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 Federal Penitentiary other prisons. The problem of Alcatraz was exacerbated by the fact that the prison had seriously deteriorated structurally from exposure to the salt air and wind and would need $5 million to fix. Major repairs began in 1958, but by 1961 the prison was evaluated by engineers to be a lost cause and Robert F. Kennedy submitted plans for a new maximum-security institution at Marion, Illinois. After the June 1962 escape from Alcatraz, the prison was the subject of heated investigations, and with the major structural problems and ongoing expense, the prison finally closed on 21 March 1963. The final