Get your chills, thrills and free popcorn at Fifth Annual Black and White Film Festival

Fasten your seatbelts. The Fifth Annual Jim, Jerry and Marla’s Black and White Film Festival returns this fall, beginning Friday, Sept. 6, at 8 p.m. in Attallah Piazza. And it’s all about high drama this year.

Some of the greatest dramatic films of the 20^th century will be showcased in the free festival, starting with a screening of the classic Les Miserables, the 1935 film version of Victor Hugo’s epic tale of despair, hope and love set amid revolutionary Paris.

The series continues with 8 p.m. screenings for several Fridays (with an early-October break for the Big Orange Book Festival). All films screen in Attallah Piazza. In the event of inclement weather, the event will be moved indoors and the new location will be posted in the Piazza. And – of course – there will be free popcorn and movie candy.

Save the dates for:

• Sept. 13, The Grapes of Wrath (1940) The celebrated film version of John Steinbeck’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel recounts the story of the Joads, a poor farm family seeking hope and survival during the Dust Bowl crisis. Starring Henry Fonda and directed by John Ford.
• Sept. 20, Citizen Kane (1941) Considered by many the greatest film ever made, the film chronicles the life of a newspaper magnate based in part on William Randolph Hearst. Written and directed by the film’s star, Orson Welles.
• Sept. 27, All About Eve (1950) The backstage tale of a conniving actress’ rise to Broadway stardom, in a screenplay by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, based on the short story The Wisdom of Eve, by Mary Orr. As the film’s star, Bette Davis, famously says, fasten your seatbelts for this one.
• Oct. 18, Witness for the Prosecution (1957) A courtroom drama based on a short story by Agatha Christie, this is the story of an aging London barrister’s struggle to defend a man on trial for murder. It’s a twisting, edge-of-your-seat thriller.
• Oct 25, The Tingler (1959) Just in time for Halloween comes this horror flick starring Vincent Price in a creepy sci-fi tale of a parasite that attaches itself to human spines and thrives on fear. Thrives, that is, until its victims scream for their lives.

For more information about the series, please visit the Black and White Film Festival website.