“Cool Hand Luke” is one of those films that whenever I said I hadn’t seen it, people reacted in surprise and mock horror. I don’t know how I managed to have this cinematic blind spot for so many years, but finally, last night, AMC played the film (multiple times in a row) to celebrate its 40-year anniversary, and I saw it.
I really enjoyed it, and not because it’s a classic and I’m supposed to, but because it’s simple yet epic, and includes a character that, in some ways, everyone wants to be more like. Luke (played by Paul Newman) has an unbreakable spirit that’s inspiring, and his inability to conform to the rules of a Florida prison is the ultimate story of rebellion. In my opinion, “Cool Hand Luke” is way better then other famous rebel films like “Rebel Without A Cause” and “The Outsiders.”
I loved the language in this movie, like when Luke says he’s in jail for “cuttin’ off the heads of parking meters.” Also, it was interesting to realize that a line from the film is a part of mainstream conversation. “What we’ve got here is (a) failure to communicate” is something I’ve heard many times in my life and never knew where it came from.
Also, I didn’t know that Dennis Hopper was in the cast. Hopper, who played a small role as a crazy inmate names Babalugats, has a great first scene where he prays next to his bunk by doing the “Here is the church, here is the steeple” hand game that little kids get into.
The Catholic imagery was a little over-the-top for me, particularly in the closing pullback shot of a Christ-like Luke with outspread arms, lying on a table, after eating 50 boiled eggs.
Also, I realized Paul Newman is really old. As old as the dirt he dug, replaced and re-dug in the famous ditch-digging scene. Granted, he was a spry, handsome guy during the filming of “Cool Hand Luke,” but even 40 years ago, he was already showing signs of aging with awesome crinkles around his eyes. (A quick Google search told me he’s 82.)
My favorite scenes in the movie were the afore-mentioned scene when Luke eats the 50 boiled eggs, when his dying mother came to visit him (it's intense when she admits she always felt more of a connection to Luke than his brother) and when Luke has an emotional conversation with God, knowing he’s at the end of the line. “I'm an evil man. Killing people in the war. I got drunk and chewed up municipal property” is a great line.
On that note, I think I’ll rent “Deliverance” this week. Never saw that one either. (Gasp.)
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.
