The Road to Hong Kong - Bob Hope (1962) - Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong

Some more travelogue style images of Hong Kong from The Road to Hong Kong, this time we are looking across the harbour towards the western end of HK Island. Of course we can still see the Star Ferry (for the time being at least...) but I think the HK harbour views really miss the old style fishing junks which have all disappeared (well, apart from the fake touristy ones which just aren't the same).

The Road to Hong Kong - Bob Hope (1962) - View over Wanchai, Hong Kong

Here's a quick look at some of the Hong Kong scenes incorporated into this film starring Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and Joan Collins. It was shot entirely at Shepperton studios in the UK so of course all of our Hong Kong scenes were most likely taken from stock footage.

Here is one of the first views of Hong Kong looking east to Wanchai. It looks as though it was taken when the typhoon shelter reclamation was taking place for what would eventually become Victoria Park.The park officially opened in 1957, so it's probably safe to say this was perhaps early to mid-50's. Not too far from when the film was made (unlike Target Hong Kong which used 1930's footage for a 50's set thriller).

Sai Kung Waterfront - Now and Then

Seeing as this place has cropped up a couple of times over the last few weeks - in Shirley's World and Weiße Fracht für Hongkong - I figured a trip out there was in order. It's a long time since I went to Sai Kung and the weather was nice and sunny over the bank holiday weekend (yes, we get the Monday off in Hong Kong too), so I thought I would head in and try to get some shots of some film locations.

Actually, the waterfront was more of a consolation prize because my main objective for the day was to head up Chuk Yeung Road and try to find the area where the final fight of The Young Master was filmed, and after about an hour of walking (uphill in some rather tiring heat) I came to the spot where I believed it to be (about 200 metres further north from the fire lookout). Sadly, the walk up there was a bust because not only is the area vastly overgrown, but also the AFCD have roped it all off (not just there but a whole swathe of the hilltop) in some sort of native species re-plantation project. So, until I can get some proper access, this one will remain an unconfirmed piece of guesswork.

The waterfront area in question is right in the town centre and despite the many years that have passed since both Shirley's World and Weiße Fracht für Hongkong were filmed, the place is still quite recognisable.

Here's the reminder for Shirley's World. It was from the episode Evidence in Camera and Shirley (with co-star John Gregson) are in a boat in the small harbour after visiting the family that pinched her camera.

Remember that the village opposite is called Tui Min Hoi (which literally means "opposite side of the sea"). Anyway, here is how it currently looks.

 Following on from that is a brief glimpse of the same area, only this time ten years earlier as Dietmar Schönherr and Brad Harris wander around almost the whole of Hong Kong in about 5 minutes flat. The bumpy ridgeline at the back is Fu Yung Pit and Buffalo Hill.

The view of the hills at the back is now obscured by the covered fish market and a development called Lakeside Garden (can you tell which is which? ;-))

This final shot is looking east along the waterfront. I had to take my picture a bit further back from the pier (because it was a bit too busy and most of that area is now under cover due to some awnings for the harbourside restaurants) but you get the idea.

Jason King (TV Series) - Peter Wyngarde (1972) - Connaught Road, Central

There are quite a few shots thrown into this episode that are a bit obscure and don't really show enough detail for me to be able to recognise the location. However, this one shows something that I immediately recognised: the GPO bridge that connected the old GPO (in my opinion, one of the most elegant buildings from the Colonial years that was torn down in the late 1970's to make way for the utterly drab Worldwide House). You can see the green-painted metal support of the bridge in the grab below.

If you're curious to know what it looked like then gwulo.com has a good wide-angle image of it (and the police post) here. The bridge was constructed to provide an unfettered route (I understand it was a conveyor belt) for mail to and from a post office launch that was berthed at the waterfront.

Jason King (TV Series) - Peter Wyngarde (1972) - Repulse Bay, Hong Kong

A breezy shot looking out over Repulse Bay features at one point in the show. I think, judging from the gap between the islands, (Tau Chau in the centre and the larger Ngan Chau - or Round Island - on the right) that this shot was taken from somewhere along Repulse Bay Road as it curves around the headland to the west of the bay. More to the point, I would love to know which show or film these images were all taken from originally because it most definitely wasn't filmed specifically for Jason King.

Jason King (TV Series) - Peter Wyngarde (1972) - Ocean Terminal, Tsim Sha Tsui

We just had the view looking from what I think was probably the car park roof of Ocean Terminal towards the old wharf. This view, I think, is looking back to the other way from the area of the aforementioned wharf.

Jason King (TV Series) - Peter Wyngarde (1972) - Hong Kong & Kowloon Wharf and Godown Company, Tsim Sha Tsui

We last visited the godowns in TST whilst looking at Shirley's World a few weeks ago. Here it is in Jason King in what I assume is stock footage.Stock footage or not, it's nice to remember that what is now prime waterfront commercial space had a more humble past life.

