Supermen Against the Orient - Robert Malcolm (1973) - Mongkok, Kowloon

We also get a brief glimpse of Mongkok during the credits. It's a very quick shot of the junction between Argyle Street (running vertical at centre right) and Nathan Road and we can see the HSBC building and Wu Sang House next door. We're looking from east to west in this shot so in reality Wu Sang House is directly south of the HSBC building. The circular structure at the top of Wu Sang House was (apparently) Hong Kong's first revolving restaurant, opening in the 60's and operating into the 90's.

Supermen Against the Orient - Robert Malcolm (1973) - The Peak, Hong Kong

For those who don't know what the old Peak viewing tower looked like, here is a great shot of it. Also in the top shot, behind the tower you can see the small domes of the former Peak Mansions. I don't know about you but I much prefer this old building compared to what replaced it. We saw a similar view taken in 1978 for the Spiderman special.

Supermen Against the Orient - Robert Malcolm (1973) - Happy Valley, Hong Kong

More from the jumpy opening credits. This time we get to see a rather oddly angled shot taken over causeway bay looking towards the Happy valley racetrack. I get the feeling that the cameraman didn't like heights and was bit nervous hanging out of a helicopter to get his film.

Supermen Against the Orient - Robert Malcolm (1973) - Central Harbourfront, Hong Kong

Talking of the Central Harbourfront as we just were, the next film to be given the blog treatment is a 1973 Italian production with the name of Supermen Against the Orient, although its Italian title is Crash! Che botte... strippo strappo stroppio. The film centres around a US Agent (Malcolm) sent to Bangkok and then Hong Kong in search of some kidnapped compatriots. Given the fact that the film was shot in both places I find it a bit strange that more wasn't made of Hong Kong as a backdrop. As it turns out most of the best locations appear in the rather choppy opening credits, so the next few posts will feature these. Starting with the Central waterfront.

The picture quality means there's not much to make out, but we do get some closer helicoptered shots around Jardine House (then called the Connaught Centre).

The base of the building still shows signs of construction, although this may have just been the concrete garden/water features being built rather than the building itself (which supposedly opened for business in 1972).

Oliver's Story - Ryan O'Neal (1978) - Central Waterfront, Hong Kong

The final shot from this film comes at the denouement of Oliver's relationship with his heiress girlfriend/ It all takes place along the old Central waterfront. We can see Jardine House (Connaught Centre) and the post office in the background which shows that this particular area of seafront is now part of the IFC development - in fact probably slap bang where the centrepiece IFC2 now stands.

To Candice Bergen's left is the City Hall block, followed by the Furama Hotel and then Hutchinson House etc. But interestingly, in the lower picture you can see the under-construction Prince of Wales building that still forms part of the former HMS Tamar (now the PLA HQ).

Oliver's Story - Ryan O'Neal (1978) - Shek Kip Mei Estate, Kowloon

Oliver heads out on a car tour to visit one of the factories his girlfriend owns. Secretly he's hoping it's a sweatshop so he has an excuse to dump her (because he's a bit miserable and pitiful) but in reality it turns outo be a modern facility that treats its workers fairly. On the way the car he is in passes through the Shek Kip Mei estate. How do I know this one is Shek Kip Mei? There is a street sign on one of the buildings that says "Woh Chai Street".

In fact, I could be mistaken but I believe the junction seen here (in the top two pictures) is the intersection between Woh Chai Street and Nam Cheong Street. I'm only guessing but on the second picture you can see another building further up the road (under the street sign) that looks like the old St Francis of Assissi school building.

Oliver's Story - Ryan O'Neal (1978) - Signal Hill Garden, Tsim Sha Tsui

O'Neal goes off on a bit of a downer and goes for a wander around the garden at Signal Hill (Blackhead Point). You don't see it in the film but this is where the signal tower still stands and is actually a great little escape in the middle of busy Tsim Sha Tsui. I recommend a walk up if you get the chance. The concrete structure the old fella is practising his Taichi on in the top picture is the old gun battery - although these days it's fenced off.

