When Alcatraz inmate Robert Stroud kills a guard he suddenly finds himself with a death sentence and pending execution. But Stroud's loyal mother intervenes and manages to alter Stroud's sentence to life imprisonment in solitary confinement. During his monotonous life at Alcatraz he encounters a baby sparrow whom he literally takes under his wing and nurses to health. With this sudden interest in caring for birds, Stroud gradually develops a new perspective on life, his little feathered friends serving as the therapeutic catalyst. But will the rest of the prison authorities take to Stroud's peculiar way of coping?

The cast includes: Burt Lancaster, Thelma Ritter, Betty Field, Neville Brand, Karl Malden, Edmond O'Brien, Telly Savalas, and Hugh Marlowe.

Directed by: John Frankenheimer.