Siege of Pinchgut, The (aka Four Desperate Men)

From a vantage point north of the City (Yeo St, North Sydney), a panning shot over Sydney shows an ambulance racing down Bent Street, North Sydney. Note: Building height restrictions still in place in 1959 so no skyscrapers in the distance, behind the Sydney Harbour Bridge! View of North Sydney and Sydney, from Bent St, North Sydney.

Vantage point overgrown with trees and weeds, although the original shot seems to be from a higher point, perhaps from a crane.

A police checkpoint has been set up as they attempt to find and catch Matt Kirk (Aldo Ray), an escaped prisoner. Alfred St, North Sydney.

Wooden fence, and possibly the palm trees, still exist although the houses have been replaced with apartments. Everything above the wall on the left now demolished for the Warringah Freeway, the main route to the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

The ambulance, commandeered by Kirk and his gang, make their way along Eaton Street, North Sydney.

As with most places in Sydney, there are now many more trees, making for a greener city but obscuring many older views.

The ambulance continues along Alfred St, towards the checkpoint.

From this angle you can see the wooden fence in both images and also the palm (Capture 2), possibly the same one now as then.

The ambulance is stopped near the corner of Alfred and Darley streets, North Sydney and one of the gang steps outside to survey the situation. The police have opened the back door to examine the ‘patient’, one escaped prisoner heavily swathed in face bandages. Alfred St, North Sydney.

Apartments stand where the houses were, and the ground level seems to be lower as well.

Having successfully dodged arrest at the checkpoint, Kirk and the gang head south along Alfred St, North Sydney toward their hideout. Alfred St, North Sydney.

More trees now to help the environment.

En route to the hideout, the ambulance travels along the Pacific Highway, North Sydney, the main route through the north shore until the Warringah Freeway was built in the 1960s. None of the buildings in this image survive. GWWD adds that the ambulance is turning from Elizabeth Street, which has been replace by a pedestrian walkway named Elizabeth Plaza.

GWWD points out that all of the building on the pacific highway have been demolished except for the large block in the left background, 105 Miller Street, which still stands.

Still en route to the hideout, the gang travel along the Pacific Highway, North Sydney.

The location as it appears now by GWWD.

A motorcycle cop, travelling north on the Pacific Highway, North Sydney, next to the on ramp for the Sydney Harbour Bridge, spots the ambulance and nosily decides to pull it over. North Sydney Town Hall, spire in the distance, is the only building, along with the on ramp, that still exists in this shot.

North Sydney has become a de facto CBD for Sydney containing many high rise apartments and office blocks so it is difficult to get an exact comparison shot as the street layout has changed.

The cop directs the ambulance to a side street (McDougall St, Kirribili) for questionable reasons – an ambulance with siren blaring is surely on its way to somewhere important. Nonetheless, Mr Cop adds some tension to the scene as Kirk, still hiding behind some bandages, quivers in the back. Pacific Highway and McDougall St, North Sydney

The route to the side street, across the Pacific Highway, past Alfred St to McDougall is now buried beneath the Warringah Freeway, carrying traffic to and from Sydney over the Harbour Bridge.

Kirk’s main henchman, Bert (Victor Maddern), having safely negotiated the ambulance to a side street, now negotiates a truce with Mr Cop. McDougall St, Sydney.

The Art Deco apartments on the left survive and are accompanied now with some rather impressive trees. Street calming has also added a small park where the ambulance was parked although a very busy freeway is but metres away.

Conceding that his interference has slowed down the ambulance, Mr Cop offers (!) to escort it to Sydney Hospital, the last place on the gang’s itinerary (They were planning to use the ambulance to get through the police road blocks and dump it as soon as possible). Unable to shake him, they reluctantly follow him through city streets, firstly along Bridge St. Bronze statue of King Edward VII, eldest son of Queen Victoria, in the background. Bridge St, Sydney.

The statue, erected in 1922, carries the inscription ‘Empire and Unity’, a throwback to Australia’s colonial days under Britain and a nod to this situation by a thoroughly British film company in a far flung Commonwealth location.

Now travelling along Macquarie St, in front of Parliament, tensions in the ambulance are rising as the gang realise that there will soon be a need for some fast talking to avoid the failure of the bandage/ambulance ruse. Macquarie St, Sydney.

With significant heritage value, this stretch of Macquarie St is one of the few areas untouched by time.

With hearts thumping, the ambulance and escort pass through the gates of Sydney Hospital, off Macquarie St.

Pleasingly, relatively unchanged.

