- published: 28 Sep 2008
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Cool Hand Luke is a 1967 American prison drama film directed by Stuart Rosenberg and starring Paul Newman. The screenplay was adapted by Donn Pearce and Frank Pierson from Pearce's 1965 novel of the same name. The film features George Kennedy, Strother Martin, J.D. Cannon and Morgan Woodward.
Newman stars in the title role as Luke, a prisoner in a Florida prison camp who refuses to submit to the system. In 2005, the United States Library of Congress deemed Cool Hand Luke to be "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry.
Lucas Jackson (Paul Newman) is arrested for cutting the heads off a small town's parking meters one drunken night in the early 1960's. He is sentenced to two years in prison and sent to a Florida prison camp, run by the heartless Captain (Strother Martin). Luke is revealed to be a decorated Korean War veteran. The screen play and the scene's direction begins the introduction and exposition of the uniqueness of his character to this setting, by the reaction to the reading of the record of inmate Lucas Jackson. He was a decorated Korean War hero; who, was promoted up from the ranks to Sergeant; but who left the service just as he had entered, a “buck” Private. Luke further introduces his character by his “off-hand” explanation of the bravery, promotions and demotions as, “I guess I was just passing time, Captain.”