Romantic Englishwoman, The

The opening credits show our heroine Elizabeth (Glenda Jackson) riding the train en route to West Germany. Actually this is already filmed in the state Baden-Wuerttemberg in southwest Germany, with the spectacular scenery of the Black Forest Railway on the stretch between Triberg and Hornberg. The train is heading towards Offenburg over the only true mountain main line in Germany to be built with two tracks.

The international express train stops at the Franco-German border, where customs officials are already waiting. In reality we see two DB-coaches of Am 203 type from the German Federal Railway at Hornberg station, which serves only for the movie as fictional border station.

After the customs officers have boarded the train, the view through the open carriage door shows Hornberg castle above the – in the movie unknown – border town.

The German border guard inspects the passport and hand luggage of Thomas Hursa (Helmut Berger) in his first class compartment on the way to Baden-Baden. In the background the properties below Franz-Schiele-Straße can be recognised..

Thomas waits for the dining car waiter to come through ringing for lunch……………Filmed on the moving train between Hornberg and Offenburg, included for continuity purposes. See Capture 6.

……………. before leaving his compartment to pick up the ‘snow-white stuff’ hidden in the toilet. The Catholic parish church St. Mauritius can be seen through the windows, as the train passes by Hausach. The town is located below Husen Castle, a ruined hill castle and one of the landmarks in the Kinzig river valley.

Elizabeth as the bored wife of English pulp writer Lewis Fielding (Michael Caine) leaves Baden-Baden station. Since 1845 the horse-drawn carriages were waiting at the exit to take the passengers to the hotels of the world-famous spa town. However, the railway terminus with the current building in Neo-Renaissance style from 1895 was closed in September 1977 when the branch line from Baden-Oos to Baden-Baden was abandoned.

The view from the East over Baden-Baden towards the Collegiate church Liebfrauen from 1467, located at the market square. In the center can seen the cupola of the magnificent Friedrichsbad at Römerplatz 1, which was inaugurated in 1877 and at that time was considered the most beautiful bathhouse in Europe.

Another view over the spa town, dominated by remarkable building of the Vincenti elementary school, built in 1890, at Vincentistraße 2.

After crossing the Oos river the horse-drawn carriage with Elizabeth reaches the then and still today best hotel in Baden-Baden, located at Schillerstraße 4-6. Meanwhile Thomas also arrives at the Brenner's Park Hotel. On the way to his suite, he has to watch his drug dealer being arrested by detectives of the German police. The hotel also appears in 'Mortelle Randonnée'.

The view from the roof top of the hotel, where Thomas has hidden the drugs after the failed rendez-vous with the drug dealer. Not really a good idea, because the next morning hard rain has washed away all the 'snow-white stuff'. The view across the convention center and towards the so called Neues Schloss (New Castle) from 1479.

The view across the property towards the back side of the Fielding villa in Weybridge, Surrey. So far an unknown location, but the proximity to the Shepperton Studios could be a clue.

At night, Elizabeth leaves the famous Casino Baden-Baden, located in the west wing of the remarkable Kurhaus and also filming location for Claude Miller’s “Mortelle Randonnée”.

After Elizabeth has promised on the phone to travel home from Germany the next day, Lewis waits for her arrival at the Dover Western Dock. Instead of returning by train, she returns to England by plane. At that time, the Pullman train "Golden Arrow" between London and Paris had been discontinued for three years, but the Pullman overnight service "Night Ferry" was still in operation until 1980.

Lewis gets into his 1955 Bentley S1, parked at the Waterloo Crescent to return home where he will surprised by Elizabeth in a very special way. Dover Castle can be seen in the background.

Howard Baker send us this shot taken from approximately where the Bentley would have been, the bollards on the right of the parking spaces are the same just pole-less now. (RL)

When drug lord Swan shows up at the hotel, Thomas escapes through the back door and walks along the south side of the Convention Center on the way to Baden-Baden station. In the background the Protestant city church rises at Ludwig-Wilhelm-Platz 1.

