The streets of HK...
Does anyone know any of the streets in which the outdoor scenes were shot?
shareIn one shot, the Nam Kok Hotel is shown as being on the corner of Ladder St.
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MovieChat Forums > The World of Suzie Wong (1961) Discussion > The streets of HK...
The film's exteriors were really shot in the Wan Chai district of Hong Kong. It might take a lot of digging since the area has changed so drastically over the years, but you might be able to nail down some streetnames based on landmarks visible in the film.
The WIkipedia entry on the film may offer a start...
I just spent the last few months living in Wan chai. I was so excited to see this film to see if I recognize anything. Honestly, I recognized the feel, but couldn't place a single street. It's completely different now.
shareThe Hotel is on Ladder Street which isn't in Wanchai. It's in SoHo which in Hong Kong means SOuth of HOllywood Road. Wanchai is actually quite flat and the architecture is a bit different.
shareAddenda to the above. Today, with a bit of time to spare I went to Ladder Street to try and identify the hotel/bar. The building is still there although it looks very different now. It's now an antiques shop on the corner of Ladder St and Hollywood Rd next to the Man Mo temple which is repudetly the oldest temple in Hong Kong.
In Hong Kong's demand for building space, it's pleasing to see the building is still there. One other visitor realised the building's significance also taking a picture of it.
There are more than 20 excellent before and after photos of the locations on Facebook, posted by the organizer of one of the fan groups for the film. Search World of Suzie Wong. If I ever get to Hong Kong for a 6th time, it will be a pilgrimage to those location sites. Hallowed ground. By the way, the street market in Wan Chai was my favorite. No tourists. (Except me.)
The scene, supposedly on the roof of the hotel, with Susie getting her picture painted, in about two-thirds of the way up the incline to the Peak. The same building was used for Clark Gables's character Hank Lee's home in Solder of Fortune.
shareAbout the only thing I recognized right away was the opening shot of the Star Ferry building on the Kowloon side. In that scene, the camera pans right and you see a large cruise ship, and then further right to where the Harbor City Mall is now located. In the movie, it looks like some sort of industrial building.
I also noticed the Star Ferry boat "Radiant Star," and how it appeared to be hauling ass on the water over to Hong Kong Island. No way the boats go that fast now!
Next time I'm in town, I'll have to check out the Ladder St location, and see if I can visualize where the Nam Kok Hotel was located. I love the scene where Bill Holden is checking into the Hotel for the first time and the Hotel owner is feeding his cat with a pair of chopsticks!!