Cool Hand Luke (1967) celebrates its 50th Anniversary this year with Paul Newman portraying the iconic anti-hero in one of his most memorable performances. He was nominated for an Academy Award® as Best Actor along with Dustin Hoffman (The Graduate), Warren Beatty (Bonnie and Clyde), Spencer Tracy (Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner) and winner Rod Steiger (In the Heat of the Night) in a watershed year for great films and great performances. Nominations for the picture also went out to Lalo Schifrin for Best Musical Score and Donn Pearce and Frank Pierson for Best Adapted Screenplay. Cinematographer Conrad Hall might have gotten an additional nod, but he was already nominated that year for In Cold Blood. In a career-changing win, George Kennedy won Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of the kind-hearted brute, Dragline.

A tale of oppression and resistance on a Southern prison chain gang, Cool Hand Luke was one of the big summer hits of 1967 and possesses a spectacular lineup of supporting players. In addition to George Kennedy, there is Jo Van Fleet (Oscar® winner for East of Eden), Dennis Hopper, Harry Dean Stanton, Anthony Zerbe, Ralph Waite, Wayne Rogers and Strother Martin.

In a movie with several all-time memorable quotes… it’s worth remembering that:

“…Sometimes nothin’ can be a real cool hand.”

Guest Host for Cool Hand Luke will be Rob Word, Emmy-nominated producer of the annual Golden Boot Awards. Along with numerous television credits, he has produced and hosted many live events, including A Word on Westerns, a monthly celebrity interview series that airs on YouTube.

Please join us for a 50th Anniversary screening of Cool Hand Luke on the big CinemaScope® screen at Glendale’s historic Alex Theatre on Thursday, July 13th at 7:30 PM .

Our cartoon for the evening: DOG POUNDED (Warner Bros, 1954)

Directed by Isadore “Friz” Freleng, the ever-foiled Sylvester tries every strategy known to cat to make a meal of Tweety, whose comfy nest, incidentally, is in a tree in the middle of a bulldog-infested dog pound. Sylvester proves, once again, that he is a glutton for punishment when the reward could be (but never is) a tasty little yellow morsel.