War hero Luke Jackson (the late Paul Newman) is sentenced to two years on a chain gang under the strict guidance of Captain (Strother Martin). Luke refuses to submit to authority. He fights with fellow convict Dragline (George Kennedy), plays cards, wagers that he can eat 50 hard-boiled eggs in an hour (pictured), and talks back to his superiors, becoming a hero among his peers. His continual attempts to escape are met with drastic action from the prison officers.
Directed by Stuart Rosenberg and released in 1967, Cool Hand Luke received a number of Oscar nominations. Newman was rewarded for his performance with an Oscar nomination for best actor and his co-star George Kennedy won best supporting actor. The screenplay was based on a book by ex-con Donn Pearce about the life of another convict, Donald Graham Garrison, and this too received an Oscar nomination.
Cool Hand Luke is a Film programme that first aired in 1967 and has been classified a 15 certificate.
