Hong Kong

I couldn't wait for Wednesday nights when Hong Kong was on. My younger brother and I would fight(he for Wagon Train), so I didn't see all the episodes. I still have Lionel Newmans' soundtrack of the show on LP. I don't know who played the trumpet in the orchestra, but, the horn sounded very haunting.

In my opinion, it was a great show, and it died too soon. I still wish I had the auto Glenn drove. The Sunbeam Alpine has always been my elusive dream. The color of it seemed to be white.

Lloyd Bochner played the police inspector, and worked well with Glenn. Whenever "Glenn" had some romantic scenes, I was very upset. It should have been me. Of course, I was 13 at the time.

That was a time of great TV series, such as Route 66, The Invaders, and The Fugitive. Hong Kong was a very well done, elaborate and intelligent film, with the great charm of Black & White photography... I was anxious waiting for the 9 o'clock pm show at the Brazilian TV at that time, to appreciate the adventures and "embroglios" in which Mr. Glenn Evans, a reporter, plunged in old and exotic Hong Kong. Evans was interpreted by Rod Taylor, an Australian actor, catapulted to the movie world after playing under the direction of Hitchcock, in "The Birds". Although I remember it quite well, I was never able to find the beautiful music-theme composed by Lionel Newman for the series, nor I was ever able to find a DVD version for this marvelous TV series.

The only reason I can figure that "Hong Kong" seems never to have been rerun is that it was shot in black & white.

I was a junior in High School when it aired on ABC (1960-61)and I've never seen it since. But "Hong Kong" left a lasting impression and I would love to see it again.

I'd been vaguely aware of Rod Taylor from some earlier TV appearances and had liked him in "The Time Machine", but it was "Hong Kong" that made me a fan (for life). The show had a wonderful look and feel to it, a real sense of place (despite the fact most of it was shot on the FOX lot).

To me, at seventeen, the show seemed wonderfully sophisticated and exotic. Rod Taylor (half the time in a white dinner jacket) made for an elegant and intelligent yet muscular hero - a variation on James Bond two years before "Dr. No".

I especially remember the music. Lionel Newman's work on "Hong Kong" was superb, as were all facets of the production for its day. The supporting cast, including Lloyd Bochner and Jack Kruschen, was uniformly excellent.

They thought back then at ABC and 20th-TV that it might be a blockbuster, their "Wagon Train" (NBC). Perhaps on another network it might have (ABC just didn't have the station lineup to compete). And if they'd shot it in color, it might now be considered a rerun classic.

rvc

Rod Taylor (A Gathering of Eagles, The Birds) played Glenn Evans, if my memory serves me well, was a journalist living in Hong Kong. He always wore those beautiful tailored suits. I guess the tailoring of nice clothes is one thing that Hong Kong is famous for. It was a black and white series. I watched it dubbed. I did not realize that the series was so short lived. My impression is that they kept showing the same episodes over and over and that is why it lasted a long time. I also had to go to bed early because I was in junior high, or early high school by the time the series got dubbed. I was not allowed to stay up late. That is why it seems that the series lasted years. It was a murder mystery type of series. Well, well, people like to make fun of Jessica Fletcher (Murder She Wrote), because she is a writer and every place she goes there is a murder, well Hong Kong was about the same. The leading person was a male. I guess some men do not realize how many murders there are in show like: NYPD Blue, Law and Order, Homicide, etc. This issue just cracks me up! There were other people in the cast such as: Lloyd Bochner (Dynasty), Neil Campbell, and Jack Kruschen (The Apartment, 'Til There Was You), Tully. Mai Tai Sing (Strange Portrait) Ching Mei, was the local help for those guys. I used to love watching the series. It seems like thousands years ago now, but I remember the landscape of Hong King, the boats and everybody biking. I have always wanted to go to China especially after watching this series. I was very young, and thought that Glenn was a genius at figuring out crimes. I am sure that today I would think that the series was predictable. I have great memories of the series as a whole, but I do not remember much detail.

Even viewing Hong Kong today, it has not lost any of it's charm and character! It certainly belongs to the Film Noir category The scripts were great, and the whole atmosphere reminded me of such movie greats as Casablanca and The Maltese Falcon. Every character in the series enhanced the series, and took it quite a lot of steps beyond what was on television at the time. Rod Taylor of course provided the perfect center piece!! No wonder the Brocelli Brothers wanted him to screen test for James Bond! Rod projected a suave sophistication, and had a rare combination of masculinity and tenderness that one is hard pressed to find in a lot of actors today. He was like Spencer Tracey, Humphrey Bogart and Cary Grant, all wrapped up in one parcel! As one reviewer pointed out, if this series had been made in color, I'm sure we would be watching re-runs now! Occasionly, a few episodes crop up on EBay. Do yourself a favor, and make a purchase, and see why this series is great!