Narazumono - Ken Takakura (1964) - Ponte No. 17, Macau

The very last scene in the film was shot back up towards Ponte No.17. Essentially the waterfront area that disappeared when the Sofitel Hotel was built at the inner harbour end of Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro. In the top image we can see the police car driving up Rua das Lorchas towards the camera with Ponte No.16 (built in 1948) on the right hand side and on the left of the image is the edge of the Hotel Grande.

The car goes by and immediately turns into a waterfront area that no longer exists and is instead these days occupied by part of the Sofitel development. The grey painted shack on the waterfront should be the no-longer-existing Ponte No.17 (Pontes 17 through 20 have all gone the way of the Dodo due to the hotel development).

Ferry to Hong Kong - Curt Jurgens (1959) - Ponte No.27, Macau

Here's is one from some time ago that I never even bothered to look at because I figured it had long gone. But after wandering around Macau not so long ago I realised there was still some remnants of the location despite the 60 year gap.

The pier scenes in Macau were filmed at a real pier, and the number is recognisable on film, although lack of HD means it is not as clear as it should be. Anyway, the pier number is 27 and although the pier building itself has long gone (although many of the original buildings remain for other piers, some dating back to the 1940s), there is a nearby building that does still exist, although the ravages of time have seen its exterior change somewhat.

Here's a reminder of the pier that once sat along the waterfront on Avenida de Demetrio Cinatti.

Its modern day replacement is much larger and taller, but still occupies the same place along the road. here is the current Streetview.

Opposite the Pier building is an old tenement where, it is implied, Orson Welles' crooked captain keeps a girlfriend. She wanders out onto the balcony to give him a coy little wave as he is about the board the ferry back to Hong Kong. Here she is, followed by a picture of Welles looking suitably coquettish. You can see the lower ground of that same building behind Welles.

The building was, and still is, on the corner of Avenida de Demetrio Cinatti and the small side road (Travessa da Guelra) that connects with the Rua do Visconde Paco de Arcos. Here it is today, although standing it is not in the best of shape.

Look closely and you will be able to see some of the exterior embellishments that have been plastered over. One example is the centre of the side wall above which looks like it once had large rectangular door frame and lintel. If you look at the picture below, taken from both ends of Travessa da Guelra, you can see what it used to look like - positioned in between the two lower balcony supports. Alas, the balconies have also gone - these things are often the first to go in old buildings to ensure they don't get to the point where they prove dangerous. Here's another picture, this time taken from the pier side of the road.

Macao - Robert Mitchum (1952) - Rua do Visconde Paco de Arcos, Macau

Having just been talking about the Hotel Grande in the previous post, this view shows the back of the hotel from the vantage point of the inner harbour area.

The hotel is actually the large structure on the right. I've passed this place almost every time I have visited Macau and never realised it had such a varied history. The building looks quite modern, at least compared to the older shop houses that line Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro next to it and was in fact built in 1940, just before the war broke out between Japan and neighbouring China. Macau, being a Portuguese colony remained neutral during the occupation years and as a result saw lots of wealthy refugees from Hong Kong escaping the Japanese oppression.

The Grande Hotel (Chinese name Kwok Chai Tsau Dim) was built by the Tai Hing Company - a company owned by the Fu family who controlled the gambling monopoly between 1937 and 1962. Their lasting contribution to Macau, other than this rather elegant (though dilapidated) shell of a building was to introduce baccarat into local casinos. It was supposedly built with Chinese patrons in mind, as opposed to the various other luxury hotels that catered largely for western visitors. On completion it was the tallest structure in Macau, topping out higher than its neighbour Hotel Central (which can be seen in the background in the above screen caps). Incidentally, it was the Fu Family that built and owned the popular Furama Hotel in Hong Kong.

Unfortunately it didn't take long before the place descended into a rather less-than-salubrious destination with all manner of crimes going on including murders, prostitution and drug dealing etc and it eventually closed down in the 1990s and has been sitting there ever since getting more and more decrepit. I think this is a big shame because it is actually a very attractive building. I recently heard some rumours that there was an investor waiting to restore it to its former (pre-vice) glory and I hope it happens because something needs to be done and it would be a shame to just knock it down.

Incidentally, the wooden pier you can see in the foreground is now occupied by the Sofitel development and the tall building on the left is the (also still standing) Hotel East Asia. This isn't the Ponte No.16 because that is a large concrete art deco structure, so this looks more likely to be the next pier up, Ponte 18 (I don't know if there was a #17). I'm hoping someone more familiar with Macau can comment. Anyway, this was the pier where passengers were filmed disembarking from the ferry (I assume it was the Tak Shing that was featured in the movie, but I haven't looked closely enough to confirm yet). The footage was used twice, once on it sown and then a few seconds later as the background for the studio scenes of Mitchum and Russell disembarking.

Sadly, I don't have my own picture of the Hotel Grande but here is one courtesy of meckleychina on FLICKR. He also has a great collection of pictures of Asian art deco if you are interested.