Birdman of Alcatraz
Composite Score: 82.8
Starring: Burt Lancaster, Karl Malden, Thelma Ritter, Neville Brand, Betty Field, Telly Savalas, Edmond O’Brien, and Hugh Marlowe
Director: John Frankenheimer
Writer: Guy Trosper
Genres: Biography, Crime, Drama
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Box Office: N/A
Why should you Watch This Film?
Birdman of Alcatraz is the film adaptation of Thomas Gaddis’s book of the same name, chronicling the life of the career inmate, Robert Stroud. It follows Stroud, played by Burt Lancaster, from his initial time in Leavenworth Prison in Kansas through his transfer from Alcatraz, a time period of nearly fifty years. The film uses Stroud’s lifetime of solitary confinement to look at the failings of the U.S. prison system and comment on the weaknesses of its ability to truly rehabilitate its inmates. All in all, the film offers a unique look at a complex character and issue within U.S. history and certainly does decent justice for both.
Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?
Owing to the film’s dramatizing, some of the complexities of the issues at hand fall a bit to the side. For one, Stroud apparently was not nearly as charming and personable as Lancaster’s portrayal of the man, which gives the film a sense of inherent bias – not that it’s not allowed to be biased, just that historical films with clear biases that skew certain characters one way or another can rub some audiences the wrong way. At the same, by centering the film on the character of Stroud, an inmate who received comparatively good treatment from his overseers, the film never fully engages with all the issues that exist within American prisons, hinting at them in the midst of a character study rather than putting them overtly on display.
So wait, why should you Watch This Film?
One of the most interesting discussions that comes out of Birdman of Alcatraz is an examination of rehabilitation and the way that it is defined in society, in the prison system, and from person to person. This discussion forms the thematic backbone of the film’s narrative as the audience watches Stroud go from a young prisoner killing a prison guard to becoming a published scientific author and the prisoner who ends a standoff between rioting prisoners and the national guard at Alcatraz. Despite all of his progress, however, Stroud is never granted parole, instead being moved from prison to prison – with the given reason for his rejection being his continued attitude of self-absorption. What is it, then, that would constitute true rehabilitation? Is conformity true rehabilitation? If so, should that be the goal of society and the prison system? These questions raised by the film keep its audience thinking well after the film ends.
Though the film follows Stroud, played admirably by Burt Lancaster, two supporting characters really help to sell the film thanks to excellent performances. Thelma Ritter plays Robert’s mother Elizabeth Stroud, who serves as his sole connection to the outside world for many years until he meets a female admirer of his work on birds. Ritter plays Elizabeth at first as a caring mother who works endlessly to protect her son’s life. As the film progresses, her protection soon becomes akin to a prison. Fearing a loss of contact or control, she becomes overbearing, but her choices always make sense within character, and Ritter helps sell the difficult emotions of the mother of a life prisoner. Telly Savalas plays Feto Gomez, Stroud’s neighbor in Leavenworth. His portrayal of a passionate inmate who adapts so well to life on the inside that even after his release he only ends up coming back is so deeply moving that I feel in some ways his story might have accomplished even more than Stroud’s.
Birdman of Alcatraz’s supporting characters help flesh out its themes of imprisonment and rehabilitation, lending to a deeper discussion of both against the background of the flawed U.S. prison system, making it an undeniably great film when you are in the mood for it. Issues with characterization choices and the film’s hesitation to portray the fullness of the brokenness of American prisons hold it back somewhat, but its performances and the themes therein keep the audience engaged and wanting more. This film is currently available to stream with ads via Tubi or to rent on most other streaming services for those interested.
