Friday, December 19, 2014

December 19 - Birdman of Alcatraz

Today’s movie is a biographical drama with a scene that happens on December 19. Watch it to night and enjoy.

BIRDMAN OF ALCATRAZ             

Bob Stroud is to be moved from Alcatraz and Tom Gaddis, who wrote a book about Stroud waits for him at the pier and tells Stroud’s story. Convicted murderer Stroud is moved to Leavenworth prison. Stroud is a rebellious prisoner and arouses the ire of Harvey Shoemaker, the warden. When his mother can’t visit him since it’s Saturday this upsets Stroud and he grabs a guard’s collar. When the guard insists on reporting this meaning Stroud will not get to see his mother at a re-scheduled visit the next week, Stroud kills the guard.  He is tried three times. The first time is a mistrial; the second time he gets life, the third time he is sentenced to death. His mother meets the First Lady, Mrs. Wilson who uses her influence to get the sentence commuted to solitary confinement. One day a storm blows a branch with a bird nest into the exercise yard. Stroud saves the baby bird and nurses it back to health. When Leavenworth gets a new warden, other prisoners give Stroud their pet canaries. He starts breeding them, but they develop a fatal disease, septic fever. Stroud works for years by trial and error, and develops a cure. Stroud is allowed to publish articles in bird magazines about this. He meets Stella Johnson, a bird lover, who proposes selling his remedies for various bird diseases. With a new warden come new rules from the Federal Bureau of Prisons that no prisoners can have pets or run a business. Stroud marries Stella. Stella and his mother start a petition to change the rule.  When Shoemaker, who now heads the Bureau, proposes that he can keep his business if he donates the proceeds to the prison welfare fund, Stroud refuses. Eventually he gets everything he wanted, including a larger cell and lab equipment. However, the cost is that his mother becomes jealous of Stella and cuts off communication with him. Stroud writes a successful book about bird diseases. Then he is transferred to Alcatraz, arriving on December 19, 1942 [1:48:03 to 1:56:23] and finds Shoemaker is the warden. Stroud loses all his privileges and can’t have any birds. An attempt is made by other prisoners to escape with two guns they’ve captured, but they end up trapped in the cellblock. After the two instigators are killed, Stroud throws out the guns, ending the riot. 13 years later he is transferred off Alcatraz.   

An interesting movie. Stroud was a much rougher character than the way he is portrayed in the film. His role in ending the riot is greatly exaggerated.

Birdman by Jolene Babyak (Ariel Vamp Press, Berkeley, Ca., 1994) at page 301 gives the date he arrived

Producers - Harold Hecht, Stuart Millar and Guy Trosper

Director - John Frankenheimer

Awards – The movie was nominated for the Best Black-and-White Cinematography, Best Actor (Lancaster), Best Supporting Actor (Savalas) and Best Supporting Actress (Ritter) at the 35th Academy Awards.

Screenplay - Guy Trosper

Runtime – 2 hours 23 minutes

Released - July 3, 1962 
    
Starring -

Burt Lancaster as Robert Stroud
Karl Malden as Harvey Shoemaker
Thelma Ritter as Elizabeth Stroud
Betty Field as Stella Johnson
Telly Savalas as Feto Gomez
Neville Brand as Bull Ransom
Edmond O'Brien as Thomas E. Gaddis
Whit Bissell as Dr. Ellis

Copyright by Ivan Walters in 2014






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