Burt Lancaster stars in a dynamic and moving performance in the true story of convict Robert Stroud, a man who was incarcerated for almost his entire life and managed to become one of the world's leading authorities on birds. How much of the film is Hollywood and how much was true is a subject to debate, but it is still powerful drama. The cast includes Neville Brand, Karl Malden, Whit Bissel, Betty Field, and Thelma Ritter as Stroud's long devoted mother.

Stroud's story is told by Edmund O'Brien, who plays author Tom Gaddis, who has written a book about Stroud. Stroud was originally sent to prison for killing a man in Alaska for beating up a prostitute. He is a hard man, but new warden Karl Malden still has hope for the prisoner, who has been transferred to Leavenworth, Kansas. Unfortunately, Stroud kills again in prison and only through his mother's hard work, he is granted life in prison, in solitary confinement. Stroud finds a baby bird one day in the exercise yard and takes him to his cell where he feeds and raises the sparrow. He passes the time with his companion by building toys for the bird out of what ever he can scrounge off the guard. He eventually inherits other birds from prisoners and soon his cage is filled with the creatures. He can identify with canaries, who also spend their life behind bars. When they suddenly start to die, Stroud learns all he can from studying their behavior and reading every book he can get. He soon becomes a leading authority on birds and becomes a published author, much to the dislike of prison officials. Lancaster got an Oscar nomination for his performance as Stroud, and was one of the defining roles of his career. The film is a true classic and one of the best prison films ever made. Ironically, the film's title is misleading-Stroud never had any birds on Alcatraz but did all of his work in Leavenworth.

Picture-The black and white film has a few specks of dust but is in very good shape for its age. The contrasting black and white tones are still rich and sharp. Frankenheimer has framed the film to show the confinement Stroud lived in, and the close ups of the actors are emotion packed in this high drama. The black and white images allowed the animal trainers to use different birds to be substituted for the original single sparrow in the story, as the film hid the individual markings of the birds used in the production; 27 birds were used in all. Sound-A very nice mono soundtrack, with full dynamic range, and music by Elmer Bernstein, make this another reason this is a classic DVD to own. The soundtrack includes some very subtle and soft sounds, as in the hatching of a canary. Shot by time lapse photography, you hear every crack of the egg along with Bernstein's delicate score. Hiss and pops are cleaned up well by the Dolby process.

http://mgm.com/dvd This is one of Lancaster's finest performances and every fan will welcome the addition of this film to their DVD library. MGM Home Video has found a good print to transfer with only a few flaws. Sound is rich and full for mono. The cast is perfect for the prison drama, from Telly Savalas to Neville Brand. While still lacking any extras (there is a theatrical trailer), DVD classic film lovers will still want to pick this one up.