Royal Eagle Hotel

Location: London, England
Address: 26-30 Craven Road
Date: Sept 2015
Website: www.royaleaglehotel.co.uk

   The original Trainspotting movie, about the lives of a group of heroin users, was released in February 1996.  A sequel is coming out in February 2017 which reunites the original cast 20 years later.  The movie itself is also set 20 years after the first so there was no need for a make-up team to age the actors.  Time had already done that for them.  When we were in London we visited the Royal Eagle Hotel which was the filming location for some of the final scenes from Trainspotting.

 

  A mews is a row of stables.  This would be where the horses were kept, so it makes sense that there would be one next to a hotel.  Craven Road has a lot of mews and a few of them are pictured above.  None of the mews above appear in the movie and these days they would be filled with people, not horses.

  The reason we mention mews is because the scene in question opens with the group walking out of Smallbrook Mews, crossing Craven Road and heading into the Royal Eagle Hotel for a drug deal (above).   The group consists of Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller), Renton (Ewan McGregor), Spud (Ewen Bremner) and Begbie (Robert Carlyle).  The first three are all heroin addicts and Begbie is just a violent, troubled man.

  The deal goes well and the group now has a large bag of cash.  While the others are sleeping Renton steals the bag and heads out into the street.  He heads down to Gloucester Mews.  You can see the curved opening to the mews just past the man with the suitcases.  The Royal Eagle Hotel has also cleaned up a lot since 1996, perhaps due to all the Trainspotting fans spending the night.

  During this entire scene the soundtrack is playing Born Slippy by Underworld.  This is a great track on its own as it slowly builds up.  It works perfectly here.  Finally, Renton turns and enters Gloucester Mews.

  The camera is on an angle as Renton walks towards it.  You can see the opening to Smallbrook Mews across the street. The camera turns with Renton and flips to look down into the mews.  A lot of the walls have been repainted, but the black trim in the bottom of the picture (left side of the mews) matches with what we see in the film.

    Renton has gotten away with it.  Begbie goes ballistic.

---

Map of Our World
Royal Eagle Hotel

---

Post # 158

The Triple Dog Dare

Location: St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
Address: 173 Niagara Street
Date: Jan 2016

   A Christmas Story is one of the greatest holiday movies ever made.  It is always playing somewhere on television during the holiday season.  One memorable scene is where a young boy named Flick gets his tongue stuck to a flagpole.  It was all the result of the sinister triple dog dare.

  The Victoria Public School in St. Catharines, Ontario is where they filmed all of the school scenes from the movie.  A group of children are out in the school yard where Schwartz has just double dared Flick to lick the flagpole.  The double dare soon becomes a double dog dare and from there, despite a breach of etiquette, it becomes a triple dog dare.

  Flick licks the pole and of course his tongue sticks.  The bell rings and all the other children head back inside leaving poor Flick behind.  On a trip to Niagara Falls we visited this filming location.  The school was now being used as a women's shelter and homes had been built in the schoolyard.

  One thing that had not changed since the movie was filmed in the early 1980s was the two houses that sit at the intersection of Gibson Place and Fitzgerald Street.  You can see these homes just behind Flick when the fire department and police arrive to help remove him from the pole.

    That would place the flagpole somewhere near this house that was built on the old school property.  If you are a fan of A Christmas Story we think that you should visit this location.  We dare ya!

---

Map of Our World
Triple Dog Dare

---

Post # 152

Dog River (aka Rouleau)

Location: Rouleau, Saskatchewan, Canada
Address: Main Street
Date: Oct 2014
Website:  www.cornergas.com

  The fictional town of Dog River, Saskatchewan is where the television show Corner Gas takes place.  A set was built for the show in the very real town of Rouleau, Saskatchewan.  The set which consisted of the Corner Gas station and The Ruby Cafe was recently torn down.  All of the other buildings used for filming are real places that are still standing in this small prairie town (well, maybe not the FOO  MAR  T).  Anyway, let's pay a visit to Dog River.

