By Kassondra Granata

This March, a group from The Recorder traveled to San Francisco for the National College Media Convention. Alongside going to sessions and touring the beautiful city, the group took a tour of Alcatraz.

Before it was the infamous prison, Alcatraz was the site of a U.S. military prison from the late 180s to 1933.

Alcatraz prison operated from 1934-1963 and housed some of America’s most difficult and dangerous felons. Al “Scarface” Capone (1899-1947) and murderer Robert “Birdman of Alcatraz” Stroud (1890-1963) were among the few that were imprisoned at “The Rock,” a nickname that stuck with Alcatraz

No one successfully escaped The Rock, although there were more than a dozen known attempts made over the years. The prison was closed down due to high operating costs and starting in 1969, the island was occupied by a group of Native American activists. Now, it is a popular tourist destination.

It was said that there was no “successful” escape from Alcatraz, but there was one that might have been a possibly successful escape. Based off a true story, Escape from Alcatraz depicts the escape of three prisoners, Frank Morris, John Anglin and his brother Clarence Anglin with the help of Allen West who was known as the mastermind of the plot, but couldn’t escape due to technical difficulties. Morris had carried out his escape within a year of his arrival at Alcatraz.

The men had dug through the vents in the back of their individual cells and placed dummies in their beds that they made from newspaper, the leftover cement from their digging and human hair. The group escaped through the vents and into the utility corridor. They climbed the pipes up to the roof and boarded a raft that they had made and disappeared into the dark bay. Their bodies were never found; no one knows if their escape was successful.

The film stars Clint Eastwood as Morris, Fred Ward as John Anglin, Jack Thibeau as his brother Clarence and Larry Hankin as Charley Butts, the spinoff character of Allen West. The movie was filmed in 1979, 16 years after the prison was shut down. The film was well done, but what made it more interesting was the fact that I was actually there and previously toured the prison prior to watching the film. I enjoyed looking through photos I took and seeing that these actors were where I stood.

The film was very real- there were no censoring like there was in the tour. The film didn’t keep out the violence, the sexual assault between the prisoners or even the relationships between the caucasian and African American prisoners on the island. It was if I was taking my own personal second tour of The Rock. The director, Don Siegal, depicted the story and the prison very well and made it an engrossing, interesting story making the audience have no choice but to root on these felons attempt to escape out of the prison. While watching, it was difficult not to sympathize with the prisoners, especially Butts, who had a dramatic scene when he was unable to escape.

Escape from Alcatraz is a good film to watch if you toured the prison or not. It is suspenseful and has the full package of an older, classic film. It is a wonderful portrayal of what the prison looks like and what life was like at The Rock.