Great Escapes with Morgan Freeman: Episode Guide
Morgan Freeman guides us through eight historical escapes from some of the world's toughest prisons
Great Escapes with Morgan Freeman sees the legendary, Oscar-winning actor delivering an in-depth look into eight cases of renowned breakouts from some of history’s toughest prisons.
Stories explored include the death-defying escape from Alcatraz; how two neighbouring cell mates escaped the fortress of Dannemora prison as well as characters such as Narco criminal El Chapo and the ‘Pittsburgh Six’ who tunnelled their way to freedom.
Episode 1: Alcatraz
Four men conspire to break out of one of the most notorious prisons in American history. Three make it to the water's edge... but what happened to them when they left the island remains a mystery to this day.
Episode 2: North Country Breakout
Stuck in prison on life sentences, two men used engineering smarts and psychological manipulation of several prison employees to escape Dannemora Prison.
Episode 3: El Chapo
El Chapo became one of the most notorious and murderous drug cartel kingpins in modern history. His audacious escapes from maximum-security prisons in Mexico became the stuff of legends. Upon his final recapture he was transported to a US supermax prison in Colorado where he is remanded to this day.
Episode 4: Conquering The Wall
Six men, led by the mastermind, Nuno Pontes, escaped Pittsburgh State Penitentiary by tunnelling to freedom under the massive wall of the prison. They made it as far as Texas before being caught and returned to prison.
Episode 5: Escaping Hitler
Allied prisoners used all kinds of forgery and engineering tactics to tunnel out of a German Prisoner of War camp. Almost all were caught, fifty were executed and three made their way to freedom.
Episode 6: Belfast Breakout
Almost forty prisoners locked up in HM Maze prison for actions undertaken as members of the IRA, escaped in a food truck. Many were caught right away, some years later, and some were never seen again.
Episode 7: Fleeing Elmira
Two desperate murderers made an audacious rooftop escape from the forty-foot-high Elmira State Prison.
Episode 8: Assassin's Flight
James Earl Ray, confessed killer of Martin Luther King Jnr, was a notorious escape artist. His most audacious escape involved manufacturing a ladder made of plumbing pipe and going over the wall of the Brushy Mountain State Prison.