The Grain Elevator

  Most small towns proudly have their name painted on the grain elevator as this is the first thing you see as you approach the town.  The Rouleau grain elevator has been re-painted so that it reads Dog River.  Despite the show ending in 2009, the grain elevator was never painted again.  On the show, you can see the elevator in the background just behind the Corner Gas station and The Ruby Cafe.

The Howler

  Most of the Corner Gas action takes place on Main Street in Rouleau.  The Dog River Howler is the town's newspaper and is sort of a hard hitting tabloid with bad spelling.  Some example headlines are "New Tree Attracts Boozy Element", "Cattle Killed By Werewolfs" or "Cop Nabs Barely Thief".  The Dog River residents rely on the Howler to get the real scoop on what is happening in town.

The Dog River Hotel

  The Dog River Hotel is home to Phil's bar.  The residents of Dog River hang out here to enjoy a drink after work.  In Corner Gas: The Movie, Brent buys the bar in order to help try and save the town.  Wanda once threw herself a birthday party in the bar because she convinced everyone else that she hates parties.  The Dog River Hotel is located directly across the street from The Howler.

Dog River Municipal Office

  A little further along the road is the Dog River Municipal Office.  This is where local law enforcement, Davis (Lorne Cardinal) and Karen (Tara Spencer-Nairn) can usually be found.

  According to the sign on the door it is home to Mayor Fitzy as well as the Police Office and Public Works.  It was just outside of these offices where Lacey filled in a pothole and speeding became rampant on Main Street.

Oscar and Emma's House

   The main character of Corner Gas is Brent Leroy.  Oscar and Emma are Brent's parents.  They are played by Eric Peterson and Janet Wright.  Oscar is always getting worked up over one thing or another and Emma is the one who takes charge.  Their house is located just a few blocks away from Main Street. Davis and Oscar spent one entire episode stuck up on the roof of this house as they kept letting their ladder fall over.
  We enjoyed our visit to Dog River (aka Rouleau) and it reminded us of how much we enjoyed watching Corner Gas.  We hope you found our blog post informative.  Now we don't know the same things you don't know about Dog River.

---

Map of Our World
Dog River Grain Elevator , The Howler , Dog River Hotel , Dog River Municipal Office , Oscar & Emma's House

---

Post # 146

Corner Gas Set

Location: Rouleau, Saskatchewan, Canada
Address: 1st Ave. & Weckman Drive
Date: Oct 2014
Website:  www.cornergas.com

  You think there's not a lot goin' on?  Unfortunately, there seems to be even less with each passing year.  As fans of the television show Corner Gas, we are glad that we paid a visit to the town of Rouleau, Saskatchewan when we did.  The show aired from 2004 to 2009 and was very popular all across Canada.  In the summer of 2014 they filmed Corner Gas: The Movie in Rouleau.  We arrived in the fall of 2014 after filming of the movie had finished and before the movie was released.

   Many of Rouleau's actual buildings were used for the filming of Corner Gas and make up the fictional town of Dog River.  Just one month before we arrived, the building that was used as the "FOO  MAR  T"  (that's FOOD MARKET with a few letters missing) burnt down.  You can see the damage in the photo above.

  The FOO  MAR  T isn't the only building that no longer stands in Rouleau.  On November 4th 2016 the long standing set from Corner Gas was torn down.  This building was erected specifically for filming of the show.  It consisted of the gas station that was run by Brent Leroy (Brent Butt) and the Ruby Cafe that was run by Lacey (Gabrielle Miller).  When we visited, the main signs and embellishments had been taken down and all the windows were boarded up. 

  You could see from the back that this building was never intended for longevity.

  The gas station scenes were filmed on location. You can often see vehicles heading down the road in the background while Brent, Wanda and Hank are having discussions in front of the cash register.  Brent is the owner of Corner Gas and Wanda (Nancy Robertson) works there, or tries not to.  Hank (Fred Ewanuick) just always seems to be hanging around.  Thankfully, there is an actual gas station in town just in case the set fooled a driver into pulling off of the highway.

