Hong Kong (series) - Rod Taylor (1960) - Wanchai Gap, The Peak

The car chase goes up what looks like Magazine Gap Road (although it's proving hard to match those locations to the current area) and ends when Evans makes a quick and sneaky turn down Wanchai Gap Road and the chase car goes past them. The terrace in the background supports the precursor to today's #1 Peak Road, but I'm not ure what it looked like. The area is very similar today but with more trees obscuring the view. This is the same place where the multi-car crash was staged for Les Tribulations d'un Chinois en Chine a few years later in 1965.

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.

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.

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).