Frenzy

An aerial view of the River Thames running through London is seen as the titles roll.

Will a river view rather than an aerial view do? Well, it managed for over 8 years but John Harwood captured a better angle with a drone shot to replace my shot. (SJ)

The 1970s river scene is almost unrecognisable.

London Bridge taken from Tower Bridge with the chimney of the Tate Modern in the background. Image from Peter.

The shot moves in on the south bank of the River Thames outside County Hall.

Here's a slightly elevated view from the Embankment which will have to do for the time being. SJ

Sir George (John Boxer) delivers a rousing, environmental speech about clearing the river of pollution. In front of the former County Hall on what was previously called River Walk in SE1.

This is the eastern corner of the building. SJ

Journalists and members of the public listen to the speech. Looking towards the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Bridge from The Queen's Walk.

This is where the crowd were listening but I don't have the lens depth to align the the lamps with the HoP. SJ

One of the crowd spots a body floating in the river. The Thames as it flows besides what is now named The Queen's Walk.

The tide's a bit higher here. SJ

Sir George's audience moves to the parapet. Facing south on The Queen's Walk.

These are the benches. SJ

Police descend to the river's edge to retrieve the young woman's body. The steps lead down from The Queen's Walk in front of the former County Hall in SE1.

Unchanged. SJ

Barbara Jane 'Babs' Milligan (Anna Massey) follows her boyfriend Richard Ian 'Dick' Blaney (Jon Finch) when he walks out of his job as a barman at The Globe after being accused of stealing drinks. Outside The Globe public house on Bow Street in WC2.

New glass, new paint job. SJ

Dick tells Babs that he'll call her and then walks away. Bow Street, looking south-eastward towards Wellington Street and the junction with Russell Street.

A recent comparison from Kurt Roberts. The pub on the corner is currently known as The Marquis of Anglesey.

The Marquis of Anglesey now sporting a more refined look. (SR)

A newspaper is bought. Bow Street with the Royal Opera House in the background.

The same location now . . . . . wiv no barrers!

Still looking impressive today. (SR)

As Richard Blaney heads towards Covent Garden Market, the camera starts to pan along Russell Street. This is the corner of Bow Street.

From ground level. The Globe public house is behind the white van. (PW)

All of these buildings have been demolished and replaced with the Royal Opera House redevelopment of the 1990s.

Ground level and certainly not as exciting. SJ

Finally the shot reaches the corner of Russell Street and Covent Garden. This corner was seen in 'Mrs Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter'.

Also ground level. SJ

Dick picks his way through the busy market. Covent Garden in WC2, with the corner of Russell Street in the background.

Now, the arched windows remain.

Tuttons restaurant hasn't changed its decor for a while. (SR)

Covent Garden at the east corner of Henrietta Street.

Now, just missing the spuds and Liza Doolittle!

A view now gaining some foliage from the restaurant on the corner. (SR)

Blaney reaches his friend's fruit business.

Stallholder's premises replaced by a fancy wine bar and the London Transport Museum.

Outdoor seating for Tuttons now sits in the open area. (SR)

Robert Rusk (Barry Foster) finds out that Dick has been fired and gives him a box of grapes and a racing tip. This is at the east corner of Covent Garden.

Same stonework, different business. (PW)

With the last of his cash, Dick goes for a drink. Catherine Street WC2 with the Nell of Old Drury public house to the right.

Now, much the same, even the lamp-post.

Looking a bit frenzied in 2023. (SR)

Dick looks up when he hears his name shouted out. Looking north-east on Henrietta Street.

Henrietta Street, now.

The parked cars have gone and al fresco dining has taken over. (SR)

Rusk introduces his Mum (Rita Webb). The window on Henrietta Street overlooks Covent Garden.

The same window. When JT returned in triumph with the shot. "No", said his little brother; he, who appears in the stills of 'The Day the Earth Caught Fire', "Could be any window". "But the curly bits top and bottom", JT protested. "Could be any one of ten thousand similar", said he. "The drainpipe?" JT offered. "Millions of them", he said with derision. "The entablature on the next window?", said JT with all his architectural vocabulary coming to the fore. Brian just snorted . . . . .

The brickwork has now received a facelift. (SR)

A similar shot to the previous capture taken from the 4:3 aspect version of the film.

. . . . and then, "Arrr, look at the chip out of the top of next door's window". They did, and it was the same in both shots. So sometimes it's the missing bits that prove the point, not just those that remain.

Now quite despondent, Dick wanders through the city. The street sign reads Oxford Street W1.

Oxford Street it is, from the corner with Davies Street. (RL)

Mr Blaney makes his way to Mrs. Blaney's matrimonial agency. Oxford Street.

"Ronald Keith" was at 117 Oxford Street, as is Lloyds Bank now. (RL)

The former RAF Squadron Leader turns off the main thoroughfare. Dryden Chambers off Oxford Street. Lee Langton tells us that number 40 Dryden Chambers was the offices of Glitterbest Limited, Malcolm McLaren's company that managed the Sex Pistols, where meeting took place to discuss the 1980 mockumentary 'The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle'.

