Alcatraz Island later invalidated the sale and paid Frémont nothing. Frémont and his heirs sued for compensation during protracted but unsuccessful legal battles that extended into the 1890s. Following the acquisition of California by the United States as a result of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848) which ended the Mexican–American War, and the onset of the California Gold Rush the following year, the U.S. Army began studying the suitability of Alcatraz Island for the positioning of coastal batteries to protect the approaches to San Francisco Bay. In 1853, under the direction of Zealous B. Tower, the United States Army Corps of
June 1962 Alcatraz escape attempt Island served as a prison. The film "Escape from Alcatraz" (1979) stars Clint Eastwood, Fred Ward, and Jack Thibeau as Morris, John Anglin, and Clarence Anglin, respectively. West (fictionalized as a character named Charley Butts) was played by Larry Hankin. The escape was shown in a two-part 1980 TV movie made by Telepictures Corporation (now owned by Warner Bros.): "", which starred Ed Lauter as Morris, and Louis Giambalvo and Antony Ponzini as the Anglins. "Terror on Alcatraz" (1987) starring Aldo Ray as Morris, returning decades later to the scene of his escape from Alcatraz, scours his old prison cell