Love is a many-splendored thing: film locations

Please try this link

I believe the Hospital where Jennifer Jones, the female leading actress worked was King Yin Lane, still situated on Stubbs Road today. Although it was not mentioned in the link below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Yin_Lei

Following the explanatory leads provided by prior posts made in this thread concerning the topic of the tree scene in the film "Love is a Many Splendored Thing", I contacted Brian Rooney who lives near the now named "Malibu Creek State Park" and is knowledgable regarding the history of what was once the named "The Fox Ranch". He approved the following account for Gwulo:

“Per research done by Los Angeles area film historians Mike Malone and Brian Rooney, the fabled tree from LMST existed in several places around Los Angeles, but never in Hong Kong. TCF studio records show that the crew sent to Hong Kong to shoot scenes with Holden and Jones did not include sound personal. They were shooting only secondary, non-dialogue scenes that music and effects would be added to later. While the scenes of actors walking up the steps is indeed HK Harbor, when the scene cuts to the grassy hill, you are in the Santa Monica Mountains above Malibu,  

Close ups of Holden and Jones and the tree were done on a soundstage at TCF. Watch the film closely and you’ll notice that they are not squinting in the close-ups meaning they are not outside. The light on their faces in the close-ups is noticeably better. This is far easier to achieve inside.

Wider scenes of Holden and Jones on the hill with the tree also include Brents Mountain at left – adjacent to 20^th Century Fox Ranch near Malibu. It is very clear where the wide scenes were shot.

For fans of the film, there is no reason why a duplicate tree cannot be cast and placed in a scenic location above Hong Kong as a tourist destination. Fantasy can be made reality with a little work.”

So my dream of one day visiting that tree in Hong Kong with my wife appear dashed.

Bill McIntyre

Interesting photo:

http://www.doctormacro.com/Images/Jones,%20Jennifer/Annex/Annex%20-%20Jo...

This was found by clicking the upper left corner thumbnail on the page for Jennifer Jones:  http://www.doctormacro.com/Movie%20Summaries/L/Love%20is%20a%20Many-Sple...

I read an article in SCMP about Han Suyin's work and the film almost two decades ago. I don't remember much about the content, but I do remember the mention of 'Buxey Lodge', which has something to do with the mansion and the party scene. I guess the 'Buxey Lodge' refers to the present site along Conduit Road, and not the original one in Caine Road. Can anyone get to the archives of SCMP and track down that article?

Some info on Gwulo.com:

http://gwulo.com/node/4917
http://gwulo.com/node/5806

I attended Island School in the old British Military Hospital on Bowen Road.  I haven't seen the film for s long time, but |I have always thought that the interior scenes of Jennifer Jones as a doctor were filmed in my old school building.  I also remember one scene outside the building which reinforced it in my mind.  I'll need to see it again I guess to be sure.

Tom - all interior scenes in the film were shot at the studio back in the US. This is also true of any scene involving dialogue between characters.

The scene was filmed near Victoria Flats at 17, Barker Road, indeed.

vlcsnap-2015-06-01-17h27m28s126 (15barker).jpg, by phil

A comparison with the present situation from Streetview is available here Hong Kong (& Macau) Film Stuff.

I understand it was a Riley, possibly a RMD. My Dad was in HK at the time they filmed, and he said that the the car was the same as the one he had there, one of only 2 in HK.

Being an avid oarsman for the Yacht Club, rowing through the 1980s, mainly in Deepwater Bay and through the gap to Repulse Bay, and having watched Love is a Many Splendored Thing many times I can confirm the two locations used in that area were indeed by the rocks (where they came out of the water from swimming) to the left of the rowing boat shed on middle island and the old house (where they sat drinking in the garden) that was perched on the east side of Deep Water Bay as you progress round towards the gap to Repulse Bay. Indeed another still from the film would show the hill of Ocean Park (without the Dragon or Cable Car!)

After a fair amount of searching I can reveal that the dinner party property was not Buxey Lodge but in fact the building that once stood on Block B of Po Shan Mansions. For the sake of clarity I gave it the address 10 Po Shan Road but I have no idea if this address is correct or was the one that was used (it may have gone by just a building name?).

I have always wondered where the tree and beach scenes were shot. I lived in Shouson Hill and susupected Deepwater Bay for the beach but the tree scene was so unlike Hong Kong I was puzzled. Plus the whole movie takes place on Victoria Island I wondered how the heck she got out in the middle of nowhere.

Here is another recent discovery that I feel is worthy of sharing. During the opening ambulance driving scene several areas are used to film the ambulance as it makes its way to the hospital. The scene starts on Queen's Road Central close to the junction with Hillier Street before moving to show the section running up to Central Market. Then we see this next shot below:

Pok Fu Lam Road, by Philk

Again, this has taken me some time but the availability of the online aerial photos from the mapping office has been crucial to me finding some of the more difficult locations on my blog. The image above is Pok Fu Lam Road where the bus terminus now stands. I know David will be interested in this view because he lived nearby for many years.

In the far distance you can Tai Mo Shan and below it Stonecutter's Island (which helped me narrow down the rough area) and if you look closely, I believe the white building at the back is the wing of the original Ricci Hall. Aerial images have confirmed this is the location.

So Pok Fu Lam Road was subsequently widened significantly and the bend was removed - at least as part of the road, because the bend still exists, it just forms the hill side of the bus terminus petrol station area now. The void to the left of the road was filled to create ground for the road widening and much of that space beyond is now occupied by Academic Terrace.

Perhaps for the film, the ambulance is travelling on the wrong side of the road.

I sat and looked at G for a long time and I believe it's not a building at all but rather the retaining wall for the large space E at the top. If you look closely there is a shadow/foliage on the part facing the camera which forms an angle, giving the impression of it being a pitched roof, but in fact its just a slope leading down from the wall at the top. If you look where you put the B on the map above you can see the two flat parts of it separated by the shaded slope.

Why was it designed this way? I have no idea but perhaps there was a geotechnical reason given the limited amount of space or perhaps the vertical distance between the platform (E) and the lower ground on that side of the road (i.e. had to build a seperate platform to support the retaining wall?). What makes me more curious is what E was originally intended for .

The absence of F could be explained by the fact that the camera doesn't include the far right area (where F would be) in frame. 

Hi Phil,

Other than the Lo Pan Temple, one building of the era on Ching Lin Terrace still stands today.   Someone is still iiving in it.

There are also two buildings in Tai Pak Terrace of the era that are also standing, but it is a boarded up construction site.  It appears some refurbushing was underway before it was stopped.  All windows were removed and most of the front and back walls are removed.  A steel stair case had been built linking up the floor but that's about it.

T

Hi David,

We have to consider the original Pok Fu Lam Road too as the road had not been widended and straightened like todays back then.

T

It is on the right direction for it is linking to Queen Mary Hospital.

Even now it is linking to there.