Tag Archives: Whitehall

‘No Time to Die’ at Whitehall Ct in London

07 Sunday Nov 2021

Posted by in London, No Time to Die

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There were only a few scenes in ‘No Time to Time’ that were shot on location in London unlike in ‘Spectre’ or ‘Skyfall’. One of them was the scene with James Bond (Daniel Craig) arriving at MI6 headquarters in Aston Martin V8 Vantage Saloon. Previously James Bond was driving such a car in ‘The Living Daylights’.

The scene was filmed on June 30th 2019 at Whitehall Ct. Below you can see a photo of that place taken from the Whitehall along Horse Guard Ave. On the left you can see the Statue of the Duke of Devonshire the Gurkha Soldier Statue in background. Aston Martin V8 Vantage Saloon was parked right behind that second statue.

Whitehall Ct in London

While filming the scene, Nicola Dove who was still photographer on the set of ‘No Time to Time’, took an iconic photo of Daniel Craig. It became an advertisement for Omega watches. It was also the first look image made available to the press.

Omega watches

Whitehall Ct is located in the very center of London. No wonder it is close to other filming locations known from James Bond franchise. In the next photo you can see not only ‘No Time Location’ in the right bottom but also the Old War Office on the left. It was the MI6 headquarter in ‘Octopussy’, ‘A View to a Kill’ and ‘Licence to Kill’ (read also ‘Old War Office Building as MI6 HQ‘). The dome tower was also presented at the end of ‘Skyfall’ when James Bond was standing on the roof and looking at the London panorama.

Another ‘Skyfall’ location can be found behind the Old War Office building. If someone walked on Whitehall Ct in the direction from which the Aston Martin V8 Vantage arrived, he would see the Embankment Place round the corner. The scene with Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem) leaving the subway station was filmed there (‘Skyfall’ at Embankment Station in London).

Old War Office at Whitehall in London

Source:
– www.mi6-hq.com

Old War Office Building as MI6 HQ

09 Saturday Jan 2016

Posted by in A View to a Kill, License to Kill, London, Octopussy, Skyfall, UK

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In three James Bond films the MI6 headquarters, where M’s office was located, was portrayed by the Old War Office Building in Whitehall, London.

Old War Office in London

The Old War Office – Whitehall, London

For the first time the building featured in an establishing shot in “Octopussy”. We can see Whitehall with the Trafalgar Square in background and the Old War Office on the right. Inside the office there were Miss Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell) with her assistant – Penelope Smallbone (Michaela Clavell). The producers were looking for someone to replace Lois Maxwell who was playing Miss Moneypenny from the first James Bond film. They could not find anyone for replacement so they decided to introduce the assistant.

In “A View to a Kill” James Bond reported in the MI6 office right after opening credits with Duran Duran song (read more in Duran Duran in “A View to a Kill”). Camera briefly followed one of a horse guard on the other side of Whitehall and turned over to the Old War Office. Inside the office there were 007 and Moneypenny played for the last time by Lois Maxwell. She was the same age as Roger Moore (both born in 1927), who also played in James Bond film for the last time. Lois Maxwell was Miss Moneypenny for 23 years in 14 James Bond films.

For the third time the Old War Office building was presented as MI6 headquarters in establishing shot in “Licence to Kill”, similar to the shot from “Octopussy”. The scene inside the office was filmed in a studio in Mexico.

In all three sequencies there were red double-deckers on the street. They are still present on the Whitehall.Red double-decker in fron of The Old War Office - Whitehall, LondonThe Old War Office building or actually its domed towers (one of them in picture below) returned to James Bond film in “Skyfall”.The Old War Office - Whitehall, London

At the end of the film James Bond was standing on a top of a building looking at London panorama. The scene was filmed on the roof of Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DECC). The building can be seen as first from left in a photo below and in background in the next photo. There is also the Union Flag between domed towers on the roof of the Old War Office as it was seen in “Skyfall”.

The Old War Office - Whitehall, LondonThe Old War Office - Whitehall, LondonStanding on the roof James Bond was looking at the Big Ben in background (it can be seen also from the street as presented in photo below). There were two domed towers on the Old War Office on the right.The Old War Office with Big Ben in background - Whitehall, London

Shortly Moneypenny joined Bond standing on the roof. In the next scene they were both talking in MI6 office. The headquarters at Vauxhall Cross (that is real headquarters of British Secret Intelligence Service) was destroyed at the beginning of the filmed so the office returned to Whitehall, but it was not clear to which building.

Sources:
–  A View to a Kill Audio Commentary, A View to a Kill Special Edition, Danjaq, LLC and United Artists Corporation, 2006
– „James Bond. Szpieg którego kochamy” Michał Grzesiek, Wydawnictwo Bukowy Las 2011
–  Octopussy Audio Commentary, Octopussy Special Edition, Danjaq, LLC and United Artists Corporation, 2006
–   http://www.filmweb.pl
–   http://www.mi6-hq.com