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Lannistumaton Luke

Original title: Cool Hand Luke
  • 19671967
  • K-16K-16
  • 2h 7m
IMDb RATING
8.1/10
175K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,690
282
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Paul Newman in Lannistumaton Luke (1967)
Trailer for this classic starring Paul Newman
Play trailer2:48
3 Videos
99+ Photos
  • Crime
  • Drama

A laid back Southern man is sentenced to two years in a rural prison, but refuses to conform.A laid back Southern man is sentenced to two years in a rural prison, but refuses to conform.A laid back Southern man is sentenced to two years in a rural prison, but refuses to conform.

IMDb RATING
8.1/10
175K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,690
282
  • Director
    • Stuart Rosenberg
  • Writers
    • Donn Pearce(screenplay by)
    • Frank Pierson(screenplay by)
    • Hal Dresner(uncredited)
  • Stars
    • Paul Newman
    • George Kennedy
    • Strother Martin
Top credits
  • Director
    • Stuart Rosenberg
  • Writers
    • Donn Pearce(screenplay by)
    • Frank Pierson(screenplay by)
    • Hal Dresner(uncredited)
  • Stars
    • Paul Newman
    • George Kennedy
    • Strother Martin
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 381User reviews
    • 131Critic reviews
    • 92Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Top rated movie #233
    • Won 1 Oscar
      • 4 wins & 10 nominations total

    Videos3

    Cool Hand Luke
    Trailer 2:48
    Cool Hand Luke
    Cool Hand Luke
    Trailer 2:48
    Cool Hand Luke
    "Patriot" Star Michael Dorman Crushes on 'The Princess Bride'
    Video 2:30
    "Patriot" Star Michael Dorman Crushes on 'The Princess Bride'

    Photos148

    Paul Newman and Morgan Woodward in Lannistumaton Luke (1967)
    Paul Newman in Lannistumaton Luke (1967)
    Joy Harmon in Lannistumaton Luke (1967)
    Paul Newman, Dennis Hopper, George Kennedy, Harry Dean Stanton, J.D. Cannon, Richard Davalos, Robert Drivas, Warren Finnerty, and Chuck Hicks in Lannistumaton Luke (1967)
    Paul Newman in Lannistumaton Luke (1967)
    Paul Newman, Harry Dean Stanton, and Warren Finnerty in Lannistumaton Luke (1967)
    Paul Newman in Lannistumaton Luke (1967)
    Paul Newman, Lou Antonio, and James Gammon in Lannistumaton Luke (1967)
    Paul Newman, J.D. Cannon, Richard Davalos, Wayne Rogers, and Ralph Waite in Lannistumaton Luke (1967)
    Paul Newman in Lannistumaton Luke (1967)
    Paul Newman, Joe Don Baker, Lou Antonio, Marc Cavell, Chuck Hicks, and Wayne Rogers in Lannistumaton Luke (1967)
    Paul Newman, Marc Cavell, Robert Drivas, and Ralph Waite in Lannistumaton Luke (1967)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Paul Newman
    Paul Newman
    • Lukeas Luke
    George Kennedy
    George Kennedy
    • Draglineas Dragline
    Strother Martin
    Strother Martin
    • Captainas Captain
    J.D. Cannon
    J.D. Cannon
    • Society Redas Society Red
    Lou Antonio
    Lou Antonio
    • Kokoas Koko
    Robert Drivas
    Robert Drivas
    • Loudmouth Steveas Loudmouth Steve
    Jo Van Fleet
    Jo Van Fleet
    • Arlettaas Arletta
    Clifton James
    Clifton James
    • Carras Carr
    Morgan Woodward
    Morgan Woodward
    • Boss Godfreyas Boss Godfrey
    Luke Askew
    Luke Askew
    • Boss Paulas Boss Paul
    Marc Cavell
    Marc Cavell
    • Rabbittas Rabbitt
    Richard Davalos
    Richard Davalos
    • Blind Dickas Blind Dick
    Robert Donner
    Robert Donner
    • Boss Shortyas Boss Shorty
    Warren Finnerty
    Warren Finnerty
    • Tattooas Tattoo
    Dennis Hopper
    Dennis Hopper
    • Babalugatsas Babalugats
    John McLiam
    John McLiam
    • Boss Keenas Boss Keen
    Wayne Rogers
    Wayne Rogers
    • Gambleras Gambler
    Harry Dean Stanton
    Harry Dean Stanton
    • Trampas Tramp
    • (as Dean Stanton)
    • Director
      • Stuart Rosenberg
    • Writers
      • Donn Pearce(screenplay by) (based on the novel by)
      • Frank Pierson(screenplay by)
      • Hal Dresner(uncredited)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit
    Luke Jackson is a cool, gutsy prisoner in a Southern chain gang, who, while refusing to buckle under to authority, keeps escaping and being recaptured. The prisoners admire Luke because, as Dragline explains it, "You're an original, that's what you are!" Nevertheless, the camp staff actively works to crush Luke until he finally breaks. —alfiehitchie
    • prison
    • fugitive
    • escape
    • bet
    • hard boiled egg
    • 157 more
    • Plot summary
    • Plot synopsis
    • Taglines
      • "What we've got here is failure to communicate."
    • Genres
      • Crime
      • Drama
    • Certificate
      • K-16
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      In the "road-tarring" sequence, the actors actually blacktopped a mile-long stretch of highway for the county.
    • Goofs
      At one point in the movie a "white on red" stop sign is shown. In the film's late-1940s time period, stop signs were "black on yellow."
    • Quotes

      [Luke wins a poker hand on a bluff]

      Dragline: Nothin'! A handful of nothin'. You stupid mullet head, he beat you with nothin', just like today when he kept comin' back at me, with nothin'.

