Birdman of Alcatraz

film by Frankenheimer [1962]

Written by Lee Pfeiffer

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Birdman of Alcatraz, American dramatic film, released in 1962, that made a household name of convicted murderer Robert Stroud, the so-called “Birdman of Alcatraz.”

The film is a sentimentalized look at Stroud (played by Burt Lancaster), who became a self-taught ornithologist during his 54 years in prison. In addition to his work with birds, the film also focused on Stroud’s relationship with a short-sighted warden (Karl Malden) and with his doting mother (Thelma Ritter).

Although based on the biography by Thomas E. Gaddis, Birdman of Alcatraz took liberties with the facts. In reality, Stroud was an unrepentant killer who used the media to cast himself as a heroic figure. In addition, much of Stroud’s work was actually done in Leavenworth Prison, Kansas, not Alcatraz. Despite such inaccuracies, the film is one of the most engrossing prison dramas ever made, largely because of Lancaster’s Academy Award-nominated performance as Stroud. Ritter and Telly Savalas, who portrayed a hard-bitten fellow convict, also earned Oscar nominations.