Marc 31 movie: Birdman of Alcatraz. Burt Lancaster stars as Robert Stroud, a real-life prison inmate who raised birds in his cell at Leavenworth, wrote books about birds, and discovered a cure for a bird disease. The movie was based on a popular book of the same title, and was part of a national campign to get Stroud paroled. A campaign which failed: Stroud was transferred out of maximum security but not released. He died in a prison hospital, having spent almost 55 years incarcerated.
I read that the book and movie, though perhaps not factually inaccurate, did show Stroud in a generous light. Lancaster portrays a gentle, philosophical man, not the remorseless killer Stroud allegedly was. He was first imprisoned for murdering his girlfriend (wife maybe?) and then killed a prison guard. Excellent movie though.
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