      Luke: Yeah, well... sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.

    • Connections
      Featured in 53rd Annual Academy Awards (1981)
    • Soundtracks
      Plastic Jesus
      Written by Ed Rush and George Cromarty

      Performed by Paul Newman

    User reviews381

    Review
    Top review
    10/10
    Not just a prison film, but an excellent film about not being able to conform in a world that requires it
    Having had the advantage of reading Donn Pearce's novel about a year before seeing Cool Hand Luke, it was with great anticipation that I awaited it's transfer to the big screen. I was not disappointed.

    Cool Hand Luke could easily be classified by the misguided as just a prison yarn, but it is so much more than that. It is the story of a man who refuses to be nailed down or conform to the rules and regulations of a society that he has never craved to fit into. When Lucas Jackson is arrested for cutting heads off parking meters, his explanation to the prison captain(Strother Martin) is "Small Town, not much to do in the evening", which would have us believe he was just being drunk and stupid. Later, to one of the other inmates he mutters the same answer, but importantly adds "just settlin some old scores". It is a brief but important point in helping to define the character of Luke beyond just being drunk and damaging public property. As a service man, we also discover that Luke won a bronze star, achieved the rank of sergeant but came out as a private. Again, early evidence that Luke is unable to conform to any body's rules but his own. Yet, we are given clear evidence that Luke knows what is right in principal and what is wrong. At one point in the film when they are putting Luke in the box under less than reasonable circumstances, he tells the boss, "calling it your job don't make it right, Boss." In a visit from his mother Arletta(Jo Van Fleet), Luke says plenty about his own character by telling her, "A man's got to go his own way" or as he also puts it, "I tried to live always free and above board like you but I can't seem to find no elbow room".

    As Luke enters the prison that will supposedly be his home for the next two years, we meet the other inmates. Some of them wear chains, some of them do not. It is a point early in the film that director Stuart Rosenberg, emphasizes. We understand quickly that sooner or later you conform. You either walk the line the way the bosses tell you to, or they will find the means to get you to walk the line. As the Captain reiterates, "for your own good, you'll learn the rules" A point driven home often.

    What we discover about their crimes is minuscule. One is jailed for manslaughter after hitting a pedestrian with his car, another is a paper hanger, another new inmate is charged with breaking, entering and assault. The nature of their crimes is unimportant to us. It enables to view these prisoners as men, and while we don't feel any genuine sympathy for them, feeling disgusted by their crimes would have been a distraction from the true purpose of Pearce's story, and Luke as the focal point.

    Because of his individuality, it doesn't take Luke long before he unexpectedly becomes a hero to the other inmates. It is not a role he chooses, or even wants. It unexpectedly imposes the burden on him of having to live up to the expectations of others. He never truly understands the nature of this hero worship, and would be just as happy if he didn't have to deal with it. He is still trying to find his way in the world, and if there is any real purpose for his existence.

    Another principal character is Dragline(George Kennedy). It is he who finally establishes the fact that Cool Hand Luke is a man who can not be beaten. Dragline's admiration for Luke seems to extend from the fact that he(Dragline)has learned the rules on how to get by, but yet regrets having lost some of his own individuality in the process. He is the rest of the inmates in microcosm. I can't remember a role that George Kennedy has ever been better in, and he deservedly won the best supporting actor award.

    Cool Hand Luke is not without it's humorous moments especially in the early going. It is these moments that help move the film from the early stages to the darker more despairing later stages. Perhaps, for that reason alone we are even more effected by Luke's dilemma.

    In translating his novel to the screen Donn Pearce along with Frank Pierson, has managed to bring the heart and soul of his nove to the big screen. Lalo Shifrin's memorable score emphasizes often the repeated drudgery of working on the chain gang. Director Stuart Rosenberg made more good films after Cool Hand Luke, but in my opinion never achieved the same degree of perfection that he does here.

    As Cool Hand Luke, Paul Newman give one of the most memorable performances in a long distinguished career. It is not an easy task portraying a man who travels the road from being a sincere individualist, to a man who may be beaten and defeated, yet in the end is still unwilling to accept that fate. Although Rod Steiger won the best actor award that year, one could argue that Newman's role was more difficult, as it required substantially different subtle ranges in character. As for the failure of Cool Hand Luke to achieve a Best Picture nomination, I'm at a loss to explain that malfunction, especially when the likes of Doctor Doolittle and Guess Who's Coming To Dinner, far lesser efforts than this were nominated.

    Cool Hand Luke is a true classic in every sense of the word. It is a film that will long be remembered.

    My grade: A+
    helpful•256
    84
    • clydestuff
    • Feb 10, 2004

    FAQ6

    • When luke escapes for the second time, he seemed to have blended into the community by having photos made up posing with two ladies, what were the actual reasons behind his recapture.
    • Why did the prisoners take Luke's food (rice)?
    • Is 'Cool Hand Luke' based on a book?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 23, 1968 (Finland)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Cool Hand Luke
    • Filming locations
      • Jacksonville, Florida, USA
    • Production company
      • Jalem Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $3,200,000 (estimated)
    • Gross worldwide
      • $67
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 7 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

    Related news

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    Mar 17Deadline Film + TV
    Paul Newman Learned A Special Skill For This Cool Hand Luke Scene
    Paul Newman Learned A Special Skill For This Cool Hand Luke Scene
    Feb 18Slash Film

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