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Liam Neeson rushes through Camden Passage

You may recall that in From Angel Station to Milano, we left Peter (Liam Neeson) a worried man. Following the passing of his wife, he had discovered that she probably had a lover. He wanted to find out who The Other Man (2008) might be and we had left him exiting Angel Station.

But then what next? Would we be lucky enough to spot him again in Islington?

Cinema has always been very good at tricking us, pretending to be somewhere when in fact the scene was shot in a studio or on the other side of the world. It would therefore not have been very surprising to see that on the next shot Liam Neeson was (already) in, say, Greenwich!

However, I am delighted to say that he stayed in Islington. In fact, Neeson follows a route that hundreds of locals and Londoners know very well. Once out of the station he walks past The Royal Bank of Scotland and goes through…Camden Passage!

Once one of London’s leading antique market destinations, Camden Passage has in more recent years welcomed a diverse range of vintage shops, cafes, restaurants, not to mentioned a British cheesemonger and a Chocolatier extraordinaire. If you haven’t done so already, it is definitely worth a visit the next time you come to Islington!

Having featured a number of times on the big screen Camden Passage will become another hot spot on our Islington Film Location Map. Just as well since I am yet to try half the cheeses on display there. You can take the boy out of France but…

That’s the Wrap!

This post is our last one on The Other Man but if you know otherwise, please do let me know.

Since the two sequences we talked about follow each other, here they are as they appear on screen.

Enjoyed this post? Feel free to comment, share it with your friends and come to Islington to discover our locations! Don’t forget to send me your pictures.

And if you do know any Islington location used for Film, TV, photo shoot or have been involved in the process, drop me a line at TheUnbelievableMrX(at)gmail.com or via Twitter

How to get there?

Islington Film Locations Map

Camden Passage N1 8EA

Angel Tube Station (Zone 1)

Many buses to Angel and Islington

Tags: Angel, Camden Passage, Cinema, film, Film Location, Film Tourism, Islington, Islington Film Locations Map, Liam Neeson, London, movie, Screen Tourism, The Other Man, Tourism, Travel

Comments 1 Comment
Categories Angel, Islington Filmography

Myddelton Square’s Week with Meryl Streep

27 Mar

Today I was due to talk to you about a film shot in Myddelton Square and outside St Mark’s Church. I had it all planned for months, set in stone in my blog calendar: Thursday 27^th March, Myddelton Square, The End of the Affair (1999) with Julianne Moore and Ralf Fiennes.

Hummm… maybe not. Let’s put it this way, we will still visit Myddelton Square and St Mark’s Church but for the time being we’ll forget about Julianne More and Ralf Fiennes. All this because I realised a few weeks ago that although I had drafted the text, selected the pictures from the movie, I was actually missing those from the location itself! As a result, making the most of a sunny afternoon, I made my way to yet another beautiful square of our borough.

As I arrived Myddelton Square some familiar yellow signs grabbed my attention.

Well, well, well…Parking spaces booked …for Filming…24 to 26 March… How interesting…

Back home, I started searching the Internet for any information I could possibly get. Eventually, some light at the end of the tunnel: Suffragette…Biopic on Emmeline Pankhurst… First film to get permission to shoot inside Houses of Parliament…Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham Carter, Meryl Streep, Ben Whishaw, not bad, not bad…MERYL STREEP? Oh oh oh…Now we’re talking.

Islington has had its fair share of Oscar and BAFTA winning movies and stars as we have seen on our blog, but this was different: filming was taking place on our doorsteps within days!

Another cause for celebration maybe is not only the fact that the shooting and such cast were coming to Islington this week, but also that Ruby Film and Television, an Islington based production company, based a stone’s throw from Myddelton Square, is behind such project. Although Islington Film Studios (later Gainsborough Studios) and Highbury Studios have long gone, Islington’s cinema industry is still going strong!

Ruby Film & Television Offices

My initial excitement was short lived. The 24^th, 25^th and 26^th March were all weekdays, i.e. workdays. I enlisted the help (and camera) of LadyPinkLondon who already contributes to this blog and who went to Myddelton Square during her spare time.