Oliver's Story - Ryan O'Neal (1978) - The Repulse Bay Hotel, Repulse Bay

The photoshoot that Bergen's character is running takes place on the front garden of the old Repulse Bay Hotel. I think the garden wall is the only original part of the hotel left.

Oliver's Story - Ryan O'Neal (1978) - Aberdeen Harbour, Aberdeen

You may recall that when I was looking at locations for the Spiderman film a couple of years ago I noted that the Jumbo was docked at the quayside in Aberdeen. Well, it was made the same year as Oliver's Story and we can see that the restaurant was indeed docked at the waterfront in this film too. I'm not surprised considering the number of restaurants that appear to be in the harbour. If you look at the top picture you can see the Tai pak, and two more to its right (perhaps the Yue Lei Tai and another?). From the other grabs we can also see the Sea palace was there as well. So maybe the Jumbo was at the quayside simply due to lack of space?

Oliver's Story - Ryan O'Neal (1978) - Tin Hau Temple, Repulse Bay

A quick romantic moment is had by the pair at the waterside next to the Tin Hau Temple. This looks as though it was before all the other structures were added to the site (the pavilion, longevity bridge etc).

Oliver's Story - Ryan O'Neal (1978) - The Peninsula Hotel, Kowloon

The pair are staying at the famous Peninsula Hotel. As they enter, Bergen's character rmarks that they are staying in the Marco Polo Suite and it certainly looks as though the interior shots were filmed there. You can see the arched window in the lower screen grabs.

Although the decor has been updated, the layout is still very similar when you look at the floorplan that is on the hotel website. I can't seem to spot any information about which side of the hotel the suite is on though (east/west) so if anyone can enlighten me it would be appreciated.

Oliver's Story - Ryan O'Neal (1978) - Kai Tak Airport Terminal, Kowloon

Some more nostalgia for Kai Tak lovers as the pair arrive at the airport terminal.

Oliver's Story - Ryan O'Neal (1978) - Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong

It's time for a new movie I think and Oliver's Story arrived in the post the other day. This one was filmed in 1978 and stars Ryan O'Neal in a sequel to the earlier Love Story (which co-starred Ali MacGraw). In this follow-up, his wife (MacGraw) has already died of leukemia and he basically spends most of the film moping around and feeling sorry for himself. The film is mainly set in New York but towards the end he and his new rich girlfriend (Candice Bergen) head to Hong Kong so she can check out her garment factories and supervise a fashion shoot.

Cue a rather interesting angle of their plane coming into land at Kai Tak from the harbour end (as opposed to the white knuckle ride from the other direction we usually see). Check out the vehicular ferry at the bottom of the screen as well - possibly heading towards the ferry pier in Kwun Tong

Noble House (Mini series) - Pierce Brosnan (1988) - Queen's Garden, Midlevels

I haven't looked at Noble House for a while but was recently contacted by a friendly chap, called Sean, who was living in Hong Kong at the time of filming. I can't post a link to the video he showed me but it was some home movie footage he took of the collapsed building set from the final episode.

Anyway, it turns out that the set was in fact a real slope up in the Midlevels.The film makers took advantage of the recently demolished Queen's Garden building at 9 Old Peak Road and used the slope behind the empty plot to stage the disaster scenes.

Before you get too excited, the slope no longer exists. Just after filming finished work began on construction of not just the new Queen's Garden but also another development behind it called Dynasty Court. The slope was removed and a podium was constructed on which Dynasty Court now stands. The driveway of Queen's garden covers the area where the cars are in the above screengrabs.

Anyway, a big thanks to Sean for letting me watch his excellent home movies and helping identify a location which I had never really considered possible to find. You can click on the location link below to see the exact spot.

Yellowthread Street (TV Series) - Bruce Payne (1990) - Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui

A quick look back at episode 7 - Rummy's Cut - has revealed another location I missed out the first time. I have no idea why because its location is quite obvious as being the pedestrian bridge that spans Canton Road between the Silvercord Centre and what is now the Marco Polo Gateway Hotel. Also, it appears directly before this location which (almost) makes sense. Anyway, here it is. Not much has changed in the intervening time.