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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