The Falcon, Act II

Not many people's lives are considered interesting enough to be the subject of a feature film. But even more exclusive are the ranks of those who warrant a sequel by their early fifties.

Those who have seen the 1985 Timothy Hutton/Sean Penn film The Falcon and the Snowman are most likely aware that the film was based on the experiences of Christopher Boyce and Andrew Daulton Lee. Boyce, when 21 years old, had access to many highly classified U.S. government secrets, including troubling information on union infiltration and meddling in electoral politics in Australia. Boyce, already disillusioned with his government, decided that it was time for payback. Employing his friend Andrew Daulton Lee as an intermediary, he began selling secrets (mostly outdated and useless) to the Russians via their embassy in Mexico City. The duo was caught when Lee was wrongfully accused of killing a police officer in Mexico, while in possession of top-secret microfilm. Both men were sentenced to lengthy prison terms in 1977. The movie ends there.

But Boyce managed to break out of Lompoc Federal Prison in California. After watching Escape from Alcatraz with fellow inmates, he mimicked Clint Eastwood's use of a papier-mache dummy to aid in his escape. Boyce then eluded authorities for 19 months, robbing banks to keep money in his pocket. After a couple of close calls, he was turned in by accomplices and returned to prison, where he remained until his release on parole in 2003, following extended efforts by his longtime friend and now wife, Cait.

The Boyces would like to see another movie made about Boyce's life after his 1997 arrest and the efforts to secure his parole. Much of the story can be found in an interview Boyce gave to an Australian version of 60 Minutes as well as message-board posts from Cait Boyce on movie site imdb.com.

For my part, I hope that Boyce's second story is eventually told.