Birdman of Alcatraz

1962 147 min ★ 7.5 Drama, Crime, History

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.

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Cast

Burt Lancaster

Robert Stroud

Karl Malden

Harvey Shoemaker

Thelma Ritter

Elizabeth Stroud

Neville Brand

Bull Ransom

Betty Field

Stella Johnson

Telly Savalas

Feto Gomez

Edmond O'Brien

Tom Gaddis

Hugh Marlowe

Roy Comstock

Whit Bissell

Dr. Ellis

Crahan Denton

Kramer

Details

Director

John Frankenheimer

Screenplay

Guy Trosper

Tagline

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

Status

Released

Original Language

EN

Budget

$2,650,000

Revenue

$3,100,000

Production

Norma Productions, United Artists

Reviews

C

CinemaSerf

July 20, 2024

★ 8/10

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 ...