"who made this remarkable discovery?" [NORW]
A forgotten piece of movie history has been found in Loch Ness. Almost 50 years after it sunk, a 30 foot model of the Loch Ness monster used in the filming of The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes has been located by a crew operating an underwater robot.
The model, a giant head on a long slender neck, did not contain the classic two humps traditionally associated with "Nessie." However, director Billy Wilder did not want the humps, and according to Loch Ness expert Adam Shine, "asked that they be removed, despite warnings I suspect from the rest of the production that this would affect its buoyancy." The crew then created a version without humps for use in the film.
And sure enough, the production crew's predictions proved prescient and the model sank.
The sunken model was discovered as part of a larger initiative to determine the depths of Loch Ness using submersibles supplied by Kongsberg Maritime. The full story can be found on the BBC website.
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| Computer-enhanced image of the scan of the Nessie model (via BBC) |
The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes debuted in 1970 and starred Robert Stephens as Sherlock Holmes, Colin Blakely as Dr. Watson and Christopher Lee as Mycroft Holmes. Miklos Rosza composed the score (more on his work for the film can be found here) and Billy Wilder directed. Wilder wanted a significantly longer film, but studio executives made him cut it and the footage has been lost to the ages.
Too bad that wasn't found along with Nessie.
Oh, and spoiler alert:
It wasn't really the Loch Ness monster. It was a mini-submarine cleverly disguised as the legendary creature, and navigated by dwarves.
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