Birdman of Alcatraz (1962) As an inmate at Leavenworth prison, Robert Stroud has a series of confrontations with the guards and

with the other convicts. When Stroud kills a guard, he is sentenced to be executed, and only his mother s impassioned intervention gets his sentence commuted to life imprisonment, which he must serve in solitary confinement. As he serves out his sentence in boredom and despair, one day he finds a helpless baby sparrow in the exercise yard. Stroud soon takes a deep interest in caring for birds, which gives him a new purpose in life, but which also brings new conflicts with prison authorities. !urt Lancaster ... "arl #alden ... %helma Ritter ... (eville !rand ... !etty )ield ... %elly Savalas ... &dmond , !rien $ugh #arlowe ... Whit !issell ... -rahan .enton ... *ames Westerfield .irector0 *ohn )rankenheimer (ominated for 1 ,scars http022www.imdb.com2title2tt33445672 -odecs0 .iv8 4 2 A-9 +,,. (&WS0 %his is a riveting film start:to:finish, which is hard to do considering it runs over two hours. !urt Lancaster, one of the better actors, perhaps, of all time, gives a tremendous and very memorable performance. ;t s a clich< but this ;S one story you will not forget= .irector *ohn )rrankenheimer also is one of the best ever. -heck out his resume, if you >uestion that last statement. $e has some masterful camera shots in here. ;n addition to the talents of the director and main actor, you have "arl #alden,%helma Ritter, %elly Savalas and &dmond , !rien : no slouches they : in solid supporting roles. %he .?. also helps highlight the wonderful black: and:white photography. #ost prison stories are bleak and depressing. %his one is not. ,h, it has some melodrama and a few tough scenes which include prison violence, but generally it is a fascinating character study....and, even for those of you who are not bird lovers, full of interesting information about our feathered friends. $ow they trained the birds to do some things in here also is ama'ing. !A. (&WS0 What a disappointment to do some research about the real @birdman,@ Robert Stroud. ;t turns out, as other reviewers have noted, the man was a slea'e:bag. (o sense going into details since some of them are simply revolting. )or those who simply want to remember this as a great movie and a great performance by Lancaster, do yourself a favor and leave it at that. ;n this case, ignorance ;S bliss= (!0 the real Robert Stroud was never allowed to watch the film. Robert Stroud $arvey Shoemaker &li'abeth Stroud !ull Ransom Stella *ohnson )eto +ome' ... %om +addis Roy -omstock .r. &llis "ramer ... *ess /ounger

........................................................................................................................ %here are many combinations in $ollywood that produce fine workA and, then, there are those that produce tremendous work. .irectors and actors can often be at odds, but when they are in sync, something wonderful can come of it. $itchcock made classics with *immy Stewart and -ary +rantA Scorcese and .eniro transcend their contemporariesA and !urt Lancaster and *ohn )rankenheimer made great movies together. ; ve always liked !urt Lancaster. At first, ; had only seen his swashbucklers and his westerns. !ut, as ; discovered his dramas, my respect grew. Lancaster was the perfect leading man. $e was tall, good looking, charming, and loaded with charisma. What s more, he had talent. $e could turn out a pirate yarn or play a con artist who finds loveA a marshall in the most famous gunfight, or a general who abandons his oathA a ghost of a doctor who gets that one at:bat, or a prisoner who becomes an expert on birds. Lancaster is brilliant in this film. Lancaster was more than a movie starA he was an actor. $e never sought the easy route, his life had never been easy. #aybe that s why his movies stand out. (othing good ever comes easy. Lancaster presents a brilliant portrayal of Robert Stroud. Whether it is historically accurate or not is beside the point. Lancaster represents the indomitable human spiritA no matter what challenge life throws at him, he rises above. Lancaster is understated in this role, but so powerful. $e doesn t need method or make up or any tricksA Bust his humanity. So many movies shine due to the presence of LancasterA but his collaborations with )rankenheimer shine brightest. )rankenheimer is highly underrated, due to his later workA but, there was a period when he was one of the best. %he #anchurian -andidate, Seven .ays in #ay, %he %rain, and !irdman of Alcatra' are clear examples of his talent. .o yourself a favor, when you see a movie in the video store, or on tv, look for the names )rankenheimer and Lancaster. ;f you find them, watch the movie. /ou ll be glad you did. C Stroud really should be known as the @!irdman of Leavenworth,@ since it was there that he kept his birds and did his research. $e was not actually allowed any birds during his time at Alcatra'. C Robert Stroud died the day before the assassination of Dresident *ohn ). "ennedyA therefore news of his death was not well publici'ed. C Stroud was actually imprisoned in cell E1F located in the . !lock. According to )rank $eaney, a former prison guard GH617:4HI, Stroud was anything but the sympathetic character as portrayed by !urt Lancaster. $e was an extremely difficult and demented inmate who, though highly intelligent, was a villain and a psychopath. C "arl #alden GLeavenworth warden $arvey ShoemakerI introduces a new warden to the institution. $e identifies one of the prisoners as @Sekulovich@, #alden s own real name. C .ue to this popular movie, the real Robert Stroud became one of the most famous inmates of the federal prison at Alcatra', second only to mob boss Al -apone. C At one point, the real Robert Stroud had over 133 birds in his cell. C -harles -richton was fired several weeks into production to be replaced by *ohn )rankenheimer.

C According to the biography of Robert Stroud on the -ourt %? website, Stroud killed the prison guard because he was denied a visit from his brother, not his mother as portrayed in the film.