Cool Hand Luke (1967)
Cool Hand luke is the moving character study of a non-conformist, anti-hero
loner who bullheadedly resists authority and the Establishment. One of the film's
posters carried a tagline related to the character's rebelliousness: "The
man...and the motion picture that simply do not conform." With this vivid
film, director Stuart Rosenberg made one of the key films of the 1960s, a decade
in which protest against established powers was a key theme. One line of the
film's dialogue from Strother Martin is often quoted: "What we have here
is...failure to communicate."
This superb, crowd-pleasing film was based upon a screenplay co-authored by
ex-convict Donn Pearce (and Frank R. Pierson), from Pearce's own novel of the
same name. The main character was inspired by real-life convicted safecracker
Donald Graham Garrison. The chain-gang prison film (e.g., I Am a Fugitive From
a Chain Gang (1932)) has a long history in American films, and this one also
provided entertaining performances, especially with Paul Newman in one of his
best roles as Luke, after playing similar anti-heroes in The Hustler (1961)
and Hud (1963). Other stars who played convicts in the chain gang in smaller
roles included Dennis Hopper, Harry Dean Stanton, Ralph Waite, Wayne Rogers,
Joe Don Baker, and Anthony Zerbe.
Rich religious symbolism, references and imagery are deeply embedded within the narrative, with some critics arguing that Luke represents a modern-day, messianic Christ figure who ministers to a group of disciples and refuses to give up under oppression. The film's theme - of an outsider-protagonist who transforms the occupants of a Southern chain gang institution and tragically sacrifices himself at the end - resembles the hero in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975).
The film was nominated for four Academy Awards: Best Actor (Paul Newman, who lost to Rod Steiger in In the Heat of the Night (1967)), Best Supporting Actor (George Kennedy in a break-out role), Best Adapted Screenplay (Donn Pearce and Frank R. Pierson), and Best Original Music Score (Lalo Schifrin) and won only for Best Supporting Actor.
Video Clip
Classic Quotes ( just click on link to listen to quote)
Paul Newman as Lucas (Luke) Jackson ... "Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand"
??? ... "What we got here is a failure to communicate." (gunshot follows)