  When the residents of Dog River are not at Corner Gas they seem to spend all of their time inside the Ruby Cafe.  The show's success comes from its writing. The characters are all likeable and their banter back and forth is hilarious. As the theme song, by Craig Northey of Canadian band The Odds, says
"And that's why you can stay so long where there's not a lot goin' on."

---

Map of Our World
Corner Gas Set , FOO MAR T

---

Post # 144

Dead Zone Gazebo

Location: Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada
Address: Queen's Royal Park
Date: July 2016
Website:  www.notl.org/content/parks-recreation-faqs

   Niagara-on-the-Lake is a popular tourist destination.  The beautiful little town draws crowds year round.  One of the big draws is a gazebo that looks out over the lake from Queen's Royal Park.  The gazebo was actually built for the 1983 movie The Dead Zone and has remained in place ever since.  In the movie, Johnny (Christopher Walken) emerges from a coma to discover that he has the ability to see past and future events when he comes in contact with a person.

  Johnny touches the hand of a woman who has been murdered in the gazebo and suddenly he sees what has happened to her.  He sees the woman walking along the pathway that leads from King Street into the park.

  He sees the killer standing and looking out across the water towards Old Fort Niagara.  Old Fort Niagara is located in the United States just across the mouth of the Niagara River.  The fort has been there since the early 1700s.

  On a clear day, you can look across the lake and see the skyline of Toronto.  The distinctive CN Tower stands out above all of the other buildings.

  Johnny sees the killer call the woman up to the gazebo.  As the woman is attacked, Johnny tries to save her.  He is jolted out of his vision, but not before he sees the killer's face.  The killer is...

  We won't spoil the movie for you. You will just have to watch the David Cronenberg directed film or read the Stephen King novel on which it is based.  When you visit the gazebo you can be glad that it was only a fictional murder.  If that still makes you uneasy, you may also be glad to know that the original gazebo was replaced near the end of  2015.  What stands today is a much sturdier, wheelchair accessible replica.

---

Map of Our World
Dead Zone Gazebo
Queen's Royal Park
Old Fort Niagara

---

Post # 142

The Happiness Hotel

Location: London, England
Address: 134-136 Westbourne Terrace
Date: Sept 2015
Website:  muppet.wikia.com

  The second Muppet movie, The Great Muppet Caper, was filmed in London, England.  One of the locations used in the movie is just a short walk from Paddington Station.  Kermit, Fozzie and Gonzo end up staying at a hotel called the Happiness Hotel where they meet the rest of the Muppet gang.

  The building looked to be in much better shape when we visited than it does in the movie.  The hotel was such a dump that the bus would not even stop there.  When Kermit, Fozzie and Gonzo arrive the bus slows down and they get tossed to the curb.  The hotel is surprised that somebody else actually wants to check in.

 

  The next time Kermit The Frog and his friends arrive at the hotel they are driven there by Beauregard the cab driver.  Beauregard is best known as the janitor of the Muppet Theatre.  He apologizes that he can only take them as far as the lobby and then proceeds to drive the cab around the corner, across the courtyard and straight through the front door of the hotel.

  The Great Muppet Caper was a wonderful achievement in both puppetry and film and we enjoyed our brief visit to one of its real life locations.  The song Happiness Hotel is also one of the highlights of the movie's soundtrack.  

Well, welcome home to Happiness Hotel !!

---

Map of Our World
Happiness Hotel

---

Post # 138

White Castle

Location: New York, New York, USA
Address: 89-03 57th Ave
Date: Jan 2009
Website:  www.whitecastle.com

  We went to White Castle and we got thrown out!  Oh no, that wasn't us, that was the Beastie Boys.  We went to White Castle because we had a craving.  It wasn't quite like the craving Harold and Kumar experience in the movie Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle, but we were hungry.  Harold & Kumar have a series of misadventures before finally getting their long awaited burgers.  We just hopped in the car with some friends and drove to the nearest location to pick up a Crave Case.

