{"id":10765,"date":"2015-02-19T17:15:00","date_gmt":"2015-02-19T22:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=10765"},"modified":"2015-02-19T17:15:01","modified_gmt":"2015-02-19T22:15:01","slug":"br-birdman-of-alcatraz-1962","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=10765","title":{"rendered":"BR: Birdman of Alcatraz (1962)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\"BirdmanAlcatraz_BR\"<\/a>Film<\/strong>: \u00a0Excellent<\/p>\n

Transfer<\/strong>: \u00a0Excellent<\/p>\n

Extras<\/strong>: Very Good<\/p>\n

Label:\u00a0<\/strong>Twilight Time<\/p>\n

Region:<\/strong>\u00a0All<\/p>\n

Released:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0November 11, 2015<\/p>\n

Genre:<\/strong>\u00a0 Docu-Drama \/ Crime<\/p>\n

Synopsis:<\/strong>\u00a0Humanistic portrait of convicted murderer Robert Stroud whose time at Leavenworth Prison ultimately resulted in a praised book on bird diseases and treatment.<\/p>\n

Special Features:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Audio Commentary with film Historians Julie Kirgo and Paul Seydor, and producer Nick Redman \/ Isolated Mono Music Track \/ Original Theatrical Trailer \/ 8-page colour booklet with liner notes by Julie Kirgo \/ Limited to 3000 copies \/ Available Exclusively from Screen Archives Entertainment<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Review:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Not unlike\u00a0The Train<\/b>\u00a0(1966), the original director of this adaptation of\u00a0Thomas Gaddis<\/a>\u2019 1955 book about lifer Robert Stroud involved a director being replaced by John Frankenheimer, and as Twilight Time commentators Nick Redman, Julie Kirgo, and Paul Seydor note in unison, the choice of Michael Crichton – best-known for the classic Ealing<\/a> films\u00a0Dead of Night<\/b>\u00a0(1945),\u00a0Hue and Cry<\/a><\/b>\u00a0(1947), and\u00a0The Lavender Hill Mob\u00a0<\/b>(1951) – seems like an odd choice, unless Lancaster had been interested in working with another highly regarded Brit and fellow Ealing colleague, Alexander Mackendrick (The Sweet Smell of Success<\/b>).<\/p>\n

Crichton was gone within days, and Frankenheimer\u2019s parachuting into the production probably calmed its star \/ executive producer, and distributor United Artists, the latter feeling Gaddis’ humanistic story with arguably little commercial appeal could be completed without further conflicts.<\/p>\n

That wasn\u2019t exactly the case, because half of the film was reshot before it was released, but its message of treating convicted violent offenders with humanity remains powerful today, probably because its story is derived from the surreal life of Stroud, a twice convicted killer respected for writing an authoritative text on bird ailments,\u00a0Stroud\u2019s Digest of the Diseases of Birds<\/b>.<\/p>\n

Even though Guy Trosper (The Pride of St. Louis<\/b>, J<\/strong>ailhouse Rock<\/b>,\u00a0One-Eyed Jacks<\/b>) took some serious dramatic license with Stroud\u2019s real life persona \u2013 the felon was apparently abrasive, self-centered, unhygienic, and a \u201cwolf\u201d in prison \u2013 turning him into a nicer, more accessible figure doesn\u2019t dilute the uniqueness of a man with a feared temper and a penchant for violence who found peace caring for birds, and discovered he possessed a high intellect that enabled him to understand the complexities of avian biology, chemistry, and modern medicine.<\/p>\n

The film\u2019s also a small snapshot of the pre-WWII U.S. penal system, which Stroud managed to frustrate until sufficient legislation put an end to his exploitation of legal loopholes. While in Leavenworth, where he conducted his bird rearing and research, he was able to run a business selling both his text and<\/em>\u00a0homemade bird medicine; he got married with his business partner and avoided being transferred out of state; and had his cell enlarged to fit\u00a0his\u00a0expanding bird population.<\/p>\n

By the time he was transferred to the newly built Alcatraz State Penitentiary, Stroud\u2019s avian research was over, and he focused on reading and self-education until the end of his life. Although he was transferred to a medium security facility in his final years, his supporters never managed to get Stroud released on humanitarian grounds, likely because at each parole hearing he flatly admitted to killing a woman and a guard, and because his possessive mother stopped fighting for his freedom when she became jealous of his wife.<\/p>\n

Like\u00a0Judgment at Nuremberg<\/a><\/b>\u00a0(1961),\u00a0The Train<\/b>\u00a0(1966), and\u00a0The Swimmer<\/a>\u00a0<\/b>(1968), Birdman<\/strong> benefits from a low-key Lancaster performance that\u2019s still powerful because of the macro-style cinematography Frankenheimer applies to maximize the emotional power of the actor\u2019s bulk within a tiny cell. With the exception of a few rare external scenes, everything takes place inside a prison, and the camerawork by Burnett Guffey (From Here to Eternity<\/b>,\u00a0They Came to Cordura<\/b>,\u00a0Homicidal<\/a><\/b>) often glides and uses deep depth of field to fill the screen with details, movement, and intense close-ups.<\/p>\n

