History Main / PrisonEscapeArtist

* As dramatized in ''EscapeFromAlcatraz'', Frank Morris is a RealLife example, rendering ''every single prison'' he was held in as cardboard, including, you guessed it, Alcatraz. As despite what prison officials said (that he and his two co-escapees drowned) they NeverFoundTheBody, we can only assume that he's gone straight and is living a normal life under an assumed name... assuming he's still alive, that is (he did escape in June 1962, after all).

* Ikey Solomon, the (partial) model for [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheFagin Fagin]] in ''OliverTwist.''

* Both ''Pour Elle'', a French thriller about a man attempting to break his wife out of jail and its English-language remake, ''Film/TheNextThreeDays'', feature one of these characters. In the latter, he's played by LiamNeeson.

* Roger Bushell, the man who inspired ''TheGreatEscape''.

* Jack Sheppard was a thief in 18th century London, who was arrested and imprisoned four times, but always escaped. This made him a hero among the poorer classes. (For his final escape, he was ''shackled, chained to the floor under constant guard, behind six iron-barred doors'' -- and he still escaped!) Eventually, he was caught for a fifth time and hanged.

* Jack Sheppard was a thief in 18th century London, who was arrested and imprisoned four times, but always escaped. This made him a hero among the poorer classes. (For his final escape, he was ''chained to the floor under constant guard'' -- and still escaped!) Eventually, he was caught for a fifth time and hanged.

* Jack Sheppard was a thief in 18th century London, who was arrested and imprisoned four times, but always escaped. This made him a hero among the poorer classes. Eventually, he was caught for a fifth time and hanged.

If the criminal is a Prison Escape Artist, than absolutely not. To them, [[CardboardPrison prisons might as well be made of cardboard.]] They can wiggle their way out of anything. Yes, [[BeyondTheImpossible even prisons that are supposedly impossible to break out of]] such as TheAlcatraz. If you build a TailorMadePrison just for them, it will fail. Several methods can be used to achieve their escapes, including [[TunnelKing digging their way out]], [[AirventPassageway making use of air vents]], and [[TrojanPrisoner having some friends come in disguised as guards]], among others.

** SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker is this among [[AxCrazy other]] [[TheSociopath things]]. Not only does he often break out of [[CardboardPrison Arkham]], he initiated a jailbreak from [[TheAlcatraz The Slab]] during ''The Last Laugh'' storyline. In the case of The Slab, no one had been able to escape from it before. Even when he was put in a room with no entrances or exits, he still escaped...somehow.

* The Dalton Brothers from ''LuckyLuke'' are this in most of the stories their appear in. They are best known for being TunnelKing but they have tried quite a few other methods as well: cut through the jars at the window with a file, use a broken file to make four extra doors (one for each brother) in the cell, make a hole in the wall with either dynamite or with their mattocks, set the prison on fire, hiding in the wagon with food (comic) of dirty clothes (cartoon)... In fact this have become so much of a RunningGag, that the creators in some of the later stories will simply just skip the escape part, since the readers already know easy it is for them.

* The ''Space Precinct'' episode "Two Against The Rock" featured a psychic alien Prison Escape Artist, who was rather inconspicuously named [[MeaningfulName Houdini]].
* River Song in DoctorWho. In the 2011 series so far, she has been shown exiting and entering Stormcage prison at will, even stopping to pick up a phone and holler over the klaxons, "Oh turn it off, I'm breaking in, not out!"
* Parodied with Major Errol Phipps in the ''RippingYarns'' episode "Escape from Stalag Luft 112B".

* Neal Caffery, when he isn't [[BoxedCrook working with the FBI]] seems to consider prison terms optional.

If the criminal is an PrisonEscapeArtist, than absolutely not. To them, [[CardboardPrison prisons might as well be made of cardboard.]] They can wiggle their way out of anything. Yes, [[BeyondTheImpossible even prisons that are supposedly impossible to break out of]] such as TheAlcatraz. If you build a TailorMadePrison just for them, it will fail. Several methods can be used to achieve their escapes, including [[TunnelKing digging their way out]], [[AirventPassageway making use of air vents]], and [[TrojanPrisoner having some friends come in disguised as guards]], among others.