We are proud to present, ‘exclusively for the readers of Lights, Camera Islington!’ some behind the scenes pictures of what has been going on this week in Islington. This should keep you going until the release of Suffragette in 2015.

Myddelton Square Before…

and After!

Setting the scene

Banners for the Suffragettes being delivered

A few vintage cars

a Police van

Lights ready and THE balcony…

And the Oscar goes to…

An Oscar ‘Made in Islington’ for Meryl?

Finally, some cast and suffragettes having a well deserved break between scenes

Selfie Time – Sadly no Meryl on this one!

Extras outside St Mark’s Church

St Mark’s Church

CALL OUT: You live or work on Myddelton Square or nearby? You got involved in the shooting in one way or another? Maybe as an Extra or as a location? Was Meryl standing on your balcony? Carey outside your house? Should you be happy to share your experience with Lights, Camera…Islington!, we would LOVE to hear from you!

Fade Out

Enjoyed this post? Feel free to comment, share it with your friends and come to Islington to discover our locations! Don’t forget to send me your pictures.

And if you do know any Islington location used for Film, TV, photo shoot or have been involved in the process, drop me a line at TheUnbelievableMrX(at)gmail.com or via Twitter

How to get there?

Islington Film Locations Map

Myddelton Square EC1R 1XP

Angel Tube Station (Zone 1)

King’s Cross Station (Zone 1)

Many buses to Angel, Pentonville Road, Rosebery Avenue and St John’s Street

Tags: Carey Mulligan, Emmeline Pankhurst, film, Film Location, Film Tourism, Filming Location, Helena Bonham Carter, Hollywood, Islington, Islington Film Locations Map, London, Meryl Streep, movie, Myddelton Square, Ruby Films, Screen Tourism, Suffragette, Tourism, Travel

Comments 2 Comments
Categories Clerkenwell, Filming in Progress, Finsbury, Islington Filmography

Copenhagen Tunnel: The Ladykillers Part 2

20 Mar

In Frederica Street: Sweet Old Lady in 60,000 bank robbery! I explained how Ealing Studios’ classic The Ladykillers (1955) was dear to me: One of the first movie I saw after landing in the UK, one that reminded me of a bygone era and that I was over the moon when I realised it had been partly filmed in Islington’s Frederica Street.

Sadly, we also saw how this excitement was short lived when I walked to Frederica Street and realised that shortly after the filming the area had undergone a major redevelopment to give way to the Nailour Estate: Nothing remained from 1954.

Nothing? Hummm, maybe not. Despite all the changes around Frederica Street, if you look carefully, you will find that 60 years on something is still here: The Copenhagen Tunnel. The bridge and the mouths of the tunnel that stood right at the back of Mrs Wilberforce’s house, so crucial in the final stages of the film, can still be seen today.

Alec Guinness (Professor Marcus) and Herbert Lom (Louis)

Yes I confess, it is particularly difficult to reach since Frederic Street is no more but…where there is a will, there is a mean. The long option will take you via York Way and then Yale Road through the industrial estate.

A shorter and maybe more comfortable route might be to simply catch the Overground from the Caledonian Road & Barnsbury Station towards Camden Road. Within seconds of departing, looking north, you’ll see it.

The mouths of Copenhagen Tunnel
from the Overground

A final option might be to know someone living in the Bunning Way flats (off the former Frederica St) and who may let you have a sneak peek from their window or car park… you know my email.

CALL OUT: In an interview available online Tom Pevsner, Assistant Director on The Ladykillers, recalls that in Frederica Street, the crew “used rooms in various houses as dressing rooms, rest rooms for the artists, make-up, hair and all that fitted in and we were there for quite a long time.” (…) I should think probably 3 or 4 weeks and the people got quite used to us and enjoyed it (…) I think all the people in Frederica Street or a lot of them knew each other (…).

Pictures found online show a tea party organised by the producers and attended by the cast for the schoolchildren of Frederica Street as a thank you for their co-operation during the many weeks of location shooting.

