Knockabout - Yuen Biao (1979) - Shap Sze Heung, Sai Kung

After redoing my Golden Studios post recently and learning that the "Chinese street" set (seen in such films as The Magnificent Butcher and The Young Master) was only constructed in 1979, I thought I would watch Knockabout to see if the set was being used. It turns out, no. Pretty much all of the scenes in this film look to be shot out and about in old buildings and villages in the New Territories - making it really difficult to track down the locales.

Knockabout was apparently Yuen Biao's first starring role as a young 21/22 year old and tells the story of how he and his brother (played by Leung Kar-yan) are a couple of scam artists that eventually try to scam the wrong person (Lau Kar-wing). Impressed by their target's kung fu skills they force him to take them as his students and get embroiled in his rather not-so righteous life.

The film's finale (and a few of the middle scenes where Yuen Biao is training with Sammo) is about the only place where I can confidently say I know where it was shot: Shap Sze Heung. This is the large area east of Ma On Shan that incorporates locations such as Nai Chung, Three Fathoms Cove and Tai Tung Wo Liu, and was popular up until fairly recently because of its flat open views with Ma On Shan on one side and the sea on the other. That said, can you guess what has recently happened to the place? If you said "a massive high rise development" then you would be correct. Every bit of flat land between the few villages that were here is now being filled up by residential skyscrapers. Check out the latest Google Streetmap images. So another former (relatively) unspoilt location bites the dust as Hong Kong's money-grabbing property developers squeeze every last drip out of the place.

Actually, this is a good example of why finding some of the more obscure rural locations on this, or any other, film is really hard. You never know how long stuff was/is around for. Sometimes, with the lack of any distinguishable background features, you just have to rely on blind luck.

Anyway, rant over. Here are some shots from the film at this location. I think given the background cues, this was shot around where the golf driving range was (it's just been removed as part of this huge redevelopment) between Tseng Tau Tsuen and Che Ha Tsuen. Nothing lasts for long in Hong Kong it seems.

Righting Wrongs - Yuen Biao (1986) - Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Kowloon

The establishing shot used for the hospital scene - where Biao and Rothrock swear revenge over the body of Louis Fan - was Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kowloon. The main building has changed little, but the carpark and connecting walkways you can see in the image below have since been removed and replaced by a brand new annex that contains the Block D operating theatre.

This is the last proper Hong Kong shot of the film because the subsequent warehouse scenes where the fight with Melvin Wong starts looks to have been shot in a studio (or at least an anonymous warehouse that defies identification) and the airborne shots at the end were, like the film's opening gun fight, filmed in New Zealand.

Righting Wrongs - Yuen Biao (1986) - Former Tsuen Wan Transport Interchange, Tsuen Wan

This is the final of my reveals for this film (remember kids, you saw it here first!). This is the location of the fight between Karen Shepherd and Cynthia Rothrock and was able to find it by identifying an overhead road from an earlier part of the scene. Sometimes the most inoccuous details can lead to an identification. This large building was located next to Tsuen Wan ferry Pier and was a transport hub for taxis, buses, minibuses and, apparently, even had a driving school located on the upper floors.

As you recall, the scene starts at TST waterfront as Shepherd kills Louis Fan and a foot chase develops between her and Rothrock. However, nifty editing blends TST with Tsuen Wan and it's actually at this point (below) that the action has already moved to Tsuen Wan as Shepherd pushes past people next to the aforementioned Tsuen Wan ferry pier.

Rothrock next to the ferry pier

Actually, the red upper section of the ferry pier can be seen in several subsequent shots. For example, see below.

Shepherd then runs around what looks like a park before heading over to a nearby red-trimmed pedestrian walkway and into the building where they subsequently fight. This 'park' area was immediately next to the ferry pier, as you can see on the film, and it does indeed appear to have had several walkways that linked the pier area to the transport interchange.

This place was opened in 1986, the same year the film was released, so I suspect we are seeing it before it opened and would explain why the crew appear to have had the run of the place. However, it didn't last very long even by Hong Kong standards and was demolishedsometime between 2011 and 2016 (Streetview still has historical images from 2011 that show it intact but derelict). The site has since been redeveloped into a mall and residential complex called "Parc City".

The old ferry pier has also gone, although I think the construction of Tsuen Wan West Rail MTR station was probably the reason for that one as well as some additional reclamation to the waterfront. The MTR station now serves as the area's transport hub, so I can only assume once it was built the old Transport Interchange seen above became redundant and exacerbated its removal

I'm a bit miffed because the existence of this place more than overlapped with my residence here and, had I looked into this film earlier, I may have had a chance to visit before it disappeared. Such is life, full of lost opportunity. Anyway, thankfully a local blogger did get to go in quite some time ago (circa 2008) and has a bunch of photos you might be interested in.

