Welcome back to Movie Recaps. Today I will show you a thriller film from 1979 based on
a true story, titled Escape from Alcatraz. Spoilers ahead! Watch out and take care.
In 1960, Frank Morris, a very smart criminal that has already escaped from multiple facilities,
is taken to the maximum-security prison on Alcatraz Island. It's quite a different
prison from the average ones: there are no good conduct programs, carrying news isn't permitted,
knowledge of the outside world is only what guards may tell you, every inmate is confined alone,
visitors must be investigated by the FBI, and while they do have the option to work,
it's a privilege that must be earned. Every morning there is also a prisoner count.
During his first breakfast there, Frank makes friends with Litmus, an eccentric man that likes
to ask others for extra food and keeps a mouse as a secret pet that he carries everywhere with him.
Frank also can't help noticing that a huge man known as Wolf keeps looking at him and making
threatening gestures. Afterward, he's taken to see the warden, who explains the rules Frank must obey
and asks for the names he may want to authorize as visitors, but Frank has nobody in his life,
not even family. The warden lets him go with one warning: nobody has ever escaped from Alcatraz,
and nobody ever will. This encounter doesn't end up being completely useless though:
when the warden isn't looking, Frank steals one of his nail clippers, which he later hides inside
the Bible in his cell. When the time comes for his first shower, Frank is approached by Wolf,
who claims Frank will be his new punk. Since obviously he won't take a no for an answer,
Frank reacts by punching him a couple of times and stuffing his mouth with a bar of soap. Later,
Frank is sent to help at the library, and there he meets English, a black man that is serving
two life sentences. Ten years ago, he killed two men in self-defense, but since they were white,
they believed their lies over his story. Since prisoners aren't allowed in the library,
Frank's duty today is to go around the cells with a cart and offer magazines and books to those who
want them. While having his break in the yard, Frank meets Doc, an elderly inmate that spends
his time painting. He's incredibly talented, and the subjects of his paintings go from
himself to the warden - all his portraits include a chrysanthemum flower as well. He also expresses
worry for Frank's life after he has made an enemy out of Wolf. Afterward, Frank goes to have a chat
with English, who tells him all the details he knows about the prison's anti-escape measures.
Men that managed to leave their cells, which is already an incredibly difficult task,
were shot by the guards in the watchtowers. And even if you somehow were able to successfully
leave the building, there's still the issue of Alcatraz being an island: there's a mile's swim
to land, and the water is freezing. Some days later, while chatting with Litmus in the yard,
he mentions that there are ventilation shafts on top of their block, the only trick would be
finding the way to get up there. But the afternoon suddenly takes a nasty turn when Wolf comes after
Frank with a knife, which he manages to dodge just in time thanks to a warning from Doc.
The two men get into a fight that the guards hurry to break up, and both Wolf and Frank are taken to
solitary confinement because the warden doesn't care if Frank has acted in self-defense: a fight
is a fight. Those special cells are also known as "the hole" because you're stuck there with
no light or human contact - the only visit Frank gets is from a guard that uses a hose to spray him
with cold water under the excuse that he shouldn't stink up the cell. Frank is released a couple of
days later while Wolf is kept in the hole longer for having started the fight and used a knife.
That night, Frank's visited by Litmus' mouse, who brings him a little note that says "welcome back".
A few weeks later, Frank befriends a new inmate assigned to the cell next to his, Charley Butts,
who he introduces to his other friends when they meet in the yard. While all the prisoners are
outside, the warden wanders around the cells, checking everything is in order, and discovers
Doc's painting of him. The portrait is flattering and very accurate, but just to be cruel, the
warden still permanently removes Doc's painting privileges. When a guard comes by to take the
paint and the canvases away, Doc is left in a very distressed state because painting is all he had.
After gaining the privilege of a job, Frank accepts to join the carpentry team. One afternoon,
while they're working, he can't help noticing Doc doesn't look well and tries to warn the guard, who
just ignores him. As depression kicks in, Doc asks for a hatchet and uses it to cut his fingers off,
which will get him transferred out. After finding a chrysanthemum that Doc left in his pocket,
Frank gathers the fingers and puts them in a box to give to the guard,
sarcastically telling him to include that in his report. The warden approaches Frank later
during dinner to ask him about the incident, and Frank takes the chance to indirectly insult him
by commenting on how someone could get offended by a flattering portrait. It's during that same
meal that Frank gets a pleasant surprise: the Anglin brothers, John and Clarence,
have also been transferred to Alcatraz. Frank knows them from one of his other prison sentences,
and just like him, they're very good at escaping, which is the reason why they are here now.
