Escape from Alcatraz (film) Alcatraz" marks the fifth and final collaboration between Siegel and Eastwood, following "Coogan's Bluff" (1968), "Two Mules for Sister Sara" (1970), "The Beguiled" (1971) and "Dirty Harry" (1971). On January 18, 1960, Frank Morris (Clint Eastwood) arrives at the maximum security prison Alcatraz. Soon after arriving, he is sent in to meet the warden (Patrick McGoohan), who curtly informs him that no inmate has ever successfully escaped from Alcatraz. Among the inmates, Morris makes acquaintances with the eccentric Litmus, (Frank Ronzio) who is fond of desserts, English (Paul Benjamin), a black inmate serving two life sentences for killing two white
Escape from Alcatraz (film) mentions his predecessors Johnston (1934–48) and (incorrectly) Blackwell (1961–63). "Escape from Alcatraz" was well received by critics and is considered by many as one of the best films of 1979. Frank Rich of "Time" described the film as "cool, cinematic grace", while Stanley Kauffmann of "The New Republic" called it "crystalline cinema". Vincent Canby of "The New York Times" called it "a first-rate action movie," noting that "Mr. Eastwood fulfills the demands of the role and of the film as probably no other actor could. Is it acting? I don't know, but he's the towering figure in its landscape." "Variety"