IN RECENT months, Glasgow has been awash with Hollywood movie sets, from Batgirl and The Batman, to Indiana Jones 5 and The Flash.
But this is not a new phenomenon - the city has always been a magnet for directors and producers keen to capitalise on its Gothic drama, mean streets and spectacular architecture.
Back in June 1979, a starry cast was in town for the filming of Death Watch, a clever sci-fi film which was almost entirely shot here. Locations included the Necropolis, Glasgow Cathedral, the former Queen's Dock on the River Clyde and Glasgow City Chambers.
The not-so-cheery plot focussed on a terminally ill woman, played by Romy Schneider, who was being surreptitiously filmed by a journalist who had had a camera implanted in his eye.
Her every move is being captured and broadcast to a TV-watching public (a bit like The Truman Show, this was a film ahead of its time, given our current obsession with reality television.)
Our photos show legendary actor Schneider, one of the best known stars of her day in European cinema, on location in Bath Street.
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French director Bertrand Tavernier’s cult sci-fi noir hit also starred Harvey Keitel as the journalist, Harry Dean Stanton and Max Von Sydow.
Death Watch also featured a young Robbie Coltrane, in his first real film.
Romy, who died 40 years ago this month, was born in Vienna in 1938. She made her film debut at the age of 15, and went on to star in the Sissi trilogy and Christine in the 50s.
She worked with famous directors such as Luchino Visconti and Orson Welles, and won several prestigious awards, including Best Actress in the newly established César awards (the French Oscars.)
For her performance in L’important C’est D’Aimer (That Most Important Thing: Love) in 1975, Romy became the very first recipient of the César Award for Best Actress, and she won it again for 1978’s Une Histoire Simple (A Simple Story).
Romy made her Hollywood debut in Good Neighbour Sam, with Jack Lemmon, in 1964, and the following year she starred in What’s New Pussycat with Peter Sellers, Peter O’Toole and Woody Allen.
Despite her success - Romy starred in more than 60 feature films in a career which spanned more than three decades, from the 50s to the 80s, her later years were dominated by sadness and loss – she never recovered from the death of her son in 1981, and died in May, 1982 in Paris.
Which famous faces have you spotted on the streets of Glasgow?
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