In the early 1960s, highly intelligent criminal Frank Morris (Clint Eastwood) is transferred to the maximum security Alcatraz prison, located on a rock off the San Francisco coast. Frank is a master at escaping, but the warden (Patrick McGoohan) assures him no one has ever escaped from Alcatraz.
Frank settles into the prison community and befriends prisoners Litmus, who has a pet mouse; Doc, who loves to paint; English, who works at the library and leads the black contingent; and Butts, who occupies the neighbouring cell. He also tangles with the abusive goon Wolf, earning himself a stint in solitary confinement.
When brothers John and Clarence Anglin (Fred Ward and Jack Thibeau) are also transferred to Alcatraz, Frank finally finds suitable partners to plot an escape. He hatches a plan to dig out the dilapidating concrete around the cell vents to access the utility corridor and search for a way out.
The characterizations are thin and precious little is revealed about the men's pre-incarceration lives. But star power compensates, and a domineering Clint Eastwood is in top flinty mode, as Morris quickly absorbs and adapts to his new home with the sole purpose of making it temporary. Siegel surrounds him with a cast of relative unknowns representing men cast away from society. The prisoners range from artistic to brutal, this Alcatraz a miniature representation of all that society offers.
After a patient and slightly overextended set-up, the actual escape logistics activate in the final third. The tension mounts, Morris exploiting his environment, stature, and friendships to devise ingenious tools and diversions to keep the guards clueless as he chips away at the cell wall. His smarts extend to recognizing the need for fellow-escapees, this break-out only viable if several men work together towards a common cause. Escape From Alcatraz works hard to establish an individual mood, then cleverly breaks free.
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September 1, 2026 will mark 100 years since the birth of Frank Lee Morris. The mystery of the June 1962 escape had always interested me as a kid, particularly when I first saw the 1979 film starring Clint Eastwood. I remember always hoping that the evidence supported the “myth” everyone wants to truly believe— Did Frank Morris and the Anglin brothers make it?
ReplyDeleteI was like most people. I wanted to believe, from a romantic point of view, that they made it. I don’t think there ever be any conclusive revelational break-throughs in the case, and looking back reasonably as a more mature adult, I think it’s safe to regard various second hand accounts such as unsigned postcards received by the Anglin brothers’ mother, or various “sightings” of Morris/Anglins, as well as other reports that I can’t help but shrug off as merely hearsay. I do believe, however, that there is at least enough substantial evidence to believe that Frank Morris and John and Clarence Anglin could very well have made it, and lived a free life for some time after the escape. I myself, like to believe they did.
I remember in the early 2010s, being quite naturally excited when the circumstantial evidence came to light which would appear to suggest that all three men survived: when documents suggested investigators did find a raft on Angel Island with footprints leading away; and, though it was always asserted that no cars were reported stolen, a 1955 blue Chevrolet was stolen after the escape by three men, who may have been Morris and the Anglins. Of course, it possible the raft identification was a mistake and that the carjacking was a coincidence but it’s quite telling. Looking back, I am more dubious when Relatives of the Anglin brothers presented further circumstantial evidence in the mid-2010s in support of a longstanding rumor that the Anglin brothers had fled to Brazil following the escape.
Of course, considering these two bits of circumstantial evidence (especially if one was to connect both), it’s possible to imagine that the three lived out a long and happy life. Though it’s hardly much of a life, being on the run, not seeing family again. Of course, if they drowned in the bay, they at least died free. In regards to the idea they survived and lived the rest of their lives on the run is more remarkable, leaving us with an even larger mystery of what they did later in life and what eventually happened to them. And honestly, I’m fine with both scenarios, because they leave more questions than answers and I’m fine with that, because than the mystery would end.
Thanks for the comment, and for adding good thoughts and additional context.
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