Top 10 Movie Convicts

Being framed for murder might be alright, as long as nobody believes you did it. Accused of murdering her husband during a yacht trip, Libby is woefully arrested after being caught with a bloody knife by the Coast Guard. This is nowhere near the end for our tenacious heroine, as she discovers her husband may have framed her in life insurance scam. After being paroled six years later, she ultimately joins up with Tommy Lee Jones and is all set to take down her husband. You know what they say: hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

Imprisoned without charges, Sean Connery proves you can be convicted of anything regardless of whether or not you’re a Bond actor. After being committed to Alcatraz for thirty years, the sixty-year-old convict was the only person to ever escape the San Francisco Island when he did so in 1963 via a series of underground tunnels. Impressive enough already, his classy yet witty attitude greatly benefits an already awesome character. Holding nothing back in his performance, we can imagine Connery went home with the prom queen after shooting this action flick.

Lights. Murder. Jazz! This musical has it all, and Roxie Hart is trying to take it. Based on the musical of the same name, which in turn was very loosely based on real events, “Chicago” is the story of the struggle for fame and riches, and the lengths to which one will go to build one’s name. In Roxie’s case, she takes a murder rap and turns it into overnight notoriety, stealing the spotlight from her fellow inmate on Murderess’ Row Velma Kelly. From tampering with evidence to faking a pregnancy, Roxie does whatever it takes to get outta the slammer – and keep her name in the headlines.

He’s a man not necessarily of constant sorrow, but one with a simple plan. Escaping from a chain gang at Parchman farm in 1937, McGill and his band of friends chase down the treasure that he claims he stole from an armored car. McGill’s adventurous nature takes him all across America, and even has him and his friends going so far as to masquerade as a band called the Soggy Bottom Boys. Creativity and charisma are the traits that make this convict a favorite of ours.

Nicolas Cage is certainly no stranger to playing convicted criminals. After his character’s arrest in “Raising Arizona” and subsequent baby stealing, Cage takes to the skies as a former army ranger convicted of manslaughter and excessive violence in this ’97 action flick. Sentenced to seven to ten years, Poe is paroled after 8 years and set to be released after riding in the famous Jailbird aircraft. Luckily, those acts of excessive violence come back to help him fend off would be attackers, including John Malkovich’s Cyrus the Virus – to be honest, though, we’re more surprised by the fact that he wasn’t taken down for ‘excessive hair’.

We certainly have an appetite for this famous psychiatrist, and he probably has an appetite for us too. As a committed high class serial killer, Hannibal Lecter takes a new spin on the style of slasher villains. Not satisfied by merely killing his victims, he chows down on them to the tune of majestic violins. Bravado and class accompanies Anthony Hopkins’ performance of a genius movie convict who’s managed to escape prison multiple times.

Big and bold is the first impression we get of this convicted sex offender, but that’s before you fully see and understand him. Cold Mountain penitentiary is filled to the brim with potentially memorable movie convicts, such as the violently psychotic Wild Bill. But it’s the shy and soft-spoken John Coffey that wins our hearts with his magical healing powers. His attitude is unlike anything you’d expect, as he even refuses to leave prison because of the hurt and pain that befalls the world. He’s one of the more tender convicts on our list, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Accused of murdering his wife, this quiet banker is committed to one of the most intimidating prisons depicted on the big screen: Shawshank State Penitentiary. Played by Tim Robbins, Andy Dufresne is never shown murdering his wife or denying it and as such audiences go through most of the film never truly knowing. Holding on to the hope of his freedom for years on end, Andy brings about friendship, community and companionship to his fellow man inside Shawshank, and proves himself a very clever man, changing the prison’s landscape forever.

Convicted of sexual assault, this Robert De Niro character is released with a simple idea on his mind: revenge. Based on the 1962 psychological thriller, which was in turn based on John D. MacDonald’s novel “The Executioners”, “Cape Fear” sees Cady out to take down his defence attorney, who is responsible for burying evidence during his trial and ultimately sending him to prison. So focused is Cady on his goal of justice that he has his outlook tattooed on his back. An insane megalomaniac who loves a good smoke, De Niro brings a true heartiness to the evils of his character, which makes Max Cady hard to forget.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:
- Derek Vinyard
“American History X” (1998)
- Sirius Black
“Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” (2004)
- Emil Rottmayer / Victor Mannheim
“Escape Plan” (2013)
- Velma Kelly
“Chicago” (2002)
- Matthew Poncelet
“Dead Man Walking” (1995)

In this action flick, Harrison Ford is the prominent vascular surgeon who stumbles upon his own wife’s murder and ends up the number one suspect. Convicted of first-degree murder and headed to death row, he’s caught up in a prison break attempt aboard a bus before his execution, which lands him on the run from the cops and in pursuit of his own wife’s killer. Based on the TV series of the same name, “The Fugitive” allows Ford to play an everyman type of character who is perfect for a situation such as this, so it’s not hard to see why he’s our top movie convict.

Do you agree with our list? Which convicts have escaped from our list? For more jail breaking top 10s published every day, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com