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DramaCrime

Birdman of Alcatraz

- Inside the rock called Alcatraz they tried to chain a volcano they called 'The Bird Man'!

After killing a prison guard, convict Robert Stroud faces life imprisonment in solitary confinement. Driven nearly mad by loneliness and despair, Stroud's life gains new meaning when he happens upon a helpless baby sparrow in the exercise yard and nurses it back to health. Despite having only a third grade education, Stroud goes on to become a renowned ornithologist and achieves a greater sense of freedom and purpose behind bars than most people find in the outside world.

Release Date : 1962-07-04

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Norma ProductionsUnited Artists

Production Country : United States of America

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Burt Lancaster

Character Name : Robert Stroud

Original Name : Burt Lancaster

Gender : Male

Karl Malden

Character Name : Harvey Shoemaker

Original Name : Karl Malden

Gender : Male

Thelma Ritter

Character Name : Elizabeth Stroud

Original Name : Thelma Ritter

Gender : Female

Character Name : Bull Ransom

Original Name : Neville Brand

Gender : Male

Betty Field

Character Name : Stella Johnson

Original Name : Betty Field

Gender : Female

Telly Savalas

Character Name : Feto Gomez

Original Name : Telly Savalas

Gender : Male

Edmond O'Brien

Character Name : Tom Gaddis

Original Name : Edmond O'Brien

Gender : Male

Hugh Marlowe

Character Name : Roy Comstock

Original Name : Hugh Marlowe

Gender : Male

Whit Bissell

Character Name : Dr. Ellis

Original Name : Whit Bissell

Gender : Male

Crahan Denton

Character Name : Kramer

Original Name : Crahan Denton

Gender : Male

James Westerfield

Character Name : Jess Younger

Original Name : James Westerfield

Gender : Male

Robert Bailey

Character Name : Reporter on Dock (uncredited)

Original Name : Robert Bailey

Gender : Male

Nicky Blair

Character Name : Inmate (uncredited)

Original Name : Nicky Blair

Gender : Male

Mushy Callahan

Character Name : Inmate (uncredited)

Original Name : Mushy Callahan

Gender : Male

James J. Casino

Character Name : Inmate (uncredited)

Original Name : James J. Casino

Gender : Male

Noble 'Kid' Chissell

Character Name : Inmate (uncredited)

Original Name : Noble 'Kid' Chissell

Gender : Male

John Indrisano

Character Name : Inmate (uncredited)

Original Name : John Indrisano

Gender : Male

Pete Kellett

Character Name : Inmate (uncredited)

Original Name : Pete Kellett

Gender : Male

David McMahon

Character Name : Inmate (uncredited)

Original Name : David McMahon

Gender : Male

Pat Moran

Character Name : Inmate (uncredited)

Original Name : Pat Moran

Gender : Male

Ben Roseman

Character Name : Inmate (uncredited)

Original Name : Ben Roseman

Gender : Male

Frankie Van

Character Name : Inmate (uncredited)

Original Name : Frankie Van

Gender : Male

Robert Burton

Character Name : Sen. Ham Lewis (uncredited)

Original Name : Robert Burton

Gender : Male

Lewis Charles

Character Name : Chaplain Wentzel (uncredited)

Original Name : Lewis Charles

Gender : Male

Nick Dennis

Character Name : Crazed Prisoner (uncredited)

Original Name : Nick Dennis

Gender : Male

Mike Mahoney

Character Name : Bit Part (uncredited)

Original Name : Mike Mahoney

Gender : Male

Raymond Greenleaf

Character Name : Judge (uncredited)

Original Name : Raymond Greenleaf

Gender : Male

William Hansen

Character Name : Fred Daw (uncredited)

Original Name : William Hansen

Gender : Male

Wayne Heffley

Character Name : Guard (uncredited)

Original Name : Wayne Heffley

Gender : Male

Michael Masters

Character Name : Guard (uncredited)

Original Name : Michael Masters

Gender : Male

Joe McGuinn

Character Name : Guard (uncredited)

Original Name : Joe McGuinn

Gender : Male

Victor Romito

Character Name : Guard (uncredited)

Original Name : Victor Romito

Gender : Male

Anton von Stralen

Character Name : Guard (uncredited)

Original Name : Anton von Stralen

Gender : Male

Robert B. Williams

Character Name : Guard (uncredited)

Original Name : Robert B. Williams

Gender : Male

William Hoehne Jr.