The birds are certainly supporting characters in the film \u2013 the demise of Runty, Stroud\u2019s first bird, is really<\/em> tragic \u2013 but it\u2019s the fluidity in which Lancaster\u2019s large hands care for the tiny birds that captures the tenderness than can exist between a human and another creature.<\/p>\n

The film\u2019s secondary characters aren\u2019t treated as caricatures, making prison warden Harvey Shoemaker (Karl Malden) genuine in his desire to establish a more humane yet organized system and standard for incarcerating violent convicts; and Bull Ransom (Neville Brand), Stroud\u2019s longtime guard at Leavenworth, as a decent guy who just wants a smidge of the respect he gives Stroud. Brand\u2019s performance is similarly low-key, but it\u2019s also a rare role where he\u2019s neither a thug, crook, or lunatic. Betty Field is sympathetic as Stroud\u2019s business partner and future wife, and Thelma Ritter also breaks her frequent casting as a wise-cracking dame (Rear Window<\/b>) playing Stroud\u2019s obsessive, jealous mother Elizabeth.<\/p>\n

Telly Savalas adds humour to the film as Stroud\u2019s loud and testy cell neighbour Feto, and Whit Bissell is solid in a small role as a prison doctor who characterizes Stroud\u2019s intellect and insight into avian biology as \u201cgenius.\u201d Edmond O\u2019Brien plays author Gaddis in the film\u2019s weird bookends that just aren\u2019t necessary, but they don\u2019t\u2019 jumble or distract from the central story that unfolds like a chronological flashback.<\/p>\n

Perhaps most surprising is Trosper\u2019s dialogue, which manages to convey crude attitudes, humour, and assorted vulgarities and innuendo without using a single potty word. It\u2019s mostly due to peppery period slang, but there\u2019s some creative words that seem pretty daring for 1962.<\/p>\n

Twilight Time\u2019s commentary trio delivers a really solid, fact-heavy track, giving due attention to the every production detail, and more than a nod towards composer Elmer Bernstein, whose quiet score is featured in an isolated mono music track. Bernstein\u2019s gentle theme plays under the gorgeous main titles designed by an uncredited Saul Bass, which features the kind of close, stark images typical in the film, combining Lancaster\u2019s giant hands with small birds.<\/p>\n

The included trailer naturally plays up Stroud\u2019s violent nature, and doesn\u2019t do justice to the careful direction that makes Birdman of Alcatraz a classic humanistic message picture for prison reform.<\/p>\n

Dumped director Charles Crichton was ultimately unlucky in snagging further high profile feature films, spending a chunk of his later career in TV (The Avengers<\/b>,\u00a0The Adventures of Black Beauty<\/b>,\u00a0Space: 1999<\/b>) before a little film called\u00a0A Fish Called Wanda<\/b>\u00a0(1988) crowned his career, and allowed Crichton to retire on a high.<\/p>\n

Frankenheimer, who\u2019d worked with Lancaster on\u00a0The Young Savages<\/b>\u00a0(1961), had actually wanted to direct Birdman but was turned down by Lancaster. Upon seeing the final edit of\u00a0Savages<\/b>, Frankenheimer was given\u00a0Birdman<\/b>, and worked with Lancaster on several more films, including\u00a0Seven Days in May<\/b>\u00a0(1964),\u00a0The Train<\/a><\/b>\u00a0(1964), and\u00a0The Gypsy Moths<\/b>\u00a0(1969).<\/p>\n

Killer: A Journal of Murder<\/b>, Thomas Gaddis\u2019 examination of serial killer Carl Panzram was filmed in 1995.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a9 2015 Mark R. Hasan<\/p>\n

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External References:<\/strong>
\nEditor’s Blog<\/a> — IMDB \u00a0<\/a>— \u00a0Soundtrack Album<\/a> —\u00a0Composer Filmography<\/a>
\n\u00a0<\/span>
\nVendor Search Links:<\/strong>
\nAmazon.ca<\/a>\"\" \"\" —\u00a0<\/span> Amazon.com<\/a>\"\" \"\" —\u00a0<\/span> Amazon.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Not unlike The Train (1966), the original director of this adaptation of Thomas Gaddis\u2019 1955 book about lifer Robert Stroud involved a director being replaced by John Frankenheimer, and as Twilight Time commentators Nick Redman, Julie Kirgo, and Paul Seydor note in unison, the choice of Michael Crichton…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[18],"tags":[3391,3294,937,508,3395,3392,3393,3394,3396],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8nuyW-2ND","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10765"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10765"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10765\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10829,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10765\/revisions\/10829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}