The prisoner of Alcatraz

Movie
German title	The prisoner of Alcatraz
Original title	Birdman of Alcatraz
Country of production	United States
original language	English
Publishing year	1962
length	148 minutes
Age rating	FSK 16
Rod
Director	John Frankenheimer
script	Guy Trosper
production	Stuart Millar
music	Elmer Bernstein
camera	Burnett Guffey
cut	Edward Mann
occupation
Burt Lancaster : Robert Stroud Karl Malden : Harvey Shoemaker Thelma Ritter : Elizabeth Stroud Neville Brand : Bull Ransomware Betty Field : Stella Johnson Telly Savalas : Feto Gomez Edmond O'Brien : Tom Gaddis Hugh Marlowe : Roy Comstock Whit Bissell : Dr. Ellis Crahan Denton : Kramer James Westerfield : Jess Younger

The Prisoner of Alcatraz is an American film about the life of the violent criminal Robert Stroud . He became a recognized ornithologist during his more than fifty years in prison in Leavenworth and Alcatraz Prisons. John Frankenheimer filmed Thomas E. Gaddis ' novel See the birds under the sky. The Prisoner of Alcatraz ( Birdman of Alcatraz ) in 1962.

action

The manslaughter Robert Stroud arrives at Leavenworth Prison and kills a guard there who harassed him. He is supposed to be hanged for it. His mother stands up for him and can have the death sentence commuted to life imprisonment. However, he has to serve this in solitary confinement. Thus, his social contacts are reduced to his guards and his cell neighbors.

One day Stroud discovers a bird ( sparrow ) while walking in the yard , which he nurses and finally trains. The new prison director, Shoemaker, allows prisoners to keep birds. Stroud has a new meaning in life and also invents a remedy for a fever from which animals often become ill and die (including the sparrow). Through this means he made the acquaintance of the widow Stella, who had extensive interests in the field of aviculture. He and Stella get closer and eventually he marries her in prison. Stroud's mother does not like this connection because she wants her boy all to herself. There is a break with the mother, which causes Stroud to become even more bitter.

According to a new ordinance issued by the Federal Office for the Execution of Prisons, the prison director must also ban bird breeding. Literally everything is taken from Stroud and there is no pardon. Instead he is moved to Alcatraz, where Shoemaker is now the new director. Stroud writes a book about the prison system that denounces the harsh conditions. After the long years of imprisonment, his character has changed for the better. Eventually he will be transferred to another prison where his conditions will be eased.

Reviews

“ The film is laid out in a sober reportage style and despite a number of hardships it comes up with a deeply humane and life-affirming message. Convincing and intense: Burt Lancaster in the title role. “ Lexicon of international film (CD-ROM edition), Systhema, Munich 1996.

Awards

• 1963 Oscar nomination for Thelma Ritter for Best Supporting Actress , Best Black & White Camera for Burnett Guffey, Best Actor Burt Lancaster and Telly Savalas for Best Supporting Actor .
• John Frankenheimer was nominated for Best Director by the Directors Guild of America that same year .
• The German Film and Media Assessment FBW in Wiesbaden awarded the film the rating particularly valuable.

literature

• Thomas E. Gaddis : The prisoner of Alcatraz (original title: Birdman of Alcatraz ). In: The great film novels . Heyne, Munich 1984, ISBN 3-453-37003-1 .

Web links

• Birdman of Alcatraz in the Internet Movie Database (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ later editions only under the title The Prisoner of Alcatraz