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ABSOLUTE
BEGINNERS filming locations
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CREDITS
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Julien Templeís
series of pop promos, vaguely inspired by Colin MacInnesí
cultish novel of West London life in the fifties, was
the great hope of Goldcrest Films, but in fact helped
sink the company.
The terrific sets (and itís almost totally set-bound),
including a garishly stylised Soho and a meticulous
recreation of Napoli, Notting Hillís gloriously seedy
bedsit area, were built at Shepperton Studios.
Out in the real world, Eddie
OíConnellís ëHave You Ever Had it Blueí number was
filmed on the Albert Bridge,
SW11, between Chelsea Embankment and Battersea
Park.
Smooth Henley (James
Fox) hosts a trËs chic fashion show in the Café
de Paris, 3 Coventry
Street. Positively oozing mirrored glamour,
the nightclub opened in 1924, and secured real cachet
when the then-Prince of Wales became a regular. Lord
and Lady Mountbatten dined on oysters here, Cole Porter
entertained and Merle Oberon – Cathy in the classic
1939 film of Wuthering Heights – started her career
here.
During the Blitz, when most of the West End closed down,
the club remained open on the assumption that it was
bomb-proof. Tragically, this turned out not to be the
case, and a direct hit killed 80 people.
Rebuilt, it continued to provide entertainment for the
glitterati until it hit a slump in the eighties, when
it found fame as a movie backdrop, for Scandal,
The Krays;
and the Cafe slums it a little as the ëSohoí strip club
where John Goodman
relaxes in King Ralph.
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FILMING
LOCATIONS FOR ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS
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CHECK
OUT
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Café
de Paris, 3 Coventry Street, W1 (tel: 020.7395.5806)
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ASSOCIATED
FILMS |
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