Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily Entertainment GuideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsCannes Film FestivalStar WarsAsian Pacific American Heritage MonthSummer Watch GuideSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • FAQ
IMDbPro

Escape from Alcatraz

  • 1979
  • PG
  • 1h 52m
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
156K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
504
1,000
Clint Eastwood in Escape from Alcatraz (1979)
Watch Official Trailer
Play trailer2:00
1 Video
99+ Photos
Prison DramaBiographyCrimeDramaThriller

Alcatraz is the most secure prison of its time. It is believed that no one can ever escape from it, until three daring men make a possibly successful attempt at escaping from one of the most... Read allAlcatraz is the most secure prison of its time. It is believed that no one can ever escape from it, until three daring men make a possibly successful attempt at escaping from one of the most infamous prisons in the world.Alcatraz is the most secure prison of its time. It is believed that no one can ever escape from it, until three daring men make a possibly successful attempt at escaping from one of the most infamous prisons in the world.

  • Director
    • Don Siegel
  • Writers
    • J. Campbell Bruce
    • Richard Tuggle
  • Stars
    • Clint Eastwood
    • Patrick McGoohan
    • Roberts Blossom
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.5/10
    156K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    504
    1,000
    • Director
      • Don Siegel
    • Writers
      • J. Campbell Bruce
      • Richard Tuggle
    • Stars
      • Clint Eastwood
      • Patrick McGoohan
      • Roberts Blossom
    • 247User reviews
    • 93Critic reviews
    • 76Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:00
    Official Trailer

    Photos137

    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    + 130
    View Poster

    Top cast57

    Edit
    Clint Eastwood
    Clint Eastwood
    • Frank Morris
    Patrick McGoohan
    Patrick McGoohan
    • Warden Arthur Dollison
    Roberts Blossom
    Roberts Blossom
    • Chester 'Doc' Dalton
    Jack Thibeau
    Jack Thibeau
    • Clarence Anglin
    Fred Ward
    Fred Ward
    • John Anglin
    Paul Benjamin
    Paul Benjamin
    • English
    Larry Hankin
    Larry Hankin
    • Charley Butts
    Bruce M. Fischer
    Bruce M. Fischer
    • Wolf
    Frank Ronzio
    Frank Ronzio
    • Litmus
    Fred Stuthman
    Fred Stuthman
    • Johnson
    David Cryer
    • Wagner
    Madison Arnold
    Madison Arnold
    • Zimmerman
    Blair Burrows
    • Fight Guard
    Bob Balhatchet
    • Medical Technical Assistant
    Matthew Locricchio
    • Exam Guard
    • (as Matthew J. Locricchio)
    Don Michaelian
    • Beck
    Ray K. Goman
    Ray K. Goman
    • Cellblock Captain
    Jason Ronard
    Jason Ronard
    • Bobs
    • Director
      • Don Siegel
    • Writers
      • J. Campbell Bruce
      • Richard Tuggle
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews247

    7.5156.2K
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10

    Featured reviews

    9hermes9264

    Great movie... but go on the tour first....

    I first went on the evening tour of Alcatraz Island which I'd highly recommend, the prison was cast in a dark gloom which seemed appropriate as we walked around the jail cells and listened to many interesting facts on the audio tour, walked the grounds, and heard about the escape depicted in the move. Naturally, I had to go see this movie...

    Watching the movie, I was very impressed with how accurate the movie mirrored what my sense of prison life and the escape would be like based on my impressions of the prison and the island during the tour. Having had walked around the space of the prison in the dim evening light really enhanced my sense of the movie's environment.

    Small details like the painting of black shadows for sharp tools that they shared in the tour were also present in the movie, very authentic. The lack of action per se perfectly captures the actual mood of the prison, where boredom reigned, and I thought the film balanced this well with an entertaining cast of characters and well-timed action. Eastwood's silently intense attitude was a good fit for the role and the drama and atmosphere of the escape scene was done perfectly.

