Released in 1967 and directed by Stuart Rosenberg based on Donn Pearce' novel, "Cool Hand Luke" is a prison drama starring Paul Newman in the eponymous role as a loner who disdains rules in the early 50s. He is sentenced to two years on a prison farm in Florida run by a stern warden, the Captain (Strother Martin), and guarded by a stoic rifleman, Walking Boss Godfrey (Morgan Woodward). Carr (Clifton James) the floorwalker, tells the rules to the new prisoners with violations resulting in spending the night in "the box," a small square room with limited air and little room to move. George Kennedy and Dennis Hopper are on hand as fellow prisoners, amongst many others.
I was wondering about the totally stoo-pid reason Luke gets 2 years in prison at the beginning of the film. He likely got a ticket for a "violated" parking meter while in town. So he has a few beers, gets his mitts on a big pipe cutter, and thought, "I'm gonna show these jerks."
"Cool Hand Luke" has a big reputation but, for me, it doesn't quite live up to it. The highlight is the iconic car wash sequence with Joy Harmon, as well as the ending when Luke talks with God about why He made him such a misfit. The rest is a decent prison drama about an eccentric individualist who inspires those around him stuck in the same pen. It's a character study of a likable, impressive, but unruly person who doesn't seem to grasp that getting sloshed and destroying public property has negative repercussions. Gee, maybe you shouldn't try to solve your problems by getting drunk and vandalizing. The movie is realistic and well-made, but generally tedious, although I'm sure that's the point – being confined on a prison farm WOULD be tedious. The Christ typology is interesting, however; and I can understand how some grade it higher.
The movie runs 126 minutes and was shot Tavares & Jacksonville, Florida; and San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta, California, with studio work done in Burbank.
GRADE: C+ (5.5/10)
I was wondering about the totally stoo-pid reason Luke gets 2 years in prison at the beginning of the film. He likely got a ticket for a "violated" parking meter while in town. So he has a few beers, gets his mitts on a big pipe cutter, and thought, "I'm gonna show these jerks."
"Cool Hand Luke" has a big reputation but, for me, it doesn't quite live up to it. The highlight is the iconic car wash sequence with Joy Harmon, as well as the ending when Luke talks with God about why He made him such a misfit. The rest is a decent prison drama about an eccentric individualist who inspires those around him stuck in the same pen. It's a character study of a likable, impressive, but unruly person who doesn't seem to grasp that getting sloshed and destroying public property has negative repercussions. Gee, maybe you shouldn't try to solve your problems by getting drunk and vandalizing. The movie is realistic and well-made, but generally tedious, although I'm sure that's the point – being confined on a prison farm WOULD be tedious. The Christ typology is interesting, however; and I can understand how some grade it higher.
The movie runs 126 minutes and was shot Tavares & Jacksonville, Florida; and San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta, California, with studio work done in Burbank.
GRADE: C+ (5.5/10)