COOL HAND LUKE (1967)

Directed by: Stuart Rosenberg

Screenplay by: Donn Pearce, Frank Pierson

Cast: Paul Newman, George Kennedy, J.D. Cannon, Strother Martin, Jo Van Fleet

It's all true: fantastic one-liners, that excruciating but exultant egg-eating scene, the menacing brute of a chain-gang boss. This bizarre tale--an allegory about this rakish rebel's resistance to the System and, by extension, his relationship with God--is a vintage Newman vehicle. George Kennedy is a hoot too. For all its charms, Rosenberg's depiction of chain gang life, at the end of the day, seems kinda fun, doesn't it? All the poker playing, the fun 'n' games, the jokes, and silly antics amongst the prisoners almost romanticize the milieu. I realize Cool Hand Luke isn't a social-realist parable (à la I'm a Fugitive from a Chain Gang), and I learned to roll with it. Legend Conrad Hall provides rightfully vivid, awesome cinematography, full of frosty bunkhouse light bulbs and the lonely pallor of the Southern twilight. Overall, gorgeous looking and terrifically acted.

Runtime: 126 min.

Rating: PG

Jay Antani © 2006 Perihelion Journal