Former Marine Police HQ - Now and Then

Here's a recent set of pictures I took at the Marine Police HQ. If I was a more diligent location documentarian I would be doing this for all the locations I post about but the problem is that I have over 3000 location posts on this blog so it's a bit overwhelming.

Anyway, here are some rough comparisons for a few locations around the former Marine Police HQ. It's now a boutique hotel that has gone through a variety of names, the current one being 'FWD House 1881'. I have no idea where the 1881 comes from because the building was built in 1884 but I suspect it may be due to the '4' bit being a bit unlucky (so many '4's are dropped in HK because it sounds similar to the word for 'death').

The first images are from Soldier of Fortune (1955). Below is the view looking west along the front of the building. The building was constructed on a hill and when the area was 'revitalised', the whole front of the hill, including where Ronald Chow and Michael Rennie are walking, was excavated to make room for shops. By the 80s, that whole area was covered in mature tree growth, all of it chopped down to make way for jewellery stores no one visits (and hence why many of the shops are now empty).

1955 v 2024

1955 v 2024

The image above of Michael Rennie was shot at the eastern end of the front facade. It looks as though there was a partition wall to the right of him that was removed at some point.

Next up are some relatively more recent film grabs, although they show the place before it was renovated and still had its white/light blue colour scheme. The image below is from Takeshi Miike's 2002 Dead or Alive: Final. The top image below shows (what were) the stables on the west side of the compound. I believe this building has since been converted into a Sushi/Sashimi restaurant.

And finally a location that was a bit harder to get a decent compariosn of because of the time ball machinery that has been reinstalled smack bang in the middle of the room. The old time ball tower, located at the front of the former Marine Police compound, had a metal ball on a spike that was dropped every day at 1pm so that ships in the harbour could calibrate their onboard clocks to allow more accurate calculation of longitude. This responsibility was later (1908) passed on to the tower at Blackhead Point/Signal Hill. As you can see from the screengrab, the mechanism for the time ball was absent in 2002, so I can only assume it was in storage somewhere and was reinstalled when the whole compound underwent its renovation and was reopened back in 2009.

The Peninsula Hotel's Former Fountain

Another re-publishing of a film-related post from my old, and now defunct history blog. I suppose this is one might loosely fall into the "Now/Then" category - although it's an on-screen artifact we are looking at rather than a location.

I can't remember where I first heard it - possibly on local Facebook history group when I still had an account - but someone had mentioned that a fountain that once sat, pride of place, in the centre of the Peninsula Hotel's front driveway had been donated to a local school on Hong Kong Island.

There is a brief clip in Soldier of Fortune (1955) that nicely captures it in its former Peninsula Hotel glory.

Soldier of Fortune (1955)

Anyway, after posting my little snippet of historical info on Gwulo.com, someone turned up to correct me and post that it wasn't donated at all but, in fact, was purchased by their grandmother. You can read the comments on the Gwulo link I just posted above but in essence, this person's grandmother, Mrs Wen (溫廖詠楚), was the woman responsible for the creation of the True Light Middle School in Hong Kong.

Mrs Wen was one of the teachers at the True Light Middle School in the Baihedong area of Guangzhou (Canton) and, following the war, she came to Hong Kong and bought a plot of land at 50 Tai Hang Road. Historically, religious groups have been allowed to purchase plots of land very cheaply in Hong Kong on the proviso that the land was used to provide schooling. This is one of the main reasons why most current local Hong Kong schools are founded by and governed by a religious/church organisation.

This was the site, on Tai Hang Road, where the Hong Kong True Light Middle School was established in 1947 and still remains to this day. The events surrounding Mrs Wen's ownership of the fountain are not explained, but in 1965 she bought the fountain from the hotel and donated it to the school where it still stands in the main front courtyard.
  

Actually, if you look very closely at the base, you can see that the one at the school differs slightly. The original one on the screencap above has a rounded lip, but the school one is just flat, so I guess the original base was unsalvageable - perhaps it couldn't be removed without damage. All the same, it's nice to see a little bit of Hong Kong history surviving in a location different from its original one (it happens more than you would think). The screenshot below (from A Queen's Ransom) shows you what replaced it. I think I know which one I prefer.
   

