Hotel Tropicana

"I hear the hotel Tropicana is quite comfortable. My condolences gentlemen..." 

Bond checks in to the Hotel Tropicana in Las Vegas after escaping Mr Slumber's cremation chamber in Diamonds are Forever. Bond only spends one night in his hotel room, before the diamond chase through Vegas starts. We find Bond in the bathtub, talking to Felix Leiter, telling him to bring in the real diamonds in order to stir up some new leads. He has mixed himself a Vodka Martini. Visible on the tray on the side of the tub is a bottle of Smirnoff red label and a bottle of Martini extra dry. The Smirnoff bottle is only distinguishable in blu-ray.

Bond brings Plenty O'Toole back to his suite at the Tropicana after the craps game at the Whyte House. Unfortunately for Bond, Plenty is thrown out the window, but he gets some compensation when he finds Tiffany Case in bed. Bond later moves into the bridal suite at the Whyte House with Tiffany. The full exterior of the Tropicana is never seen in the film.

The interior scenes however, were not filmed at the Tropicana, but at the Hotel Riviera which was transformed into the fictional "Whyte House". For the exterior shots of the Whyte House, the Las Vegas Hilton was used. Indeed noting in these hotels can be recognised from the film. Even the Hilton building has been expanded in two directions although the original structure still can be distinguished. The Riviera receives an acknowledgement in the end credits, as do the Tropicana and the Hilton. Apparently the cast and crew stayed at the Riviera during filming.

Below are two interesting interviews with Connery, shot on location of Diamonds between takes. Connery gives his rather honest point of view on the role and the future.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F83fagXZ4pA

Noble House: British Caledonian Airways

Another of the many connections between James Bond and the television mini series Noble House is an airline. British Caledonian Airways is one of only a few product placements in Noble House, just like it was Bond's choice of airline in Never Say Never Again, 1983. Since British Caledonian no longer exists, I personally think the product placement is a nice piece of history. In one of the first scenes in the first episode, Lincoln Bartlett and Casey Tcholok arrive in their private jet at Hong Kong's Kai Tak airport. The camera pans over from a 747 that belongs to British Caledonian, to the private jet from Par Con Industries.

In the second episode, Quillan Gornt picks up Bartlett in his Daimler and they drive across the Central district in Hong Kong. One of the trams is striped with logotypes of British Caledonian Airways and it has the same tartan livery that could be found on the Stewardesses' uniforms at the time. It is obvious that Gornt is driving at the same speed as the tram in order for the brand to be visible.

Sometimes the product placement gets a little ridiculous though.
After having invited Casey for dinner on board a djonk in Hong Kong Harbour, Ian Dunross is sending her away in his Rolls Royce. The Rolls is parked next to a bus stop where a bus with the British Caledonian logo is conveniently parked.




For one of the final scenes, the Shaun Tak centre in the Central district (which today houses the Macau ferry terminal) was remodeled as the departure terminal of Kai Tak airport. None of the interior scenes taking place at the airport were filmed on location at Kai Tak. One of the top floors of the Shaun Tak centre was converted to look like the departure terminal at the airport and signs of British Caledonian Airways were put up to give the right feeling.

The ferry terminal Shaun Tak Centre converted to Kai Tak Airport

Because BCal was one of only a few product placements in the series, you do not get the same "cheap feeling" as you sometimes get in a few of the Bond films like Moonraker and Die Another Day. 

British Caledonian existed between 1970 and 1988 and was an independent airline that operated out of Gatwick airport. British Caledonian Airways had daily flights to Hong Kong before it was taken over by newly privatised British Airways in 1987/1988. Since Noble House was produced in 1988 this was probably the last time the airline featured in a film or TV-series.

Bratislava Safe House

Just before the concert interval in The Living Daylights, Bond and Saunders leave and head across the street to an apartment. Saunders has been informed that a sniper has been assigned to watch over General Koskov and Bond is brought in to make sure that the general's defection over to the west will be safe. They hide behind the hammer and sickle on the balcony on the third floor.

The Mi6 safe house is located just opposite the Volksoper on Währinger Strasse in central Vienna, doubling for Bratislava in the film. The corner shop where Bond and Saunders enter is in reality a candy shop run by an old lady which is well worth a visit. Bond and Saunders are entering the place which has been closed with metal shutters in the film. The red "Bonbons" sign is the same as in the film.
            "-You want the soft nosed ones I expect? 

-No, steel tipped. KGB snipers usually wears body armour."

                             -Saunders and Bond-

In the film, the sign above the door reads 'KSS Agitačné Stredisko'. The KSS was the Communist Party of Slovakia, which was a branch of the state Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ) at the time. 'Agitačné Stredisko' means ''Agitation Center''. Apparently Mi6 has disguised their safe house as one of the Slovakian Communist Party headquarters. Furthermore, the street is called 'Ulica Cervenej' which appropriately means "Red Street" in Slovak.

