10 Behind-the-Scenes Facts About the Clint Eastwood Prison Flick ‘Escape From Alcatraz’
Surprisingly, this was not Clint Eastwood's first visit to the prison better known as 'The Rock'
In 1962, three of the United States’ most dangerous criminals escape from the highest security prison in the country, eluding all forms of manhunt, never to be recaptured or returned to justice. Sounds like the making of a pretty cool film, doesn’t it? Maybe one that could star … say … Clint Eastwood in his prime. Oh, wait, it was, in the form of his 1979 hit, Escape from Alcatraz.
Escape from Alcatraz was based on the real life escape of inmates Frank Morris (Eastwood), John Anglin (Fred Ward), and Clarence Anglin (Jack Thibeau) from Alcatraz Island. We won’t spoil how they did it, but trust us when we say it’s pretty gruesome and well thought out. And the resulting film went on to gross a total of $43 million against an $8 million budget.
Wanting to escape with them after reading the following facts? Escape From Alcatraz is available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
1. Clint Eastwood was a lot older than his character
In real life Frank Morris was 35 years old when he escaped Alcatraz, but Eastwood was 48 when he portrayed him, making him 13 years older that his character. The audience didn’t seem to mind.
2. Eastwood’s disorientation was based on real behavior
Ihe scene when Frank Lee Morris (Eastwood) gets released from solitary confinement, he is seen stumbling around in a very disoriented manner. This was based on real life behavior from prisoners who reportedly acted that way after getting released.
3. Escape From Alcatraz was released 15 years after the escape
The real life escape from Alcatraz took place on June 11, 1962 and the film Escape From Alcatraz was released on June 22, 1979, just a little over 15 years after the fact. It also took place 14 years after the prison’s closing on March 21, 1963, though it remains open for tours to this day.
4. Tours were going on during filming
Tours of Alcatraz Island are a very popular attraction in San Fransisco, California and have been ever since the prison closed. Escape From Alcatraz was shot on the island while the tours were going on, causing production to mainly film at night in an effort to limit distractions and avoid delays.
To this day, tour guides on Alcatraz Island still get asked which cell was Clint Eastwood’s. For the record, it was N.109 on Broadway, despite Morris’ real cell being N.138.
5. Weather made filming Escape From Alcatraz difficult
San Fransisco weather is often dreary and damp, and Alcatraz Island is no exception. Since the film was mainly shot at night, conditions were dark, windy, rainy and freezing. There was no heat on the island, and in an effort not to damage anything, the crew brought as little equipment with them as possible, so most of the cast and crew spent the majority of filming both freezing and wet.
6. Clint Eastwood had been to Alcatraz before
No, Eastwood was not a prisoner on the island, but he did spend time there a few years prior. His third Dirty Harry film, The Enforcer (1976), had shot a sequence there. In it, his popular Detective Harry Callahan character fought off a terrorist group called the People’s Revolutionary Strike Force. John Crawford and Tyne Daly also starred in the film.
7. Chester ‘Doc’ Dalton’s behavior was based on another inmate
The scene where Doc (Roberts Blossom) cuts off his fingers never happened. Instead, the gruesome act was committed by murderer, kidnapper and robber Rufe Persful 25 years before the events of this film. Rufas reportedly did it to protest the strict silence rule, which prevented prisoners from speaking unless it was meal time or a recreation period.
8. No stunt doubles were used in Escape From Alcatraz
In the scene in Escape From Alcatraz where the prisoners finally leave their cells and climb down the wall and into the water for their escape, no stunt doubles were used. Clint Eastwood, Fred Ward and Jack Thibeau actually did that scene themselves. In fact, their athletic ability was one of the reasons the three men were cast in the film.
9. The escapees had help, which the movie never showed
The film leads viewers to believe that none of the other prisoners knew about the escape, but interviews conducted after the prison shut down revealed that many of the inmates were well aware. Some of them even offered up their own supplies to help Frank Morris, John Anglin and Clarence Anglin pull it off.
10. Frank Morris, John Anglin, and Clarence Anglin were never found
Frank Morris (Clint Eastwood), John Anglin (Fred Ward), and Clarence Anglin ( Jack Thibeau), who remain on the U.S. Marshals Service’s Most Wanted list, were never found. Some believe they drowned in the ocean, others feel they escaped, changed their names and lived long lives far away from San Fransisco. The fact remains, though, that no one knows what happened to them, and it remains one of the biggest mysteries — and facts — of them all.
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