Superman IV: The Quest for Peace

After saving a Russian astronaut, Christopher Reeve as Clark Kent returns to the family homestead. This is meant to be Smallville in Kansas. But due to the legendary budget slashing by the producers on this film, it was actually shot in the UK in a farm field near the town of Baldock in Hertfordshire.

Clark Kent heads for the barn on the UK set of the Kent family home. Filmed near Baldock in Hertfordshire.

Levon Hornsby (Don Fellows) meets Clark at the homestead and tries to get him to sell-up. Although the location was changed to a field near Baldock in Hertfordshire, even the original movie didn't actually film in Kansas. The sets for the earlier redition of the Clark farm was in Alberta, Canada.

The prisoners are being put to work in the pit at the state prison lime quarry. A calm Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) awaits the start of his getaway. The location is currently unidentified. Actor Mac McDonald (who played one of the marshals) said in an interview that it was a quarry near Milton Keynes. The actual location is the (now disused) Springwell Quarry in Rickmansworth WD3.

The prison guards don't take kindly to a nice car (Cadillac Eldorado) showing up un-announced at the quarry. The quarry site is Springwell Quarry near Rickmansworth WD3. The location also featured in several Doctor Who episodes from the 1970's & early 80s.

With Lex's nephew Lenny (Jon Cryer) having trapped the two guards in the car, he takes them for a ride via remote control, straight off the edge of Springwell Quarry near Rickmansworth WD3. The quarry is no longer used but it has (as of 2019) been mainly just left to overgrow in the years since filming.

Clark Kent dodges traffic in Manhattan...I mean Metropolis. Well it's actually the set at Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire WD6!

Trouble on the underground and Clark looks for a place to change. Keen eyed Jonathan Horswell from the railway movie database points out that this is one of the shots that was filmed at Holborn Underground station. This sequence has segments that alternate between Holborn and Aldwych tube stations, hence our previous incorrect identification. The tiling on the left of this shot match the tiles that Holborn used to have. Apparently this location has also been used for music video filming including Howard Jones' "New Song", Leftfield's "Release the Pressure", Suede's "Saturday Night" and Aqua's "Turn Back Time.

Lex and Lenny visit Superman's exhibit at the Metropolis Museum of Modern Art. It's actually Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire again and this time is The Winter Gardens, a collection of tropical gardens, bars and restaurants MK9 2EA.

Jimmy Olsen (Marc McClure) takes school kid Jeremy (Damian McLawhorn) out to get some additional pics at what is supposed to be outside the United Nations building. It's in fact Milton Keynes Central railway station MK9.

The relatively unchanged station frontage now. (PW)

The photo shoot gets interrupted by Superman. But we're still in Milton Keynes station plaza.

Superman accompanies Jeremy across the plaza to give his speech at the United Nations. Midsummer Boulevard in Milton Keynes MK9. Many of the film's locations including the interiors of the gym, The Daily Planet newspaper and the Museum were all shot in the buildings within a mile of this location.

No super men or women around on this bright morning. (PW)

The crowd follows Superman and his young friend towards the entrance to the UN . . . . well Milton Keynes MK9.

This comparison from Simon Edwards shows that the area has changed greatly since 1987 with the bus station now to closer to the railway station.

Another crowd waits enthusiastically in front of UN building. Doubling as the UN Entrance is the Wembley Conference Centre, which was demolished in 2006. It is on Empire Way, Wembley in Greater London and about 50 miles from the previous shot!

Antony Blair returned to the location of the former Wembley Conference Centre and found the same original building to the right.

During Superman's clearance of globular nukes, one of the places he visits is snowy USSR (now of course the Soviet Union). But for the movie this is a model with some live action elements composited.

The missile that is to birth Nuclear Man rolls out at Fort Mason United States Airforce Base. But thanks to a very helpful information and clarification update by website visitor Dave Buckley (who used to work at Elstree as a production staff trainer), this location was actually on the backlot of the old Elstree Studios. This was before they were sold off to Tesco, who then redeveloped the site. This location was across the road from the BBC site (ex ATV studios) where they have the Eastenders set.

The shot of the missile on the airstrip was filmed at the old Radlett Aerodrome at Borehamwood WD6 (site now re-developed). The site also hosted Avengers TV episodes and also films such as The Iron Maiden (1963) and the 1974 film Stardust.

Nuclear Man (Mark Pillow) touches down in Metropolis. Actually it's the Elstree Studios backlot again with some nice matte compositing on the left side and top of the frame. It is a shame that similar matte paintings didn't get added to the Milton Keynes locations to make them much more believable as the big city.

Despite filling the frames, this is the film-makers at Elstree Studios attempting to mock-up Metropolis (or New York city) on the backlot.

Nuclear Man damages everything he touches. But this is not New York but Elstree Studios. All of the New York street shots were done at the studio as this cash strapped production couldn't afford to film in the Big Apple for real.

As an example of a struggling production, the left side buildings of this footage filmed on the Elstree Studios backlot already do not match the nice matte painting shot from supIV018.

Superman dumps a depleted Nuclear Man into a cooling tower. This is Didcot Power Station. The cooling towers were demolished in 2014.

Following another stock shot of the UN building, we are back in Milton Keynes Plaza for Superman's press conference. At the moment though Clark Kent is having to make his excuses to leave Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) and Jimmy Olsen so that the main man can make his appearance.

From a similar position. (PW)

Superman flies into Metropolis. Well we all know it's Milton Keynes Plaza by now!

Is it a bird, is it a plane . . . no it's Elder Gate outside Milton Keynes railway station. (PW)

Lex Luthor and Nephew drive in their vintage looking car (apparently it's a 'neoclassic', a car vehicle that is made in the image of the classic cars of the 1920s and 1930s without being necessarily intended as a full replica) along the M25 around London, even though the signs at the side of the road read 'metropolis'! These scenes were shot in October 1986, a few weeks before the motorway was officially opened.

Although added to Reel Streets in 2020, this is a shot from the Superman IV film shoot taken on 10th October 1986. It was taken by the photographer known as PSParrot who managed to take this between Junction 21A and 22 of the M25 motorway. The production used the ramp to enable the car to tip up at one end to simulate Superman picking the vehicle up (the ramp is not visible in the final film). This photo is used with a creative commons licence permission https://bit.ly/3lUtz4J . Thanks to also to Jon Onyon for bringing the image to our attention.

Catholic Priest (Mark Caven) of the Boystown Remdial Home comes out to meet a new arrival. Actor Mark Caven himself confirmed this location to be Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire.

James Morgan managed to find a gap between the shrubs and snap the building without the gates that were put back up for the film.

Superman drops off Lenny. The 'Boys school' is actually at the front of Elstree Studios at the Shenley Road location in Borehamwood WD6. Actor Mark Caven (who played the priest) said that they put the gates back up and flew Chris Reeve over Shenley Road and down to land in front of the studios!

And then Superman delivers Lex Luthor back to the now unused Springwell Quarry near Rickmansworth.

Hopefully the marshals won't let him escape so easily next time. This is the old Springwell Quarry near Rickmansworth WD3.