TV alert: Cool Hand Luke

From my so-called blog, where I have recently had fun obsessing far too much about misquoted movie lines:

The writers at "Saturday Night Live" got it right when they came up with one of my favorite sketches in the show's history. It came in the fifth season, on April 19, 1980. Strother Martin, who played the Captain in "Cool Hand Luke," was guest host of this SNL and played an angry taskmaster of a headmaster of a French language camp for children. Bill Murray and Gilda Radner played young campers, and when Murray's stubborn character (Luc?) refused to say "The cat is small" en francais, Strother Martin's character punished him in a cruel-hand, Cool Hand Luke sort of way.

Then, of course, came the punchline.

"What we've got here is failure to communicate ... bilingually."

 

Don't forget the part about when Murray escapes, they chase him with French poodles instead of hounds. Classic.

"When addressing guards, you shall not use the informal tu form. Anyone that doesn't use the vu form, gets a night in the box."

 

you owe her. but she's not an easy drunk.

 

And Shockey would know. He had to take out a second loan during those NFL meetings just to convince her to go out on a date with him! <------------goddamn dickhead!!!

 

"Callin' it your job don't make it right, boss."
Mellonhead cribbed it for "Rain on the Scarecrow," of course.

 

I had to run for a few minutes but got back for the final hour or so of the movie.

Great cast.

Interesting to see a young Dennis Hopper in such an anonymous role. