Cool Hand Luke

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For other uses, see Cool Hand Luke (disambiguation).

Cool Hand Luke
Image:Cool Hand Luke Poster.gif Cool Hand Luke movie poster
Directed by	Stuart Rosenberg
Produced by	Gordon Carroll
Written by	Donn Pearce Frank Pierson
Starring	Paul Newman George Kennedy Strother Martin Morgan Woodward
Cinematography	Conrad Hall
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	November 1 1967 (USA)
Running time	126 min.
Language	English
IMDb profile

Cool Hand Luke is a 1967 American film starring Paul Newman and directed by Stuart Rosenberg. The screenplay was adapted by Donn Pearce and Frank Pierson from the novel by Pearce.

1 Synopsis
2 Cast
3 Soundtrack
4 Quotations
5 Reception
- 5.1 Awards
- 5.2 Influences
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Synopsis

Newman stars in the title role as Luke, a prisoner in a Florida prison camp^[1] who refuses to submit to the system. His inability to conform drives the plot of the movie, in the same vein as characters such as Winston Smith from Nineteen Eighty-Four, Randle McMurphy from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and Holman in The Sand Pebbles.

Luke is sent to the prison camp for cutting the heads off parking meters one drunken night, and when asked what kind of thing that is for a man to do, his explanation is "Small town, not much to do in the evenin'. Mostly just settlin' up old scores." His unquenchable spirit makes the other prisoners idolize (and idealize) him, and leads to his Christ-like martyrdom at the hands of the authorities.^[2] There is occasional Christian imagery and reference throughout, notably in the closing pullback shot of roads forming a distinct cross and of a bloated Luke lying with outspread arms on the table, abandoned by friends after eating fifty eggs.

[edit] Cast

Paul Newman - Luke
George Kennedy - Dragline
J.D. Cannon - Society Red
Lou Antonio - Koko
Robert Drivas - Loudmouth Steve
Strother Martin - Captain
Jo Van Fleet - Arletta
Clifton James - Carr
Morgan Woodward - Boss Godfrey
Luke Askew - Boss Paul
Marc Cavell - Rabbitt
Richard Davalos - Blind Dick
Robert Donner - Boss Shorty
Warren Finnerty - Tattoo
Dennis Hopper - Babalugats
John McLiam - Boss Keen
Wayne Rogers - Gambler
Harry Dean Stanton - Tramp(as Dean Stanton)
Charles Tyner - Boss Higgins
Ralph Waite - Alibi
Anthony Zerbe - Dog Boy
Joe Don Baker - Dynamite
Joy Harmon - The Girl

[edit] Soundtrack

The original music from Cool Hand Luke was composed by Lalo Schifrin. An edited version of the musical cue from the "Tar Sequence" has been used for many years as the news music package on several television stations' news programs, mostly those owned and operated by ABC. This cue was first used in 1968 on WABC-TV in New York for their Eyewitness News newscast. Nine Network's National Nine News in Australia currently still uses an edited version of the music. Although the music originated from this film, to this day many people associate the tune with television news as opposed to the film itself.

[edit] Quotations

What we've got here, is ... failure to communicate. Some men you just can't reach. So you get what we had here last week. Which is the way he wants it. Well, he gets it. I don't like it any more than you men.^listen

The quotation is frequently read, "What we've got here is a failure to communicate." Both are correct. This line is heard twice in the film, first in its entirety with no "a" by Warden Martin, and later on the first line with an "a" is said by Luke. The quote also made it onto the American Film Institute's list of most memorable movie lines. This quote was also used in the Guns N' Roses songs "Civil War" and "Madagascar".

Another quote during a punishment scene is

Boss Paul: That ditch is Boss Kean's ditch. And I told him that dirt in it's your dirt. What's your dirt doin' in his ditch?

Luke: I don't know, Boss.

Boss Paul: You better get in there and get it out, boy.

In the scene there was no ditch, and Luke was forced to dig one.

Cool Hand Luke obtained his nickname after winning a five-card stud pot on a stone-cold bluff:

Luke: Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.^listen

"I'm shaking it, boss!" Luke has left the chain-gang to urinate behind a bush. He has to prove that he hasn't run away by "shaking the bush."

[edit] Reception

The movie's anti-establishment message fit well with the mood of 1960s. ^[3] It became a critical and financial success.

