The success of Cool Hand Luke and its status in Newman’s career is owed at least in part to the timing of its release, coming as it did at the height of the counter-cultural movement, when audiences were primed for a charismatic character taking a stand against authority figures (much as they were following the release of One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (Miloš Forman, 1975), a film with many similarities). Sentenced to two years on a chain gang following a drunken act of vandalism, Luke (Newman) becomes a hero to his fellow inmates and a thorn in the side of prison authorities through his egg-eating exploits and efforts to escape, until the management decides to make an example of him.

Screening as part of the Paul Newman: American Icon season.