Popular Culture
In 1963, J. Campbell Bruce published his book Escape from Alcatraz about escapes from Alcatraz Island, including that of Morris and the Anglin brothers. The 1979 film Escape from Alcatraz starred Clint Eastwood, Fred Ward, and Jack Thibeau as Frank Morris, John Anglin, and Clarence Anglin respectively. Allen West was played by Larry Hankin; his character's name was changed to Charlie Butts.
Frank Morris and the 1962 escape were examined in a 2011 National Geographic Channel program entitled Vanished from Alcatraz. According to the newly uncovered official records discussed on the program, a raft was discovered on Angel Island with footprints leading away. There was also a report of a stolen car in the area that night, which could have been used by Morris and the other escapees. While confirming these facts, which were hidden from the officials for quite some time, the findings of further investigations remain inconclusive. As a result, the U.S. Marshal’s office is still investigating this case, which will remain open on all three escapees until their 100th birthday.
The TV show MythBusters showed that in similar conditions a raft made of raincoats could be paddled across to the Marin Headlands with three men aboard — the raft was piloted by the show's main cast members Jamie Hyneman, Adam Savage, and Will Abbott, a Mythbusters intern from the shop. Also mentioned at the end of the show, was a compelling report of a paddle found on a part of Angel Island where the current led directly (and only) from the Marin Headlands. It is “plausible” that the prisoners may have survived their escape attempt.
Read more about this topic: Frank Morris (prisoner)
Famous quotes containing the words popular culture, popular and/or culture:
“Popular culture entered my life as Shirley Temple, who was exactly my age and wrote a letter in the newspapers telling how her mother fixed spinach for her, with lots of butter.... I was impressed by Shirley Temple as a little girl my age who had power: she could write a piece for the newspapers and have it printed in her own handwriting.”
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“For the people in government, rather than the people who pester it, Washington is an early-rising, hard-working city. It is a popular delusion that the government wastes vast amounts of money through inefficiency and sloth. Enormous effort and elaborate planning are required to waste this much money.”
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“We now have a whole culture based on the assumption that people know nothing and so anything can be said to them.”
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