Rabble-rouser from the 1960s isn't as fresh (or as hard-hitting) today as it must have been in its time. Hell-raising ne'er-do-well with nothing to lose winds up on a prison chain-gang, setting a new pace for the guards and other inmates. Fairly straightforward crowd-pleaser, though with odd flickers of melodrama, heightened by Stuart Rosenberg's overeager direction and Lalo Schifrin's mercurial score. In its latter stages, the overlong film appears to aspire to loftier meanings, but for the most part it's Chain-Gang 101--though well-played by Paul Newman, Oscar winner George Kennedy, and a solid, sometimes funny and colorful supporting cast. The central character's sunny rebellion turns serious by the midway point, and director Rosenberg overdoses on inmate clichés, but one is so apt to be drawn to Newman's characterization that the sour residue the movie leaves behind is not likely to catch up to viewers until later. *** from ****
Review of Cool Hand Luke
