20 April 2006

Real location # 1 - Frenzy

I thought I'd try this for a series. I am not sure how far this will develop and it could be quite difficult to produce more than a handful of these posts. It is partly because I read an article in The Times about film location tourism spurned on by the forthcoming film of 'The Da Vinci Code' and the Harry Potter films and partly because it couples my interest in films with my interest in architecture.

Last Friday I walked up from NFT to Holborn Tube via the East side of Covent Garden, I walked right past the Nell of Old Drury and snapped the below picture. Years ago when I had first seen 'Frenzy' I had spotted two pubs featuring in what in the early 1970's was still the fruit and vegetable market of Covent Garden. The two pubs; The Globe and the Nell of Old Drury are both still there and to me at least, look as they did in 1971 or 1972 whenever Hitchcock filmed 'Frenzy'.

Links:

You can forget the Da Vinci tour, Britian is one giant film location. Article from The Times, link.
Frenzy on IMDB, link.
Nell of Old Drury, the official website, link.
A review of The Globe, also featured in 'Frenzy', link.

2 comments:

Dana said...

I came across your blog by chance and was struck by the picture of Ms. Tierney. Memories! I also smiled at your comment about Britain being a film location. I have heard people refer to the entire sceptered isle as a large theme park.

Years ago my wife and I enjoyed the pubs you say are still there. Good to hear that. And your queen yet copes at eighty.

Cheers.

Richard Gibson said...

Dana, thanks for your post. The pubs are very much still here, although decent ones are in decline. As of next year, in England they will be entirely smoke free zones. They are allready smoke free in Scotland.

Cheers to you too!