by Preston on May 14th, 2009, 7:20 pm
ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ
For some reason, channel AMC has been broadcasting all the prison-type movies, so last night I chanced upon the movie ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ, which was based on a true story of three convicts who escaped from Alcatraz. Convict Frank Morris was played by Clint Eastwood but the actor whose appearance surprised me was Patrick McGoohan who played the prison Warden, something that would of course interest you, Lunk. Patrick looks quite old in this film, certainly Not the debonair actor we were used to. But then again, he was playing the role of a prison warden who is quite harsh--and in the eyes of the prisoners, he would be considered cruel. For example, one of the prisoners passes the time by doing paintings, and the Warden (Pat M.) chanced to see one of the paintings which the convict had done of the Warden. Evidently, the Warden found the painting to be Unflattering, so he deprived the convict of that pastime. That pastime is the only thing which keeps that prisoner level-headed, so as a result he attempted suicide. Of course,the Warden does not torture anybody, so he's Not wicked. And to deprive that prisoner of his hobby of painting is Not that cruel, although it would seem so since the convict attempted suicide. I guess it depends on how you look at it. I would not consider the Warden as cruel. It's just that he goes by the book (and that attitude is not wrong). So maybe he could be described as simply harsh.
Lunk, what would interest you is that during the breaks, AMC mentioned McGoohan's tv-series THE PRISONER , pointing out the irony of Pat playing the role of a Warden for a prison!! I don't suppose you've seen this movie, have you, Lunk? If you have, what did you think about it?