Righting Wrongs - Yuen Biao (1986) - Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade, Kowloon

Rothrock arranges to meet Louis Fan at the waterfront so he can spill the beans on what he really saw when James Tien was killed but bent cop, Melvin, has hired a killer to take Fan out and this is where we are introduced to Karen Shepherd for the chase and subsequent fight between her and her former US forms rival, Rothrock.

Other than the disappearance of the New World Centre from the background, this stretch of waterfront, not being part of the new-slightly-better-than-before-or-is-it-really "Avenue of Stars", has remained fairly unchanged in the 35 years since the film's release.

Righting Wrongs - Yuen Biao (1986) - Chater Road, Central

After leaving court, Rothrock pulls up beside Biao at a traffic light and threatens him with a gun. The lights are on Chater Road at the junction with Jackson Road.

Righting Wrongs - Yuen Biao (1986) - 23 La Salle Road, Kowloon Tsai

This is the second of my 'exclusives' for this film because I have managed to track down the house used for James Tien's property and the scene where Rothrock fights Biao after stumbling in and thinking he has just killed Tien's character.

The property was located in the Kowloon Tsai area of Kowloon Tong (this is the area to the immediate east of Waterloo Road). The area was developed from the late 1940s and early 1950s and many of the original houses show an art deco influence similar to those found in Yau Yat Chuen which was developed around the same time. Many have curved facades and extended wraparound balconies that are no longer in vogue.

The property seen in the film didn't have many curves (it had one, to be precise - see the third image below) but did have the large wraparound balcony and this is where the later action of the fight scene takes place. Sadly, the place has been demolished and replaced by four "luxury" houses called "Lancaster Place" (the Chinese name is 家蔚園). This might give you some idea of how big the plot was when it just had a single property on it and why we see the large garden in the movie as Biao jumps down from the balcony after handcuffing Rothrock to the railings. The address was 23 La Salle Road and it was most likley demolished in the mid to late 90s because its replacement was completed in 1999.

You can actually see this property's neighbour, number 25, over on Gwulo.com courtesy of Mike Cussans, who used to live at #27. Sadly, no images of this particular property, but you can see they are almost identical in design.

Righting Wrongs - Yuen Biao (1986) - Aberdeen Marina Club, Aberdeen

Here's one I didn't really need any help with because I was a member here for several years. It's the Aberdeen Marina Club. The top image shows the rear/harbour facing side of the club. Not much change here other than the ground level has extended towards the camera as the club has incorporated more of the previous open public part of the marina into the private section of the club (and built a pool). The middle image shows Louis Fan messing around with James Tien's car in the parking garage and was the route I used to take to the gym because it was quicker than walking through the main entrance (bottom image).

In case you didn't know, the club is owned and run by the Shangri-La Hotel group.

Righting Wrongs - Yuen Biao (1986) - Regent on the Park, Central

Another nod to Hong Kong On Film for identifying the location of Biao's apartment block. This is also the scene of the car park attack that sees him leaping out of the way as several cars try to crash into him, as well as the later scene as Corey Yuen tries to follow a very young and skinny Louis Fan Siu-wong (before he got jacked for Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky).

Righting Wrongs - Yuen Biao (1986) - Cheung Sha Wan Police Station, Cheung Sha Wan

I have to thank Daniel Thomas for doing the heavy lifting on this post as he identified this location many years ago on his still published but dormant Hong Kong On Film blog (come back Dan!!). This is the Police Station where the main cops in the film are all based: Cynthia Rothrock, Corey Yuen (also the film's director) as her subordinate, Wu Ma as Yuens beat cop father and Melvin Wong as the rather menacing boss of them all. Most of the surrounding buildings you see in these scenes have since been demolished and redeveloped as the area now sports quite a few new multi-purpose commercial blocks.

Righting Wrongs - Yuen Biao (1986) - Mita Centre, Kwai Chung

Although in the film Biao follows his target into the Great Eagle Centre, the shot of him abseiling down the side of the building - both before and after the killing - was filmed elsewhere. This is where GoogleEarth's 3D rendering of Hong Kong has become invaluable because it "only" took me about 30 minutes of searching to identify the correct building as the Mita Centre in Kwai Chung. Luckily it's still standing otherwise the search may have taken a lot longer. This film shows the building from the north side so here is a Streetview link.

