot in Hong Kong. Although this was filmed the year before Flatfoot, I believe.

I believe there has also been some reclamation along the Inner Harbour at Macau and so the exact location of where the casino used to sit is now inland a bit - though not to the extent of some places in HK that are now kilometres away from their previous harbour front locales. Anyway, here is a quick stitch to give a better view.

Kung Fu Killers - Grant Page (1974) - Lion Rock, Kowloon

Long before democracy protesters were hanging banners from it, Grant Page thought it would be a good idea to free climb up the southern facing sheer face, then after having a quick break, throwing himself off the top again.

After his dry run on the neighbouring reservoir, ensuring there were no kinks in the rope that would leave him dangling in mid-air, Page takes it a stage further and does the same thing off Lion Rock. These days it's reasonably easy (if a little effort intensive) to hike up to the top of the mountain via a well-trodden hiking path, but Page decides that a bit too easy and goes straight up the front - without any safety equipment or climbing aids and wearing only a pair of jeans and a woolly singlet! I'm sure most of my Australian friends would say that was standard all-weather gear for hard-nosed Aussie blokes.

I did ask stunt maestro, Vic Armstrong, if he had ever worked with Grant Page and he told me unfortunately not, but he considered Page to be one of the toughest and most fearless guys he had ever met. True praise indeed coming from one of the movie industry's top men.

Anyway, the view from the bottom of the sheer face is quite spectacular although, to be honest, despite the amount of high-rises these days, I do prefer the greener-looking Hong Kong of the current time. Kowloon looked a bit bleak and dull back in the 1970's - maybe the film needs remastering?

 
The following picture shows us what Lok Fu and Wong Tai Sin used to look like as well. The big swipe in the middle of the housing estates is today's Morse Park.

Finally at the top we get to look down towards the curved exit/entry ramps for the Lion Rock tunnel immediately below the rock. The curved ramps feed traffic on and off Lung Cheung Road. Actually, look closely and you can see a building with a small tower just above Page's left arm/wrist. This is the old TVB studios on Broadcast Drive - now replaced by a development called Peninsula Heights. The road heading off into the distance (top picture which is actually south) is the Kowloon Tong section of Waterloo Road.

Anyway, once Page has secured himself to his zip line, he proceeds to launch himself into the abyss with his trusty bit of old carpet as his brake.

We're left with a nice view to the west that takes in the ridge line along to Beacon Hill in the distance. Note that the track that runs along the ridge is actually now part of the famous MacLehose Trail (stage 5 to be precise) mapped out by the Ghurkas in the late 1970's (it officially opened as a hiking trail in 1979).

If you look at the bottom of the second picture you can see the bare concrete surface of the reservoir where page did his test run featured in the previous post.

Kung Fu Killers - Grant Page (1974) - Lion Rock High Level No.2 Primary Service Reservoir, Kowloon

The place where Grant Page decides to work out the kinks in his climbing rope is the Lion Rock High Level No.2 Primary Service Reservoir. It's a reservoir, like many in the area, that the clever engineers at the Water Supplies Dept (W.S.D) have covered with a concrete roof and turned the roof section into a usable piece of recreational land. In this case the space above the reservoir is currently the site of a 'Little league' baseball ground referred to by the Little League players as Lion Rock 2.

In the film it looks as though it may have been newly completed because of the utter bareness of the thing and the fact that the retaining wall slope is completely free of vegetation. These days you can't even see the thing thanks to natural growth.

Iconic Lion Rock in the background

Once at the reservoir, Page attaches a hook to his climbing rope and proceeds to climb each step on the shaved hillside (each one about 30 ft high) by using his rope as a grapple. Giving it a good heave each time to get it to catch on the lip of the concrete above. All quite impressive.

Who needs the Peak Tram when you have a rope, a grappling hook and a penchant for danger? Page makes it to the top of the retaining wall and ponders the best method on getting back down. Well, I guess as one of the world's foremost experts at vertical zip-lining, the answer is an easy one. So he fixes the rope to the top of the hill and plunges forth using a bit of old carpet to stop his hands from burning to the bone.

We get a quick glimpse of the curved road near Lion Rock Tunnel (top picture) before Page hurls himself off the top in a quick taster of what he does later on Lion Rock.