Do you know anyone who lived in Frederica Street or the area back then? Anyone who may have opened their doors to the crew? Attended the tea party? We would LOVE to hear from them!

Fade Out

Enjoyed this post? Feel free to comment, share it with your friends and come to Islington to discover our locations! Don’t forget to send me your pictures.

And if you do know any Islington location used for Film, TV, photo shoot or have been involved in the process, drop me a line at TheUnbelievableMrX(at)gmail.com or via Twitter

How to get there?

Islington Film Locations Map

Vale Royal, N7

Caledonian Road Tube Station (Zone 2)

Caledonian Road & Barnsbury Overground (Zone 2)

Many buses to Caledonian Road and York Way

Tags: Alec Guinness, Barnsbury, Caledonian Road, film, Film Location, Film Tourism, Islington, Islington Film Locations Map, London, movie, Peter Sellers, Screen Tourism, The Ladykillers, Tourism, Travel

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Categories Barnsbury, Islington Filmography

On Holloway Road, Mind the Driving Instructor #Enraha

13 Mar

In our first Happy-Go-Lucky (2008) post, we left Poppy (Sally Hawkins) confronting Scott (Eddie Marsan) about an earlier incident, outside her house in Mountgrove Road. Once in the car, with Scott behind the wheel, they disappeared onto Wilberforce Road towards Finsbury Park.

Where are they off to one wonders: Hackney? Islington? I am glad to say that you do not have to wait long to get the answer as it lies in the next shot. Here they are again, right in the heart of Islington: Holloway Road.

In fact, Poppy and Scott are at one of Islington’s busiest junction. we can spot them on Tollington Road, turning right onto Holloway Road towards Archway.

And if they have just turned right towards Archway, it would be reasonable to believe that they should next be seen around there, wouldn’t it? Well… they may still be in Islington, but not quite where ‘Enraha’ might expect them… To be continued!

Fade Out

How to get there?

Islington Film Locations Map

Holloway Road N7

Holloway Tube Station (Zone 2)

Many buses to Holloway Road

Related Happy-Go-Lucky posts

Mountgrove Road: A Vintage Sally Hawkins Lived Here

At Highbury Corner, Keep Your Lane!

Enjoyed this post? Feel free to comment, share it with your friends and come to Islington to discover our locations! Don’t forget to send me your pictures.

And if you do know any Islington location used for Film, TV, photo shoot or have been involved in the process, drop me a line at TheUnbelievableMrX(at)gmail.com or via Twitter

Tags: Eddie Marsan, film, Film Location, Film Tourism, Happy Go Lucky, Holloway, Islington, Islington Film Locations Map, movie, Sally Hawkins, Screen Tourism, Tourism, Travel

Comments 2 Comments
Categories Holloway, Islington Filmography

Stephen Fry Hides in Alwyne Road

6 Mar

When we last spoke of V for Vendetta (2005), we left Evey (Natalie Portman) recalling her childhood to V (Hugo Weaving), and how she used to hand out leaflets outside Farringdon Station.

Soon after, V tells Evey that, having brought her to his house, she must now remain there until the following 5^th November, one year away. When she realises that V kills government officials, she escapes. Now a wanted woman, she cannot go back home and decides to take refuge at her boss’s, comedian and talk show host Gordon Deitrich (Stephen Fry).

In return for her trust, Gordon explains that he conceals his sexuality to protect his career, and shows her a collection of prohibited materials such as paintings, an antique Quran, and homoerotic photographs.

And where better to hide than…Alwyne Road. A quiet leafy street in Canonbury, by the new river footpath.

Unlike other Islington film locations, the house is not instantly recognisable. We only get to see it for a few seconds, at night and mainly from close-ups. First, when Evey rings the bell and Gordon opens the door.

Then, later that evening, before the police storms in, we get a quick glance at the whole house but again it is a night shot.

Stay on your toes, V for Vendetta will take us to other locations across Islington.

Fade Out

Enjoyed this post? Feel free to comment, share it with your friends and come to Islington to discover our locations! Don’t forget to send me your pictures.

