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Bennett, Breen, and the Birdman of Alcatraz: A case study of collaborative censorship between the production code administration and the federal bureau of prisons

Eldridge, David

Authors



Abstract

In bringing to the screen the life of murderer Robert Stroud in Birdman of Alcatraz (United Artists, 1962), filmmakers encountered official obstruction from the director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, James V. Bennett. Campaigning for the release of Stroud, Burt Lancaster retaliated by exposing Bennett’s efforts to censor the film as evidence of a personal vendetta against the prisoner. However, new archival research demonstrates how the Bureau had collaborated with Hollywood’s own censorship body, the Production Code Administration, for many years - and that Birdman was in fact the culmination of a decades-long struggle to control all films about Alcatraz.

Citation

Eldridge, D. (2016). Bennett, Breen, and the Birdman of Alcatraz: A case study of collaborative censorship between the production code administration and the federal bureau of prisons. Film History, 28(2), 1-31. https://doi.org/10.2979/filmhistory.28.2.02

Journal Article Type Review
Acceptance Date May 7, 2016
Publication Date Jul 1, 2016
Deposit Date Jun 17, 2016
Publicly Available Date Jul 1, 2016
Journal Film History
Print ISSN 0892-2160
Publisher Indiana University Press
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 28
Issue 2
Pages 1-31
DOI https://doi.org/10.2979/filmhistory.28.2.02
Keywords Birdman of Alcatraz
Public URL https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/439826
Additional Information This is the preprint of an article accepted for publication in Film History, 2016.
Contract Date Jun 17, 2016

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Copyright Statement
© 2016 Trustees of Indiana University





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