Heisser Hafen Hongkong - Horst Frank (1962) - Nathan Road, Mongkok

Here is a shot from Heisser Hafen Hongkong showing the stretch of Nathan Road close to the junction with Mongkok Road. The building in the distance centre frame was the old Pioneer Building which contained the Royal Theatre. The red/blue glass windowed Pioneer Centre now stands there. Michael Hui shot the cinema heist scene at the Royal Theatre for The Private Eyes. This movie was shot in 1962, so only about two years after the building was opened.

Narazumono - Ken Takakura (1964) - Lai Chi Kok Road, Mongkok

The next part of the opening credits takes us all the way up to the north end of Nathan Road where it joins with Lai Chi Kok Road just past Bute Street. This top image is the view looking from Lai Chi Kok Road back towards Nathan Road.

The rather elegant looking building in the background was the original Pioneer Building and it was the head office of the Kowloon Motorbus Company. To the right you can just make out an advert attached to the front of the Royal Theatre. That whole block (both buildings) has since been redeveloped into the blue and red glassed Pioneer Centre. The second image is the area just to the left of the upper one i.e. still on Lai Chi Kok Road, and is basically where the Mongkok Metropark Hotel now stands.

Another shift to the left in the camera work (below) and we are now looking at the junction with Prince Edward Road West. The top image shows (on the right) the remainder of the block that was replaced by the Mongkok Metropark Hotel with Prince Edward Road behind it. The lower image shows the view just beyond that looking at the building on the opposite corner.which shows the precursor to the current building. The current building (Tai Wah House) was constructed in 1967, so that building we see on screen only had a couple of years of life left.

The Private Eyes - Hui Bros (1976) - Royal Theatre, Mongkok

Sadly now closed, as with many other old cinemas, the Royal Theatre is notable because it was HK's very first 70mm cinema. I have it on good authority (courtesy of the recently released HK Film Archive book about Golden Harvest) that the heist scene in Michael Hui's The Private Eyes was filmed - with a whole bunch of extras - inside the screen of this very same theatre (I believe it was leased to Golden Harvest as one of the GH circuit cinemas at the time).

The ever reliable Raymond Lo provides some info on the place here including when it was closed in 1990. What I can confirm is that it was located at what is now the Pioneer Centre at the Mongkok end of Nathan Road where it intersects with Nullah Road opposite Lai Chi Kok Road.