The same location in the early 2000s.

JT remembered this small passageway but it took a while to find it because it has been absorbed into a modern store. The ornate grille over the entrance remains.

Taken in the early 2000s, this image shows the grille from the Oxford Street side. How can they close a street and make it into a shop, one wonders? Ah, the mysterious ways of our Lords and Masters.

After dinner with his ex-wife at her club, a taxi carries the pair to her mews home. Ennismore Gardens Mews in SW7 a location that also features in 'Nowhere to Go', 'The Fourth Square', 'Stock Car', 'The Guilty Party', 'The Vicious Circle', 'That Kind of Girl' and 'The Sex Thief'.

Not easy to pinpoint any matching features here. SJ

Brenda Blaney (Barbara Leigh-Hunt) opens the door, but it isn't long before the two part company with Dick ending up in a Salvation Army Hostel. Facing east on Ennismore Gardens Mews, Knightsbridge.

But I settled for 31, note the pipe, included in London Movie Guide. This is very close to mews houses seen in The Vicious Circle, That Kind of Girl and The Thirteen Chairs (1970). SJ

The following day, Rusk leaves the Blaney Bureau after murdering Brenda. Dryden Chambers W1.

Dick approaches his ex-wife's office to call in and thank her for giving him some money. Dryden Chambers.

The court has been completely buried by the retail unit. With acknowledgement to the Management and Staff of The Clarks Shop at 119-121 Oxford Street.

Monica Barling (Jean Marsh) returns to the office from her lunch break. Looking out onto Oxford Street from Dryden Chambers.

Taken from a similar viewpoint. With thanks to the Management and Staff of The Clarks Shop at 119-121 Oxford Street for allowing access. (PW)

Dick is seen by Monica as he leaves when receiving no reply at the door. Dryden Chambers which once stood on the south side of Oxford Street between Wardour Street and Great Chapel Street.

Blaney waits for Babs after phoning her at work. Leicester Square WC2 with Shakespeare's statue in the left background.

The same location.

As the police start their search for Dick, Babs arrives by cab and her boyfriend runs over to join her. After all these years Dave W come up with the answer for us, 20 - 21 on the east side of Leicester Square. (RL)

A very disappointing sight, which invites a replacement when works are complete. SJ

The couple head to the Coburg Hotel in Bayswater.

The same location now, captured by Peter.

Tilting down, the camera finds the taxi as it turns to stop outside the entrance. The hotel is now known as the Hilton London Hyde Park.

Peter tilted down too.

Dick and Babs check into the hotel under the assumed name of Mr and Mrs Oscar Wilde. The former Coburg Hotel on Bayswater Road W2. The hotel can be seen in 'Jemima and Johnny' and 'West 11' while Queensway station entrance beyond appears in 'The Yellow Balloon'.

A more modern view of the same location, unfortunately with renovation occurring.

The next morning, hotel porter Bertie (Jimmy Gardner) waits for the police after recognising Blaney from his description in a newspaper. Looking out onto Bayswater Road from the Coburg Hotel in W2.

The view from the hotel door (which kept opening automatically if I ventured too closely). SJ

After they escape from the hotel when Babs reads the morning news, Dick explains that he's not a murderer. Peter advises that this shot was taken from Park Lane looking towards Curzon Place, which ran off Curzon Street parallell to Park Lane.

In Peter's comparison, Curzon Street is to the left where refurbishment is taking place.

The couple run when they hear Dick's name called, before realising that it's an old friend. Facing the London Hilton on Park Lane W2.

Peter knows that they were here but the small park has been redeveloped.

Johnny Porter (Clive Swift) persuades the couple to come up to his hotel room.

I think they were about here. SJ

Hetty Porter (Billie Whitelaw) watches her husband from their balcony. The London Hilton on Park Lane overlooking Hyde Park in Mayfair W1.

Peter took this comparison with the Union Flag catching the wind.

Chief Inspector Oxford is persuaded by circumstantial evidence that Blaney is the 'necktie murderer'. New Scotland Yard on Broadway SW1, which also appears in ‘Hennessy’, ‘Columbo: Dagger of the Mind’, 'The Strange Case of the End of Civilization as We Know It', 'The Sex Thief', ‘Don’t Open til Christmas’, 'White Cargo' and ‘The File of the Golden Goose'.

The sign has moved and security was interested politely in what I was up to! SJ

Rusk accompanies Babs to his flat after she returns to The Globe to collect Dick's clothes.

The corner of Russell Street WC2 by Kurt Roberts.

Lloyds Bank Chambers at the junction of Henrietta Street and Southampton Street.