The replacement fountain seen in A Queen's Ransom (1976)

Third Street, Sai Ying Pun - Now and Then

Here's another location that has remained unidentified until now. It is from a sequence at the very start of Soldier of Fortune and is part of the opening montage of establishing shots that kicks off the story in Hong Kong. It's literally the first scene in the movie.

The brief scene shows a bustling street that really could be anywhere on Hong Kong Island but the clue to this scene is the right hand side of the frame (top image) which shows part of a concrete structure. The structure is the old Sai Ying Pun market, identifiable by the horizontal grooves that have been added to the buiding's exterior.

Here's how the same bit of Third Street looks today. The version of the market partially seen in Soldier of Fortune was replaced by the current version at some unknown point (please comment if you know when it happened).

Soldier of Fortune - Clark Gable (1955) - Cheung Sha Wan Boatyard, Kowloon

Despite me covering most of the locations from Soldier of Fortune some years ago (I did a post over on Gwulo back in 2009 which served as a sort of precursor to the establishment of this blog), there are still a couple of places that had defied pinpointing. One of the locations is a fairly innocuous street scene, but the other was a local boat yard to which Michael Rennie - in his role as the Marine Police Inspector, Merryweather - visits just prior to him getting stuck on board Hank Lee's adventure-bound fishing junk.

The scene is quite interesting because it looks like a real event going on (as opposed to being staged for the film) as a new boat is launched from its dry dock into the nearby water. The only problem I was having is the exact location as to where this may have been filmed.

It's taken a while but I have finally managed to pinpoint it to one of the local boatyards that operated along the pre-reclamation waterfront where Cheung Sha Wan becomes Lai Chi Kok. The key to the location was a familiar looking ridge line that I couldn't place until it dawned on me that I was looking at Lion Rock from the west.

Anyway, after consulting some aerial images from 1949 and 1959 it appears that the location for this particular local ship yard was at the very southern end of Hing Wah Street and this location tallies with the current location of Sham Shui Po Sports ground. The NW corner of the track to be precise.

Hugh farmer's Industrial History of Hong Kong has an article on ship breaking in the area and one of the images contains a similar angle of Lion Rock in the background, albeit slightly more south because it looks as though the ship building activities were along the south west facing Cheung Sha Wan waterfront area, whereas the ship breaking industry discussed in Hugh's article appears to have taken place along the south eastern facing section, essentially the space now occupied by Lai Chi Kok MTR station.

In the penultimate image above the actor, Michael Rennie (playing Merryweather), has moved his head and you can see Lion Rock poking out from behind the distant ridge line. The derrick in the background of the last shot is the landmark that can be discerned on aerial imagery and helped me pinpoint the location.

Soldier of Fortune - Clark Gable (1955) - Behind the Scenes Photograph, Barker Road Peak Tram Stop

Another little picture that I found courtesy of a glossy celebratory magazine released in 1988 by the Peak Tram Company to celebrate 100 years of the Peak Tram.

The caption to the photo reads:

On location at Barker Road station for "Soldier of Fortune" in the 1950s, Clark Gable with John Arnold of the Peak Tramway Co.

The film was shot during November and December of 1954. Barker Road was seen twice in the film, once at the beginning as Gable surveys the view and once more at the end when Susan Hayward's character decides to stay with him in Hong Kong and goes to meet him there.

Hayward was famously unable to make it to Hong Kong to film her on-location scenes (her ex-husband had a court order issued preventing her from taking their children overseas) and so a double, Dale Logue, was used as her stand in. Hayward's close ups and dialogue scenes were all filmed back in the US studio.

Soldier of Fortune - Clark Gable (1955) - Tak Shing Ferry to Macau

I have been re watching Soldier of Fortune recently (following on from the post concerning Ronald Chow) and found a few more grabs that are worthy of including such as this brief glimpse of the Macau<>Hong Kong Ferry: Tak Shing.

I don't have any information about the vessel other than that it was a real ship that toiled between Hong Kong and Macau. In the film it is the ferry that Hayward's character, Mrs Hoyt, catches to Macau and witnesses the arrest of Richard Loo's character by Communist sailors.

I did notice that the ship gets a mention on this thread over on Gwulo (and I have added a picture to the thread) and Thomas Ngan - frequent saviour of my identification exploits here - has mentioned that Ian Fleming traveled on the ferry when he visited HK.

Okay, it's not a film location as such (well, I guess it is a mobile one) but worthy of including here.