And if you do know any Islington location used for Film, TV, photo shoot or have been involved in the process, drop me a line at TheUnbelievableMrX(at)gmail.com or via Twitter

How to get there?

Islington Film Locations Map

Alwyne Road N1

Essex Road Train Station (Zone 1)

Highbury and Islington Station (Zone 2)

Buses to Canonbury Road, Essex Road, Upper Street or Highbury Corner

Tags: Canonbury, film, Film Location, Film Tourism, Hugo Weaving, Islington, Islington Film Locations Map, London, movie, Natalie Portman, Screen Tourism, Stephen Fry, Tourism, Travel, V for Vendetta

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Categories Canonbury, Islington Filmography, Lived in Islington

Hercule Poirot solves murder in Thornhill Crescent

27 Feb

In a similar way than Chapel Market, this week’s Islington Film Location survived the upheavals of the 20^th century without any major changes. Similarly, it features regularly on our screens and you can be sure that “we’ll be back”. This is where the similarity ends.

Agatha Christie’s crime novels have been adapted time and time again for the big screen, the television or the stage. It is for an episode of ITV’s Agatha Christie’s Poirot, that Belgium detective Hercule Poirot (David Suchet), graces us with his presence.

In The Clocks (Season 12 – 2009), Hercule Poirot investigates a murder in Wilbraham Crescent. Wilbraham Crescent? No such crescent in Islington my dear Monsieur X, non, non, non!

In fact, there is no reason why one should think or realise that we are in the heart of Islington. The whole episode is set in Dover, as the regular views of the Castle and the sea remind us, not to mention the seagulls we hear on most outdoor scenes. Furthermore, when Lt Colin Race (Tom Burke) presents the case to Poirot he refers to Wilbraham Crescent as “a quiet street away from the seafront”. How could you possibly guess you are in Thornhill Crescent?

Since Wilbraham Crescent is the crime scene, Poirot keeps coming back to it: to visit the house where the body was found, talk to the neighbours, once, twice…

The first time we get to spot Thornhill Crescent is when typist-for-hire Sheila Webb (Jaime Winstone) arrives to the house of Ms Pebmarsh (Anna Massey). She arrives from Crescent Street and turns left.

Later on Poirot and Lt Race go back to ask the neighbours a few questions. We can see them arriving by car from Bridgeman Road (east side) and turning right onto Thornhill Crescent.

After their visit, they stop on the pavement to discuss progress with Inspector Hardcastle (Phil Daniels) who has joined them.

Finally, when our Belgium detective has all the evidences he needed, he rings Inspector Hardcastle. The red phone box used was a prop but St Andrew’s Church can be seen in the background.

A particular Thank You to our Twitter friends @thecallyroad and Jan in particular for pointing us in the right direction us!

We will come back to Thornhill Square for more Islington Film Locations adventures…

Fade Out

Enjoyed this post? Feel free to comment, share it with your friends and come to Islington to discover our locations! Don’t forget to send me your pictures.

And if you do know any Islington location used for Film, TV, photo shoot or have been involved in the process, drop me a line at TheUnbelievableMrX(at)gmail.com or via Twitter

How to get there?

Islington Film Locations Map

Thornhill Crescent N1 1BJ

Caledonian Road Tube Station (Zone 2)

Caledonian Road & Barnsbury Overground (Zone 2)

Many buses to Caledonian Road

Tags: Agatha Christie, Barnsbury, Caledonian Road, David Suchet, film, Film Location, Film Tourism, Hercule Poirot, Islington, Islington Film Locations Map, London, movie, Screen Tourism, Thornhill Crescent, Tom Burke, Tourism, Travel, TV series

Comments 4 Comments
Categories Barnsbury, Islington Filmography

Michael Caine’s Alfie in Exmouth Market

13 Feb

1960s London…The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, the first supermodels Jean Shrimpton, Twiggy, Carnaby Street, King’s Road… Swinging London at its best! As for movie stars, if there is one who epitomizes the British actor of the mid-1960s, it would have to be Michael Caine.

Following the success of Zulu in 1964, Michael Caine shot to fame and become a household name thanks first to his role as Harry Palmer (The Ipcress File, 1965) and then to the title role in Alfie.

