Cool Hand Luke

Factual error: "Lucille" is listening to a transistor radio when she washes the car - clear from the size and because the music starts as soon as she turns it on. The first transistor radio wasn't available until 1954, and this movie is set in the very early 50s.

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Suggested correction: Another correction points out that this film takes place post-Korean War, so after 1953. The radio fits the timeline.

Factual error: In the opening when the men are hacking away at the straw on the side of the road you can see a late sixties blue station wagon driving through the intersection in the background.

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Mistakes

Continuity mistake: In the scene where Coco tears up the photo of Luke with the women, he tears it carelessly, starting with the upper left corner. The end shot of the movie shows the same photo, reassembled, showing a neat, cross-wise tear, with the center of the tear directly over Luke's heart.

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Quotes

Dragline: Nothin'! A handful of nothin'. You stupid mullet head, he beat you with nothin', just like today when he kept comin' back at me, with nothin'.
Luke: Yeah, well... sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.

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Trivia

Trivia: When Luke escapes for the first time, he is being chased by a loose dog dragging a leash. Luke jumps over all kinds of obstacles to make it tougher for the dog chasing him. Finally, Luke dives off a bridge into a stream. In the theatrical version, the dog also jumps off the bridge, but the leash gets caught on the bridge and the dog gets hung.Quite a shocking sight. In the videotape and other releases, the dog boss (Anthony Zerbe) claims the dog died from exhaustion, you never see the dog get hung.

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Questions

Question: There are two prisoners wearing chains and only underpants inside the prison; they were dancing and the guitar was being played. Can someone please tell me how the men who have chains on their legs remove their trousers for washing, them and their trousers?

kh1616

Chosen answer: Either the guards removed the chains so the prisoners could take the pants off to wash them or this is a movie mistake.

raywest ★

Answer: In the novel, Donn Pearce gives quite a detailed description of the method that the chain wearing prisoners went through to remove their pants without removing the chains. It is a very difficult procedure to follow but it was probably true as his account is based on serving time on the chain gang depicted in the movie.

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