That's what Luke says after a handful of 'nothing' won him a big pot in a poker game. And that's how he got the titular nickname.
Arguably one of the sweatiest movies ever made. Luke is a quiet troubled soul. He has anger and resentment for the hand life has dealt him. He wants to be a good man and so he keeps his cool most of the time. When his anger does surface, it's in the form of a slow boil rather than an angry eruption. And so it is that one day, after having a few too many drinks, that Luke exacts so revenge on society through the relatively minor offense of cutting the heads off of a number of parking meters.
Despite an excellent war record that showed heroism and valor, but no ambition, he was sentenced to 2 years on a chain gang.
In the confines of prison with a small group of fellow inmates, Luke's dual nature becomes even more interesting, and more dangerous. He quickly earns the respect of the other prisoners and then inspires them to participate in a little 'rebellion' by working extra hard and extra fast on a road job. The reward for this hard work is twofold, first, the prisoners finished early and had 2 full hours of free time to do nothing; a rare treat for them! Second, important to Luke but missed by many of the others, was that they confused and befuddled the guards. This gave the prisoners, and Luke in particular, the feeling that he still had a little control over his life. He may have to ask permission to pee, but his will is still his own!
When Luke's mother dies, the warden has Luke put in 'the box' just in case he was thinking of running. This unwarranted punishment hardens Luke, galvanizes the inmates and even wins some sympathy from a few of the guards. Luke gets even more rebellious and tries to escape and the warden decides he must 'break' Luke or risk loosing control of the entire prison population.
Classic performances by Paul Newman as Luke, George Kennedy as his best friend in the prison, Dragline and Strother Martin as the warden 'Captain'. Plus Dennis Hopper, Harry Dean Stanton and Wayne Rogers who help to round out an interesting start studded cast.
Classic scenes like the egg eating contest.
Classic lines like Captain's "What we have here, is failure to communicate!"
And a Classic story by Donn Pearce whose 2 years on a real chain gang certainly helped him add some realism to the story, make this film a CLASSIC in the true sense of the word, and deservedly so!
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