ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ scoured a chip of humanity off  “The Rock” when on June 11, 1962 a trio of convicts managed what had been deemed impossible, breaking out of the legendary prison in San Francisco Bay. They got off the island, certainly; whether they got away—from the frigid currents and prowling sharks—may be iffy, but remains up for grabs. Telling the story in 1979, teaming for the fifth and final time, Clint Eastwood and director/mentor Don Siegel pulled a winner in 1979. Clint cranked out sixteen pictures in the 70’s, directing six of them, and while a number of the hits were more fun and/or rousing, this—the only one based on fact—is the most no-nonsense, and it ranks as one of best of the 36 movies that Siegel directed between 1945 and 1982.

Clint with Paul Benjamin, 1935-2019

In January of 1960, recidivist burglar Frank Morris (Eastwood), who has escaped from lockup before, is transferred to the fortress-like Federal pen on the rocky island of Alcatraz, where occasional views of San Francisco, the sea and sunsets don’t compensate for the spirit-crushing atmosphere of the prison. Fending off assaults from a hulking sexual predator, enduring an undeserved spell in cruel solitary confienment and bridling under repeated taunts from the pitiless warden (played with studied chilliness by Patrick McGoohan, warming up for his crown royal bastard in Braveheart) Frank makes up his mind to find—literally carve—a way out.

Developing a detailed plan, Morris works for many months, in tandem three other cons—‘Charley Butts’ (Larry Hankin) and the Anglin brothers, John (Fred Ward) and Clarence (Jack Thibeau). With the daunting exception of Bruce M. Fischer as ‘Wolf’ (giving Paul L. Smith’s ‘Hamidou’ of Midnight Express a run for Nightmare Alley), the inmates are sympathetically portrayed, and the bleak setup of the place—Alcatraz itself is a character—ensures that we root for the ‘good’ bad guys. For legal reasons McGoohan’s warden isn’t named, and while Charley was played by hangdog Hankin as a genial loser: the real con, Allen West, wasn’t anywhere close to nice. Conversely, the characterizations of Morris and the Anglins hew fairly close to their historical counterparts.

CHARLEY:”I turned 35 today. Some birthday! When’s your birthday?”   FRANK: “I don’t know.”    CHARLEY: “Geez, what kind of childhood did you have?”   FRANK: “Short.”

The taut script by Richard Tuggle (Tightrope) was based on J. Campbell Bruce’s book “Escape From Alcatraz”, published a year after the event, then revised in 1976 and again in 2005.

Done up for $8,000,000, the shoot was rather trying due to weather conditions and the presence of tour groups visiting the site. It was the last of the Siegel-Eastwood collaborations (Coogan’s Bluff, Two Mules For Sister Sara, The Beguiled, Dirty Harry). Thumbs went up from reviewers and box office was strong, $47,300,000 placing 17th in ’79.

Terse score is courtesy of Jerry Fielding (The Wild Bunch, The Outlaw Josey Wales). With good work from Paul Benjamin, Frank Ronzio and Roberts Blossom. Try to spot Danny Glover (32, debut). 112 minutes.

Bruce M. Fischer as the kind of friend you really don’t want to make