Alfie (1966), for those who really don’t have a clue, is an unrepentant womanizer who only cares about one thing: Himself. He charms women – sorry, birds – cheats on them, treats them disrespectfully… you get the picture. The role earned Caine his first Oscar nomination.

And where best to enjoy life to the full than…Islington! Whereas James Mason strolled along Chapel Market, Alfie preferred Exmouth Market!

Early on in the movie, Alfie’s official girlfriend Gilda (Julia Foster) is getting back home. She gets off the bus and then can be seen running through Exmouth Market with the Church of Our Most Holy Redeemer clearly visible in the back…

… before disappearing in Northampton Row.

And what about Michael Caine I hear you say. No Michael Caine in Exmouth Market?

(cockney accent) Let me tell ya something luv. Bet ya he got busy with some bird in Spa Fields. Obvious, innit?

Ah…Swinging London: Carnaby Street, King’s Road…Exmouth market!

Fade Out

Enjoyed this post? Feel free to comment, share it with your friends and come to Islington to discover our locations! Don’t forget to send me your pictures.

And if you do know any Islington location used for Film, TV, photo shoot or have been involved in the process, drop me a line at TheUnbelievableMrX(at)gmail.com or via Twitter

How to get there?

Islington Film Locations Map

Exmouth Market EC1R 4QE

Angel Tube Station (Zone 1)

Farringdon Station (Zone 1)

Many buses to Farringdon Road and Rosebery Avenue

Tags: Exmouth Market, film, Film Location, Film Tourism, Finsbury, Islington, Islington Film Locations Map, James Mason, London, Michael Caine, movie, Old Finsbury Town Hall, Screen Tourism, Tourism, Travel

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Categories Finsbury, Islington Boundaries, Islington Filmography

Liam Neeson: from Angel Station to Milano

30 Jan

After Farringdon Station in V for Vendetta, our Islington Stations mini series bring us this time to Angel for a new movie and a new star to film in our borough.

In The Other Man (2008), Liam Neeson is Peter, a Cambridge based software engineer whose wife (Laura Linney), a shoe designer, passes away at the beginning of the movie. While grieving, Peter discovers emails she kept private and understands that he may not have been the only man in her life. Confused, he decides to get to the bottom of this and track down that other man. A quest he initiates in Islington and will take him to Milan and Lake Como.

Having discovered the emails, he gets on a train. We are left to wonder where is he off to until…we spot him walking out of Angel Tube station, head down, deep in thought.

Where is Liam Neeson heading? Will he be staying in Islington? You’ll have to keep reading your favourite Islington Film Locations blog to find out!

Fade Out

Enjoyed this post? Feel free to comment, share it with your friends and come to Islington to discover our locations! Don’t forget to send me your pictures.

And if you do know any Islington location used for Film, TV, photo shoot or have been involved in the process, drop me a line at TheUnbelievableMrX(at)gmail.com or via Twitter

How to get there?

Islington Film Locations Map

Angel Tube Station (Zone 1)

Many buses to Angel and Islington

Tags: Angel, film, Film Location, Film Tourism, Islington, Islington Film Locations Map, Liam Neeson, London, movie, Screen Tourism, The Other Man, Tourism, Travel

Comments 1 Comment
Categories Angel, Islington Filmography, Islington Tube Stations

Mountgrove Road: A Vintage Sally Hawkins Lived Here

23 Jan

From one Islington boundary to another and yet again it is with our Hackney neighbours that we are getting cosy. No surprise here when this week’s film was mainly shot in North London between Camden, Hackney, Islington as well as Southwark.

In Mike Leigh’s sparkling comedy Happy-Go-Lucky (2008), Poppy (Sally Hawkins) is a cheerful and cheeky primary-school teacher whose happiness and exuberance irritate in no small measure her bitter driving instructor Scott (Eddie Marsan). Screenwriter and director Mike Leigh and his actors went on to collect countless awards and nominations for their work.

Once again ladies and gentlemen, we can proudly say that the main character of a movie ‘Lived in Islington’.