Character Name : Guard Kenny (uncredited)

Original Name : William Hoehne Jr.

Gender : Male

Dale Van Sickel

Character Name : Alcatraz Guard (uncredited)

Original Name : Dale Van Sickel

Gender : Male

Kermit Maynard

Character Name : Alcatraz Captain of Guards (uncredited)

Original Name : Kermit Maynard

Gender : Male

Harry Holcombe

Character Name : Editor (uncredited)

Original Name : Harry Holcombe

Gender : Male

Fred Libby

Character Name : Reporter (uncredited)

Original Name : Fred Libby

Gender : Male

Len Lesser

Character Name : Burns (uncredited)

Original Name : Len Lesser

Gender : Male

Edward Mallory

Character Name : John Clary (uncredited)

Original Name : Edward Mallory

Gender : Male

Adrienne Marden

Character Name : Mrs. Woodrow Wilson (uncredited)

Original Name : Adrienne Marden

Gender : Female

George Mitchell

Character Name : Father Matthieu (uncredited)

Original Name : George Mitchell

Gender : Male

Leo Penn

Character Name : Eddie Kassellis (uncredited)

Original Name : Leo Penn

Gender : Male

Chris Robinson

Character Name : Logue (uncredited)

Original Name : Chris Robinson

Gender : Male

Michael Ross

Character Name : Convict Qualen's Friend (uncredited)

Original Name : Michael Ross

Gender : Male

Phil Schumacher

Character Name : Detective (uncredited)

Original Name : Phil Schumacher

Gender : Male

Ray Spiker

Character Name : Appleton - Murdered Guard (uncredited)

Original Name : Ray Spiker

Gender : Male

Harry Jackson

Character Name : Reporter (uncredited)

Original Name : Harry Jackson

Gender : Male

Raoul Freeman

Character Name : Guard (uncredited)

Original Name : Raoul Freeman

Gender : Male

Reviews

CinemaSerf

@Geronimo1967

2024-07-20

It's barely the start of the twentieth century when Stroud (Burt Lancaster) starts his long career in jail. He is already guilty of murder before he loses the plot with a malevolent guard and adds to his crimes. Sentenced to swing, it's only the direct intervention by his mother with the President himself, that sees his punishment commuted and him returned to the prison run by the psychologically brutal Harvey Shoemaker (Karl Malden) who rules his empire like it were a fiefdom - and Stroud is never to leave solitary confinement. On his brief daily wander round the prison yard he discovers a sparrow that has broken it's wing falling from it's nest. He decides to try and help it and after some extensive study becomes a bit of an expert in avian medicine and manages to help his new wife "Stella" (Betty Field) run a specialist business. The a transfer comes. To Acatraz he must go - and shortly after his arrival, he finds himself under the command of his old antagonist. Shoemaker is no thug, though - he does begin to develop a bit of a grudging respect for "Stroud" all while he starts from scratch with his bird business and, as the title suggests, begins to work on a plan even more audacious. Lancaster is super here. He plays the part to perfection with a balance of the violent, the calculating and the delicate that I think is pretty much unmatched in cinema. Malden also serves as an effective foil as the intellectual cat and mouse game becomes more attritional, sophisticated and powerfully portrayed. If there ever was a film about imprisonment offering lack of opportunity and purpose, this is it - and what's clear is that the authorities would have actively encouraged Stroud's gradual decline into cerebral morbidity had he not been astute enough to galvanise his friends on the outside and keep his wits sharp - and that's equally well presented by Guy Trosper's potent screenplay. The supporting cast is also strong with powerful efforts from Whit Bissell, Edmond O'Brien and Neville Brand helping to deliver classic big screen cinema that allows the star to be undeniably that.