Did they make it?
Did Frank Morris and the Anglin brothers (Clarence and John) successfully escape from Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary in June 1962? Or did they drown in the San Francisco Bay, as many suspect? Was Morris the mastermind behind the daring escape as depicted in the famous 1979 movie “Escape from Alcatraz” starring Clint Eastwood. These are the questions addressed in “Alcatraz, The Last Escape.”
The book is written by Mike Lynch and Ken Widner. Widner is the nephew of the Anglin brothers. A fourth inmate, Allen West was also involved in the planning of the bold 1962 escape. In the end, he did not participate in the actual escape, but provided the story that they had planned to escape to Angel Island. However, according to the authors, this was simply not the case or the plan.
The theory here is that inmates didn’t float to safety across the bay, but were rescued by a transport boat courtesy of gangster Mickey Cohen. The three were then flown to Mexico, before moving to South America, starting new lives. There is a much debated photograph from the 1970’s allegedly showing Clarence and John Anglin living in Brazil. Does this photograph prove the Anglin brothers survived their daring 1962 escape from Alcatraz? What happened to Frank Morris?
The authors share the Anglin family story growing up as poor farmers in Ruskin, Florida. A third brother, Alfred, also turned to a life of crime, but wasn’t transferred to Alcatraz. Alfred would die in prison under mysterious circumstances in 1964. Lynch and Widner reveal letters written by the boys before their escape, and describes what their lives might have been like after 1962. The book examines a death bed confession, conflicting reports, a possible cover up, and a closer look at the 1975 photograph.
By: Ken Widner, Mike Lynch
Narrated by: Christopher Grove
Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins
Release date: 05-07-24
