Bird Man of Alcatraz

Striking performance by Lancaster in this factually based story of a double killer, sentenced to life in solitary, who gets hooked on birds after rescuing a fledgling sparrow, and gradually turns himself into a noted ornithologist. Despite some embarrassing sociological trimmings and an overwrought Ritter as mom fighting for her boy, a likeable film, particularly in its observation of the evolving relationship between the anti-social prisoner and the hostile warder (Brand, excellent) from whom he is forced to beg favours.