Locations
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Over forty years have elapsed since Starstruck was filmed in inner Sydney, yet many locations remain almost as they were - at least for now.
Get in quick - Sydney is changing, and at least one iconic filming location has already fallen victim to the wrecking ball! The majority are within easy walking distance of one another, so why not make an afternoon of it? |
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Sydney Opera House
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This location needs no introduction, except to say that while most of the finale sequence was filmed at the Seymour Centre (see below), the foyer outside the Sydney Opera House's actual Concert Hall was used for the scenes in which Angus is cavorting with his newfound girlfriend. The site remains identical today - complete with its vivid purple carpet.
And, of course, it's the real stairs to the Sydney Opera House that we see Jackie and the Wombats climbing in their Wow! Show disguises as they crash the New Years Eve show. The brief shots of the Wombats pretending to use the pay phones and then walking into a backstage area were also filmed in the real building. The phones once sat in the southern foyer. View in Google Maps |
Tightrope Walking Sequence
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Loftus Lane is a tiny alleyway running off Young Street, not far from Circular Quay. It looked much smaller and narrower in real life than it does in the film.
Though the rounded building on the corner of Young St and Bridge St remains, unfortunately the building to the right and the one in the background were demolished in late 2019 and Loftus Lane has become home to yet another upscale residential apartment, forever altered from its screen appearance. View in Google Maps |
The Police Station
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The real-life police station to which the police take Jackie after her arrest is only one block away from the tightrope alleyway, on Phillip Street.
The 84 year old station and its attached colonial-era jail and courthouses were decommissioned in 1983. The complex was restored to its original appearance and re-opened as the Sydney Justice and Police Museum in 1988. Inside, you'll find a lot of creepy and gruesome crime artefacts, but don't expect anyone to ask if you like the Beatles. View in Google Maps |
The Harbour View Hotel
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Probably the most recognisable location of all, the Harbour View Hotel was and still is a working pub - in fact, there has been a hotel of this name in the area since the 1840s. The previous building was demolished to build the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and the current one opened in 1924.
Many fans are disappointed when they find the famous curved bar, but no colourful tiles, no kitschy decorations, and no mural of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The truth is that a studio set was constructed for the interior, as it was found that noise from the nearby trains would be too disruptive to film on location. Visit the Australian Heritage Hotel a few streets away to get an idea of how its original interior looked. The building was renovated in 2000, and an additional cocktail area was added just above the semicircular balcony where we see Nanna washing Angus' hair. The rooftop, where Angus spots Jackie and the Wombats rehearsing as he crosses the Harbour Bridge in a train, has also been converted to a dining area, as have the areas on the first and second floor which would have previously housed hotel guests or long-term tenants, as seen in Starstruck. View in Google Maps |
The Hairdressers
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The hair salon that Angus and Jackie visit at the beginning of the film was a real operating salon, located at 52-58 Clarence Street.
As they leave the salon, the pair walk southwards down Clarence Street, towards the intersection with Erskine Street. The original facade of the 1970 building has been altered beyond recognition at the street level. The upper facade was also extensively altered in 2007. The approximate location of the former hairdressers, to the left of the entryway, is currently vacant. During the 1990s, the same building was home to the beloved specialist record store Utopia Records. It would be fantastic to track down a photo of it as it was in the early 1980s. Do you have further information? View in Google Maps |
Coming from the Hairdressers
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After leaving the hairdressers, Angus and Jackie continue to walk down Clarence Street and then turn west down King Street, right in the centre of Sydney's central business district.
Aside from a few small details (most notably the additional trees), this is one piece of scenery that has changed very little since filming. It is not likely that the store window where the pair spot the kangaroo costume was down this street. My best guess for this location is the window of the David Jones department store at Market St, near the corner of Elizabeth St. View in Google Maps |
Cruising with the Wombats
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This stretch of highway, called the Western Distributor, is where the Wombats hear the news of Jackie's arrest, and turn their van around - even though it will mean missing out on a trip to the dole office.
Though the road itself is much the same, the view around it has changed enormously with the development of Barangaroo and redevelopment of Darling Harbour in recent years. Centrepoint Tower - which was newly constructed when Starstruck was filmed and had not yet even opened to the public - is also now hidden behind newer buildings, include a massive IMAX cinema to the right of the highway. View in Google Maps |
The Lizard Lounge (Bondi Pavilion)
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The Bondi Pavilion, a little further afield than the other locations, was used as the facade of the Lizard Lounge. The side you see in the film is the one that faces towards the beach.
Angus and Jackie approach the Pavilion via the western entrance of Queen Elizabeth Drive. Though there are various performance spaces inside, it is unlikely that the interiors for the Lizard Lounge sequence were shot on location. The scene where Jackie and Robbie wake up together was also filmed at Bondi, but further along the eastern side of the beach. If you look closely, you can even see the Bondi Pavilion in the distance behind them. View in Google Maps |
Finale (Seymour Centre)
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The Seymour Centre is a performing arts venue owned by the University of Sydney. Its main auditorium, the York Theatre, stood in for the interior of the Sydney Opera House in the finale sequence.
Though the building's facade was altered in a renovation several years ago, the configuration of the York Theatre and the octagonal catwalk at the front of the stage remain unchanged to this day. View in Google Maps |
Opening Shot
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The film opens with a shot of a very distinctive piece of curved highway. This is actually a ring road next to Sydney's Observatory Hill that leads on to the Bradfield Highway and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The footage would have been shot from the grounds of the nearby Fort Street Public School.
This view gives you an overview of the circular highway. I also suspect that the phone booth Angus uses in the opening scene of the film was located in or near the school grounds. There seems to be no trace of it today. View in Google Maps |
Terry Lambert's Swimming Pool
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Thank you to website visitors Paul and Jason for providing the correct filming locations for this sequence.
The main pool was located on the roof of what was then the Koala lnn, a hotel on the corner of Pelican Street and Oxford Street, Darlinghurst. This location has been confirmed by the highest source - John 'Terry Lambert' O'May himself! Unfortunately, the Koala Inn was substantially altered in a major renovation in 2005, and the iconic pool is gone. Perhaps someone has a vintage travel brochure showing the pool as it appeared then? Let me know! Should you wish to recreate the sequence, never fear - close-up shots were taken at the University of Sydney's indoor swimming pool, which is still extant, and sits not far away from the Seymour Centre, where shooting for the film's finale took place. View in Google Maps |
The Wow! Show and 'I Want To Live In a House' (Channel 7 Studios)
Australia's Channel 7, an investor in the film, provided their television studios at Epping for the shooting of the Wow! Show sequence, as well as the 'I Want To Live In A House' number. The studios were closed in 2009 when the network moved its headquarters to the Australian Technology Park at Redfern. Unfortunately, the Epping Studios were demolished for a new housing development in July 2010, taking with them over half a century of Australian entertainment history.
Ironically, this piece of ground is now reserved solely for people who want to live in a house, in their own little box.
Ironically, this piece of ground is now reserved solely for people who want to live in a house, in their own little box.
Special Bonus - The House from 'I Want To Live In a House'
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How's this for an obscure location?
The house that appears on a backdrop behind Angus and the Wombats during 'I Want To Live In A House' is only glimpsed for a few seconds - and yet it's identifiable enough to trace to a distinctive stand of houses across the road from Bicentennial Park at Glebe, in inner Sydney. Though the house has undergone changes over the years, it is still very recognisable. Look to the right, and you'll see a neighbouring house that retains the brick balcony and wooden detailing that this one has lost since its movie appearance. Whether the backdrop was created especially for the movie or had appeared in a Channel 7 show and was repurposed is unknown. View in Google Maps |