One boring afternoon, Frank notices a roach in his cell escaping through the grille on the wall,
which is surrounded by very weak concrete. This gives him an idea: using the nail clipper he
had stolen, he tries chipping away the concrete around the grille, and successfully gets to remove
some. With enough patience, there's a chance he could make a hole big enough for his whole body
to get through. When visitors day comes, two of Frank's friends get news from the outside world.
English is visited by his daughter, who tells him she's getting married, and Charley is visited
by his wife, who tells him his mother only has a few months left to live. Desperate to see his mom
before she dies, Charley later tells Frank that if he manages to find a way to escape, he wants in.
This inspires Frank to finally tell Charley and the Anglins of his discovery over dinner. The
concrete and the grille metal have been weakened by the moist sea air, so digging a hole there is
just a matter of time - this could get them into the utility corridor, which may lead to the roof.
To hide the hole while they are working on it, they will tear the ads out of magazines and
make cardboard out of them to create a fake wall. They can also obscure the hole with some objects
like towels, in his case, Frank has ordered an accordion under the excuse he's joining the prison
band just to use the instrument case to cover his hole. They can also use this cardboard to
make dummy heads to leave on their beds, that way they can escape at night and they won't be able
to tell they're gone until the morning count. The Anglin brothers work in the barbershop and
the clothing shop, so one of them can get hair for the dummy, and the other can steal some raincoats
and contact cement to make life rafts that they can use to cross the bay. The chances are slim,
but everyone accepts to help. Frank begins working more often on his hole while Charley keeps an eye
out for guards, but using the clipper makes it extremely difficult since it lacks a proper grip.
So next day during mealtime, he uses his shoe to get his spoon dirty on purpose and ask for
another one. While one of the Anglin brothers chats with the guard to keep him distracted,
Frank takes two spoons instead of one and brings one back to the cell with him.
Later, when English comes by to leave some magazines, Frank asks him if there's a way to
weld metal together right there in the cell, and English promises he'll teach him. Many days later,
Litmus gets Frank a dime in exchange for fifteen desserts. Frank uses this dime to do some wielding
in his cell: he breaks the spoon to get the grip and the clipper to get the file, then lights up
a bunch of matches together to melt the dime and connect the spoon grip with the nail file.
Now he has a proper tool, he can dig faster, and thanks to Charley's warnings, he always runs back
to his bed when a guard comes by, so he doesn't get caught. After many days of digging, he manages
to remove all the concrete around the grille, but it's attached to the wall and impossible
to get off by hand. Next time he goes to work at the carpentry shop, he makes a wedge that
could help - the only problem would be getting it through the metal detector, but Frank has a plan.
When they leave the shop, Frank makes the detector go off in purpose by having the wedge visibly in
his hand and telling the guard he made it to hang his clothes. The guard doesn't believe him and
takes the wedge before checking Frank's pockets. Since he has nothing there, he's allowed to leave,
and Frank returns to his cell with success on his shoulders: he has a second wedge hidden in his
shoe. Using this wedge, he finally manages to get the grille off the wall, and this is the sign he
needs to get the plan rolling properly. Over the next few months, Charley and the Anglin brothers
begin digging as well. They also start working on the cardboard dummies using magazine pages,
water, and the concrete dust they get from the digging. Charley orders a painting set,
pretending to have picked up a new hobby, but they'll be using this paint to color the dummies
and make cardboard covers for the holes that look like the grille. Once Frank's dummy is ready with
the hair the Anglins got from the barbershop, he puts it in the bed and finally enters the hole
to see what's on the other side. He finds some stairs that take him to the utility corridor and
allow him to find the ventilation shafts, but these are on the ceiling and out of his reach.
Meanwhile, there's a guard making his rounds in the cell area. He is tricked by the dummy the
first time he walks by, but the second time he finds it weird that Frank hasn't moved.
