The Scavengers - Vince Edwards (1958) - Stubbs Road Lookout

We've had several productions film up around here over the years but I think 1958 may be the earliest yet. This is where Allison arranges to meet his wife in an attempt to get her away from the hotel so O'Hara (Vic Diaz) can try to search her hotel room for the stolen bonds. Rather than the concreted terrace that the lookout now is, back in the 50s (and as late as the 60s according to these screencaps) the lookout was more like a natural grassy clearance with some trees dotted around. Remember, in Hong Kong the solution to most problems that don't exist, is to pour more concrete.

I've also managed to stitch some of these frames together (with the help of Autostitch) for a nice view that gives a better sense of the area. Click in the image for a closer view.

Crime Lords - Wayne Crawford (1991) - King Yin Lei, Wanchai

No scenes were shot here, sadly, but there is a nice view of King Yin Lei as one of the opening Hong Kong shots just after the Kai Tak sequence. It's a panning shot, so I've stitched it together to create a single image.

Yellow Emanuelle - Chai Lee (1977) - King Yin Lei, Stubbs Road

No scenes were shot here but there is a brief glimpse of this impressive house as George and co drive by along Stubbs Road. No, I still haven't been inside despite it being in Govt ownership (and with open days) for more than a decade now.

Old readers of my output may remember this place was almost demolished sometime ago (2007) before a public outcry shamed the Govt into taking action. They then tried to blame the previous owner (Stephen Yow) but it turned out he had already offered to sell it to the Government beforehand but was snubbed. 

Police Story - Jackie Chan (1985) - Goodview Garden, Stubbs Road

Goodview Garden is the location of Salina's apartment where the cops stage a fake assassination attempt (Mars in a mask wielding a knife) and then get embroiled in a real life fight on the road in front. The development was built in 1982 so it was fairly new when the filming took place. I'm sure I read on an old Bey Logan blog post (Dragon Dynasty days) that the apartment they used was actually Jackie's at the time, but I may be getting confused. Anyway, once again, Andi has been up there with his camera for those who are curious what it looks like now.

Located next door was Lingnan College (now Lingnan University and based in Tuen Mun), which can be seen in the movie, but this has since been demolished and replaced by a brand spanking new apartment complex called "Central Peak".

Vanessa - Olivia Pascal (1977) - King Yin Lei, Stubbs Road

As Vanessa is being taken to her Uncle's house, she is driven up Stubbs Road and past King Yin Lei. It has cropped up in all manner of films over the years so it's nice to see it here as well.

Casse-tête chinois pour le Judoka - Marc Briand (1967) - Wanchai Gap, The Peak

Some more of the car chase as Marc Briand drives his car down Peak Road and into the famous junction where 6 (or perhaps 7?) roads all merge into one. It seems to be a blackspot for movie-related car mayhem as he almost hits the car that pulls out in front.

Casse-tête chinois pour le Judoka - Marc Briand (1967) - Stubbs Road, The Peak

After having his new friend kidnapped from Tiger Balm Gardens, Marc gives chase in his car. The first spot we see is Stubbs Road next to the turn off #51 Stubbs Road. Following that is the approach from the west towards Stubbs Road Lookout. You can see the lookout area on the right of the lower image, showing it's former open, and tree filled incarnation. In true Hong Kong style, the area is now just mainly concrete structures built to cope with the thousands of people that now go up there to see the views.

The Chinese Stuntman - Ho Chung Tao (1981) - Stubbs Road, Wanchai

Ho's character starts his new job as an insurance salesman at the AIA Building at #1 Stubbs Road in Wanchai. This building was opened in 1969 and is still around, although the last time I went past in the bus (sometime around Feb 2018) it looked as though something major was about to happen with it with lots of sprayed on markings on the outside lattice work.

Update: the building has been demolished circa 2020.

Yellowthread Street (TV Series) - Bruce Payne (1990) - Hanaevilla, Tung Shan Terrace

Another one from the Yellwthread Street archives. This one is from the Episode 4, Middleman. It's the location where the ex-wife of the hostage taker lives. It's a grand old building called Hanaevilla on Tung Shan Terrace but is accessed via a sloped driveway from Stubbs Road area. We've seen it only once (briefly) before on this blog for a post a while back for Detonator 2: Night Watch. The building was constructed in 1959 making it quite a rarity for HK.

1989 Construction of Greencliff in the background

Le Monocle Rit Jaune - Paul Meurisse (1964) - King Yin Lei, Wanchai

The same sequence shot above the mid-levels also has a very brief glimpse of King Yin Lei. It's so brief that if you blink you'll miss it, but it's familiar roof and gables are instantly recognisable to geek boys such as myself. We've seen this building many times on this blog, perhaps most significantly in Soldier of Fortune, but I know there are many Bruce Lee fans that read this blog who will be more familiar with it as Mr Han's island mansion in Enter the Dragon.

You can read a bit more about it here, and see how many times it has featured on this blog here. In the meantime here is the single, solitary screen shot from the film.

Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon - Sonny Chiba (1977) - View over Wanchai, Hong Kong

Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon is a 1977 Sonny Chiba film based on a popular Japanese cartoon series that was created in 1969 for Big Comic magazine. Golgo is a skilled hitman and whenever he kills his targets it's always with a bullet right between the eyes!

Despite the large local HK cast, the film was a Japanese production filmed largely here in HK but with some additional sequences set in Tokyo and Macau. The version I obtained was part of a 3 disc set by Crash Cinema (a US distributor) and it's another one of those VHS transfers that has a an interlace problem I just can't see to shift with the usual software.

However, my good friend AP has noticed my quality dilemma and has been able to send me some screengrabs from the Optimum Asia UK release and you can see the difference below.

