Alcatraz Island and its many uses

This is based on the true story of Robert Stroud. His nickname is deceiving as his love for birds was born during his time at Leavenworth Penitentiary, not Alcatraz, furthermore he was not allowed to keep pets at Alcatraz either.

According to those who knew him while he was in prison, the mild-mannered characterization of Stroud, as presented in Gaddis' book and the subsequent film, was largely fiction. Former inmate Glenn Williams went so far as to say that Stroud "was not a sweetheart; he was a vicious killer. I think Burt Lancaster owes us all an apology." He and another former convict, Jim Quillan, described the real Stroud as a "jerk", "a guy that liked chaos and turmoil and upheaval... Always at somebody else's expense." They regarded the film as a "comedy... an excellent comedy"

This films stars Clint Eastwood as Frank Morris, who was prisoner AZ1441 at Alcatraz. The film depicts his escape attempt which is possibly the only successful attempt recorded, although the warden insisted they drowned. *(No bodies were found and the warden would clearly want to protect his reputation)

Alcatraz was closed shortly after the true events on which the film was based. While it is not known whether the three escapees survived, sightings of them over the years provides circumstantial evidence that they may have.
(But we all know the validity of eyewitness testimonies!)

The character Charlie Butts is fictional. A fourth inmate, Allen West, did participate in the real escape but was left behind when he couldn't remove his ventilator grille on the night of the escape. He aided the FBI's official investigation of the escape
Papier-mâché dummies were made and used to act as decoys.

Many of the events depicted in the film, are historically inaccurate, but, Henri Young, the films main character, was an inmate of Alcatraz, who was a violent bankrobber, turned murderer. He attempted to escape but failed. He later killed an inmate with a spoon.

This is a true story about Frank Abagnale Jr., who, before his 19th birthday, successfully conned millions of dollars' worth of checks as a Pan Am pilot, doctor, and legal prosecutor. Alcatraz however, is just used for filming, and they never actually 'were' on the island in the film or the real story.

Alcatraz is used in the thrid Dirty Harry installment as a hiding place for a group of kidnappers/terrorists. Harry finds and kills them, saving the Mayor of San Francisco.

A renegade general and his group of U.S. Marines take over Alcatraz and threaten San Francisco Bay with biological weapons.
Sean Connery stars as 'Captain John Patrick Mason' of the SAS, the apparent only escapee of Alcatraz prison.

In this film, the thrid installment in the X-Men franchise, the pharmaceutical company Worthington Labs holds its operations here. They claim its the safest place they could find and so thats why they keep 'the cure' there.

It is also the location of the final battle between the X-Men and Magneto's army, Magneto having moved the Golden Gate Bridge, with his power, to allow his army access to the island.

Solara and Eli row to Alcatraz island, where they find a group intent on saving what they can of civilization.

Switching between eras, the series focuses on the Alcatraz prison, which was allegedly shut down in 1963 due to unsafe conditions for its prisoners and guards. The show's premise is that both the prisoners and the guards disappeared in 1963 and have abruptly reappeared in modern-day San Francisco, where they are being tracked down by a government agency.