Synopsis

After a drunken act of vandalism, Lucas "Cool Hand" Luke Jackson is sentenced to two years on a Southern chain gang. His refusal to submit to the camp's rigid authority makes him a target for guards and an inspiration to the other prisoners. As Luke repeatedly challenges the system, his legend grows, turning personal rebellion into a symbol of defiance.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film was adapted from Donald Pearce's 1965 novel, which drew on Pearce's own experience serving time on a Florida chain gang.

• Although the story is set in Florida, most of the production was filmed in California's San Joaquin River Delta. Florida locations were also used for selected prison exteriors and other scenes.

• The famous egg-eating sequence required about 200 hard-boiled eggs. Through editing, only a small portion was actually eaten by Paul Newman, while the cast and crew consumed much of the remainder.

• Luke's prison number, 37, has been interpreted as a reference to Luke 1:37: "For with God nothing shall be impossible."

• The line "What we've got here is failure to communicate" became one of American cinema's most recognizable quotations and was ranked number 11 on the American Film Institute's list of great movie quotes.

• George Kennedy won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, while the film also received nominations for Best Actor, Adapted Screenplay, and Original Music Score.

• The Library of Congress added Cool Hand Luke to the National Film Registry in 2005 for its cultural, historical, and aesthetic significance.