LOCATION: London
FILM: Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels

One of the most quoted British movies of all time and from the opening market trader’s pitch from Bacon (Jason Statham) it is easy to see why

 

Bacon: “Right. Let’s sort the buyers from the spyers, the needy from the greedy, and those who trust me from the ones who don’t, because if you can’t see value here today, you’re not up here shopping. You’re up here shoplifting. You see these goods? Never seen daylight, moonlight, Israelite, fanny by the gaslight. Take a bag, c’mon take a bag. I took a bag home last night. Cost me a lot more than ten pound, I can tell you. Anyone like jewellery? Look at that one there. Handmade in Italy, hand-stolen in Stepney. It’s as long as my arm. I wish it was as long as something else. Don’t think because these boxes are sealed up, they’re empty. The only man who sells empty boxes is the undertaker, and by the look of some of you lot today, I’d make more money with me measuring tape.”

 

Still today you can here many of the phrases made famous by this film being banded about London – unfortunately most of the time it is by city boy mockneys who were actually educated in Hampshire but want to sound east end!

 

Lock Stock is black comedy at its best and the main story involves around 4 friends who each put 25K into a poker game. They end up owing the local gangster ‘Hatchet Harry’ half a million and they have to find it within a week otherwise they start losing fingers!

 

The film is all shot in London and even though these aren’t the grand locations of some other films they will hold a special place in the heart of anybody who loves this film.

 

JD’s Bar: JD (Sting) is the dad of poker playing Eddie (Nick Moran). His bar is where they go to celebrate, commiserate, get drunk and recover from the hangover. The bar used in the film is actually VIC NAYLORS on St John Street in Smithfield – I can highly recommend popping in for a pint and a shot!

 

Eddies Flat and Dog’s Hideout: Many of the best scenes in the movie take place on this street corner and fans will be pleased to hear that it doesn’t really look all that different to how it does in the film. The actual location is Park Street in Borough SE1

 

Winston’s Drug Emporium: Home to the incredibly posh and incredibly naïve chemists. Winston (Steven Mackintosh) himself sums it up well “We grow copious amounts of ganja, yah. And you’re carrying a wasted girl and a bag of fertilizer. You don’t look like your average horti-fucking- culturalist!”. The external shots for the den were filmed at Stables Market in Camden.

 

Samoan Jo’s: Otherwise known as ‘the other pub’ is actually the Royal Oak Pub on Columbia Road. They don’t actually do the kind of cocktails that you could fall in love with an orang-utan in and you can change the volume on the telly without fear of being set alight!

 

The Office of ‘Hatchet Harry Porn King’: Not as interesting as some of the other places mentioned but if you should be in the area of Cheshire Street (42-44) then it’s always another place that will bring back memories.

 

I hope that’s grabbed some of your attention and as Big Chris (Vinnie Jones) would say “It’s been emotional”

Filed under: London