COOL HAND LUKE
US, 1967, 122 minutes, Colour.
Paul Newman, George Kennedy, Anthony Zerbe, Jo Van Fleet.
Directed by Stuart Rosenberg.
Cool Hand Luke is a film that can be well recommended. It was one of Paul Newman's best performances and gained him an Oscar nomination in 1967. It was the period in which he played Hombre. Direction was by Stuart Rosenberg who had directed Newman in quite a number of films including Pocket Money, Hall of Mirrors, The Drowning Pool. Rosenberg also directed The Voyage of the Dammed. George Kennedy won an Oscar for best supporting actor in his role. Cool Hand Luke is a prison story and echoes the prison films of the 30's. However, it has an atmosphere of the 60's in which the drop-out kind of hero is a very good man only not given a chance by family, society. Luke is always smiling. He could be a winner; he attracts people's loyalty in prison, but he is ultimately a failure. Finally he confronts God and tries to understand why he is a failure. A strange blend of humour, serious drama, melodramatics, Cool Hand Luke raises many questions about human nature, prison and
freedom.
1. The quality of this film? Audience enjoyment and interest? The title's focus on Luke and his name and its significance?
2. The film had a good reception from the critics. Why? It had a delayed successful response from audiences, Why?
3. The value of the film's use of Panavision, colour, locations, atmosphere?
4. The contribution of the basic musical themes. the use of songs throughout the film?
5. The importance of the pre-credits sequence with Luke and the parking meters? The focusing on Luke's smile and its significance? The film's ending with the collage of Luke's smiles? The choice of the final photo? The importance of Luke's insolent looking smile at the beginning. and audience response to the varieties of Luke's smile at the end? What had happened to the audience in terms of response to Luke?
6. How did the film rely on the various conventions of the prison film? The atmosphere of the prison, the personnel and their attitudes to the workers, kindliness and cruelty, authoritarianism, the prisoners' feelings, being cooped up, the desire to escape, the presentation of work, etc.? How well did the film fit into the traditions of American prison films? Did it transcend the tradition? How?
7. The film's focus on Luke as a man? As an American man of the 60's? An American man with a war background, a background of heroism? How well did the film fill out Luke's background? His strengths and his weaknesses, as a nice kind of person, yet a weak kind of person? Luke as a victim of his society and lack of purpose in life? Lack of vision? Yet his ability to see through people and their pretensions? His capacity for standing up and surviving e.g. in the fight with Dragline? Luke as representing the man who longs to be free and yet is not? Luke as a religious man who senses that God ought to be close, but does not always feel him close?,
8. What kind of a character was Luke in himself? His qualities as a person. his capacity for relating to others and leading them? His character illustrated in what he did, e.g., his work, leading the men in competition. laughing at the warders, being a victim?
9. The importance of the other characters in the prison: Society and his influence in the group, The Singer and the times that he sang? The various other men and their interaction?
10. The contrast with the officials and their personalities: the warden and his speech about authority and his attitude when men escaped? The various bosses. their cruelty and their limitations? Their lording it over the men? The sadistic boss and the film's emphasis on looking at things through his dark glasses, reflected? Carl and his friendliness with the men? How real were these people? As mixtures of good and evil in human nature?
11. The importance of the presentation of life in the dormitory: the Saturdays and the sport. the dancing? The presentation of the work.. the feel for the work in the heat and the dust? The competition on the roads. etc.? Rest and meals? The men as seen in all these situations, the effect of these situations on them?
12. The film's focus on Dragline? The insights into his character, the 'big man' who sounded tough, yet was subject to the bosses? His pushing his weight around, his fighting Luke, his change of attitude into admiration? Dragline revealed as a weak kind of man? Patronizing Luke, who was his boy? Arranging the competition with the eggs? Leading Carl on with the book? Despising Luke and then running with him? A man of the moment who did not understand what was going on? The final bargaining with the warders? The cause of Luke's death? How rounded a character and how valuable a portrayal?
13. The highlights of life in the camp, especially the egg competition? The way the film created atmosphere and communicated this? its significance of Luke's crucified position after the competition?
14. The film's emphasis on the escapes? And Luke's returns? His skill in escaping, going into the 'box'? The exhilaration of the second escape, the contrast of the dead dog and the frustrated warders? His sending the photo?
15. The final attempts at humiliating and breaking Luke? The digging of the grave? Had he really broken? How much was pretence? The skill in subservience to the bosses? The skill in the escape? Dragline as being fatal for Luke's escape?
16. The effect of the escape on the men? Making them realize their fickleness of attitude when they boycotted him? The pathos of their boycott of him in the dormitory?
17. What did the visit of Arletta add to the film in terms of theme and mood? What kind of person was she? In the back of the van, smoking, dying? Her love for him, insight? Her weeping when he went? His weeping when she died?
18. The importance of the encounter with God in the empty church? Luke's words, attitudes? The photographing of him at God's angle? The religious tone of the film and its meaning?
19. The pathos and irony of Luke's death? Of what benefit was it? For whom?
20. The importance of the themes of human nature?
