The Political Science Junior Fellows and Friends of the Wynne will host a Dana Andrews Film Festival at the Wynne Home Arts Center on Sept. 12 from 5:30-10 p.m.

The festival will feature two of the Huntsville native’s most famous films – “The Ox-Bow Incident” and “Laura.”

Dr. Carl Rollyson, who is currently writing a biography on Andrews, will introduce the films and give a short presentation entitled: “From Huntsville to Hollywood: The Dana Andrews Story.”

“This is a great opportunity to team with the Wynne Home to honor a Huntsville native, while also providing an evening of free entertainment for local residents,” said Political Science Junior Fellows President Megan Bryant.

The festival will kick off with “The Ox-Bow Incident” from 5:30-7 p.m.

The film is a western classic from 1943 that stars Andrews, Henry Fonda, and Anthony Quinn.

The film, according to New York Times critic Bosley Croswell, portrays “bluntly and unremittingly ... the horror of mob rule ... [with] uncompromising truth.”

A reception will be held for Rollyson from 7-8 p.m. followed by the showing of “Laura” from 8-10 p.m.

“Laura,” starring Andrews, Gene Tierney, Vincent Price, and Judith Anderson, is generally regarded as one of the greatest crime dramas ever made.

According to film critic Roger Ebert, the movie “continues to weave a spell ... achieving a kind of perfection in its balance between low motives and high style.”

Andrews acted in more than 75 films from 1940 through 1985 and also appeared in many television programs. He is best known for his work in “The Ox-Bow Incident,” “Laura” and “The Best Years Of Our Lives.”

Andrews graduated from Huntsville High School and attended Sam Houston State University. His father was minister for the First Baptist Church from 1924-1927.

The film festival is in honor of Dana Andrews’ centenary and is timed to coincide with the 165th anniversary of the First Baptist Church in Huntsville, which will be celebrated on Sunday, Sept. 13.

“This is a wonderful way to celebrate Huntsville’s past while also bringing people together,” said Beth Miles, a member of the Friends of the Wynne board.

Rollyson, the featured speaker at the festival, is Professor of Journalism at Baruch College, City University of New York. He is currently writing a biography on Andrews, and will conduct interviews and archival research for the biography during his four-day stay in Huntsville.

Rollyson has written more than 500 articles and more than 30 books, including biographies of Marie Curie, Marilyn Monroe, Lillian Hellman, Rebecca West, Susan Sontag and Pablo Picasso.

His research has been funded by the American Philosophical Society, the American Council of Learned Societies, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Rollyson’s appearance is being sponsored by The Political Science Junior Fellows, Friends of the Wynne, and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences Advisory Board.

The College of Humanities and Social Science Ambassadors will assist with the event.

For more information, contact Mike Yawn at (936) 294-1456.