The London Traveler

I’m a big Ian McKellen fan. And his Richard III is, to my mind, one of the great Shakespearian performances.
But it’s also a wonderful guide to early 20th century building in London – the great days of Art Deco.
And what I think McKellen got absolutely right was the political ambivalence of this architecture. Take a good look at Shell  Mex House in the picture above – doesn’t it look just a bit like something by Albert Speer? The assertiveness of this architecture, its super-human scale, make it just that little bit totalitarian.
And certainly, when these buildings were put up, they …read more

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I have to admit I’m the kind of person who really likes to track down little continuity issues when I’m watching films.  It’s a bit nerdy. Well actually it’s very nerdy.
Now when you really know London, you can get very nerdy indeed about precise locations. And that’s great fun. Tony Reeves obviously enjoys this and his book Movie London is full of the most intriguing details about London locations which have been misused in film.
For instance, in The Killing of Sister George, Beryl Reid stomps down a little passageway between Heath Street and Hampstead Grove, in north London. But she …read more

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One of the most amusing things I’ve found in Tony Reeves’ book Movie London is the way London pops up in many films as… somewhere completely different!
Quite often, London becomes Russia. Well, I can see the point of that when in The Music Lovers St Sofia’s Orthodox Cathedral in Bayswater is used as the church where Tchaikovsky’s wedding is held. Appropriately, the cathedral is in Moscow Road! It also figures as a St Petersburg church in the Bond film Goldeneye.
Other Russian locations include Drapers Hall, Throgmorton Street, which becomes St Petersburg in Goldeneye and the Moscow headquarters of Tretiak Oil …read more

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Ever seen a view from the top of a London bus and thought ‘Wasn’t that in James Bond?” or “That’s in one of those Hitchcock films, isn’t it – but which one?”
If  so, Movie London (from Titan Books, £9.99 RRP – or £6.49 on Amazon.co.uk) can help you out.
If you’re touring London, a geographical section tracks down film locations for you in each of the city’s districts.
On the other hand if you’re a serious fan of a particular film-maker or genre, there are chapters dealing with gangster movies, Hitchcock, James Bond, and the swinging sixties – and more.
There’s an immense …read more

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