Escape From Alcatraz

January 18, 1960

San Francisco

"Escape From Alcatraz"

- We got to get back.

- See ya, Matt.

Come through here.

Strip down.

Open up.

Welcome to Alcatraz.

Inside B and C! Count them!

- 25 on inside C, first tier.

- 20 inside B, first tier.

- 23 on inside C, second tier.

- 17 inside B, second tier.

Break out! Inside B and C.

Move!

Better button your collar, boy.

No forks.

Hey, no forks.

Do you see any?

Fresh fish, you want your pasta?

Hey, you want your pasta?

Do you see any?

I see pasta in my sleep.

I'm Litmus.

Like litmus paper.

When it's cold, my face gets blue.

When it's hot, my face gets red.

Inside C, move out.

Warden wants to see you.

- Name?

- Morris.

That's funny.

This file says Frank Lee Morris.

If you disobey the rules of society,

they send you to prison.

If you disobey the rules of prison,

they send you to us.

Alcatraz is not like any other

prison in the United States.

Here, every inmate is confined alone

to an individual cell.

Unlike my predecessors,

wardens Johnson and Blackwell,

I don't have good conduct programs.

I do not have inmate councils.

Inmates have no say in what they do.

They do as they're told.

You are not permitted

to have newspapers

or magazines carrying news.

Knowledge of the outside world

is what we tell you.

From this day on,

your world will be everything

that happens in this building.

You will shave once a day.

You will shower twice a week.

You will cut your hair once a month.

Now, your privileges.

You can talk. You can work.

Other institutions hand out work,

but here it's a privilege

that you earn.

I promise you it's

a privilege that you'll want.

Visitors -

you're allowed two a month.

They cannot be former inmates

of this or any other federal prison.

All names that you submit will

be carefully checked by the FBI.

What names do you have in mind?

I can't think of any offhand.

Family members?

None. No family.

Alcatraz is

a maximum security prison

with very few privileges.

We don't make good citizens,

but we make good prisoners.

Burglary, armed robbery,

grand larceny...

You've escaped from

quite a few prisons, haven't you?

That's why you're here.

Alcatraz was built to keep

all the rotten eggs in one basket.

I was specially chosen

to ensure that the stink

from the basket does not escape.

Since I've been warden

some have tried to escape.

Most have been recaptured.

Those who haven't have been killed

or drowned in the bay.

No one has ever escaped

from Alcatraz.

And no one ever will.

- You two go everywhere together?

- Sure. Even to bed together.

When l wash, he washes.

That way we sleep

nice-nice together. Capisce?

I'm Wolf.

Where did they transfer you from?

Atlanta.

Nice town, Atlanta.

I never saw it.

I'm looking for a new punk.

Good luck.

You don't understand.

I just found her.

Why don't you show her

what you can do?

Morris, l need somebody

in the library.

- Take him over there, will you?

- Yes, captain. Move.

What you want, boy?

The bull sent me down here to work.

Can you read, boy?

As long as it's in

the English language, boy.

You treat them all like Wolf?

Wolf wanted to get friendly.

I didn't.

You'll take that cart to the cells.

Don't they let cons down here?

You see any chairs?

How come?

Because this is The Rock, man.

They don't want you

doing anything here, but time...

Hard friggin' time.

Rock affects dudes differently.

It either brings out your strength,

or it breaks you.

What did it do for you?

What happens when you get out?

I won't.

I was in this bar in Alabama

when two dudes

started hassling me.

That was their first mistake.

They pulled knives.

That was their second mistake.

They didn't know how to use them.

That was the last

mistake they ever made.

I got two 99-year

sentences back-to-back.

Seems like you could have

pleaded self-defense.

The dudes were white, man,

just like you.

When l arrived they put me in one

of those dark cells in D-block.

After a while, l went stir crazy.

Sliced my Achilles'

tendon to get out.

You'll see why when you see D-block.

Tell me something,

you through killing white guys?

- Why?

- Well, l don't know.

I just figured

I wouldn't turn my back on you.

Hey.

What's your name, man?

Frank. What's yours?

English.

See you later.

- Your name?

- Morris.

Okay.

- Magazine or book?

- Where's English?

What did they do,

give a n*gger a n*gger of his own?

Magazine?

- Hi! I'm Bugsy.

- Magazine or book?

Thanks. Hey, you're new.

Yeah.

Hey, wait, wait a minute.

I haven't seen a new guy

in six months.

It's nice to talk.

How are the Brooklyn Dodgers doing?

- Moved to LA two years ago.

- No kidding?

Warden don't allow books

in these cells.

How come?

Because there's no light in them.

Better deliver them books, Morris,

where they can be read.

Right.

What's the flower?

That's something inside me

they can't lock up

with their bars and walls.

I'm Doc.

You ever paint?

- No.

- Why not?

You scared of dying?

- l don't think so.

- You better be.

You hurt Wolf.

Wolf's going to hurt you.

Where you going, cracker?

Pete.

Something special about those steps?

The higher you sit,

the more status you got.

So we play king of the mountain,

except here we don't

play for fun, man.

And you're king?

Yeah.

Now, l figure there's two reasons

why you didn't sit down on my step.

Either you're too scared,

or you just hate n*ggers.

Now, which is it, boy?

You too scared?

I just hate n*ggers.

So no one's ever busted out.

No one's ever made it.

Everyone has looked for a way,

but there ain't any.

See those hacks?

Most joints have one hack

for every seven cons.

There's one hack

for every three cons here.

You start shitting at night

instead of in the morning,

they want to know why.

Let's say you're

going to try it anyway.

First, you've got

to get out of the cell.

Each bar has six hard smaller bars

set in a steel tube

with extra steel poured in.

And there ain't no way

to tunnel out, either.

Sh*t.

This island is solid rock.

See that water?

It's over a mile swim to land.

The currents make it seem like 10.

And the water's so cold

it will numb your arms in minutes.

Even if you are a good swimmer,

you won't have time to make it.

There are 12 counts every day.

Sometimes l think that's all

this sh*t hole is,

one long count.

We count the hours,

the bulls count us,

and the king bulls count the counts.

Inside! Everybody in!

I'm assigning you a permanent job.

The carpentry shop.

It's a paying job.

- How much?

- 15 cents an hour.

Well, l always knew

crime would pay.

It's a job.

See you later.

I sleep lousy,

but l sniff the glue.

It passes the nights.

Aren't you afraid

they'll shake down your cell?

Then l go to the hole.

It's worth the chance.

I guess anything you want bad enough

is worth the chance.

Including busting out?

Hey, maybe there's a way out.

It's on top of your head.

Yeah. The ventilator shafts

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