Cool Hand Luke

Production

Florida prison

Pearce, a merchant seaman who later became a counterfeiter and safe cracker, wrote the novel Cool Hand Luke about his experiences working on a chain gang while serving in a Florida prison. He sold the story to Warner Bros. for $80,000 and received another $15,000 to write the screenplay.[6] After working in television for over a decade, Rosenberg chose it to make it his directorial debut in cinema. He took the idea to Jalem Productions, owned by Jack Lemmon.[7] Since Pearce had no experience writing screenplays, his draft was reworked by Frank Pierson. Conrad Hall was hired as the cinematographer,[8] while Paul Newman's brother, Arthur, was hired as the unit production manager.[9] Newman's biographer Marie Edelman Borden wrote that the "tough, honest" script drew together threads from earlier movies, especially Hombre, Newman's earlier film of 1967.[10] Rosenberg altered the script's original ending, adding "an upbeat ending that would reprise Luke's (and Newman's) trademark smile."[11]

Casting

Paul Newman's character, Luke, is a decorated war veteran who is sentenced to serve two years in a Florida rural prison. He constantly defies the prison authorities, becoming a leader among the prisoners, as well as escaping multiple times.[12] While the script was being developed, the leading role was initially considered for Jack Lemmon or Telly Savalas. Newman asked to play the leading role after hearing about the project. To develop his character, he traveled to West Virginia, where he recorded local accents and surveyed people's behavior.[8] George Kennedy turned in an Academy Award-winning performance as Dragline, who fights Luke and comes to respect him.[13] During the nomination process, worried about the box-office success of Camelot and Bonnie and Clyde, Kennedy spent $5,000 on trade advertising to promote himself. He later said that thanks to the award, his salary was "multiplied by ten the minute [he] won", adding, "the happiest part was that I didn't have to play only villains anymore".[14]

Strother Martin, known for his appearances in westerns,[15] was cast as the Captain, a prison warden depicted as a cruel and insensitive leader, severely punishing Luke for his escapes.[16] The role of Luke's dying mother, Arletta, who visits him in prison, was passed to Jo Van Fleet after it was rejected by Bette Davis.[17] Morgan Woodward was cast as Boss Godfrey, a laconic, cruel and remorseless prison officer Woodward described as a "walking Mephistopheles".[18] He was dubbed "the man with no eyes" by the inmates for his mirrored sunglasses.[19] The blonde Joy Harmon was cast for the scene where she teases the prisoners by washing her car after her manager, Leon Lance, contacted the producers. She auditioned in front of Rosenberg and Newman wearing a bikini, without speaking.[20]

Filming

Filming began on October 3, 1966, on the San Joaquin River Delta.[9] The set, imitating a southern prison farm, was built in Stockton, California.[8] The filmmakers sent a crew to Tavares Road Prison in Tavares, Florida, where Pearce had served his time, to take photographs and measurements.[21] The structures built in Stockton included barracks, a mess hall, the warden's quarters, a guard shack and dog kennels. The trees on the set were decorated with spanish moss that the producers took to the area.[9] The construction soon attracted the attention of a county building inspector who confused it with migrant worker housing and ordered it "condemned for code violations".[8] The opening scene where Newman cuts the parking meters was filmed in Lodi, California.[9] The scene in which Luke is chased by bloodhounds and other exteriors were shot in Jacksonville, Florida, at Callahan Road Prison. Luke was played by a stunt actor, using dogs from the Florida Department of Corrections.[21]

Rosenberg wanted the cast to internalize life on a chain gang and banned the presence of wives on set. After Harmon arrived on location, she remained for two days in her hotel room, and was not seen by the rest of the cast until shooting commenced.[22] Despite Rosenberg's intentions, the scene was ultimately filmed separately.[9] Rosenberg instructed an unaware Harmon of the different movements and expressions he wanted.[22] Originally planned to be shot in half a day, Harmon's scene took three. For the part of the scene featuring the chain gang, Rosenberg substituted a teenage cheerleader, who wore an overcoat.[9]

Soundtrack

The Academy Award-nominated original score was by Lalo Schifrin, who wrote tunes with a background in popular music and jazz.[23] Some tracks include guitars, banjos and harmonicas; others include trumpets, violins, flutes and piano.[24]

An edited version of the musical cue from the Tar Sequence (where the inmates are energetically paving the road) has been used for years as the theme music for local television stations' news programs around the world, mostly those owned and operated by ABC in the United States. Although the music was written for the film, it became more familiar for its association with TV news, in part because its staccato melody resembles the sound of a telegraph.[25]


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