Film of the Day: 71

Escape From Alcatraz (1979)

Alcatraz Island has quit the history. It was first documented in 1775 by Juan Manuel de Ayala of Spain and first named the island "La Isla de los Alcatraces" which means "The Island of the Pelicans".

Later in the American Civil War, as far back as 1861, the island was used to keep prisoners of war due to its harsh currents of the San Francisco Bay.

But then in 1934, it became a maximum security federal prison for the most dangerous criminals. Criminals such as Al Capone, Robert Franklin Stroud (Birdman of Alcatraz), Alvin "Creepy" Karpis (the last "public enemy"), Bumpy Johnson, Machine Gun Kelly and many others.

It was most usually the case that the prisoners sent to 'The Rock' were inmates that were causing problems at their previous prison. And it was today in 1934 that the first set of prisoners were sent to the Rock.

During the 29 years of The Rock's operation, 36 prisoners have attempted 14 escapes. 23 were caught, 6 were shot dead and 3 were never seen again since 1962. Maybe they drowned in the harsh currents, got lost at sea or made, no one knows to this day. These three men were Frank Morris, John Anglin and Clarence Anglin.

The film Escape from Alcatraz is a film about the escape of these three inmates and is still one of the best prison break films to date. It starred Clint Eastwood as Frank Morris and this was the very first film that introduced me to one of the greatest men in Hollywood.

Frank Morris's cell

One of the many great things about this film was the mood, you really felt as if you were in prison with the inmates. It is dark and gloomy and no one smiles. We even get a man who chops off his own fingers because the evil warden takes away his painting privileges after the artist painted the warden, and since art was the only thing he had, he seized to care.

Director Don Siegal (Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Hell Is for Heroes, Dirty Harry) also gave us a great insight on how the real prisoners escaped. They dug tunnels their way through the air vents as the concrete had some moisture-damages with one as a lookout. However when it got big enough for the inmates to get in the air vents, they could not just leave their cells and plan their escape.

The original Frank Morris dummy head

So they created dummy heads that were quite convincing at a quit glance. Once they were finished, they all were in the air vents and planning their escape with the guards not suspecting a thing, and one fine day, when the time was right, they all proceeded into the air vents and into the utility corridor. Then they made their way to the roof and into the bay on a raft that they had fashioned themselves and were never seen again. The prison was shut down the year after and is now a tourist attraction.



Click here for the trailer