Escape from Alcatraz (film) Escape from Alcatraz (film) Escape from Alcatraz is a 1979 American prison thriller film directed by Don Siegel. It is an adaptation of the 1963 non-fiction book of the same name by J. Campbell Bruce and dramatizes the 1962 prisoner escape from the maximum security prison on Alcatraz Island. The film stars Clint Eastwood, Jack Thibeau and Fred Ward as prisoners Frank Morris, Clarence Anglin and John Anglin. Allen West was played by Larry Hankin; his character's name was changed to Charley Butts. Patrick McGoohan portrays the suspicious, vindictive warden and Danny Glover appears in his film debut. "Escape from
Alcatraz Wharf Alcatraz in the 1850s to permit the landing of men and building materials to construct a fort, completed in 1859. In 1867, the "General McPherson" was built to serve the island and other military institutions in the San Francisco Bay Area, as Alcatraz became a long-term military prison from 1868. The steamer towed officers, prisoners and food and water supplies to island between 1867 and 1886, landing at the dock twice daily before being replaced. During the time as a federal penitentiary, a prisoner once attempted to escape on a boat from the boat by dressing as an officer. The