    In short, I'd highly recommend the evening tour on Alcatraz, followed by a viewing of "Escape from Alcatraz", you will not be disappointed.
    8ccthemovieman-1

    Even Better If You've Seen The Famous Site

    An excellent second half of this film elevates it overall as the Alcatraz inmates plan and then execute their escape, narrowly missing several disastrous occurrences. The suspense during those scenes is outstanding.

    Clint Eastwood is good as the fairly low-key character "Frank Morris" and most of the inmates are likable guys (which was highly unlikely in real life).

    For tourists of San Francisco (of which I was one about five years ago), I would recommend taking the Alcatraz tour. It's fascinating and makes this movie even more interesting once you've seen the place. I notice the people here at IMDb make the same recommendation on the title page of this film.

    Much of the rest of the cast are not well-known actors but they do a fine job in here. This is one of director Don Siegel's final films. He worked with Eastwood on "Coogan's Bluff" and then "Dirty Harry."

    Transfer-wise, the DVD was not that impressive, a bit too grainy for the usual standards. However, the story is always interesting and the movie is definitely recommended.
    8blackmajor

    A brief Narration of Morris and Anglin bros escape from Alcatraz! - blackmajor

    If there was ever an inmate who was destined to escape from Alcatraz, it was Frank Lee Morris. In the movie entitled "Escape from Alcatraz" starring actor Clint Eastwood, Morris was accurately portrayed as the keen and brilliant mastermind of one of the most famous prison escapes in history. The escape plan took nearly seven months to design, and it would necessitate the fabrication of clever decoys and water survival gear.

    F L Morris had spent a lifetime navigating the prison system before his arrival on Alcatraz. From his infant years until his teens Morris was shuffled from one foster home to another, and he was convicted of his first crime at the youthful age of only thirteen. By the time he reached his later teens, Morris' criminal record would include a multitude of crimes ranging from narcotics possession to armed robbery, and he had become a professional inhabitant of the correctional system. He spent his formative years in a boys' training school, and then graduated.

    Morris was credited by prison officials as possessing superior intelligence, and he earned his ticket to Alcatraz by building an impressive resume of escapes.

    Frank's accomplices in the "Great Escape" were equally well acquainted with the dark world of organized crime. Brothers John and Clarence Anglin were also serving sentences at Alcatraz for bank robbery, having been convicted along with their brother Alfred. All three had been incarcerated at the Federal Penitentiary in Atlanta when they first became acquainted with Morris, and John and Clarence were eventually sent to Alcatraz following a sequence of attempted escapes.

    i wud love to explain in detail but then....

    After months of long preparation the inmates had completed fashioning all of the gear they needed for their escape, This what Clint had really shown his acting by the Direction of Siegel! I love the entire detail structure of the movie and wud be on my favo's...i have almost watched it more than 15times!!and Will do too...
    7blanche-2

    true story of the great escape from Alcatraz

    Escape from Alcatraz is a 1979 film starring Clint Eastwood, Patrick McGooghan, Roberts Blossom, and Paul Benjamin.

    Eastwood is Frank Morris, who, with the two Anglin brothers (their names were changed for the film) contrived the most elaborate scheme ever to escape "The Rock."

    Their bodies were never found, and a photo surfaced some years later of the brothers in Brazil. The escape, plus Alcatraz's bad reputation, helped it close less than a year later.

    The movie gives a good idea of the horrors of prison life, and particularly the horrors of Alcatraz. Frankly, I don't think the escapees cared if they died. I'm sure anything was better than being in Alcatraz.

    Escape from Alcatraz is old-fashioned in that it has the art of the buildup, something lost in today's scripts. Today you must get to the point of your story in the first ten minutes. A film, for instance, like San Francisco where the earthquake happens toward the end would be a no-no.

