The One Door Six Armed Men Could Not Open

Name: The One Door Six Armed Men Could Not Open
Genre: Documentary

A mistaken boat ride gives way to Alcatraz's most violent escape attempt, stopped by one missing key.

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Transcript

John Giles boarded an Army launch believing it meant freedom. It was headed for Angel Island.
The escapee was John Giles, a federal prisoner on Alcatraz.
In 1945, John Giles stole an entire army uniform from laundry sent to Alcatraz.
In 1946, the prison uprising became known as the Battle of Alcatraz and the Alcatraz Blastout.
In 1946, six prisoners gained access to weapons and cellhouse keys.
In 1946, about 18 officers were injured during the escape attempt.
On Alcatraz, force could seize a prison. Control lived in the smallest details.
In 1962, three inmates vanished from their cells while one escape-plan participant remained behind.
Their 1962 plan used homemade drills to enlarge vent holes; false wall segments concealed the work.
Cardboard and human hair became dummy heads, placed on pillows to fake sleeping prisoners.
Behind the cells, a utility corridor had locked steel doors at both ends.
An alleged letter claimed all three men survived the escape night. The claim leaves the escape unresolved, and the ending remains unknown.
Handwriting analysis was inconclusive, and Morris and the Anglin brothers are officially listed as missing and presumed drowned.
Six prisoners gained access to weapons and cellhouse keys but did not have the key to the recreation-yard door.

The six prisoners had weapons and cellhouse keys, but they did not have the key to the locked recreation-yard door.

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