Alcatraz: The Whole Shocking Story

1980 "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!"
7| 3h16m| en
Details

Filmed on location at Alcatraz Island, this two-part "whole story" actually concentrates on a handful of the denizens behind the cold grey walls of "The Rock". Michael Beck plays the real-life Clarence Carnes, an Oklahoma Choctaw Indian said to be the youngest man ever incarcerated in the notorious maximum security prison. Serving a 99-year sentence for a gas station holdup and murder, Carnes makes periodic attempts to escape, the final attempt being the most violent. Many of the subordinate characters are fictional (as are most of the details concerning Carnes' escape efforts); the one exception is Robert Stroud, the "Birdman of Alcatraz", here portrayed by Art Carney as a gentle, kindly philosopher. Telly Savalas, a costar of the Burt Lancaster vehicle Birdman of Alcatraz, also guest starred in the 1980 film. Originally titled Alcatraz and Clarence Carnes, this made-for-TV movie wavers between gritty realism and "I'm bustin' outta here!" artifice.

Director

Producted By

Pierre Cossette Enterprises

AD
AD

Watch Free for 30 Days

Stream on any device, 30-day free trial Watch Now

Trailers & Clips

Reviews

BoardChiri Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay
Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.
Payno I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.
Nicole I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.
ranchgal01 While this is based on some facts within Clarence Carnes life, as a TV movie, you have to remember it is a movie. I didn't think they were making heroes of anyone, as much as just telling a story, and it's a pretty good story too. Telly Savalas is menacing enough as the escaping leader of the cons. And I think the brutality they showed, showed exactly why they were sent there in the first place. And I really enjoyed ARt Carney as "Birdman" R.Stroud--they showed him more realistically doing research and writing than a lot of other movies about him.I really enjoyed Michael Beck's portrayal of C.Carnes-even though we know it was somewhat whitewashed. His early innocence being led astray and then his coming to terms with the WHY he was there was good. And his character's learning his way around the prison system was good, and the fact that he survived 18 years in Alcatraz is a story worth watching. Alex Carras did an interesting portrayal of the Assoc. Warden, and I think that in that time period--I don't think they overplayed the brutality of the Alcatraz system either. This was the LAST STOP!! I enjoyed this miniseries movie, and I thought the actors did a good job with the material.
Tim This movie as well as some of the well meaning comments about it have to make one wonder.Most prison movies focus on the prisoners and more often than not make them the heroes. Of course guards are shown as being brutal. If more people knew who was being kept in prisons, they would send thank you notes weekly to correctional officers for keeping the bad guys and gals locked up and society safer.Of course we have to forget the fact that the people in prison are there for raping kids, killing old folks, committing fraud and taking the life savings of someone, thieves who take a family's hard earned possessions, and on and on.No, we forget that and have actors in this movie talking about escape as being part of a noble goal to shut down an inhumane prison.I thought the acting was rather poor, the direction phony, and the piggybacking on to a real event with a totally unproven conclusion false.
Brandon Chance 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.
jsngallery This is my favorite Alcatraz movie of all time and I've seen them all! Too bad it is only made for TV and you can't buy it in stores. This is the real deal. Nice and long and involved. This movie tells the whole story of Alcatraz. Luckily I have a copy on VHS.