Shared Locations:

Hunted (1952) & Dance Hall (1950)

 

Two of director Charles Chrichton's lesser known films, Hunted and Dance Hall are notable not only for their ability to entertain without making a fuss, but also for sharing locations.

 

 

Here we see Petula Clark emerging from her home, on her way to the Dance Hall:

 

And here's the same flats featuring as the home to Dirk Bogarde in Hunted:

 

 

 

The flats stood near Buckingham Palace Road in London, opposite the BOAC Terminal, which can be glimpsed over Dirk Bogarde's shoulder:


Looking at an old map, I found that there was a Flask Lane leading into Buckingham Palace Road, just opposite the BOAC Terminal. The map even shows the turn in the road that can be seen beyond Bogarde. If I am correct, the arched doorway is the entrance to the church shown on the map:

This map (showing WW2 bomb damage in the area) gives us the name Ebury Buildings:

I think we can safely conclude that the flats seen in the films ...

 

... are the Ebury Buildings, built for artisans in the 1870s and shown in this 19th Century photograph:

Copyright to Bridgeman Art Library (http://www.bridgemanart.com/en-GB/search/keyword/ebury+buildings#loginGoadModalWindow)

A bit of internet digging also reveals that Michael Parkinson was born in the flats.
 

 

I believe the police car is  entering from Semley Place and we can see Ebury Square in the background. The buildings on the left, covered in scaffolding, are the parts of Ebury Buildings shown on the map in pink i.e. badly damaged are due for demolition). The view below suggests the demolition may have been underway.  

This shot from Dance Hall shows Donald Houston leaving Ebury Buildings from the same exit and heading towards Ebury Square. The workmen in the gardens are most likely repairing the damage done by the V1 flying bomb that landed there (as circles on the bomb damage map):

Incidently, the woman in this picture above is Grace Arnold (whose character arrives at the flats just after Bogarde) ...

Grace Arnold

... who also played a character living in these flats in Dance Hall.

Grace Arnold

 Later in Dance Hall we see cyclists coming past All Saints Church. This formerly stood on Grosvenor Road in London, almost directly across the Thames from Battersea Power Station:

 

The street on the right is Rutland Street (later renamed Antrobus Street), long since demolished to make way for the Churchill Gardens estate. A block named Darwin House stands roughly where the church once stood.

 

 

In this next photo we see Donald Houston with the same truck that is in the background in the previous shot. In the distance are the bridge taking trains into Victoria Station and, beyond that, the suspension pillars of Chelsea Bridge are visible.

 

 

 

Here's the same location in Hunted:

 

 

The motorcycle is in front of a wall. I believe this shields the old Belgrave Dock.

 

 

Here's a view in the opposite direction along Grosvenor Road. On the left are what I believe to be the engine works which stood between Antrobus Street/Rutland Street and Ranelagh Road. Research indicates that the works were bombed during World War 2, leading to the derelict state we see above.