Oh, We’re Communicating

Cool Hand Luke (1967) – After a booze inspired bout of vandalism lands him in jail for two years, Luke Jackson finds himself on a road gang where conformity is the expectation. His personality won’t let him surrender to the expectations, leading to additional punishment, escape attempts and the idolization of his fellow prisoners. Luke will pay a price for becoming a legend.

Directed by Stuart Rosenberg

Starring Paul Newman, George Kennedy, Strother Martin

Why I Liked It – A classic anti-hero story, and one of the best movies of its day.

If the greatness of a movie can be judged by its quotability, and the number of iconic scenes it contains, “Cool Hand Luke” is a unanimous first ballot winner. From the egg eating scene, to the car washing scene (which remains astonishingly sexy) to the classic quote “What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate”, it’s a brilliant movie. The title character has no interest in being the hero for all the prisoners on the road gang. His problem is that he’s smarter than pretty much everyone at the prison camp, inmates and guards alike. They had a simple, orderly society before he got there. Order was maintained as much by Redline (Kennedy), the leader of the inmates, as it was by the road bosses and the Captain (Martin). Luke sees the pointlessness of the system and can’t stop kicking it at its weak spots. While he gets adulation from the inmates, the staff meets his increasing resistance with increasing violence.

This is a great example of a larger story made up of small, brilliant moments. It’s seeing the world of the road gang in the reflection in the mirrored sunglasses of the “Man With No Eyes”, the lead road boss. You do not want his attention because it comes with a bullet. Morgan Woodward is brilliant in a role that has almost no dialogue, yet radiates an impressive evilness. Martin’s Captain simply can not understand why Luke won’t learn his lesson. So many wonderful performances. So many brilliant scenes. At the end, neither the audience nor the title character get a Hollywood ending. Instead, we will have to suffice with a perfect ending, filled with both finality and illusion.

Paul Newman’s performance is the tour de force here. All the action centers on his character, every emotion is tied into that character. He is funny, brave, tortured, scared, broken in mind and body, but just like in the fight that happens early in the movie, he refuses to stay down. There’s a heartbreaking instant when he’s not allowed to move to get closer to his dying mother, and another when he sings her favorite song after being told she’d died. Newman is an actor that is always worth watching, and he’s brilliant here.

His supporting cast is filled with actors that are well known to audiences of movies and television over the next decade. Their work together produces a movie I couldn’t stop watching.

One of the greatest American actors of the second half of the 20^th century, in one of his best roles, and at the height of his powers. Make this a must see on your list.

You can stream “Cool Hand Luke” on Amazon Prime, Tubi, Hulu, YouTube, Google Play, Apple TV, and Sling TV.

Rating – ***** Highest Recommendation