Remembering Ronald Chow

One of the great things about this blog is that I get contact from a wide variety of people. Some get in touch to say thanks, some get in touch to offer me suggestions on films I may not have been aware of (it happens a lot, and I really appreciate the pointers), some people are curious about a location in a film that I haven't already covered, and some people are just like-minded individuals who share this rather weird obsession with film locations (it's more popular than you would think!).

Recently I was contacted by a women in the US who was keen to get a copy of some of the screen grabs I had put up for Soldier of Fortune. Soldier of Fortune is the Clark Gable feature made around the same time as Love is a Many-Splendored Thing that featured Susan Hayward and Michael Rennie as well as some fantastic Hong Kone locations including King Yin Lei and the Barker Road Peak Tram stop.

The film is quite famous in that its female lead, Susan Hayward, couldn't get to Hong Kong to shoot any scenes due to an ongoing custody battle over her children with her ex-husband (Jess Barker). As a result of her absence during key HK-located scenes (such as the rickshaw ride around Central, the scenes outside the Peninsula Hotel and also one at the aforementioned Barker Road Tram Stop) Hayward's double, Dale Logue, was used as a stand in and filmed from a distance so that no one would tell the difference. When I originally started looking at these films there was a bit of speculation that the stand in was Jennifer Jones - who was also in HK for the filming of Love is a Many-Splendored Thing. I'm sure this was spurred on by the fact that both films were released in 1955 and shared Buddy Adler as a producer, but after a bit of research it turns out that Dale Logue was indeed the stand in on this and many other of Hayward's later films. Also, Soldier of Fortune was filmed late in 1954 and Love is a Many-Splendored Thing didn't start filming until nearly 6 months later.

So anyway, back to that email contact I mentioned. It turns out there is another link between the two films other than Buddy Adler. The link is a gentleman called Ronald Chow. Here is an edited version of the email to explain further:

Hi...I am interested in a photo in your...blog... 

Of particular interest is the first photo in a series of three, featuring Michael Rennie and an unknown man walking towards the Marine Police HQ. That man was my father, Ronald Chow, who passed away 2 years ago [in 2013]. He happened to be the location scout for this film, as well as Love is a Many-Splendored Thing, and was given a bit part in the movie. This movie was made 7 years before I was born. He had a short career in the movie industry.

He was very proud of his involvement in this movie and I'd love it if I could obtain a print or JPEG file to include in my memories of him.

So there you go, the man responsible for tracking down and organising all those fantastic locations for both of these films back in 1954/5 - many of which I have been able to include here in the blog - was Ronald Chow.

So I went back to look at Soldier of Fortune again (and I'll be updating my blog posts with better quality grabs in the very near future) and sent a whole bunch of screen captures off to his daughter.

In case you haven't seen the film, or in case you have but want to know who Ronald was, he played Merryweather's (played by Michael Rennie) local police assistant who went by the moniker of '303'. He was in several scenes and I have included a few grabs from each below. The first scene is on the Marine Police patrol boat as Rennie's character is on the lookout for Susan Hayward's missing husband (played by Gene Barry). Ronald is the chap in blue inside the wheelhouse.

Part of the same scene but now on board a sampan as they go looking amongst the 'flower boats' in the typhoon shelter.

Here is Ronald and Michael Rennie in front of the old Marine Police HQ in TST (now the Hullet Hotel).

And finally, one last appearance outside the Peninsula Hotel just next to the Marine Police HQ.

So there you have it, a small piece of cinema history. Sadly, as you have read, Ronald passed away only 2 years ago but at least we can remember him in our own little way here and give him some late thanks for the seemingly small but actually quite significant contribution he made to these films.

Soldier of Fortune - Clark Gable (1955) - Jordan Road Vehicular Ferry Pier

Also known as Jordan Road Ferry Pier because it was located at the westernmost end of Jordan Road in Kwun Chung - when it was still part of the waterfront (obviously...).

Of course, the ferry pier became a victim of the "Kowloon West" mass reclamation and was demolished in 1996. The West Kowloon reclamation has put paid to the aforementioned waterfront.

Soldier of Fortune was filmed in 1955, a few years before the Ferry Point Estate was constructed just to the immediate north of the ferry pier.

