Flatfoot in Hong Kong - Bud Spencer (1975) - Avenida Da Republica, Macau

Now we move the action over to Macau and one of our first shots is taken from the praya overlooking the channel between the Macau Peninsular and (what was) Taipa Island and the bridge linking the two: Ponte Governador Nobre De Carvalho.

These days the view is now obscured by the reclamation that has created the Sai Van Lake and the Macau Tower but everything else has stayed put including the low wall with its drain holes which can be seen in the top shot.

Of course at the end of this bridge on the peninsular side is the famous, original, Lisboa Hotel and casino - owned and run by Stanley Ho (well, actually now that his family has divided his interests up between them, strictly speaking all he does these days is dribble from the corner of his mouth and get his catheter bag emptied every once in a while). And so here we see it through the drivers windscreen (just to the left of the dude's head).

Flatfoot in Hong Kong - Bud Spencer (1975) - Kau Yi Chau, Western Harbour

Foiled at the ferry terminal, Flatfoot follows Chaplin to Macau by commandeering a helicopter (hence the last picture in the previous post). On his way we are treated to a view of what I assume is an American Aircraft carrier, junk boats in Aberdeen Harbour and finally a rather nice shot of Kau Yi Chau island - which lies about halfway between Hong Kong Island and Lantau.

 
Regular readers of my blog may also realise that Kau Yi Chau also goes by another name..."Han's Island" because it was the island used by Warner Bros featured on a B&W composite photo supposedly of aforementioned criminal mastermind's island fortress (he composite had King Yin Lei and the Palm Villa tennis courts superimposed).In Flatfoot we see it 'au naturel' - as the green hilled, uninhabited island that it is.

Flatfoot in Hong Kong - Bud Spencer (1975) - HK->Macau Ferry, Sheung Wan

 Here's a place we've seen before - it featured on the previous year's effort starring Roger Moore. In this film we see Bud following Chaplin Chang to Macau and therefore catch glimpses of the old ferry terminal and the car park in front that have long since been replaced by Stanley Ho's Shun Tak Centre.

Flatfoot in Hong Kong - Bud Spencer (1975) - HMS Tamar, Hong Kong

No, not a ship, just a very famous military base named after a ship. The famous waterside military base was taken over by the PLA in 1997 (of course) and the iconic blocky mushroom-like building was renamed to the "Chinese Peoples Liberation Army Forces Hong Kong Building".

Another recent change is that it's no longer prime waterfront property, but like many other previous waterside location has now been moved slightly inland (relatively speaking) thanks to the Central to Wanchai reclamation project that is still underway.

In 1975 it's not so much the Tamar site that is interesting (which it is of course) but rather what can or cannot be seen in the background. In the case of the snap below we can see the hillside behind and what used to be Victoria Barracks. This view is now completely blocked by Pacific Place and the barracks themselves have been replaced by Hong Kong Park. Some of the old barrack buildings remain, but not the ones you can see here.

Flatfoot in Hong Kong - Bud Spencer (1975) - Chater Road, Central

Then we are spirited back to Hong Kong-side as Bud and his young charge walk along Chater Road with the old Hong Kong Club building behind them, as well as the Cenotaph and the Supreme Court (former Legco) Building. Bud sits the kid down on the side of one of the Statue Square pools.

Flatfoot in Hong Kong - Bud Spencer (1975) - Macpherson Playground, Mongkok

 At one point the heroes go to a sumo wrestling fight (in Hong Kong!!?) before getting shot at and then old flatfoot storms out of the arena and pops out of Macpherson playground onto Nelson Street. Things around here have changed a lot but look at the background and you can still see one of the old buildings there.

 Here are the modern day views from Streetview.

Flatfoot in Hong Kong - Bud Spencer (1975) - Hyatt Regency, Tsim Sha Tsui

 With Nancy's demise and a little boy in their care, the guys head back to their hotel, which appears to be the old Hyatt Regency (formerly The President Hotel) on the corner of Peking and Nathan.

This is the famous hotel that had a vehicular ramp running up the side of Lock Road. Of course the hotel was demolished in 2006 and replaced by the godawful eyesore that is called iSquare (read: iSore). It's basically a very large and visually offensive shopping mall.

Flatfoot in Hong Kong - Bud Spencer (1975) - Tin Hau Temple, Repulse Bay

Our intrepid duo, now a team, follow a clue to a house next to a beach. Where are we now? The colourful Tin Hau Temple at the southern end of Repulse Bay beach. Here we find Nancy Sit (or as I like to call her Nancy "Zit" because of the unmistakeable zit-like mole in the centre of her forehead).