The F.B.I. (TV Series) Anatomy of a Prison Break (1966) User Reviews

Good story, plot and cast

[fbm72751 · 6/10 · 13 October 2020]

Fritz Moline (Joseph Campanella) & several other convicts have been plotting for five years to escape from a federal prison and Lewis Erskine goes inside the walls to infiltrate the gang and stop it. I must admit their method of smuggling guns into the prison is crude and something I would have never thought of. Fritzie has a lot of help on the outside to put the plan into action. However like so many other television shows, the episode was plagued with the old cliches of too much screen time showing the personal lives of two characters, Frank Porter (James Broderick) & his wife (Carol Rossen) These bickering scenes have little to do with the story itself and for the matter quite boring (& thus get fast forwarded in my dvd player) Other than that it's very watchable & suits me.

Talk about a STUPID plot idea!

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 4 September 2019]

When this story begins, there is a scuffle in a prison and one of the inmates is murdered. As he lay dying, he tells the guards that a prison break is coming soon. Now here is where it gets stupid...Inspector Erskine decides to pose as a prisoner and find out about the upcoming escape. Think about it....Erskine has been on the force perhaps 20 years and been responsible for countless arrests and yet he thinks he can hang out in a prison without anyone noticing who he really is! Additionally, it's impossible to imagine prisoners who are working on an escape would take a brand new convict into their confidence! I've seen this exact plot a few other times....and each time, it is stupid. Now if they got a brand new officer just out of the academy to pose as a prisoner, that might work a bit better....but this isn't the way this sort of plot usually occurs.

Now I must admit that seeing Erskine acting tough is pretty funny to watch. But the plot is so flawed and silly, it ruins the episode....and makes "Anatomy of a Prison Break" one of the dumber installments of "The F.B.I.".