Buster

The alleyway next to the Cat & Mutton, Westgate Street.

Behind doors but this is the view through the letter box. SJ

Dave thinks this is outside the Cat and Mutton pub at the top of Broadway Market and Westgate Street near London fields.

Bang on, Dave, thanks for pointing me in the right direction. Simon.

Cat and Mutton behind Phil Collins as he spots a suit which might fit him.

The north end of Broadway Market. SJ

Shot from inside the Nutritious Food Galley, Broadway Market.

As close as I could get to the shop window. SJ.

The tailor's shop front.

Now. Refronted. SJ

Suddenly further south on Ada Street.

Architecture still just recognisable thanks to the the narrow window and two air vents in the centre. SJ.

Broadway Market near Ada Street.

Now. SJ

Jackman Street and Broadway Market.

Now with rebuilt corner. SJ

Jackman Street. The pinched suit seems a good fit.

The proof, just; look at that council block in the background. SJ

Broadway Market.

From Simon James's book, the London Film Location Guide.

Broadway Market.

The same parade. SJ

Is this high up? Does Bethnal Green have any height? Maybe Greenwich, just over the water, or through the Blackwall Tunnel? ... Over the water indeed to SE27 as Collins joins Lamb at a funeral while the law looks on.

Mystery solved by Neil Rigby. It's West Norwood cemetery, London SE27. Stephen Richards took this. Perfect.

Similar to Brompton but not: another of the "Magnificent Seven" (quick pub quiz question, name the other six!)

This, replacing Stephen's shot from the internet back in 2012, is the Mortuary Chapel, built to celebrate Augustus Ralli, in the Greek Orthodox Enclave looking north near the northeast corner alongside Robson Road. SJ

Collins takes a taxi and flowers for Walters back to his house. Beck Road.

Beck Road, London Fields, E8. SJ

An updated image shows little change apart from attention to the vegetation on the railway bridge which carries the London Overground. SJ

30 Beck Road.

Now. SJ

A new door, same brickwork. SJ

I lived in Jackman Street for 8 years in the 1960' & 70's and had a mate who lived in this street. I am 100% certain it is also Beck Road. My mate lived near the bridge. Dunno if that helps. Dave. Simon agrees - it is Beck Road.

Beck Road indeed, north side to be precise. SJ

The parking increases each time. SJ

Collins starts recruiting for the train robbery. Harley Road, NW10.

His first contact is ex-con dustbin man Attwell who takes little persuading.

Harley Road, NW10. The houses right at the back are now a school playground. Excellent sleuthing by Aidan McManus

With power station cooling towers? Croydon? ... No, NW10

He's in!

Harley Road, NW10. The cooling towers are gone, Harley Gospel Hall is still there and the slat wall has been painted black. Another one by Aidan.

Collins and Walters enjoy a trip to the Odeon to watch Lawrence of Arabia. Found by Greg (click the date); the filming was witnessed by Gary Knight who confirms the rain was piped.

This cinema is Odeon Barnet, Western Parade, Great North Road, Barnet, EN5 1AB, identified by Greg. Splendid work. Look at the small window panes. Wow! Thank you. This picture, copyright acknowledged, from http://www.flickr.com/photos/bonez007/3133167947/sizes/l/.

The rainy night out continues with a visit to the chippy. And early Google shots show it as a closed one...

But now 110 Effra Parade, SW2 is a private house. Found on a Brixton blog by Neil Rigby back in Feb 2012. Note that the corner with Railton Road, SE24 has been filled in. SJ

110 Effra Parade, SW2

Unrecognisable today. SJ

Lamb, Collins and Attwell discuss the plan and who else to involve. Leyton Jubilee Park, now a car park. The gasholders ceased use in 2012 and were dismantled in 2019. London E10

Slightly off angle but that is the Clementina Road gasworks in the background. Taken from Seymour Road, E10. SJ

Another view in E10... John Reader adds that this shows Lavender House in the background which was the now demolished Potter & Moore perfume factory. (SJ)

Driving to meet the old train driver. Pritchard's Road, E2.

Some more gasworks overlook Pritchard's Road, E2

Taken from Marian Place for a clearer shot. The gasworks were also seen from the other side in Grimsby, Legend, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Gangster no1, Doctor Sleep and Dead Man Running. SJ

The scene of the train robbery. on the Great Central Railway near Rothley, Leicestershire.

Time to fill in a bent lawyer. Inner Temple Lane, EC4.

Just to the left of Temple church, seen in The Da Vinci Code. SJ.

The scaffolding is down but there is random debris. SJ

Inner Temple Lane, EC4.

Now.

No. 3 Inner Temple Lane. SJ

Collins visits his mother-in-law. Abady House, Page Street, London SW1. Thanks to Ray Simmons for identifying this shot.