Or can we? Did she really?

Poppy’s house is on the corner of Finsbury Park Road (Hackney) and Mountgrove Road (Islington). Technically speaking the house’s door is the last one on Finsbury Park Road but the living room and its 3 windows overlook Mountgrove Road!

Since Poppy is taking driving lessons and getting in and out of the flat, you can spot it, the street and the area many times throughout the film. In fact, this is likely to be a familiar corner to many Islington residents. What in the film is an empty orange corner shop ‘To Let’ has since Happy-Go-Lucky become the popular Cafe Vintage.

On another occasion, when returning from a day out to visit her pregnant sister, Poppy and her flatmate Zoe (Alexis Zegerman) can be seen driving down Canning Road, at the corner of which Scott is standing, looking at their flat. When Poppy spots him, he shoots off, up Canning road.

At her next driving lesson, Poppy confronts Scott. While walking towards the car parked on Mountgrove Road you can recognise the blue front shop of Bennet & Brown, the peculiar grey double-doors next to it and the small food market store.

Once in the car, they turn left onto Wilberforce Road, back to Hackney. Where will we next spot our heroes? Yet again another movie we’ll be coming back to.

For now, and since you have made it that far, you may as well want to reward yourself with one of Cafe Vintage’s yummy treats!

Fade Out

How to get there?

Islington Film Locations Map

Mountgrove Road N5 2LT

Arsenal Tube Station (Zone 2)

Finsbury Park Station (Zone 2)

Buses to Blackstock Road and Clissold Park

Related Happy-Go-Lucky posts

On Holloway Road, Mind the Driving Instructor

At Highbury Corner, Keep Your Lane!

Enjoyed this post? Feel free to comment, share it with your friends and come to Islington to discover our locations! Don’t forget to send me your pictures.

And if you do know any Islington location used for Film, TV, photo shoot or have been involved in the process, drop me a line at TheUnbelievableMrX(at)gmail.com or via Twitter

Tags: Arsenal, Camden, Eddie Marsan, film, Film Location, Film Tourism, Hackney, Happy Go Lucky, Holloway, Islington, London, Mike Leigh, movie, Sally Hawkins, Screen Tourism, Tourism, Travel

Comments 9 Comments
Categories Finsbury Park, Highbury, Islington Boundaries, Islington Filmography, Lived in Islington

Unbelievable Mr X: film blogger

18 Jan

A big thank you to Nicola Baird for this brilliant post on our Islington Film Locations adventures!

Islington Faces Blog

Everyone on Islington Faces Blog has a story. Xavier Gomez, 39, better know as the Unbelievable Mr X, lives off Liverpool Road, N1, and writes a wonderful blog about films that he’s discovered were shot in Islington. Did you know that Chapel Street Market’s McDonald’s is often loving it on TV? Or that Fever Pitch, Love Actually or the classic Ladykillers were filmed in the borough? Well, maybe you did, but the Unbelievable Mr X (X for Xavier) has a way of spelling it out via words, stills and a location map. Here’s your chance to catch up with Islington’s lights, camera, action. Interview by Nicola Baird

What made you focus on Islington?

Amongst the reasons why I moved to Islington was the fact that in many ways, it did not feel like a big city, it still has a ‘village’ atmosphere, and you could find pretty much everything here without…

View original post 1,481 more words

Tags: Film Location, Film Tourism, In the News, Islington, Islington Faces, Islington Film Locations Map, Screen Tourism

Comments 2 Comments
Categories Islington Filmography

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Lights, Camera…Islington!

Liam Neeson rushes through Camden Passage

Myddelton Square’s Week with Meryl Streep

Copenhagen Tunnel: The Ladykillers Part 2

On Holloway Road, Mind the Driving Instructor #Enraha

Stephen Fry Hides in Alwyne Road

Hercule Poirot solves murder in Thornhill Crescent

Michael Caine’s Alfie in Exmouth Market

Liam Neeson: from Angel Station to Milano

Mountgrove Road: A Vintage Sally Hawkins Lived Here

Unbelievable Mr X: film blogger

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