Details

Release year: 1979

Storyline

Alcatraz is the most secure prison of its time. It is believed that no one can ever escape from it, until three daring men make a possibly successful attempt at escaping from one of the most infamous prisons in the world.

Top credits

Directors

Don Siegel

Writers

Cast

Clint Eastwood — Frank Morris
Patrick McGoohan — Warden Arthur Dollison
Roberts Blossom — Chester 'Doc' Dalton
Jack Thibeau — Clarence Anglin

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Did you know

• Alcatraz was one of the few prisons in America at the time to have hot water for showers. This wasn't a compassionate decision, but was intended to keep the prisoners from becoming too used to cold water in case they did get out of the prison and try to swim off the island.

• Less than one year after the real-life events that are depicted in this movie, the prison was shut down. The escape occurred on June 11, 1962, and the prison closed on March 21, 1963. Because the penitentiary cost much more to operate than other prisons (nearly ten dollars per prisoner per day, as opposed to three dollars per prisoner per day at Atlanta), and half a century of salt water saturation had severely eroded the buildings, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy ordered the penitentiary closed on March 21, 1963.

• During filming, tourists were still allowed onto the island, and a new boatload would arrive every half-hour. They became so much of a distraction that the majority of filming was moved to night shoots.