Cool Hand Luke
Cool Hand Luke is a 1967 American prison drama film directed by Stuart Rosenberg written by Donn Pearce and Frank Pierson, and starring Paul Newman in the title role. The cast also features George Kennedy, J. D. Cannon, Strother Martin and Jo Van Fleet. Based on Pearce's semi-autobiographical 1965 novel, the film is about a nonconformist convict in an early 1950s Florida prison camp who refuses to submit to the system.
Plot
In early 1950s Florida, decorated World War II veteran Lucas "Luke" Jackson drunkenly beheads several parking meters. He is sentenced to two years on a chain gang in a prison camp run by the Captain, a stern warden, and Walking Boss Godfrey, a quiet rifleman nicknamed "the man with no eyes" because he always wears mirrored sunglasses. There, even minor violations are punished by "a night in the box", a small wooden booth in the prison yard with limited air and space.
Awards
Cast
- Anthony Zerbe
- Charles Tyner
- Clifton James
- Dennis Hopper
- George Kennedy
- Harry Dean Stanton
- J. D. Cannon
- James Gammon
- Jo Van Fleet
- Joe Don Baker
- John McLiam
- Lou Antonio
- Luke Askew
- Marc Cavell
- Morgan Woodward
- Paul Newman
- Ralph Waite
- Rance Howard
- Richard Davalos
- Robert Donner
- Robert Drivas
- Strother Martin
- Warren Finnerty
- Wayne Rogers
More details
| author | Donn Pearce Frank Pierson |
|---|---|
| award | Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor |
| contentLocation | Florida |
| director | Stuart Rosenberg |
| editor | Sam O'Steen |
| genre | crime drama |
| keywords | attempt to escape bluff boxing match chain gang errand boy escape attempt even force fourth of july hard-boiled eggs inspire kill leg iron load locked in lose nothing park parking meter poker game prison camp prison yard sick mother steal walk warn world war ii |
| musicBy | Lalo Schifrin |
| nomination | Academy Award for Best Actor Academy Award for Best Original Score Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay |
| producer | Gordon Carroll |
| publisher | Warner Bros.-Seven Arts |
| recordedAt | California |
| theme | prison |