14 Nov 2015

Hildebrand Prints and Rarities - The Mi6 Safe House in Spectre


When realising that C, a.k.a. Max Denbigh has gone rogue in Spectre, M, Q and Moneypenny retreat to an Mi6 safe house in central London to regroup. Quite unexpectedly, they find Bond in the safe house, confirming to M: "it's safe". The safe house is located on the roof of a building located right by Trafalgar Square.


In the film, is the entrance to the safe house hidden in an old shop named Hildebrand, selling prints and rarities. The sign to the shop at the entrance reads:

                            Hildebrand
                       Prints and rarities
                 Established 1953, London


The name on the shop is one of the many references to previous Bond films and Ian Fleming that can be found in Spectre. The shop is named Hildebrand, which of course is a reference to Ian Fleming and one of the short stories he wrote named "The Hildebrand Rarity". This short story is included in Fleming's book "For Your Eyes Only" which is a collection of five short stories called: "From a View to a Kill", "For Your Eyes Only", "Quantum of Solace", "Risico" and "The Hildebrand Rarity". The year 1953 is of course a reference to the year when Fleming wrote Casino Royale.


The film License to Kill is based very loosely on a few elements in Fleming's short story "The Hildebrand Rarity". Inter alia the character Milton Krest and the whip used by Sanchez in the film both feature in the book. So far are "Risico" and "The Hildebrand Rarity" two of the original Ian Fleming titles that have not yet been used as a name for a Bond film.


The safe house is located on the roof of the building at No. 35 Spring Gardens, overlooking Trafalgar Square.    

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