Cool Hand Luke

Another movie not on the AFI list, Cool Hand Luke comes to us from 1967, the same year that gave us such memorable films as The Flim-Flam Man, Nuts of the Round Table, and Le Viol du Vampire. I don't remember any of them, and as far as I know neither does anyone else.

(the sister of the girl from Hitchhiker's Guide and the guy from Angel have really good chemistry on Bones, by the way. At least from the first five minutes I've watched)

Here's who you've heard of: Paul Newman, George Kennedy, Dennis Hopper. Again, Hopper makes an unexpected appearance in a non-starring role, this time as the wonderfully-named Babalugats. Rebel Without a Cause, Giant, and The Sons of Katie Elder are some others before CHL, and Hang 'Em High, Easy Rider, and True Grit come after.

Actor you haven't heard of but may recognize: Strother Martin. Martin is the speaker of the famous line, "What we have here, is a failure to communicate."

Really enjoyable movie, with one or two depressing moments. Newman is great, as Newman often is. George Kennedy is very good. Hard to believe that the guy I first saw in Naked Gun is a major part of a great movie. The most famous scene is Luke making the bet that he can eat fifty hard-boiled eggs in an hour. And there's a nice running element of the prisoners always asking the guards for permission with the phrase "INSERT ACTION here, boss", and getting "INSERT ACTION there, PRISONER'S NAME".

Want to take off your shirt?
"Takin' it off here, boss!"
"Takin' it off there, Luke."

Wipe your forehead?
"Wipin' it off here, boss!"
"Wipin' it off there, Luke."

Do three somersaults, a roundoff and stick the landing?
"Gymnastickin' it up here, boss!"
"Gymnastickin' it up there, Luke."

A little over two hours and worth the time.