Cool Hand Luke - Definition and Overview

Cool Hand Luke is a 1967 film which tells the story of a prisoner in a Georgia prison camp who refuses to knuckle under to the system. Paul Newman stars as the title character. George Kennedy, J.D. Cannon, Lou Antonio, Robert Drivas, Strother Martin, Jo Van Fleet, Morgan Woodward, Wayne Rogers, Harry Dean Stanton, Dennis Hopper and Joe Don Baker are also featured.

The screenplay was adapted by Donn Pearce and Frank Pierson from the novel by Pearce. It was directed by Stuart Rosenberg.

It 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.

The musical score, by Lalo Schifrin, has been used for many years for the background music on several ABC television stations' news programs.

Famous quotation

Strother Martin to Paul Newman:

Now what we have here is a 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 anymore than you men.

This quote was also used in the opening to the Guns N' Roses song Civil War Another quote during a punishment scene is

Luke, what's all this dirt doing in my ditch?

External links

• Cool Hand Luke Exposé (http://www.mrrena.com/luke.shtml)
• Cool Hand Luke (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061512/) at the Internet Movie Database