Apr. 17, 2002 - 9:38 pm

cover
Cool Hand Luke (1967)

well i got to see another Paul Newman film tonight. Cool Hand Luke (1967). although not a best picture, it seems to be a very well known and well liked film. #129 today on the IMDb's Top 250.

i don't see how the IMDb can't have listed any movie connections to Mervyn LeRoy's I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang (1932). the protagonist escaping repeatedly, the chain gang system, and there is even a scene in both films where two men escape the gang in a truck (owned by the bosses no less) in which they mechanically raise the bed of the truck to block pursuing bullets (if that makes any sense). anyway, i was just baffled by that fact.

would you believe the chain gang in this film appears weak next to some other film portrayals? especially in I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang, a great social problem film.

all in all, it was a decent film. 7/10. i think had i seen this having had the experience of the late 60s under my belt, i would've seen Paul Newman's antihero as more of a model. the fact of the matter is that i don't, and was therefore left uninspired by the film. it does, however, have some great performances in it. i think the real question we should be asking ourselves after seeing this film is: can a man truly eat 50 eggs in 60 minutes? Paul Newman did. really.