[edit] Awards

Cool Hand Luke won an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (George Kennedy), and was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Paul Newman), Best Music, Original Music Score and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium.

In 2005, the United States Library of Congress deemed this film "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry.

[edit] Influences

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On the MTV series Jackass, Johnny Knoxville holds an egg-eating contest in a homage to Cool Hand Luke's infamous scene. His contest, however, ends with all the contestants vomiting.
In the pilot episode of Cheers, the movie is named the "Sweatiest Movie Ever" by general consensus of the denizens of the bar.
In the movie Serendipity, chief character Jonathan (John Cusack) names Cool Hand Luke his favorite movie.
In the movie The Sandlot characters mimic some of the dialogue: "She don't know what she's doing." "Yeah she does, she knows exactly what she's doing," referring to a pretty girl showing off her sex appeal. This is very similar to the scene in Cool Hand Luke where prisoners on the chain gang watch a woman wash a car in a very provocative manner.
In the Venture Bros. episode "Fallen Arches", the scene where Dr. Venture washes his Walking Eye robot to entice to Guild hopefuls is a direct reference to the scene in which a busty blonde washes her car to tantalize the members of the chain gang. The final shot of this sequence parallels the final shot of the car wash scene, where the girl's large breasts are rubbing against the window of the car.
Rocky Votolato recorded a cover of "Plastic Jesus" on his album "A Brief History".
The Flaming Lips do a cover of "Plastic Jesus" on their 1993 album Transmissions from the Satellite Heart.
Jello Biafra and Mojo Nixon do a cover of "Plastic Jesus" on their 1994 album Prairie Home Invasion.
The Reverend Horton Heat has a song/album entitled "Spend a Night in the Box" referencing punishments for various infractions in the prison camp.
In Gilmore Girls, Lorelai watches the movie with her then-boyfriend Luke, and refers to her boyfriend as Cool Hand Luke.
In Reality Bites, Michael (Ben Stiller) compliments Troy (Ethan Hawke) for a line he says in Lelaina's movie ("No one can eat fifty eggs") as if it were by him, and Troy explains back that it was a mere quotation from Cool Hand Luke.
In the movie 25th Hour starring Edward Norton, the movie poster is on the wall in back of his couch.
The Simpsons
- In the episode "The PTA Disbands" the "that's a night in the box" line is spoofed by Jasper.
- In "Black Widower", Sideshow Bob is seen picking up garbage on the side of the road while a Boss-like figure watches (in a parody of the shot of the reflective sunglasses) and the movie's music is heard.
A live version of the theme song "Down here on the Ground" is performed on George Benson's Weekend in L.A. (1977).
Guns N' Roses uses the line "What we've got here is failure to communicate," in their songs "Civil War" from the album Use Your Illusion II, and "Madagascar", which is expected to appear on their upcoming album, Chinese Democracy.
In O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Sheriff Cooley wears very similar reflective glasses as Boss Godfrey and similarly rarely speaks.
The music video for Beck's "Where It's At" features a homage to Cool Hand Luke. The video begins with a sweaty prison crew on an empty country road, being watched over by a Boss-like figure wearing reflective sunglasses.
Mad Magazine's parody of the film is entitled Blue Eyed Kook ("Kook" is incarcerated for smashing gumball machines, not beheading parking meters).
Jack Johnson has been known to cover "Plastic Jesus", including performances at Bonnaroo.
In the Malcolm in the Middle episode "Traffic Jam", (Season 2, episode 1), Francis is challenged to eat 100 "Quacks", which are a parody of the marshmallow candy known as Peeps.
In Lost, Sawyer refers to Jack as "Cool Hand".
The Family Guy episode "Holy Crap" parodies the chain gang from the movie.
Australian band You Am I have a song called "Cool Hand Luke" on their 1993 Coprolalia EP.
In The BBC comedy Give My Head Peace the character Red Hand Luke is a play on the words Cool Hand Luke.
"La prison de Robertsonville", the sixth volume of the Belgian comic book series Les Tuniques Blues borrows some plot lines from the film.
The 1993 Rugrats episode "Cool Hand Angelica" is a parody of the film.
In the Farscape series, John Crichton says, "hole big enough boss?" referring to the scene Luke digs a ditch for the bosses.
In the 2001 CD by Coheed and Cambria : The Second Stage Turbine Blade, on the track Junesong Provision (Acoustic) a quote from the movie is used as the intro.