The Bardavon will continue its 13th season of presenting classic films on the big screen with The Sting on March 25 at 7:30 p.m. All seats are just $5. The Sting is a 1973 American caper film set in September 1936 that involves a complicated plot by two professional grifters (Paul Newman and Robert Redford) to con a mob boss (Robert Shaw). The film was directed by George Roy Hill, who previously directed Newman and Redford in the Western Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Created by screenwriter David S. Ward, the story was inspired by real-life con games perpetrated by the brothers Fred and Charley Gondorff and documented by David Maurer in his book The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man. The title phrase refers to the moment when a con artist finishes the “play” and takes the mark’s money. (If a con game is successful, the mark does not realize that he has been “taken” – at least not until the con men are long gone.

TThe film is noted for its musical score – particularly its main melody, “The Entertainer,” a piano rag by Scott Joplin, which was lightly adapted for the movie by Marvin Hamlisch. The film’s success encouraged a surge of popularity and critical acclaim for Joplin’s work.

All seats are just $5 and are general admission. Tickets for the Friday, March 25 screening of The Sting are available in person at Bardavon box office located at 35 Market Street in Poughkeepsie, (845) 473-2072. Tickets are also available through TicketMaster at (800) 745-3000 or www.ticketmaster.com.

Arrive at the Bardavon at 7 p.m. for a pre-film concert on the Mighty Wurlitzer Organ. All films in the Bardavon Friday Film Series are preceded by these mini-concerts, which are presented exclusively by the New York Theatre Organ Society. The Bardavon is handicapped-accessible and offers secure and convenient parking. For more information, log onto www.bardavon.org.