The gang have now arrived in the grounds of Sydney Hospital. Mr Nosy Cop is still directing proceedings, to their chagrin. Rear of Sydney Hospital, Macquarie St, Sydney

In 1998, while walking through this area, I came across a small pig, running back and forth, while a trainer used a clicker to make a noise. Mystery solved – Babe II was being filmed at this very spot, just near the fountain.

Micromanager Cop directs the ambulance to, supposedly, the entrance of the hospital. Rear of Sydney Hospital, Macquarie St, Sydney

It’s actually towards the car park at the rear of the hospital, just across the street from the Domain.

While attempting to escape Sydney by boat, the gang are stranded on Fort Denison, in the middle of the harbour, after their boat snags. The caretaker, his wife and their daughter are collateral damage as the gang decide on their next move. Bert discusses their situation on the Martello tower.

Many of the indoor shots were actually filmed on Fort Denison as the harbour and Sydney shore line can be seen in the background. Luke (Carlo Giustini) brandishes a weapon in front of the caretaker’s wife, Mrs Fulton (Barbara Mullen) but the stonework here does look rather like a studio set.

Luke attempts to strike up a relationship with the caretaker’s daughter, Ann (Heather Sears). The main building of Fort Denison and the Martello tower in the background.

Matt and Bert continue their deliberations on what action to take next while enjoying the upper level of Pinchgut, complete with original cannon.

Matt and Luke ponder their next move, aware that the police are active in the city. The Eiffel Tower-inspired structure near Matt’s head is the AWA tower, the tallest structure in Sydney from 1939 until the 1960s. It features in 'The Matrix', when Neo and Trinity rescue Morpheus from the agents. It can be seen below as they make their escape by helicopter.

When a visitor arrives at Fort Denison, Ann, foregoing safety, rushes out, only to be caught by Matt. The game is up. The police now know where they are!

With a clear, but rather distant view of Pinchgut, the police marksmen make their way to the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge with their weapons to establish control of the situation. You can, for a fee, now do this walk yourself! Mind you, the view and amount of traffic will be different.

Spotted, Matt and Luke dive to the ground to avoid being obvious targets. Artistic licence allows them to be facing the wrong way (the marksmen and Sydney Harbour Bridge are actually behind them).

Luke is now under attack as well, while Ann watches on from the safely of the fort.

Superintendent Hanna (Alan Tilvern), man-in-charge of escaped prisoners, arrives. The King Edward VII statue from Capture 12 makes another appearance, confirming our location as Macquarie St, near Bridge St. The building that he is about to enter is now the Intercontinental Hotel.

Little has changed other than the trees which are now, thankfully, larger and more prolific.

Superintendent Hanna enters an official looking building, originally the Treasury Building, built in 1851 and now the Intercontinental Hotel. Macquarie St, Sydney, near Bridge St.

The entrance to the Intercontinental Hotel, relatively unchanged from 1959 with only the addition of a hotel sign.

Matt and the gang have discovered ammunition in the fort’s armoury and a cannon on the upper level so their bargaining tool is now complete annihilation of a substantial part of Sydney, courtesy of a nearby naval vessel, noted to have a full store of explosives. A news seller on George St, near Town Hall, lets the public know.

Train station entrance refurbishments, tram lines and stations, and updated street utilities colour this scene with modernism but the much loved Queen Victoria building, upper left, remains.

With no resolution in sight, the public are advised to evacuate the city asap. Here, on Miller St, North Sydney, locals are grabbing whatever possessions they can carry and leaving area with much haste.

Sydney’s modern streetscape activities have added much greenery to this location.

Another evacuation site, with locals heading toward buses on Northcliffe St, North Sydney.

Two of the three terrace houses remain, with improvements, but overshadowed by modern apartment living.

The evacuations continue, this time at Kambala School, Rose Bay, some distance incidentally from any projected damage areas.

With the city and surrounds largely evacuated, a lone policeman heads along Elizabeth St from Hunter St.

All the buildings on the left in the original scene have been demolished for a new metro train station.

Another deserted city scene, this time along Castlereagh Street near Central Station.

Castlereagh St, near Campbell St, looking toward Hay Street – centre distance.

The police have arrived on Fort Denison and the gang are under fire. First to fall is Bert, near the wharf on the lower level of the fort.

On the upper level, Matt, panicking, attacks Luke.

A determined Superintendent Hanna takes command on the fort. The obligatory inclusion of the Harbour Bridge to remind you of what city this is forms the background.

Running out of options, Matt heads for the top of the tower. The police close in. There is gunsmoke.

Matt, climbing ever higher, is finally hit and falls to his death. Luke rushes in and Superintendent Hanna effects the arrest.