Fleeing the French drug cartel, Thomas moves to England and hopes to stay with the Fielding's until the troubles blow over. After disembarking the ferry from Calais, Thomas makes his way through Dover Marine station to the boat train bound for London. The station closed in 1994, is a listed building and is now used as a cruise terminal.

After they have begun an affair Thomas and Elizabeth first entrench themselves in the mountains of the Italian Riviera. Actually, this is in France and their 1972 Austin Mini Clubman drives over the Route de l'Armee des Alpes. Beneath the A8 motorway the small village of Colline can be seen.

Driving over the Avenue du Château the couple reaches the hilltop village of Sainte-Agnès, located in the French Maritime Alps.

While Elizabeth enjoys the sun of the Italian Riviera, Thomas talks about how to get money. In fact this is on the French Riviera and we see the couple sitting in the street cafe at Place Amélie Pollonais in Villefranche-sur-Mer. Behind the fountain the chapel Saint-Pierre can be seen. This location has changed dramatically and is now a pedestrian area. The chapel is known for its entire restoration by famous Jean Cocteau.

From Italy the couple drives over the Autostrada dei Fiori towards France where Thomas once again wants to engage in crooked business. However, filmed again in France, their 1971 Rolls-Royce Corniche is soon approaching the Peyronnet tunnel.

By the French border at Menton, the noble cabriolet has to make a short stop in front of the then customs building, located at the now Esplanade Jojo Arnaldi and also seen two years before in 'The Day of the Jackal' as well as 1983's 'Mortelle Randonnée'.

Thomas is parking the car just beyond the border and next to the then BP gas station at Avenue Aristide Briand to meet his business contact on the opposite site of the street. In the background the harbour of Menton-Garavan can be seen.

Sitting on the boulders of the breakwater, the couple plans for the future, while in the background the waterfront of Menton is visible.

After Lewis realises that he has driven his wife into the arms of Thomas because of his jealousy, he follows Elizabeth to France. On the way through the mountains towards the Côte d’Azur his glance into the rearview mirror of the Bentley shows that he is being followed by a white car. This sequence was filmed on the scenic Route de Peille in the direction of La Turbie.

With the white 1964 Mercedes Benz 230 SL still behind him after a long distance, Lewis decides to face his pursuer. This is at the intersection of Avenue du Cap d’Ail next to Place Neuve in La Turbie, a village close to the border of the Principality of Moncao and known for the large Roman monument Tropaeum Alpium.

The Bentley takes the Rue Edward Tuck towards the church, whereupon the Mercedes immediately follows. At the end of the Avenue de la Pinède, just in front of the cemetery and close to the ruins of Tropaeum Alpium, Lewis forces the Mercedes to stop, with the pursuer turning out to be Swan (Michael Lonsdale), the distinguished drug baron. Swan hopes to learn from Lewis about Elizabeth's stay to get to Thomas.

After they have agreed, their ways seem to separate. But Swan has Lewis shadowed by his henchmen in their 1971 Ford Mustang Mach 1. Avenue du Cap d’Ail. facing Église Saint-Michel de La Turbie.

Swan waits for Thomas on the balcony of the luxurious suite, the skyscrapers of Monte Carlo can be seen in the background. In the meantime, Thomas once again plays the gigolo for the wealthy widow, who he already knows from Baden-Baden and who now resides in the spectacular Vista Palace Hotel, high above the Bay of Roquebrune, where it comes to the showdown.

From below the terrace with the swimming pool, Elizabeth watches as Thomas throws the briefcase over the balustrade of the balcony. We see the five-star hotel still in his original conditions, such as it was inaugurated in 1950.

In the corner of the large terrace Elizabeth examines the contents of the briefcase, which broke open on impact but contains neither money nor drugs. Below on the right the Golfe Bleu beach can be partly seen and also the striking building of the Résidence Parc Massolin, located at the 'posh' Cap Martin peninsula.