His suspicions get worse when he drops his baton and the noise doesn't make Frank even stir,
but by the time he comes closer to the cell to check the head out, Frank has made it back to bed,
avoiding the dummy being found. The next day, he tells his friends what he's found and checks
on their progress: the brothers are almost done, but Charley has fallen behind. Later that night,
Frank and John get into the utility corridor so that they hide the raincoats they've stolen from
the clothing store and check out the ventilation shaft. Now that he has John giving him a boost,
Frank can reach it and take a closer look, which makes him realize they'll need some serious
tools to get it open. They also make note of the electrical outlet on the wall. Next time they go
to band practice, Frank asks Litmus to get him an extension cord and a drill out of the shop
he's in charge of, an action he could be sent to the hole for. Litmus accepts after being promised
every dessert of Frank's from now on. Frank also takes the chance to steal a small desk fan that
he sneaks inside his accordion case and manages to get away with by tricking the guard into checking
Charley's case instead. Once they have all the tools, including a penlight they steal from Doc,
Frank and John go back to the utility corridor to get to work. Always keeping an out for any passing
guard, they use a pipe John tears off the wall to break the bars that protect the shaft hole.
Then Frank climbs inside and, using the drill he's made with the tip Litmus got him and the fan,
he takes off the screws on the metal plates that cover up the passageway. Many months have passed
since Frank's arrival to Alcatraz and the group is finally ready to escape. Charley is worried
because his fake grille keeps falling apart, but John confirms the raft will be ready next Tuesday,
so Frank decides they'll be going through the plan on Tuesday night. One morning, during breakfast,
Frank takes out the chrysanthemum Doc had left him to water it. Litmus is pleasantly surprised
to see it because it brings him memories of when he and Doc planted those flowers together, but
the warden has a completely different reaction: the chrysanthemum reminds him of the paintings,
so he comes by the table and crushes it, claiming it's against the regulations. This enrages Litmus,
who tries to jump on him, but instead he passes out from a heart attack. After this encounter, the
warden gets suspicious of Frank, so he orders an inspection of his cell. They find nothing unusual
and the fake grille manages to trick them, but the warden is still worried, so he orders a guard to
transfer Frank to another cell. The paperwork required will take a couple of days, so the
transfer will be done on Tuesday morning. The next day, the group finds out Wolf has been brought
back from the hole and swears he'll kill Frank as soon as he gets the opportunity, so Frank decides
they'll be escaping tonight instead of Tuesday. Wolf does try to get him during their afternoon
break in the yard, but English intercepts him and drags him to meet his gang, implying they'll
be beating him up for trying anything. When night falls, it's finally time for the group
to get going. Frank and the Anglins successfully trick the guards with their dummies and enter the
utility corridor, but Charley loses courage and stays in his cell, crying. Carrying the raft and
Litmus' mouse with them, the trio climbs up the ventilation shaft and makes it to the roof, where
they carefully sneak around by keeping an eye on the movement of the searchlights to dodge them.
They manage to cross the roof and find a pipeline against the side wall that they use to climb down
and reach the yard, where they are careful to, once again, move around while avoiding the lights
until they reach the fence. Meanwhile, Charley has changed his mind and gone through the hole too.
But when he reaches the ventilation shaft, he can't reach it because he doesn't have his
friends to give him a boost, so he returns to his cell to spend the rest of the night sulking over
the missed opportunity. Back to Frank and the Anglins, they climb over the barbed-wire fence,
using calculated jumps to avoid getting hurt, and now they are officially out of the building,
so they easily run towards the shoreline of the island. There, they inflate the raft and jump
on the water while clinging to it and using their legs as their propelling force to swim away into
freedom. The following morning, the guards find out they're gone as soon as they check their cells
and a massive search of the prison and the entire island ensues. They find some of the inmates'
personal effects floating in the bay, which makes the warden believe they've drowned because they
would never leave these things behind, but one of the guards points out it could all be a decoy
to make them think they're dead. The warden also finds a chrysanthemum on a rock, and since these
flowers aren't native to the island, it can only mean Frank left it there as a message.
The fugitives' bodies are never found, and the prison of Alcatraz is shut down a year later.