Needless to say, they often play a role in a GreatEscape, and may lend a WronglyAccused protagonist a hand if they [[PunchClockVillain aren't evil]] and happen to like said protagonist. If they never get caught again, they might organize escape attempts for other prisoners. Compare and contrast PlayAlongPrisoner, as a PrisonEscapeArtist doesn't necessarily have to be able to escape at any time. Some may just seek out opportunities.

Note: This trope is ''not'' simply someone who escapes from prison. This is someone who has escaped and/or has helped others escape more than once, either prior to or during the story.

* The ''Space Precinct'' episode "Two Against The Rock" featured a psychic alien PrisonEscapeArtist, who was rather inconspicuously named [[MeaningfulName Houdini]].

* ''TheGreatEscape'', the FilmOfTheBook based on the RealLife event. The inhabitants of the Nazi prison camp are the best escape artists among captured Allied soldiers, and Roger Bartlett (AKA "Big X") is the best organizer of escape attempts among them.
* Both ''Pour Elle'', a French thriller about a man attempting to break his wife out of jail and its English-language remake, ''TheNextThreeDays'', feature one of these characters. In the latter, he's played by LiamNeeson.
* Frank Morris in ''EscapeFromAlcatraz''.
* ''ILoveYouPhillipMorris'' is based around Steven Jay Russell, a real life conman who has escaped prison multiple times in increasingly creative ways.

* In ''Film/{{Cube}}'', Rennes is a french escape artist known for getting out of jails.

* From the ''Comicbook/{{Batman}}'' comics:

** TheJoker is this among [[AxCrazy other]] [[TheSociopath things]]. Not only does he often break out of [[CardboardPrison Arkham]], he initiated a jailbreak from [[TheAlcatraz The Slab]] during ''The Last Laugh'' storyline. In the case of The Slab, no one had been able to escape from it before. Even when he was put in a room with no entrances or exits, he still escaped...somehow.

* You can be one in TheElderScrolls games, namely Oblivion and Skyrim. In the latter game, there's also one [[TheAlcatraz inescapable prison]]; however, a RebelLeader imprisoned there is revealed to have a handy escape tunnel, just in case, which makes him another example.

* An episode of ''MurdochMysteries'' had Harry Houdini, expert at escaping anything, escape from jail no less than three times after being a murder suspect.

Well, not if the criminal is a PrisonEscapeArtist. To them, [[CardboardPrison prisons might as well be made of cardboard.]] They can wiggle their way out of anything. Yes, [[BeyondTheImpossible even]] TheAlcatraz. And if you try to build a {{Oubliette}} just for them, it will fail. Several methods can be used to achieve their escapes, including [[TunnelKing digging their way out]], [[AirventPassageway making use of air vents]], and [[TrojanPrisoner having some friends come in disguised as guards]], among others.

* Anne from ''VideoGame/{{Dubloon}}'' mentions that she has experience breaking out of jail before offering to help Russel break out in the beginning.

* The Spook in ''WizardOfId'' is always escaping, but he's always caught again soon afterwards, usually because his plan backfired on him.

Well, not if the criminal is a PrisonEscapeArtist. To them, [[CardboardPrison prisons might as well be made of cardboard.]] They can wiggle their way out of anything. Yes, [[BeyondTheImpossible even]] TheAlcatraz. And if you try to build a {{Oubliette}} just for them, it will fail. Several methods can be used to achieve their escapes, including [[TunnelKing digging their way out]], [[AirVentEscape making use of air vents]], and [[TrojanPrisoner having some friends come in disguised as guards]], among others.

* Gunther Milch from ''{{Monster}}'' escaped twelve times prior to when he was introduced.
* ''LupinIII'' escapes from prison multiple times. The second episode of the red jacket series has him get himself, Jigen, and Goemon locked up to create an alibi for a theft, which meant they would have to break out ''and'' in before anyone noticed they were missing.

* From the ''{{Batman}}'' comics:

* Michael Scofield from ''PrisonBreak''.

* ''{{Traveller}}'' Classic adventure 8 ''Prison Planet''. One of the prisoners, Axel Herrmon, has escaped from the Imperial prison facility on Newcomb and another prison as well.

* Anne from ''{{Dubloon}}'' mentions that she has experience breaking out of jail before offering to help Russel break out in the beginning.

* The Spook from the ''{{Batman}}'' comics. His original shtick was offering criminals incarceration insurance: promising that he could break them out of any prison if they were caught.