From the balcony Bond and Saunders have a clear view over the conservatoire. Saunders observes the general coming out through the window in the bathroom. In reality this window is located in the cloakroom.

Kara is positioned on the third floor as well, aiming her rifle at Koskov when Bond shoots the rifle out of her hands.

                            "Fire Bond, fire!"

The view from Kara's window. 

Today the candy shop has a few pictures of Dalton on display in the window, of which two were taken of Dalton inside the shop during filming.

Aston Montenegro

After Vesper has been kidnapped, Bond speeds away in his Aston Martin from the Hotel Splendide. The car is parked at the Grandhotel Pupp parking lot, the hotel in Karlovy Vary that doubled for Hotel Splendide in the film (also covered earlier). However the parking lot is enclosed by a barrier, which would make it impossible for Bond to speed away from the parking lot as he does in the film.

The hotel has the car park guarded for 24 hours a day. It appears that the more dignifying guests get to park their cars along the road and in the "gun barrel" in front of the hotel.

The Prater Ferris wheel - Wiener Riesenrad

After attending the opera at the Schönbrunn Schlossteater, Bond and Kara go for a ride in the famous Ferris wheel at the Prater amusement park. Bond has made an appointment with Saunders at the Prater Café and is going to meet him there at midnight.

Necros, disguised as a balloon salesman is approaching Saunders as Bond and Kara ascent on the wheel. The Prater Café was constructed in Pinewood and Saunders death was accordingly not filmed on location. This does not stop you however from getting a cup of coffee in one of the many cafes around the wheel.

  "Ein balloon mein herr?"

Bond of course uses the time on the wheel to seduce Kara. It would prove to be quite an easy task. They are riding in car no. 10. The lights in the cars cannot be turned off however. The area around the wheel has changed substantially since 1987 and many of the attractions in the park from that time are gone. But assuming the wheel has not changed its position (not very likely) you can still determine where Saunders was positioned when Necros offered him a balloon.

The wheel is seen in various scenes throughout the film. It is also featured in the film The Third Man from 1949, starring Orson Welles. The Prater plays a part in the film, and the line "balloon mein herr?" is taken from that film.

The Wiener Riesenrad, German for giant wheel, was constructed in 1897 in celebration of the golden jubilee of Emperor Franz Joseph I. It was the tallest Ferris wheel in the world between 1920 and 1985 and is still one of the most popular tourist attractions in Vienna. The wheel is located at the entrance of the Wurstelprater park and cost about €10 for one ride.

The Prater wheel features rather extensively in The Third Man. This film was an obvious inspiration for Director John Glen and not surprisingly, since The Third Man is considered one of the greatest films of all time. It is shot on location in Vienna, a city still in ruins in 1949. A few other Bond connections include Bernard Lee in one of the roles and Guy Hamilton as the assistant director. The two main characters Joseph Cotten and Orson Welles also go for a ride on the wheel.

-Mein herr, balloon. Balloon mein herr?

Schönbrunn Palace - Part 3

 As Bond and Kara pass the Schönbrunn Palace they witness a dancing competition or a demonstration of the Viennese Waltz to the tunes of Johann Strauss Jr's waltz Op. 333 titled "Wine, women and song". This piece of music was composed by Strauss Jr. in 1869 and the title was drawn from the old adage: "Who loves not wine, women and song remains a fool his whole life long". This adage is probably a subtle nod to Bond who has enjoyed all three on numerous occasions over the years.

They ride through the garden in front of the palace only to arrive at their hotel located in another part of Vienna in the next scene. In the film the orchestra was located on the balcony above the dance floor. You can still recognize the characteristic green window shutters on the palace. The palace is of course open to the public and you can expect a great number tourists in the garden. 

The dance floor was created right in front of the palace facing the garden. Bond and Kara arrive from Obeliskenalle and continue down Lichte Allee in front of the palace. It is a shame that the outdoor scenes at Schönbrunn only last a minute or two. The full exterior of the rear side of the palace is never shown. During the end credits, the front exterior is pictured. Bond is visiting the palace on two further occasions in the film. He and Kara are attending the opera in the Schlossteater, and later Bond secretly attends Kara's ending performance in the same venue.

Seen on the other side of the palace garden, on a hill, is the Gloriette. This 18th century structure was erected during the reign of Emperor Joseph II and Empress Maria Theresa and functioned as a lookout point for the garden as well as a dining hall.

The Gloriette was built in 1775 and as well as being a festival hall it was the breakfast room for Emperor Franz Joseph I. The dining room, located in the middle of the gloriette, today houses a café. On the roof is an observation floor overlooking the garden and the city of Vienna. The view over the Palace and the garden is spectacular. Needless to say, if you are visiting Schönbrunn the Gloriette is a perfect place to stop for lunch.