2nd Annual Plattsburgh Mayor's Cup Movie Night

The 2nd-annual Mayor’s Cup Movie Night again celebrates Lake Champlain’s oldest enduring folklore, the internationally famous legend of “Champ,” but with a completely different approach this time.

The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms was the inspiration for Godzilla. — *The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms* was the inspiration for *Godzilla*.

Last summer’s creatured attraction was a thrifty B/W cult classic of 1950s (dino)saurian noir called The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, whose title critter sported several Champ-isms and even inspired the original Godzilla.

On this summer’s Mayor’s Cup Movie marquee is 1970’s The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes. In luxuriant color, with fanciful Jules Verne-esque trappings and a big-budget epic by contrast, it’s unlike Beast in every way and yet still occupies the general realm of Champ.

Sandra Mansi's 1977 photo of Champ — Sandra Mansi’s 1977 photo of Champ

So what, pray tell, is the Champ connection here?

No less than Loch Ness, where our tireless super-sleuth goes snooping around for the entire third act.

Much less about a monster than sheer on-location ambiance, this movie’s atmospheric home stretch is irresistibly evocative of Lake Champlain’s corresponding mystery and the attendant sense of wonder stirring imaginations around the globe, not just here in the North Country.

On-location in Loch Ness filming <em>The Private Life Of Sherlock Holmes</em> — On-location in Loch Ness filming *The Private Life Of Sherlock Holmes*

See The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes on good old-fashioned reel-to-reel 16mm film (not DVD) on Friday, July 10th, at 9:00 p.m. at the Newman Center, 90 Broad St. across from SUNY Plattsburgh’s Myers Fine Arts building. Free admission.

The event will be hosted by regional film preservationist and former Press-Republican film critic Andy MacDougall.

Andy is also a veteran of the Inmate Higher Education Program (IHEP) through which he taught a film course at Dannemora prison partly devoted to exploring the many faces of cinema history’s ultimate character actor, Christopher Lee, co-star of no less than The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes.

Hence, July 10th’s Mayor’s Cup screening will additionally function as a tribute to Mr. Lee in light of his recent passing at the age of 93.

Incidentally, The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes was previously shown in Andy’s Dannemora classroom, whose location was a stone’s throw from where two convicted murderers escaped on June 6th, triggering a worldwide media blitz over the ensuing manhunt’s desperate search for clues.

On that note, where’s the ‘real’ Sherlock Holmes when you really need him?

For more information contact serious_61@yahoo.com.

Beloved Detective Holmes (blogs.law.harvard.edu)
Plattsburgh Mayor’s Cup Movie: An Ode to Champ (www.essexonlakechamplain.com)
Inaugural Lake Champlain International Film Festival Nov. 15-16 (www.essexonlakechamplain.com)
Champ Day Movie: The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (www.essexonlakechamplain.com)

About Andy MacDougall

Ah, Essex, my misspent youth knew it well as a wayward angler on the Boquet River, disrespecting all trout-pursuit restrictions. Regrettable, but there are worse things to try excusing with “boys will be boys.” Thankfully I matured into a productive citizen, namely as the Press-Republican's first movie reviewer. As prospective emcee of the first Mayor's Cup movie, I now return to the proverbial scene of the crime with bigger fish to fry. Ouch, allow me to rephrase. Friends, Roman Catholics, North Countrymen (and women) of all walks.....lend me your ears. I’ve come not to bury but to praise Champ. Read on. Learn more about me on this All Points North article, "16 What-a-meter?".