  A Crave Case is a cardboard suitcase filled with 30 of White Castle's signature burgers.  Their tiny steamed burgers made with onions and a pickle are the original slider.  White Castle was formed in 1921 and was the first fast food hamburger chain in the world.  After spending a cold, January day in New York, we polished off our whole case of burgers.  They really hit the spot. 

  The movie Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle was set in New Jersey, but in reality the building where Harold & Kumar lived is in Toronto, Canada. It is located just a few blocks south of St. Clair West and Avenue Road. There have never been any White Castle restaurants in Canada so for the full experience you would have to cross the border into the United States. The good news is that some grocery and convenience stores in Canada sell frozen White Castle burgers. That means you could pick up some burgers at the Longo's near Avenue and St. Clair and walk down to Edmund Ave. You could then enjoy your burger in front of the fictional apartment from the movie. That is if you can also find a microwave first.

---

This location is near Summerhill subway. Visit other Toronto TTC stations.

Map of Our World
Mayfair Mansions
White Castle (Elmhurst, NY)

---

Post # 131

Fork in the Road (Strange Brew)

Location: Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
Address: 1 Brimley Road South
Date: Nov 2014
Website:  www.toronto.ca

  In the movie Strange Brew, Bob & Doug Mckenzie drive to a fork in the road and have to decide which way to go.  They have to use the signs to decide between Elsinore Castle, Elsinore Research & Development, Elsinore Brewery, or the Royal Canadian Institute for the Mentally Insane.  Geez there's a lot of arrows eh?  In reality there are four different Toronto locations that have been composited into the film.  We have added our own re-creation at the top of this blog using photos from when we visited the real life locations.
 

  The main location is at the bottom of the hill that leads down to Bluffer's Park in Scarborough.  The brothers encounter their signs where the red "Do Not Enter" sign is located.  Once they decide to continue on and try to get their money from the brewery, they go up the road on the left.  This is actually against traffic as it is usually one way southbound.  We have taken photos at the Bluffs countless times, but never a picture looking up the road.  It is the Bluffs themselves or Lake Ontario that make for the best photo opportunities.  The first time we went to take our picture was in June (above), but it didn't quite look right with all the green trees.  We ended up returning again in the fall and finally got the shot we wanted (below).

  On the left side of the hill is Elsinore Castle, which is played by Casa Loma.  Casa Loma was completed in 1914 and has stood watch over Toronto ever since.

  Near the center of the road is Elsinore Brewery which  is played by the R.L. Hearn Generating Station.  The station was used for electrical generating since the 1950s and decommissioned in 1983.  That is the same year that Strange Brew was released.  The movie added the big Elsinore name using special effects.  There was some additional filming done at this location when Bob & Doug arrive at the brewery and walk through the parking lot.  You can read more about this location here.

  We also used another picture we had taken during a day spent sailing on Lake Ontario.  Here you can see the huge chimney and the line of hydro towers heading away from the station.  The hydro towers appear to be used in the composite along with 2 chimneys.  We couldn't quite figure out the best angle to get all of this in one picture.

Finally, the R.C. Harris Water Filtration Plant plays the part of the Royal Canadian Institute for the Mentally Insane.  It is located up on the hill to the right.  It plays a bigger role in the film at the end when it catches on fire.  An extremely beer bloated Bob saves the day by relieving himself on the fire.  He does in two minutes what would have taken the fire department two hours.  You can read more about this location here.

You take all of these locations, mix them up into one shot and you sure have a Strange Brew of Toronto landmarks eh?

---

Map of Our World
Fork in the Road (Strange Brew)
Casa Loma , R.L. Hearn Generating Station , R. C. Harris Water Treatment Plant
Bluffer's Park

---

Post # 123