Cool Hand Luke (1967)

Cool Hand Luke
Directed by Stuart Rosenberg
Written by Don Pearce and Frank Pierson from Pearce’s novel
1967/USA
Jalem Productions
Repeat viewing/Amazon Instant
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

[box] Captain: You run one time, you got yourself a set of chains. You run twice you got yourself two sets. You ain’t gonna need no third set, ’cause you gonna get your mind right.[/box]

The Christ symbolism and anti-establishment message haven’t aged all that well.  The performances, however, will be entertaining us for years to come.

We meet Luke (Paul Newman), a good ol’ Southern boy, as he is decapitating  parking meters.  We learn during the course of the movie that Luke is by nature reckless and the crazier the stunt he pulls the better he likes it.  He is sent up for two years to a work camp where he will serve his time on a chain gang maintaining roads.  The harsh bosses and guards faze Luke not in the least.  He becomes the idol of his fellow prisoners.  He even earns the trust and friendship of the big man in the cell-block, Dragline (George Kennedy), after a rocky start.

Luke’s problems start with the first of his escape attempts.  After this, the tone darkens as the authorities attempt to break Luke’s unbreakable spirit.  With Jo Van Fleet in a small but memorable role as Luke’s mother and Strother Martin unforgettable as “The Captain”.

Well, I guess they lied to us when they said that I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932) put a nail in the coffin of the chain gang system.  It apparently was alive and well in Florida, where the film was set, in 1967.  There is some really heavy-handed stuff here, including a shot of Newman laying on a table that looks like a crucifixion.  But mostly it is kept fairly light and the largely male cast shines, with Newman incredible in the lead.  Still a must-see despite my minor reservations.

George Kennedy won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.  The film was nominated in the categories of Best Actor; Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium; and Best Music, Original Music Score.