Paul Newman Flicks Worth Revisiting

Two things normally come to the fore during any discussion of the Paul Newman film, “Cool Hand Luke.”

One is the scene where Newman’s character Luke bets fellow prisoners on the chain gang that he can eat fifty eggs. The scene is a classic.

The other is this bit of dialog, the most remembered from the movie, one of the most iconic in all of film: “What we’ve got here . . . is failure to communicate.”

It’s often attributed to the prison guard known as the Man with No Eyes. Incorrectly so. It was actually uttered by the exasperated Captain, played with delectable evil by brilliant character actor Strother Martin.

Of course film fans these days are locked into remembrance of all matters Paul Newman. One of the fascinating tidbits jarred from the memory vaults is that Newman and Martin appeared in six films together. Most memorable obviously, given their interaction on screen, is “Cool Hand Luke.”

It’s a movie that should be seen if you haven’t, and seen again if you have. So too the usual suspects being mentioned in the obits and other articles attendant to Newman’s sad passing. “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.” “Hud.” “The Sting.” “Harper.” “The Verdict.” “The Hustler.” “For Love of Money.”

But there are a couple of others somewhat off the radar that are worth noting. Read the rest of this entry »