Soldier of Fortune - Clark Gable (1955) - Kennedy Town Praya, Hong Kong

Originally I though this was where Connaught Road turns inland into Des Voeux Road in Sheung Wan, however, given that at one point we can see what can only be the northern slope of Mount Davis in the background has led me to believe that this is the part of the tram line where Des Voeux Road West leads into Kennedy Town Praya around Shek Tong Tsui.

It's the location of Hank Lee's Godown. Here is what was a nice open view over to the Kowloon mountains in the background.

The upper shot shows the view to the immediate left of the lower one as the camera pans to the right. In Soldier of Fortune Hank Lee runs his business from the Pedder Industrial Co. Godown. Pedder is a name synonymous with Hong Kong because it was the name of the new colony's first harbour master and went on to be used for several sites around what is now Central. Pedder Street bears his name as does the nice old Pedder Building (built in 1924) along it which housed.

Perhaps this was a real building, or perhaps the filmmakers just thought it was an authentic sounding Hongkong-style name that would fit the film's setting. Who knows? Here's what the same strip of land looks like nowadays. At least this is the closest Streetview I can get without the view being blocked by a tram car.

Here is another shot from the film - looking west, which shows in the background the slope of Mount Davis. You can see how close to the water's edge the tram line used to run. No, the tram line hasn't moved at all since it was first built in 1904, but the water's edge now stands a further 100 metres to the north thanks to reclamation.

Here is another modern Streetview grab that shows the same approximate angle.

Soldier of Fortune - Clark Gable (1955) - Queen's Road East, Hong Kong

Whilst being driven by Hank's chauffeur up to his house, we get to see the car being driven along the 1955 version of Queens Road East. It's identifiable by the small road on the right which is actually Wanchai Gap Road - a slim thoroughfare that hits a steep incline and takes you up to Bowen Road, Stubbs Road and beyond.

Here are the screencaps, the first two showing the entrance to Wanchai Gap Road, the last one showing the area of Queen's Road East a bit further along towards where Stone Nullah Lane and Kennedy St join on the right. Note the "Asahi" advert on the side wall.

Just out of frame on the top picture is one of only two or three buildings that remain from this time: the old Wanchai Post office. I've taken the liberty of taking a modern day shot from Streetview for comparison, but this one shows the Post Office today. It's no longer a post office of course but is used by the Govt Environmental Protection Dept (not doing their jobs properly if you ask me).

Soldier of Fortune - Clark Gable (1955) - Des Voeux Road, Hong Kong

There's another great section of this film where Susan Hayward's stand-in (Dale Logue) rides a rickshaw around town in a vain search for her missing husband.

At one point we see her on a stretch of the Des Voeux Road which is almost as recognisable today even though all the buildings along it have changed - Hong Kong can be a bit weird like that. One feature that helps us place this shot is the building in the far background which is the old Wing On building. Wing On still occupies the same site today, albeit with a slightly more modern building.

The second recognisable part is the intersection of Des Voeux Road and Wing Lok Street which joins at a tangent to the left of the curved building in the background. The Streetview grab below shows pretty much the same angle as the film - the gold-windowed building (above the jaywalking pedestrian) being the modern day replacement of the curved one in the 1955 picture.

The bottom screen grab shows a closer view of the aforementioned Wing On building that can be seen in the background of the top picture. It is a good example of how film makers mess with geography because this second shot occurs almost immediately after the top shot even though Hayward's character can be seen moving away from it in the top shot.

Soldier of Fortune - Clark Gable (1955) - KCR Train Terminus, Kowloon

A shot from the opening credits of Soldier of Fortune. The angle indicates this shot was taken from the roof of either the YMCA  or the Peninsula Hotel. It was a sad day when the Colonial Administration took the decision to knockdown the train terminus building in 1978.

It's not just the clock tower that can still be seen today, but also the small white tower that once supported the time ball in the grounds of the Marine Police HQ.

Soldier of Fortune - Clark Gable (1955) - Queen's Building, HK Island

Here is another shot from the intro taken from the harbour right in front of Queen's Building - once again showing the large COOK'S sign on the harbour-side of the building.

It's not just the old buildings that I find fascinating, but also the almost complete lack of development on the hillside at the back. It's difficult to see anything through the hundreds of high-rises these days. There are a few other things to spot though including the old HSBC building, the old Bank of China building, The Hong Kong Club (far left), what looks like the pitched roof of Blake Pier in the foreground and the former LegCo building (aka Supreme Court) behind it.