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Action-movie specialist John Sturges (The Magnificent Seven, Bad Day at Black Rock, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral) directs an all-star cast – including Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, David McCallum, James Donald, Donald Pleasence, Gordon Jackson and Nigel Stock – in this rousing three-hour World War II thriller based on the true-life story of a daring, large-scale Allied escape from a German prison camp.
FLORENCE-The free film series The Screening Room: Classics, Crowd-Pleasers, Cult Favorites and Neglected Gems 
launches its July schedule at 2 p.m. Sunday, July 14, with a special 50th-anniversary showing of The Great Escape (1963) at the Florence-Lauderdale Public Library, 350 N. Wood Ave., Florence, Alabama.
Action-movie specialist John Sturges (The Magnificent Seven, Bad Day at Black Rock, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral) directs an all-star cast – including Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, David McCallum, James Donald, Donald Pleasence, Gordon Jackson and Nigel Stock – in this rousing three-hour World War II thriller based on the true-life story of a daring, large-scale Allied escape from a German prison camp.The remainder of the series’ July lineup will include:
2 p.m. Tuesday, July 23 – W.C. Handy Music Festival: Tom Thurman’s Jerry Wexler: Immaculate Funk (2000), 
starring Jerry Wexler, Aretha Franklin, Donnie Fritts, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Wilson Pickett and John Prine, introduced by special guests Paul Wexler (Jerry Wexler’s son), Donnie Fritts, David Hood, Jimmy Johnson and Dick Cooper
2 p.m. Thursday, July 25 – W.C. Handy Music Festival: Martin Scorsese’s The Last Waltz (1978), starring The Band, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Neil Young, the Staple Singers, Joni Mitchell, Muddy Waters, Dr. John, Ronnie Hawkins, Ringo Starr and Neil Diamond, introduced by special guest Jimmy Johnson
starring Jerry Wexler, Aretha Franklin, Donnie Fritts, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Wilson Pickett and John Prine, introduced by special guests Paul Wexler (Jerry Wexler’s son), Donnie Fritts, David Hood, Jimmy Johnson and Dick Cooper2 p.m. Thursday, July 25 – W.C. Handy Music Festival: Martin Scorsese’s The Last Waltz (1978), starring The Band, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Neil Young, the Staple Singers, Joni Mitchell, Muddy Waters, Dr. John, Ronnie Hawkins, Ringo Starr and Neil Diamond, introduced by special guest Jimmy Johnson
2 p.m. Sunday, July 28 – 60th Anniversary Screening: Vincente Minnelli’s The Band Wagon 
(1953), starring Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, Oscar Levant, Nanette Fabray and Jack Buchanan
(1953), starring Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, Oscar Levant, Nanette Fabray and Jack BuchananThe Screening Room series – sponsored by the library, Pillar of Fire and Bookmarks Coffee Shop – is organized and hosted by film historian Terry Pace, who teaches English at the University of North Alabama. For details, call the library at 256-764-6564 or Pillar of Fire at 256-366-4512