Now.

From ground level, Abady House is on the east side of Page Street not too far from the popular and cinematic Regency Café. Cars can no longer enter and it would be a tight squeeze for today's widths anyway. SJ

His car draws into the south-eastern corner

Now. SJ

A slight improvement of match on my shot from nearly 20 years ago. SJ

A closer look.

Now. SJ

The now greener courtyard area is gated but occasionally it is left open. SJ

And approaches no6.

Taken while researching for London Movie Guide. SJ

This is the north-east area of the courtyard. SJ

Collins, Lamb and Attwell loiter on Inner Temple Lane, Dr Johnson's Block.

Now.

The west end of Temple Church with Dr. Johnson's Buidlings in the background. SJ

The gang arrange for the farmhouse hideout to be cleared and cleaned of evidence.

Now.

Looking south on Inner Temple Lane with Cloister Court on the left and a passage to Hare Court on the right. SJ

Pressure is on.

Now.

The Goldsmith Building comes into view on the left, moving north towards Fleet Street from the previous. SJ

On the way to the farmhouse hideout. Neil found, with Google proof, Harefield Road, Rickmansworth.

Tim Cannon sent this in, one can just make out the house behind the trees. (SJ)

Listening to the wireless they sense the search for them is narrowing. Harefield Road, Woodcock Hill to the south of Rickmansworth in Hertfordshire identified by Antony Blair.

Antony returned to the location 35 years on.

And they change their mind doing a U-turn, once they find out that the farmhouse has been found. Woodcock Hill cemetery postcode WD3 1PD. It became a cemetery in 2002. Hence the empty appearance during filming.

Tim again with this one. (SJ)

Walters, with daughter Ellie Beaven, returns to their safe house and finds Collins next door. Neil found Ellement Close, Pinner HA5 1ER.

Calvin Brady sent this in, while dropping in on his parents, and notes the deterioration of the road after 34 years.

Collins is kindly trying to break in to help out a neighbour who's locked herself out. Ellement Close.

Calvin notes that the porch, like many in the close, has been remodelled and that the window shutters next door have gone. (SJ)

She is not particularly impressed as it transpires that this blows their cover when the neighbour contacts the police. 42 Ellement Close, Pinner in Greater London.

Calvin was impeded by parked cars to match the absolute correct angle. (SJ)

Neil noticed this from a programme about 1980's TV progs. featuring The Two Ronnies and a sketch called "Little Big Shot". The director cites Victoria Dock, London. Looks like the angled bit adjoining Albert Dock, where London airport now is.

In the unlikely event of a comparison being taken, here's, for interest, the shot from the Two Ronnies found by Neil. (SJ)

Walters visits the local post office after switching "safe houses": supposedly Wraysbury but in fact Kingsbury Green, NW9.

After years of searching, Neil has found 268 Church Lane (Pizza Arianos), London, NW9 8LU, and it's still a "Chippy" next door. (RL)

Collins leaves the safe house by the Thames. Red Cottage, Wey Road, Weybridge in Surrey.

Neil did the research and provided the Bing shot.

The high life in Acapulco, Mexico.

For a more accurate Acapulco location, Richard Price provides this Google image showing the view from Playa El Morro looking south-east at the rock known as Farallón del Obispo. (SJ)

And Collins and Walters have a nice private residence, though Walters feels homesick and wants to return home to the UK. Privida San Martin 37-b, Las Playas 39390, Acapulco, Mexico.

A shot provided by Neil. As a comparison is unlikely.

After serving his 15 year sentence, Collins now sells flowers on the South Bank.

Embankment near Royal Festival Hall, Festival Pier.

Collins and Walters are off to see their now grown up daughter.

Embankment near Royal Festival Hall, Festival Pier.

The real Buster, Edwards, actually sold his flowers outside the back entrance of Waterloo Station. Corner of Mepham Street and Waterloo Bridge Road in SE1.

Now. (RL)

Paul and Claire Carrera explain that whist researching the history of their 1938 Chris Craft boat Anamac, they discovered that not only was she a 'Dunkirk Little Ship', but after the war the Navy sold her back to the River Thames. They also found that during the mid-1980s she was moored in the Shepperton area and that she had appeared in the movie 'Buster' as the getaway boat for Edwards and Reynolds.

Here is a picture of what Anamac looks like these days.

This additional capture features the crucial scene where Buster sets off to Acapulco leaving Julie Walters behind which was shot on the River Wey at Red Cottage, Weybridge. Paul and Claire are proud to have owned Anamac for the last seven years and tell us that she is still moored and used on the river at Abingdon-on-Thames, looking just as she did in the movie, and that she has now been accepted onto the National Historic Ships Register.