Righting Wrongs - Yuen Biao (1986) - Great Eagle Centre, Wanchai

Biao follows his mark all the way to the Great Eagle Centre in Wanchai. It's here where the man has an office and where Biao supposedly rappels down the side of the building in order to carry out the assassination. As we'll see in the next post, the building used for the cable stunt was filmed elsewhere (I have several location "reveals" that fans of the film may be interested to read*).

This is the main entrance along Harbour Road and looks pretty much the same today, although I think the ornamental guardian lions have since been removed.

* I am aware that "someone" is working on a HK film locations book at the moment, as far as I know the new locations I have found are not currently known, so if they appear in that book - without credit - you'll know where he got the info.

Righting Wrongs - Yuen Biao (1986) - Tseuk Kiu Street, Yau Yat Chuen

Biao waits for his first target at the corner of Tat Chee Avenue and Tsuek Kiu Street in Yau Yat Chuen. You can just see the street sign as the car drives past him.

Righting Wrongs - Yuen Biao (1986) - Middle Road Playground, Tsim Sha Tsui

Biao drives his Merc to the Middle Road playground to reminisce about one of the trial witnesses that has just been killed when some kid called "fatty" (yes, Hong Kongers really do have a tendency to call people who are "gravitationally challenged", fat - kids and adults) accidentally chucks his football through the car's open window.

This playground no longer exists because it was removed to make way for East TST - then KCR, now MTR - station. Another change in this area is that the Mariner's Club has either been demolished already or is about to be (I haven't checked yet) to make way for a newer larger version.

When the station construction was complete, a new playground was constructed on the roof and the area is linked to the promenade by a rooftop walkway over Salisbury Road. Spot the also-now-demolished New World Centre building in the background of the last image.

Righting Wrongs - Yuen Biao (1986) - former Supreme Court, Central

While I try and find a local place to convert a recently bought VHS tape of Blade in Hong Kong to digital (so I can get decent screen captures), I figured I would go through a few films I have enjoyed over the years. This one, Righting Wrongs (aka Above the Law), is a favourite because I was fortunate enough to accidentally run into Melvin Wong one year at a friend's Xmas BBQ. Said friend's son attended Shatin College and was in the same class as Wesley Wong, so the family had been invited and I got to sit down and chat with Melvin and his wife (former Miss HK Runner Up) Angie Chiu and a very young Wesley (this was Xmas 1996). Suffice to say the conversation centered around this film because it was the only one of Melvin's I had seen at the time. Unfortunately, I was so starstruck at the time that I failed to consider asking any detailed questions so have no information to pass on other than he and his family were really just very nice and friendly.

Yuen Biao plays a barrister who is sent along the path of retribution following the assassination of his mentor outside some law courts (actually, it was the Auckland War Memorial Museum standing in as a law court) in New Zealand. When Biao sees criminals getting off the hook following the killing of the key witnesses and their whole family, he takes matters into his own hands.

The former Supreme Court is the main location where Biao is found doing his work. On a historical note, the Supreme Court ceased to exist on 1st July 1997 and is now known as the High Court. It's located next to Pacific Place.

I Spy (TV Series) - Robert Culp (1965) - The Seven Little Fortunes

One of the I Spy episodes seems to have gained a cult following due to it featuring early on-screen appearances by some of those who went on to become the HK film industry heavyweights (an apt description for at least one of them as we shall soon see).

The episode is No Exchange on Damaged Merchandise and features scenes from a festival that as far as I can tell was one of the Annual Tin Hau festival performances put on in Pat Heung (i.e. 8 villages) area near to Yuen Long. There on display is a small troupe of children performing some acrobatics for the camera. here are the grabs.

Now the hard job of identifying them all. They were known as the 7 Little Fortunes (七小福 - Chat Siu Fuk) and all had stage names of course with the surname Yuen (元) Yuen Long was Sammo Hung, Yuen Lou was Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao was...er...Yuen Biao, Yuen Kwai was Corey Yuen. Yuen Wah also, like Yuen Biao, kept his original stage name. There was also Yuen Tak and Yuen Mo and several more as the group expanded, I suspect. I don't really know enough to identify the latter two but here is my attempt at identifying them in the above pictures. Taking the last picture above we can see Sammo Hung on the left, followed by Jackie Chan. I think it is Yuen Wah with the panda-striped face (in the other pictures). Of course the small one with the yellow costume on is Yuen Biao. I can't work out if Corey Yuen is the one being thrown by Sammo or the one standing next to JC?

Corrections welcome, of course.

By the way, just to remind people how long ago this was filmed, Jackie Chan was probably about 11 years old when this was filmed. He turned 63 in 2017!