Jason King (TV Series) - Peter Wyngarde (1972) - Connaught Road Central, Hong Kong

A couple of building pictures in this post. The first shows the Wing On House in the middle with the Nexxus Building on the right and Chinachem Tower on the left. The lower building at the lower right is the old Central Fire Station - replaced by the Hang Seng HQ. The angle of the picture suggests the camera was position on or near the Central vehicular ferry pier at the time.Wing On House is the youngest of these buildings dating from 1967.

Although used at another part of the show, the next bit of stock footage shows the area not far to the right of the one above. It shows the China Insurance Group Building, which looks as though it is a mirror image of the Wing On House. Both buildings are very similar in style and were both completed in the same year. The car park in the distance is the Rumsey Street Multi-Storey carpark (built 1970) - also still around - but the area behind it now has the Shun Tak Centre.

Jason King (TV Series) - Peter Wyngarde (1972) - Ma Tau Chung Road, Kowloon City

Here's a really empty view up the Ma Tau Chung Road next to Kai Tak airport. The bottom left hand corner shows the Sheng Kung Hui Holy Trinity Church with its "Chinese Renaissance" architecture. Actually, to be fair the only real change to this view is the proliferation of high buildings in the background, this section of the road remains relatively unchanged. Even in the zoom in, we are given a close up of what was once a restaurant called (I think?) the 百好酒樓 (Cantonese: Baak Ho Jau Lau) or "Very Good Restaurant". This building also seems to still be around (at least according to Streetview), although I'm not sure it is a restaurant anymore. You can see it in the Streetview image at the bottom.

Jason King (TV Series) - Peter Wyngarde (1972) - Nathan Road, Yau Ma Tei

Some familiar neon in this post from the section of Nathan Road between Jordan Road and Gascoigne Road. The Yue Hwa Chinese Products store was once on the NE corner of the junction with Jordan Road and is now on the opposite NE side. We can also just make out the Tai Lin electronics sign behind it. This was still around (or at least a version of it , if not the original) until just a while back and I can confirm has now been removed after the company folded after the 2008 financial crisis. Further down the road you can see the sign for the Royal Hotel. This was the precursor to today's Eton Hotel which now occupies the site.

Jason King (TV Series) - Peter Wyngarde (1972) - Aberdeen Harbour, Aberdeen

Another bit of stock footage and used in the episode to imply it was the same place as the last post (i.e. Causeway Bay Typhoon Shelter). In fact, this is quite obviously Aberdeen Harbour with Ap Lei Chau in the background. The sign on the boat is a bit of a giveaway.

However, I did also notice that this image seems to be missing the old Ap Lei Chau power station that was built at the far end of Ap Lei Chau in the late 1960's, which means that this stock footage was taken before then.

Jason King (TV Series) - Peter Wyngarde (1972) - Causeway Bay Typhoon Shelter, Hong Kong

We see the typhoon shelter in several places during the episode because it is where the newspapers' artist is living with his family. Look closely to the left of the first (and fourth) picture and you can see the old North Point power station chimney (one of them) poking out from the side of the building with the red writing on it.

This view (above) shows us looking back the other way (west) towards Victoria Peak.

Jason King (TV Series) - Peter Wyngarde (1972) - Causeway Road, Hong Kong

Another establishing shot - the only type in this program - taken from Causeway Road looking back towards Yee Wo St and Causeway Bay. The first picture shows us looking west along the road and the building on the left is the Bay View Mansion - still around today, but now between the camera and the building is the newer (Urban Council-built) Central Library.

After the tram has passed we get a quick zoom towards Yee Wo Street in the distance and the camera settles on the building you can see in the second picture. It's the San Kei Tower building and this one is also still around - it's right next to the circular walkway that now sits above Yee Wo Street with the junction of Pennington Street.

Jason King (TV Series) - Peter Wyngarde (1972) - Magazine Gap Road, Hong Kong

In one of the episodes of this rather camp early 70's spy show, Peter Wyngarde plays Jason King, former spy turned author, who goes around the world writing thrillers involving his literary alter-ego, Mark Caine. One episode, Every Picture Tells a Story, has King making an unplanned stop in Hong Kong and has about as much embarrassing "yellowface" and badly pronounced Chinese in it as you can expect from a program of this era.

Sadly it appears that none of the actors actually made it to HK and instead we are treated to some dodgy looking sets at Elstree Studios and what I can only assume is stock footage inserted to establish the location. Never mind because the footage included has some interesting enough sights, such as this view overlooking Central from the Mid-levels above Magazine Gap Road. That's Magazine Gap Road running away from the camera in the centre of the second picture.

The yellow buildings stood on what is now "Regence Royal" and they have been seen a few times before on this blog such as this slightly earlier glimpse (from 1967) in Five Golden Dragons, and again around the same time from Shirley's World. I suspect the shot used for this show was from earlier because by the time Shirley's World was being filmed (around the same time as Jason King) the building looks to have lost its yellow paint. Here's an stitched panorama for a better view.

Heisser Hafen Hongkong - Horst Frank (1962) - Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong

I'm just finishing this film with a shot of the harbour including a brief glimpse of Northern Star, one of the Star Ferry boats (built in 1959) that appears to still be in use today.