Lucas Jackson is a returned war hero with an attitude. He's drifting through life with no purpose of direction. One morning finds him a little drunk and cutting the heads off parking meters. In the South, that's called, "damaging municipal property" and it's a chain gang offense. Hero, soldier, Lucas Jackson finds himself face to face with "the man."
Paul Newman's starring role as Luke is a study in rebellion against the boundaries of society and a mirror of 60's thought. His portrayal is laid back and understated, just playin' it cool, as he comments to one of his fellow inmates, "Sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand."
There is a hierarchy among men, free or otherwise, a pecking order, if you will, and Luke, like all before and after him, must fight for his place among the ranks of his peers. His command of social skills is obvious. He lays back, observes,in the beginning, sometimes commenting without overt intrusion on the scheme of daily life in the prison camp.
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