I saw An American classic, Cool Hand Luke (1967),last Sun.It has one of my all time favorite actors,Paul Newman in one of his most memorable roles.It is as much a product of its time as any important movie ever made. CHL marks the beginning of the end of the cycle of American movies about rebels standing up to authority. In many ways it is the apotheosis of such movies, providing in one fell swoop both one of the most appealing of the rebels, while at the same time fundamentally questioning whether the "establishment" is at all vulnerable to rebellion. It is, at its core, a pessimistic film... pessimistic about the possibility of justice, of reform, and of individualism. In the end Luke dies for his sins, and to an outside observer, his reification as a folk legend among a small band of convicts seems like a hollow victory at best.
Compared to James Dean's whiny Jim Shark (Rebel Without a Cause (1955)), Marlon Brando's moronic Johnny (The Wild One (1954)), and Dustin's Hoffman's proto-slacker Benjamin Braddock (The Graduate (1967)), Paul Newman's Lucas (Luke) Jackson is a more fully-formed and appealing character. A war hero, Luke is sentenced to two years in prison for cutting the heads off parking meters. This minor act of rebellion lands him on a chain-gang, consigned to hard-labor on dusty southern roads. Why does Luke engage in petty destruction? Well, he's drunk at the time, but that isn't a sufficient explanation. We're told later in the movie that Luke has always been a non-conformist, and the movie seems to feel that is enough. Personally, I suspect that the Luke is working through issues related to his wartime service (and, indeed, at one point Luke apologizes to God for killing during the war). In any case, whatever the reason for his behavior, he ends up in prison.
At first, the other prisoners are suspicious of Luke. They see him as a glib con-man. The top-dog, Dragline (George Kennedy), warns him and the other new prisoners to learn the rules, thus echoing the instructions of the warden (Strother Martin) and barracks guard (Clifton James). The rules include obeying all instructions, asking for permission to do virtually anything, and, of course, not trying to escape. The warden, who goes by "Captain," succinctly warns, "Now, it's all up to you. Now I can be a good guy, or I can be one real mean son-of-a-bitch. It's all up to you."
Slowly, though, Luke's infectious spirit wins over the other inmates. He faces off against Dragline in a weekend boxing match which is the guards' way of allowing inmates to settle disputes among themselves. Dragline beats him to a pulp, but despite the entreaties of the other prisoners and ultimately Dragline himself, Luke refuses to stay down. Finally Dragline is too disgusted to continue. He walks away, leaving the ring to the battered and wobbly Luke. This is the turning point of the movie, and ostensibly demonstrates its main theme, that spirit can overcome material adversity.
Later on, Luke turns himself in a prison idol. First he coolly bluffs another prisoner out of a big hand at poker, thus earning his nickname. He later leads a revolt of sorts by spurring the men to pave a road faster than the guards could imagine (thus robbing the guards of the satisfaction of seeing the men suffer through a particularly brutal job). Finally in a famous sequence, to pass the time on a rainy day, Luke bets that he can eat 50 hardboiled eggs in an hour. As the seconds tick down, a sickly-looking Luke manages to choke down the last egg to win the bet. Again, Luke's indomitable spirit seems to triumph.
But this is just a prelude to the main dramatic portion of the movie. Luke's popularity with the prisoners makes him unpopular with the guards who see his effect on the men. The guards are an interesting mix. Some are clearly time servers, in many ways as much prisoners as the inmates themselves. Others are portrayed as more sadistic, deriving pleasure from seeing the men broken and suffering. Ultimately, however, Luke runs into problems with Boss Godfrey (Morgan Woodward). Godfrey doesn't speak at all throughout the movie, and he always appears either in shadows or with his eyes hidden by mirrored sunglasses. He is a crack shot, however, a skill he demonstrates on several occasions. Godfrey represents the silent, immutable, repressive (and deadly) power of the establishment.
One day Luke receives a telegram that his mother has died. Captain takes this as an opportunity to break Luke, locking him in the "box" until after the funeral to prevent Luke from trying to escape. He portrays this preventive punishment as routine, but clearly he is responding to Luke's temperament and personality as much as anything else. Of course, being a rebel, Luke's confinement encourages him to try to escape. Luke doesn't have much on the outside and he seems relatively content to serve out his time in prison until his punishment gets him in a rebellious mood.
Luke saws his way through the barracks floor, and manages to elude his pursuers for a day. As he's running, he is constantly smiling, enjoying the adventure of it all. Finally, though, he is recaptured. Upon his return, Captain has him fitted with leg irons telling Luke it is for his own good. Luke's reply, "I wish you'd stop bein' so good to me, Captain," enrages the warden who cracks him with his whip and then observes, "What we've got here is failure to communicate," thus triggering a couple of generations of bad Strother Martin impersonations.
Almost immediately, Luke escapes again. This time he manages to avoid the law for several days... long enough to send a picture of himself with a gorgeous woman on each arm to Dragline. Naturally, this seals his status as prison idol. Unfortunately, Luke is soon recaptured. He is brought back to the barracks, brutally beaten and bloody. The inmates crowd around him, hoping to hear about his adventures on the outside. But Luke is no longer able or willing to sustain the hopes and imaginations of 49 other men. Instead, he confesses that the picture was a fake, and that all he did on the outside was work a couple of menial jobs. The process of disillusioning the other inmates continues as Captain and the guards wage a brutal campaign to break Luke's spirit. He's worked nearly to death and beaten when he pauses. Finally, he collapses and begs for mercy. Satisfied, the guards return Luke to the barracks where the other prisoners now shun him. In many ways, this is the most scathing scene in the movie, as his former idolaters now turn their backs on him when he shows he is human after all.
Still, Luke is not completely beaten. Although acting the toady, his spirit soon revives. One day on road detail, he manages to escape in a truck having stolen the keys from all of the other trucks first to prevent pursuit. As he's escaping, Dragline hails him down and climbs aboard. The two drive away and hide the truck. Dragline is exuberant about their escape at first, but Luke is still a loner at heart. He suggest they split up. At first, Dragline is crestfallen and wonders what he'll do without Luke, but he manages to put a brave face on things and he heads in one direction while Luke approaches an empty church. Inside the church, Luke launches into a soliloquy where he asks God for guidance. But God's answer when it comes is an abandonment in the form of police cars surrounding the church and Dragline appearing to talk Luke into surrendering in exchange for preferential treatment. Dragline seems almost relieved to be recaptured, and it isn't difficult to understand why. Inside the camp, Dragline is a big man, while on the outside he is a poor, illiterate farm boy with no status or future. Luke seemingly realizes he is doomed whether or not he surrenders peacefully. He approaches a window and shouts out, "What we have here is a failure to communicate," mocking Captain's earlier comment. Boss Godfrey responds by shooting him through the throat. It isn't actually clear what Captain and the other guards think of this. They seem surprised by the shots, but Captain is not obviously angry.
The local police want to take Luke an nearby hospital, but Captain loads him into a car and insists on driving him over an hour back to the prison infirmary. It is a death sentence, of course, but as the car pulls away we see Luke grinning, either in victory because his spirit remains intact or in relief for his impending death. I think the scene can be read either way frankly. The final scene has Dragline telling the story of Luke to a group of inmates by the side of the road. In this sense, Luke's spirit lives even after his death.
