Birmingham has not been noted for its aesthetic appeal and urban planning, at least outside the boundaries of the M6 and Spaghetti Junction.
But the much-derided concrete structures of 1970s Birmingham left a seemingly indelible impression on Hollywood legend Telly Savalas.
A film narrated by the Kojak star in the late 1970s - entitled Telly Savalas Looks At Birmingham - has resurfaced after years of obscurity.
The 25- minute colour promo has returned to the small screen on a website called Birmingham: It's Not Shit, which aims to talk up the virtues of the West Midlands.
In it, Savalas takes the viewer on a tour of Birmingham, including Spaghetti Junction, the old Bull Ring shopping centre and the canal network for which the city has since become famous.
Even the inner ring road, which developers have criticised as a "concrete collar" hindering urban planning, is hailed as "revolutionary".
Birmingham New Street Station - again considered a source of embarrassment in certain circles - is vaunted as "a modern rail terminal".
Local business leaders and public transport watchdogs might disagree as they now push the Government for funding to redevelop the station to improve capacity and brush up the city's image still further.
Instead, Savalas, who claimed to have "dallied in Dale End, rambled through Rackhams department store and browsed in Bull Street", says: "You feel as if you've been projected into the 21st Century."
He signs off: "Yes, it's my kinda town. So long, Birmingham. Here's looking at ya."
Jon Bounds, who owns the website, described the portrayal of his home city as both "bizarre and fantastic".
He said: " Birmingham hasn't exactly been a hotbed of Hollywood productions.
"The juxtaposition between this legendary tough guy and old scenes of Birmingham is really great.
"To hear Kojak claimed he ' dallied in Dale End' is priceless.
"The first time I watched it I nearly wet myself laughing."
He continued: "Obviously, Birmingham has changed for the better since then. It's a much more modern and more cosmopolitan city than it was.
"It's just a shame the way Birmingham deals with its past. We're ones for knocking things down and building new stuff rather than evolving."
See the film at www.birminghamitsnotshit.co.uk
