Caretaker, The

Mick (Alan Bates) walks towards the run down building where his brother is living on the top floor. IMDb identifies the house as standing on Downs Road, Hackney in London E5 which is confirmed by Tim Reid.

Climbing the steps, Mick enters the property. Tim Reid advises that the house was number 31 Downs Road, and he knows because he was born there in 1950

A long shot sees Aston (Robert Shaw) and Mac Davies (Donald Pleasence) walking along the street. To the left is the Hackney Empire which also features in 'The Look of Love'.

Mare Street in Hackney now. (PW)

The two pass the Hackney Empire on Mare Street, London E8.

Hackney Empire from street level. (PW)

Aston and Davies turn the corner of Morning Lane and Mare Street in E8.

The same buildings now. (PW)

The two walk alongside a wall . . . sorry, not much to go on. But how many walls are there, or were there, in Hackney? Not more than 20,000 or so.

Aston nears his brother's house with the down and out who he has befriended. Likely to be Downs Road.

Davies and Aston outside Mick's property. Outside 31 Downs Road in Hackney, identified by Tim Reid.

A closer view of the dormer window of the derelict house. 31 Downs Road in E5 advises Tim Reid who adds that the house was compulsorily purchased by the council and with his family moving out in the late 50s.

Aston leaves the house. Downs Road in London E5 confirmed by Tim Reid. The area has since been redeveloped.

Panning right, the camera finds Mick watching from his van. Ken Jacobs confirms that this is Downs Road in E5 and remembers filming taking place in 1963 during the great freeze-up of that winter. The whole area was demolished between 1968 and 1970 to make way for the Nightingale Estate.

Aston looks through the window of a secondhand shop. Across the road is a clue, the Boleyn Piano Works.

These residential properties now stand across Boleyn Road in N16. (PW)

This is Boleyn Road in London N16.

The developers didn't leave much behind! (PW)

Aston enters the shop. The street sign on the wall reads Gillett Street N16 which runs between Kingsland High Street and Boleyn Road.

And this is the corner now. (PW)

Mac Davies braves the cold. Mike Guinness identifies this as this is Rectory Road in N16 looking towards the junction of Shacklewell Lane, Amhurst Road. The distant tower belongs to a former works.

Tris zoomed in along the street for this comparison in which can be seen the distinctive tower of what is now the Cotton Lofts residential development on Shacklewell Lane.

The brothers in the back garden of the house. 31 Downs Road identified by Tim Reid.

Mick pulls up in his van as Mac sits in the winter sunshine. Looking across Clapton Common in N16.

Same view, different bench. (PW)

The two talk before Mac gets into the van. Clapton Common in the London Borough of Hackney.

Thicker trees and a re-sited bus stop. (PW)

Mick drives off with Mac on board before turning into Oldhill Street.

There's a tree missing, it was lying on the ground in pieces! But the public conveniences still stand on the common, albeit derelict. (PW)

The van is driven onto Osbaldeston Road. St. Thomas' church stands in the centre left background.

The same location now. (PW)

The van continues to complete a circuit of the common. Osbaldeston Road.

The trees have grown and the cars are modern but this shot doesn't seem that different. (PW)

Mick turns out of Osbaldeston Road back onto Clapton Common.

The same location now. (PW)

An additional capture from Mike Guinness showing Mac sheltering in the doorway of a café. The business once stood at 216 Lower Clapton Road but has since been demolished to be replaced by a roundabout.

Mac steps onto the street from the café. Mick Guinness advises that this is looking across Lower Clapton Road in E5 with Gooch house on Kenninghall Road in the distance adding that the location is just a few hundred yards away from Harold Pinter's childhood home on Thistlewaite Road.