    So we see the preparations, and they're impressive - papier mache heads with hair stolen from the barber shop to fool the guards into thinking they were asleep, digging out a grill at the back of the cell and putting a false grill up to fool the guards; welding a digging tool together with silver from a dime; the making of a raft; playing music while digging to hide the noise (though this really isn't shown). It was painstaking.

    Patrick McGoohan plays the warden, who, like all film prison wardens, is a horror show. When he sees a portrait of himself in a cell, he takes away the painting privileges of one of the inmates, Doc. When he finds out two inmates are talking cell to cell, he demands that they be separated.

    Actually, at the time of the escape, the warden was Olin Blackwell, considered the most lenient warden Alcatraz had ever had. And by then, inmates were performing music (shown in the film), and had weekend movies (also shown).

    Clint Eastwood, heavier than we've seen him in years, does an excellent job as Frank Morris, low-key but lethal. There isn't a tremendous amount of dialogue, but with his great presence and Frank's quiet leadership, we really don't need it.

    Recommended for a gritty look at life on Alcatraz, and the fascinating escape.
    9ticklemetorgo

    Drama not action make great movies!!

    And Escape from Alcatraz is a great movie. Based on a true story, it's one of those rare films that doesn't contain endless mindless fight scenes, overt homo eroticism, impossible action scenes, cartoon like special effects that film makers seem to be overly obsessed about these days. Somebody on the board asked if they should do a re-make of the film. NO!!!! Escape from Alcatraz is excellent as it is. The film is all suspense and great acting. The prison scenes realistic. I'd been to Alcatraz before (as a tourist) and a lot of it is in ruins but the film makes it look like the prison is still intact.

    I know some people may find the film dull, well that's fine. Go elsewhere and watch your cartoon action films. I'll stick with cool films like Escape from Alcatraz.

    More like this

    Dirty Harry
    7.7
    Dirty Harry
    In the Line of Fire
    7.2
    In the Line of Fire
    Magnum Force
    7.2
    Magnum Force
    A Fistful of Dollars
    7.9
    A Fistful of Dollars
    The Enforcer
    6.7
    The Enforcer
    Out of Alcatraz
    Alcatraz
    2.9
    Alcatraz
    High Plains Drifter
    7.4
    High Plains Drifter
    The Mule
    7.0
    The Mule
    The Dead Pool
    6.3
    The Dead Pool
    Alcatraz
    6.9
    Alcatraz
    Blood Work
    6.4
    Blood Work

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Alcatraz was one of the few prisons in America at the time to have hot water for showers. This wasn't a compassionate decision, but was intended to keep the prisoners from becoming too used to cold water in case they did get out of the prison and try to swim off the island.
    • Goofs
      When Morris meets the warden on his arrival, the warden states that no newspapers, or magazines carrying news, are issued to the prisoners. However, Morris' library duties later include delivering issues of The Saturday Evening Post and Ebony, publications containing news items in each issue.
    • Quotes

      Frank Morris: There's always the possibility that some asshole will be offended. Isn't there?

    • Crazy credits
      Opening credits prologue: JANUARY 18, 1960 SAN FRANCISCO
    • Connections
      Featured in Sneak Previews: Rocky II/The In-Laws/Lost and Found/Escape from Alcatraz/The Main Event (1979)
    • Soundtracks
      D Block Blues
      by Gilbert Thomas Jr.

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    FAQ19

    • How long is Escape from Alcatraz?Powered by Alexa
    • Could they have survived?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 22, 1979 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Alcatraz. Fuga imposible
    • Filming locations
      • Alcatraz Prison, Alcatraz Island, San Francisco Bay, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Paramount Pictures
      • The Malpaso Company
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $8,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $43,000,000
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $5,306,354
      • Jun 24, 1979
    • Gross worldwide
      • $43,005,351
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 52 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    • IMDb Answers: Help fill gaps in our data
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb app
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    Follow IMDb on social
    Get the IMDb app
    For Android and iOS
    Get the IMDb app
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • License IMDb Data
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.