Clint Eastwood, in his long acting career, only once played a real historical character. Since this happened at the zenith of his action-film stardom, the person in question had to have participated in a spectacular and extraordinary event. Such is the protagonist of Escape from Alcatraz, the 1979 prison drama directed by Don Siegel. The plot begins in 1960, when convicted armed robber Frank Morris arrives to serve his sentence at Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary. The institution, built on a small island in San Francisco Bay, became infamous for housing America’s most dangerous and notorious criminals. Morris earned his place there by successfully escaping from other prisons, but Alcatraz, built on a small island surrounded by treacherous, cold currents and known for its tough regime under a cruel warden (played by Patrick McGoohan), was a place from which no prisoner had ever managed to escape. Morris, however, decides to change that when a series of incidents and the arrival of brothers John and Clarence Anglin (played by Fred Ward and Jack Thibeau)—his old friends and fellow escape artists—lead him to plan a daring escape. This would involve creating paper dummies to place in their cells to hide their absence from the guards.
Alcatraz, one of the most iconic locations in American popular culture and later a synonym in many languages for a harsh, inescapable prison, has been used as the setting for many Hollywood films. Few attempted to be as authentic as Escape from Alcatraz, which was based on the non-fiction book by J. Campbell Bruce and actually shot on Alcatraz. Director Don Siegel tried to enhance this authenticity with a style that could be described as “austere”. The film almost completely lacks music; the sounds of the sea and birds only add to the oppressive atmosphere, constantly reminding the prisoners of their predicament and unattainable freedom. The script by Richard Tuggle carefully concentrates on the prison and the escape, and viewers learn nothing about Morris’s past. The script, however, tries to ‘spice up’ the true story with fictional additions, many falling into the realm of annoying prison-film clichés—including not only the evil warden but also a prison rapist played by Bruce M. Fischer and two old, harmless prisoners who befriend Morris and later become victims of the warden’s cruelty. Eastwood, on the other hand, handles his role very well and delivers a good prison film. The most disappointing aspect of Escape from Alcatraz is its somewhat abrupt ending, which leaves the fate of the protagonist open, but it is the real history, not the filmmakers, that should be blamed for that.
RATING: 6/10 (++)
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