The first shot in the film is a view looking out across Wanchai towards the harbour and Kowloon beyond. We know it's Wanchai because you can see the AIA Building on Stubbs Road at the bottom right. The building to its right (at an angle) is Guardian House along Oi Kwan Road.

Crash Cinema version

Optimum Asia version

Which version would you buy? The difference in quality is quite significant, so I will try and update my posts as and when AP is able to supply me with better version. Anyway, a big thanks to him for helping out once again.

Weiße Fracht für Hongkong - Dietmar Schönherr (1963) - Stubbs Road, Wanchai

In a very quick scene when the bad guy picks up his female victim (just prior to her being dumped, unconscious, into Lobster Bay) we see them driving down Stubbs Road in Wanchai. The reason I know this is Stubbs Road is because of the appearance in the background of King Yin Lei at #45.

The building is still there of course, but the roof on it is new due to the previous owner, Cheung Chung-kiu, demolishing it in a display of property developer vandalism (in general, the unwritten rules are if you can do as much damage as possible to render the property beyond salvage then less people will complain when you knock it down - taking out the windows to let the rain in is another commonly used ploy). Luckily members of the public manage to help save it by reporting the damage.

On another note, I see that Streetview has images of this part of Stubbs Road from 2017, which means the camera car must be doing some badly needed rounds.

Boarding Gate - Asia Argento (2007) - View over Happy Valley, Hong Kong

The angle on this shot suggests the camera was position up on Stubbs Road next door to the famous King Yin Lei. The actual spot overlooking the valley is now obscured because the land there was handed over to the previous owner of King Yin Lei in a land swap deal to secure the aforementioned property as a protected monument.

Anyway, you can just see a corner of Tung Shan Terrace in the bottom right of the screen.

Les Tribulations d'un Chinois en Chine - Jean-Paul Belmondo (1965) - Wanchai Gap, The Peak

One of the things that has interested me most whilst looking at locations for this film is the almost complete lack of growth on the hills. As you will see from later posts as well the film crew for Les Tribulations d'un Chinois en Chine covered some really surprising locations and it's quite staggering to see the changes that have occurred since 1965. This is a great example - it involves a car chase scene that ends with a rather impressive and comical pile up in the middle of the road. The location is the junction where several roads all come together at Wanchai Gap: Stubbs Road, Peak Road, Mount Cameron Road, Coombe Road and Middle Gap Road. Modern day visitors tend to go here to visit the (excellent) Police Museum on the nearby hill or perhaps start one of the hikes through the Aberdeen reservoirs, but I doubt many would recognise it from the following film grabs.

Where Peak Road meets Stubbs Road. Wanchai Gap Road at the back.

Stubbs Road with Black's Link on the right.

Middle Gap Road on the left, Mt Cameron Rd on the right.

The grassy area is now part of Wanchai Gap Park, 

Coombe Road coming from the right.

It's hard to get a comparative view from Streetview so they will just have to wait until my next visit to the Police Museum. Suffice to say all the hillsides are now covered in mature tree growth. The next shot is great, I particularly like the rickshaw puller who managed to find his way to the top of the pile up.

The following is a better, low angled view through the gap. The building at the end is currently a HK Electric substation. I have no idea if it was the same back in 1965. There are some nice houses on the slope at the back. Whether they are still around is hard to say but I think the one above the substation might be the precursor to today's Cameron Lodge. The one further along might be #6 Middle Gap Road and it looks as though the same building is still there today with the two chimneys.

I'll finish on this brief shot of the top of Wanchai Gap Road as the wayward bed starts on its long journey towards...well, actually it ends up in Mongkok as you will see in a later post. If you thought that was daft enough, then pay attention to the next couple of posts as I document its rather convoluted journey to the other side of the harbour.

Day of the Panther - Eddie Stazak (1988) - King Yin Lei, Wanchai

My quick foray into Day of the Panther ends with a bit of a surprise - for me at least. Jason Blade (Stazak) is inducted into his secret kung fu society at a temple. The interior is what can only be best described as low-budget, and the building used to portray the temple was none other than King Yin Lei up on Stubbs Road.

The angle is a bit odd because we are looking from the west, so I can only assume the camera was placed further along Stubbs Road where it bends sharply northwards around the hillside. Anyway, this view will soon be gone as the developer responsible for trying to demolish the place several years ago (he's called Cheung Chung-kiu and was just in the news again today) was given the adjacent land in compensation and he's building a massive development right there between the camera position and King Yin Lei.

Detonator II: Night Watch - Pierce Brosnan (1995) - Stubbs Road, Wanchai

At the end of the film there is a small snippet filmed along a road that seems to be very typical of the roads that wrap themselves around the mid-levels from Wanchai to Central. And so it was as it turned out to be filmed around the lower section of Stubbs Road above Wanchai.

There's been much growth in this area in the last 20 years in both buildings and trees although it is the latter preventing the view over to Jardine's Lookout that can be seen in the top grab - as you can see in the Streetview grab below - although you should just be able to make out the pink facade of (what I believe is) Celeste Court poking up into view in both the second screen grab and Streetview below.

A few metres beyond this road bend is the entrance to a rather interesting looking development called Hanaevilla. As you can see from the Streetview that follows this hasn't changed at all other than the aforementioned block getting a blue makeover. It's an interesting building (built circa 1959) with some nicely curved balconies.

Soldier, Soldier - Robson Green (1992) - Stubbs Road Lookout, Wanchai

Only a few shorts posts ago did we see the very same place in the final scenes of Codename:Wildgeese. Here we are a few years later for a brief scene between Pereira and Butler.