Hitchcock Thriller North By Northwest to Screen at MASS MoCA

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Photo's Courtesy of MASS MoCA
NORTH ADAMS - MASS MoCA's Moonlit Movies series continues on Thursday, August 14, at 9 p.m. with North by Northwest, a film considered by many to be the prototypical pure action movie (creating the template for later James Bond and Indiana Jones films). The film has been described as a cross-country roller-coaster ride with Alfred Hitchcock at the helm and is famous for several classic and indelible scenes, including the desert biplane encounter and the Mt. Rushmore climax.

North by Northwest begins with a spine-chilling incident of mistaken identity in New York when advertising executive Roger Thornhill played by Cary Grant is kidnapped by a gang of spies led by Philip Vandamm played by James Mason. This mob believes Thornhill is a CIA agent named George Kaplan. Thornhill escapes, but must find Kaplan in order to clear himself of an alleged murder. Thornhill is helped by stunning and mysterious Eve Kendall, played by Eva Marie Saint, who delivers a message to Kaplan that almost costs Thornhill his life. All of the hapless businessman's attempts to straighten things out only make matters worse--and soon he is desperate and on the run from murderous foreign operatives, the CIA, and the police, ultimately ending up at Mount Rushmore.

The New York Times Review said, "Most great filmmakers are noted for a certain type of feature, and Hitchcock will always be the master of suspense. But he had a very deft hand with comedy, and when mixed with a witty screenplay, adequate suspense and beautiful interiors and exteriors [as in North by Northwest], he makes one of the most entertaining movies of all time."

Tickets for North by Northwest are $7. MASS MoCA members receive a 10% discount. Tickets are available through the MASS MoCA Box Office located off Marshall Street in North Adams, open every day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tickets can also be charged by phone by calling 413-662-2111 during Box Office hours or purchased on line at www.massmoca.org.  

The films for this year's Moonlit Movies series have been inspired by Badlands: New Horizons in Landscape currently on view in the galleries. All characterized by dramatic landscapes or a specific sense of place, the other films in the series are Badlands on Thursday, July 31, Out of Africa on Thursday, August 7, and Bagdad Café on Thursday, August 28.

A full bar including a special selection of drinks for each film, snacks, and Herrell's ice cream (freshly made daily at MASS MoCA by Lickety Split) are all available before and during the screening. Doors open at 8 p.m. for anyone wishing to enjoy the moonlight and a beverage before the show.
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Sanford, Maine, Edges SteepleCats in Season Opener

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires.com Sports
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – The SteepleCats Sunday started their 2026 season the way they ended their 2025 campaign: with a narrow loss to the Sanford Mainers.
 
Sanford, which won a best-of-three playoff series against North Adams last August, scored four runs on 14 hits to earn a 4-2 win at Joe Wolfe Field.
 
The Mainers broke a 1-1 tie with a two-run rally in the third inning, and four Sanford pitchers combined to collect 11 strikeouts as the visitors improved to 2-1 this summer.
 
North Adams, which saw its planned road opener rained out on Saturday, got to open the season in front of its home fans.
 
And those fans saw a strong performance from the North Adams pitching staff, which, despite allowing 14 hits, including five doubles, gave up just three earned runs.
 
“I like the grit,” SteepleCats coach Mike Gladu said of his team’s Game 1 performance. “I thought the pitchers performed pretty well. We had a couple of situations where we definitely should have gotten some runs in and didn’t get that hit.
 
“And there were a couple of plays with a little rust. Certainly, the ball that was hit over [Evan] Meier’s in left field, he just mistracked that one. And the extra run they scored in the eighth, the kid wasn’t going to go [from third on a fly ball], we made a throw and nobody could stop it.
 
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