Much the same now, missing only the murderer! Peter recalls that the entrance to Boulestin's subterranean restaurant, the most expensive in London, was close to here. "Outside, a coffee stall was open through the night where Roger Moore and others would often turn up in evening dress after a night out for a mug of tea and sausage sandwich".

Life goes on in the market as Rusk murders Babs inside his flat. Henrietta Street in WC2.

The same doorway.

The camera tracks back to reveal more of the building.

43 years on. SJ

That evening, Rusk loads Barbara's corpse into a potato lorry. A matted shot of Covent Garden in London WC2.

A daytime shot of the same location from Peter.

When Rusk finds that Babs is still holding his tie pin, he climbs on board the lorry and is carried away towards Lincolnshire. Not quite Lincolnshire, the road sign directs traffic towards Iver Heath, Denham and Stoke Poges Buckinghamshire.

50 years later, Antony Blair finds a modern sign approaching the same junction on the A412.

The lorry pulls into a transport cafe. Wally's New Café was once located on North Western Avenue, Watford, Hertfordshire near Hartspring Lane advises the Movie-Tourist blogspot.

Rusk tidies himself up before entering the cafe to find a lift back to London.

When Barbara Milligan's body is discovered, police descend on Covent Garden. Looking towards King Street from Henrietta Street with St Paul's Church to the left.

Very pedestrianised. SJ

Officers search the area.

The crowd is just as big. (RL)

Bob Rusk and Felix Forsythe (Bernard Cribbins) discuss the murders. Covent Garden is seen in many films including 'Madame Louise' and 'Don’t Open till Christmas'.

When Dick turns up in the market, Rusk tells him that he can hide out in his flat and carries his belongings directly there. Facing south-west in Covent Garden, alongside Henrietta Street.

The same area. SJ

Dick takes the long way to Rusk's flat. Tavistock Court off Covent Garden WC2.

The same spot taken by Kurt Roberts.

Significantly more a tourist location these days, certainly the clearest moment I was awarded. (RL)

Tavistock Court again. This time with an aspect ratio of 4:3 showing more of the entrance to, what is now known as, Jubilee Hall.

Captured by Chris Mattheson.

A comparative shot for the purposes of completeness to the film as currently shown on the Site. It requires to be re-addressed as none of the captures are presented in the aspect ratio of the original filming. (RL)

Rusk approaches his flat. Henrietta Street again.

Now, without the carrots.

Revisions to the adjacent restaurant eating area determine where one can stand. (RL)

Dick nears the entrance to Rusk's flat. Henrietta Street at corner of Southampton Street with Bedford Street in the distance.

The window's been blocked up and the railings redistributed, otherwise unchanged. SJ

Rusk betrays Blaney. The portico of St Paul's Church in Covent Garden.

Graffiti's gone. SJ

The Sergeant watches as Rusk returns to work.

These are the only remaining matching pillars now. SJ

Life in the market continues as Richard Blaney is arrested, charged, tried and convicted as a murderer.

Huge changes with The Royal Opera House extension and the only clear(-ish) matching feature is on the right side, the corner of the long established Tuttons. SJ

Dick throws himself down the stairs whilst in prison. Wormwood Scrubs on Du Cane Road W12. The prison also features in 'The Italian Job', 'A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square', 'The Big Job', 'Go to Blazes', 'Jungle Street', 'Nothing Barred', 'Identity Unknown', 'Dr. Crippen', 'Black Orchid', 'Feet of Clay', 'Hot Millions', 'Morgan, a Suitable Case for Treatment', 'The Devil Inside', 'Rotten to the Core', 'Three Steps to the Gallows' and many more.

Now. (RL)

When he suffers head injuries, Blaney is taken to a secure hospital. The Movie-Tourist blogspot identifies this as St. Mary Abbott Hospital, Marloes Road W8. The hospital closed in 1992 and was redeveloped as housing.

I think we're looking west from the ex-hospital's grounds onto Marloes Road. This is the current view from St Mary's Gate and behind me is very gated. SJ

With help from other patients, Dick escapes from the hospital and heads to find Rusk. St. Mary Abbott Hospital in W8.

Blaney enters the building to find another dead girl in Rusk's bed. Number 3 Henrietta Street, London WC2.

Today's entrance. SJ

This post-script traces the steps of Bob Rusk as he takes Babs Milligan to his flat on Henrietta Street in Covent Garden. Screen captures and comparison shots by Lee Langton.

The doorway is a lot smarter in Lee's comparison.

The hallway at number 3 Henrietta Street WC2 identified as a set by Paul T. The cut occurs at approximately 1h 05m 53s when a porter walks in front of the building's entrance.

Plenty of differences are apparent once inside the real number 3, and newer alterations have seen the stairway become open plan.

Bob and Bab's reach the top of the stairs. Paul T explains that this is part of the studio set at Pinewood Studios which has small differences to the actual building such as the distance the banister is from the next flight of stairs and the visible doorways being closer together.

Lee found that the room at the top of the stairs on the right is a restaurant!