The year is 1967. The crisp November air is intensified when a prison escape film starring Paul Newman drops into theaters, and Newman’s career went from great to legendary. Directed by Stuart Rosenberg,Cool Hand Lukeis a film that revolves around Lucas “Luke” Jackson, a man sent to a Southern prison camp for a minor crime — and leaves the audience stunned by its outstanding rendition of a tale that isinspired by a shocking true story. The film captures thrilling emotions and is an overall masterpiece with its excellent writing and performances.
Luke Jackson’s story is one of fighting inequality and brutality in prison, earning his fellow prisoners’ admiration for his determination and persistence. It surrounds his struggle beneath the deeply corrupt authoritarian prison and how standing up for himself changes everything in his life. Luke is as raw and true, and as cool, as one gets. Newman’s performance brings out the character’s bravery and rebellious stupidity while also capturing the desperate longing in him to be free.
The Prison Escape MovieCool Hand Luke
Cool Hand Luke
The movie is set in the early 1950s, following the intriguing Luke (Paul Newman), a small time criminal who gets sentenced to two years in a Florida jail. Inside the tough prison walls, everyone is under the authority of the brutal guard The Captain (Strother Martin), an emotionless rifleman, “the man with no eyes” Godfrey (Morgan Woodward), and a fellow prisoner who rules the yard, Dragline (George Kennedy).
Luke lets none of the pressure get to him, and lives inside by his own rules — even if it means repeated visits to the brutal solitary confinement called “the box,” where air and space are as limited as his freedom. As time passes and more punishments fall his way, Luke’s thick skin and strength earn him the position of an admired rebel hero among his fellow prisoners.
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Jackson earns the name “Cool Hand Luke” from Dragline, due to his charming and bluffing ways that lead him to win a poker game while having cards worth dirt, which becomes one of several iconic scenes in the film. Luke’sthree prison escapesact like a punch in the guards’ faces, and though he gets caught each time, his reputation is solidified. Luke’s willingness to do anything to live by his will earns him the admiration of the prisoners, which he comes to resent as time goes on. He is a complicated character, one that is more than just rebellious wit, and beneath his cool bluff, he hides desperation.
In preparing to play Luke, Paul Newman toured the South to fully understand the area and transform himself into the Southern boy Lucas Jackson is. He studied the dialect, mannerisms, ways of life, and everything in between, which resulted inone of the greatest performances of Newman’s career. While the character himself is fictional, the stories Luke is based on are real, inspired by the life of the author and many other people he met.
Lucas Jackson and Donn Pearce’s Wild Life
The classic film is based on the 1965 novelCool Hand Lukeby Donn Pearce, whospent some time in prisonhimself. The determined, wild, and all-in main character came to life from a mix of many people and experiences in Pearce’s life — such as his own jail time, thrilling escape, and thievery. Through his wild adventures in his young years, Pearce met all kinds of people across the globe, and some of them left a strong impression that he incorporated into the creation of Luke Jackson.
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Pearce ended up dealing in counterfeit money, and was caught and thrown in a French prison. He escaped, fled to Italy, faked documents that got him into Canada, and crossed over into the US — all before he was 20 years old. Pearce then took up burglary, which eventually landed him in prison in Florida serving on a chain gain.
The cold prison where Luke spends his days is called “Road Prison 36,”based on a real prisonwith the same name in Duval County, Florida. Though the film uses a meticulously detailed set of Road Prison 36, the actual place is just as chilling and rundown as it’s displayed in the movie. And yes, it’s the very prison where the author, Donn Pearce, was held.
Road Prison 36, also known as Sunbeam Prison Camp and by its prisoners as “a hell hole on Earth,” produced many gruesome and inhumane tales of treatment from inmates. Many of them were starved, beaten, shoved into a tiny box and left for days, among many other grisly unimaginable acts. One of the most famous scenes fromCool Hand Luke,where Luke eats 50 eggs, really happened to Pearce during his time here.
About Arthur Maillefert
One of the most staggering stories is of a young man named Arthur Maillefert. It was at Road Prison 36 that Pearce heard one of the most staggering stories, that of the young Arthur Maillefert, whose death inside the prison’s “sweatbox” in 1932 called for a prolonged investigation into the incident and the guard, George Washington Courson. Combined with his own personal experiences, this story began to bring the character of Lucas Jackson to life.
Arthur Maillefert wasn’t always a nobody, especially to the local authorities. His petty crimes that led him to getting arrested and imprisoned also pushed him to utilize his escapism skills — which earned him quite a reputation among the police. Maillefert once escaped while being transported by car to a prison. With his hands cuffed, he jumped into the Halifax River and left no trace. He survived and stole a motorcycle before he was caught again and sent to Road Prison 36.
Just like Luke, Arthur was a rebel against every guard and rule imposed on him. Not long after his arrival there, he attempted escape again with another inmate, but it wasn’t successful. Thanks to that, he was tortured with a water hose while being questioned about his methods. He never relented, staying a true rebel in his heart.
On the day of his death, after spending a night in the cramped sweatbox, he broke out and tried to escape yet once again. But his exhaustion was too great, and he was captured. The guard, Courson, was determined to make him pay this time — he put Arthur right back in the sweatbox, but this time, with wood boxes over his feet and a chain around his neck so he couldn’t run. Courson left him like that in the box, not knowing the chain was too short.
What Happened After
Arthur’s death angered the townspeople, driving them to demand a thorough investigation. It was revealed that he suffered immensely, with deep bruises all over his body and signs of pneumonia. Several of the guards involved disappeared that very night, while the remainder were put through trials.
The story was covered internationally. The brutality of Arthur’s death in the Southern prison made for a sensational headline, attracting a lot of attention. The trials were long and arduous, with jury members changing in and out and witnesses receiving disturbing mail.
Arthur Maillefert’s death was argued to be suicide by the defense, but of course, no one believed it. In the end, one of the guards, Higginbotham, was found not guilty, while Courson was convicted of manslaughter. Courson paid bond and was let loose on probation, never spending a night in prison.
The true story of Arthur Maillefert wasa deeply unfortunate taleof a corrupt prison system where justice was never an option. Arthur never succumbed to the imposing rules, beatings, and torture that he went through at Road Prison 36. Even until nearing his death, his will told him to escape just one more time, that perhaps he had a chance at freedom. His indomitable will lived on in the stories Donn Pearce told, and the excellent movie that isCool Hand Luke.
