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Cool Hand Luke ()


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

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Awards:
  • Won 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 11 nominations.
  • See more »
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Cast verified as complete

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Lucas 'Luke' Jackson
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Dragline
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Society Red
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Koko
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Loudmouth Steve
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Captain
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Arletta
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Carr
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Boss Godfrey
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Boss Paul
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Rabbitt
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Blind Dick
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Boss Shorty
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Tattoo
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Babalugats
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Boss Keen
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Gambler
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Tramp (as Dean Stanton)
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Boss Higgins
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Alibi
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Dog Boy
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Dynamite
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The Girl
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
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Fixer (uncredited)
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Woman (uncredited)
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Sleepy (uncredited)
Norman Goodwins ...
Stupid Blonde (uncredited)
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Chief (uncredited)
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Sheriff (uncredited)
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Wickerman (uncredited)
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Convict (uncredited)
Robert Luster ...
Jabo (uncredited)
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Prisoner (uncredited)
Donn Pearce ...
Sailor (uncredited)
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John (uncredited)
Cyril 'Chips' Robinson ...
Ben (uncredited)
Eddie Rosson ...
Luke's Nephew (uncredited)
George Simmons ...
Prisoner (uncredited)
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Woman (uncredited)
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Patrolman (uncredited)

Directed by

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Stuart Rosenberg

Written by

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Donn Pearce ... (screenplay) and
Frank Pierson ... (screenplay) (as Frank R. Pierson)
 
Donn Pearce ... (novel)
 
Hal Dresner ... () (uncredited)

Produced by

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Gordon Carroll ... producer
Carter De Haven Jr. ... associate producer

Music by

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Lalo Schifrin

Cinematography by

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Conrad L. Hall ... director of photography (as Conrad Hall)

Editing by

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Sam O'Steen

Art Direction by

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Cary Odell

Set Decoration by

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Fred Price

Costume Design by

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Howard Shoup

Makeup Department

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Gordon Bau ... makeup supervisor
Jean Burt Reilly ... supervising hair stylist

Production Management

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Arthur S. Newman Jr. ... unit manager (as Arthur Newman)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

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Hank Moonjean ... assistant director

Art Department

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John Barton ... assistant property master (uncredited)
Craig Binkley ... set dresser (uncredited)
Frank L. Brown ... set dresser (uncredited)
Robert Cooper ... property master (uncredited)
Bill Gold ... poster designer (uncredited)
Don Miller ... assistant property master (uncredited)
Wes Webb ... carpenter (uncredited)

Sound Department

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Larry Jost ... sound
Dan Wallin ... re-recording mixer (uncredited)

Stunts

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M. James Arnett ... stunt double Paul Newman (uncredited) / stunts (uncredited)
Chuck Hicks ... stunt coordinator (uncredited) / stunts (uncredited)
Kim Kahana ... stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department

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Jordan Cronenweth ... camera operator (uncredited)
Thomas Del Ruth ... assistant camera (uncredited)
Michael A. Jones ... assistant chief lighting technician (uncredited) / rigging gaffer (uncredited)
Harry Sundby ... chief electrician (uncredited)
Robert C. Thomas ... assistant camera (uncredited)

Music Department

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Ben Benay ... musician: studio guitarist (uncredited)
Richard Hazard ... orchestrator (uncredited)
The Hollywood Studio Symphony ... music performed by (uncredited)
Barney Kessel ... musician: guitar, soundtrack (uncredited)
Tommy Morgan ... musician: harmonica soloist (uncredited)
Emil Richards ... musician: percussion (uncredited)
Lalo Schifrin ... conductor (uncredited)
Tommy Tedesco ... musician: guitar (uncredited)
Dan Wallin ... scoring mixer (uncredited)

Transportation Department

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Frank Khoury ... unit driver (uncredited)

Additional Crew

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Wayne Fitzgerald ... title designer (uncredited)
Crew verified as complete

Production Companies

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Distributors

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Special Effects

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Other Companies

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Storyline

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Plot Summary

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. Written by alfiehitchie

Plot Keywords
Taglines "What we've got here is failure to communicate." See more »
Genres
Parents Guide View content advisory »
Certification

Additional Details

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Also Known As
  • Luke la main froide (France)
  • Der Unbeugsame (Germany)
  • La leyenda del indomable (Spain)
  • La llegenda de l'indomable (Spain, Catalan title)
  • 铁窗喋血 (China, Mandarin title)
  • See more »
Runtime
  • 127 min
Country
Language
Color
Aspect Ratio
Sound Mix
Filming Locations

Box Office

Budget $3,200,000 (estimated)

Did You Know?

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Trivia In the "road-tarring" sequence, the actors actually blacktopped a mile-long stretch of highway for the county. See more »
Goofs The time period was more likely 1958 because Luke sang, "Plastic Jesus", a folk song which was written in 1957. See more »
Movie Connections Featured in The 53rd Annual Academy Awards (1981). See more »
Soundtracks Plastic Jesus See more »
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.
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