Alcatraz: The Whole Shocking Story (1980)

Fact based story of the lives and attempted 1946 escape of several inmates in the famous correctional facility. Young inmate Clarence Carnes masterminds a grand escape involving several ... See full summary »

Director:

Paul Krasny

Writers:

Ernest Tidyman (teleplay), Clarence Carnes (based on a story by)

Stars:

Michael Beck, Art Carney, Alex Karras

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Beck	...	Clarence Carnes
Art Carney	...	Robert Stroud
Alex Karras	...	Jughead Miller
Telly Savalas	...	Cretzer
Will Sampson	...	Clarence's Father
Ronny Cox	...	Bernard Coy
Richard Lynch	...	Sam Shockley
Robert Davi	...	Hubbard
John Amos	...	Bumpy Johnson
James MacArthur	...	Walt Stomer
Ed Lauter	...	Frank Morris
Joe Pantoliano	...	Ray Neal
Louis Giambalvo	...	Clarence Anglin
Jeffrey Tambor	...	Dankworth
Paul Mantee	...	Ordway

Storyline

Fact based story of the lives and attempted 1946 escape of several inmates in the famous correctional facility. Young inmate Clarence Carnes masterminds a grand escape involving several inmates who have nothing to lose, serving life sentences.

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Plot Keywords:

inmate | escape | prison island | spanking | alcatraz | 

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Taglines:

At 18, Carnes is the youngest man to be sent to The Rock, yet he vows he'll create the ultimate escape plan -- or die trying!

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The film does not show that Carnes, after escaping from the Granite Reformatory in Oklahoma, carjacked a passing driver and forced the driver to take him across the state line. That resulted in federal charges of kidnapping and crossing state lines to flee prosecution. That was the reason he was sent into the federal prison system; which resulted in him being sent first to United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth, and then to Alcatraz.

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Goofs

When Carnes arrives at Alcatraz in 1945, there's an establishing shot of the island from the prison launch. You can clearly see that the warden's mansion is a burned out shell. (This happened in the Occupation of Alcatraz by American Indians from 1969-1971.) In 1945, the warden's mansion was intact and being used.

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Quotes

Clarence Carnes: [Runs past Stroud's cell and sees him standing passively, when the doors to D-Block's cells are opened during the 1946 escape attempt. He runs back] Come on! You're free!
Robert Stroud: [calmly] I'm not going anywhere.
Clarence Carnes: Come on man, let's go!
Robert Stroud: Guys like them boys do things the hard way, don't they?
[sits down on his bunk and picks up the book he'd been reading before the commotion began]
Robert Stroud: They'll be dead before sundown; and a lot of other poor, ignorant fools with them. Maybe you too, son.
Clarence Carnes: But... You're in this cell for...
[...]

User Reviews

very, very good, especially for a tv movie

This is a very entertaining film, with great direction. Very interesting action and characters. When you consider that this is a tv movie, it makes it even more amazing. It's hard to believe that a 20 year old made for TV movie can be so much better than most of the stuff hollywood is putting out these days. Definately watch (and record)this if it comes on tv. And whoever owns the rights to this, release it on DVD letterboxed, ss-dl.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 November 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alcatraz and Clarence Carnes

Filming Locations:

Alcatraz Prison, Alcatraz Island, San Francisco Bay, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pierre Cossette Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

196 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1