History Film / BirdmanOfAlcatraz

* PlayingGertrude: Thelma Ritter was only eleven years older than Creator/BurtLancaster, but played his character's mother.

* HistoricalVillainDowngrade: Fellow inmates who knew Stroud remarked he was not a sweetheart but a {{Jerkass}} and vicious, unrepentant killer who resented Lancaster's portrayal of him. (He also may have been a pedophile, based on some porn he wrote that involved children.)

* TheOldConvict: Stroud in the latter half of the movie.
* PetTheDog: Pet the little bird.
* PlayingGertrude: Thelma Ritter was only eleven years older than Creator/BurtLancaster.

* TheNarrator: Edmond O'Brien as Thomas E. Gaddis, who wrote the book the film was based on and advocated for Stroud's parole.

It is a fictionalized version of the life of Robert Stroud, a federal prison inmate and convicted murderer known as the "Birdman of Alcatraz" because of his life with birds. In spite of the title, much of the action is set at Leavenworth prison where Stroud was jailed with his birds. When moved to Alcatraz he was not allowed to keep any pets.

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''Birdman of Alcatraz'' is a 1962 film directed by Creator/JohnFrankenheimer and starring Creator/BurtLancaster.

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: Stroud's original crime was actually shooting dead a man who'd refused to pay his girlfriend (whom he acted as pimp for) and then beating her up, not in [[RapeAndRevenge revenge over her rape]]. While first in prison, he became notorious as one of the most violent inmates, getting six months more on three assaults. He killed a guard for denying Stroud a visit with his brother, not his mother (Mrs. Stroud hadn't seen him in eight years).

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: Stroud's original crime was actually shooting dead a man who'd refused to pay his girlfriend (whom he acted as pimp for) and then beating her up, not in [[RapeAndRevenge revenge over her rape]]. While first in prison, he became notorious as one of the most violent inmates, getting six months more on three assaults. He killed a guard for denying Stroud a visit with his brother, not his mother (Stroud hadn't seen him in eight years).

* HistoricalVillainDowngrade: Fellow inmates who knew Stroud remarked he was not a sweetheart but a {{Jerkass}} and vicious, unrepentant killer who resented Lancaster's portrayal of him. (He also may have been a [[{{Squick}} pedophile]], based on some porn he wrote that involved children.)

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''Birdman of Alcatraz'' is a 1962 film starring Creator/BurtLancaster and directed by Creator/JohnFrankenheimer. It is a fictionalized version of the life of Robert Stroud, a federal prison inmate and convicted murderer known as the "Birdman of Alcatraz" because of his life with birds. In spite of the title, much of the action is set at Leavenworth prison where Stroud was jailed with his birds. When moved to Alcatraz he was not allowed to keep any pets.

* MacGyvering: Stroud turns a glass bottle into a water dish, an apple box into a bird cage and is even able to MacGyver up new cures for diseases. He takes the trope to such an extent that he is able to go into the veterinary supply business and becomes the world's foremost expert on avian health.

* BittersweetEnding: Stroud is finally taken off "the Rock", and is determined to take what enjoyment he can from life, but remains incarcerated at the end of the film. (He died a year after its release, still under custody.)

* HistoricalVillainDowngrade: Contemporary inmates of Stroud remarked he was not a sweetheart but a {{Jerkass}} and vicious, unrepentant killer who resented Lancaster's portrayal of him. (He also may have been a [[{{Squick}} pedophile]], based on some porn he wrote that involved children.)

* PlayingAgainstType: Neville Brand, as humane prison guard Bull Ransom. Stroud's early hostility actually hurts Bull's feelings.

* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory

* TheOldConvict: Stroud in the latter half of the movie.

* BittersweetEnding: Stroud is finally taken off "the Rock", and is determined to take what enjoyment he can from life, but remains incarcerated at the end of the film.

* HistoricalVillainDowngrade: Contemporary inmates of Stroud remarked he was not a sweetheart but a {{Jerkass}} vicious killer and resented Burt Lancaster's portrayal of the character (he also may have been a [[{{Squick}} pedophile]], based on some porn he wrote that involved children).

''Birdman of Alcatraz'' is a 1962 film starring Creator/BurtLancaster and directed by Creator/JohnFrankenheimer. It is a fictionalized version of the life of Robert Stroud, a federal prison inmate and convicted murderer known as the "Birdman of Alcatraz" because of his life with birds. In spite of the title, much of the action is set at Leavenworth prison where Stroud was jailed with his birds. When moved to Alcatraz he was not allowed to keep any pets

* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: Stroud's BerserkButton. He kills a guard when he learns his mother was denied a visitation.
* ForegoneConclusion: All of his intellectual pursuits, business ventures and publicity at Leavenworth won't lead to release and whenever release it brought up we know it won't happen because we know, of course, that instead of being released he ends up in Alcatraz.

* HistoricalVillainDowngrade: Contemporary inmates of Stroud remarked he was not a sweetheart but a {{Jerkass}} vicious killer and resented Burt Lancaster's portrayal of the character.

* InstitutionalApparel: Discussed. The warden of Alcatraz mentions the switch from black and white stripes to jumpsuits as one of the changes he was able to help push through.

* MacGyvering: Turns a glass bottle into a water dish, an apple box into a bird cage and is even able to MacGyver up new cures for diseases. Stroud takes the trope to such an extent that he is able to go into the veterinary supply business and becomes the world's foremost knowledge on avian health.
* MyBelovedSmother: Stroud's mother is intensely protective of her son, so much so that she personally appeals to the First Lady to save him from execution, despite the fact that [[FaceDeathWithDignity Stroud himself doesn't really care.]] It works. Then when she jealously begs him to abandon his wife he accuses her of wanting to keep him alive in prison and dependent on her for the outside world. She takes this as her abandoning him and after publicly denouncing him he burns his photo of her and says she is dead to him.

'''''Birdman of Alcatraz''''' is a 1962 film starring BurtLancaster and directed by JohnFrankenheimer. It is a fictionalized version of the life of Robert Stroud, a federal prison inmate and convicted murderer known as the "Birdman of Alcatraz" because of his life with birds. In spite of the title, much of the action is set at Leavenworth prison where Stroud was jailed with his birds. When moved to Alcatraz he was not allowed to keep any pets

'''''Birdman of Alcatraz''''' is a 1962 film starring Burt Lancaster and directed by John Frankenheimer. It is a fictionalized version of the life of Robert Stroud, a federal prison inmate and convicted murderer known as the "Birdman of Alcatraz" because of his life with birds. In spite of the title, much of the action is set at Leavenworth prison where Stroud was jailed with his birds. When moved to Alcatraz he was not allowed to keep any pets