The film, “Cool Hand Luke”, was based on a novel written by American author, Donn Pearce. In the novel, Pearce writes about his experiences loosely based on what he went through during his own time spent with a Florida Department of Corrections chain gang. He also heard stories about a man named Luke Jackson, which later on became the main character of the film.
Pearce wrote about his arrest for burglary when he was 20 years old in 1949. He started out in the forgery business, forging documents that allowed him to travel to Europe and even Canada while the US Army was out to find him for being AWOL. All this occurred before he found more financial opportunities in the burglary.
Hunting For a Make Lead
Though the role of Luke Jackson was finally given to Paul Newman, the casting process was indeed pretty lengthy and meticulous. The producers initially approached eight-time Academy Award nominee Jack Lemmon but Jack felt he would fall short in emulating the character. After which, Telly Savalas was approached but refused to fly out for the production.
Since producers didn’t pull through with casting Savalas, they ended up casting Paul Newman, who along the way in his career won and was nominated for numerous awards.
Newman Didn't Like Eggs
The scene where Newman's character eats all those eggs was probably the most famous bet in the film. For those who don't quite remember, the bet happens when Luke brags to his fellow inmates that he can eat 50 hard-boiled eggs in under just one hour. This scene is when we're met with one of the most famous lines in the movie: "Nobody can eat 50 eggs."
In reality, though, Newman wasn't so fond of eating eggs and didn't actually swallow any of them. Luckily for him, a bit of some film tricks and a hidden trash can made the actor really seem like he could devour those 50 eggs!
A Christ-Figure Film
Though you may need to re-watch the film to really comprehend it, "Cool Hand Luke" actually was a particularly relevant and classic example of a "Christ-figure film". This kind of messianic imagery was fairly common in films like Braveheart, ET, or the Gladiator. This film, though, had far more Christological richness than any of the other modern films.
The film encourages us to examine the parallels between two particular shots which were surely designed to draw some comparison to the life of Jesus. The first shot of Cool Hand Luke lying down exhausted on the table after eating 50 eggs is probably the most obvious shot in relation to the crucifixion of Christ. Additionally, Luke is seen speaking to God several times throughout the film, even singing praises.
Delayed by a Banjo
After finding out about his mother’s death, the film shows Luke playing the popular song, "Plastic Jesus", Paul heavily suggested that he'd play the banjo while singing. Seemingly convinced that he could play well, producers took on that idea.
Well, in reality, Newman didn't actually know how to play the banjo. Consequently, his idea delayed the film schedule as he needed to be taught to play the instrument by Harry Dean Stanton who also acted in the film.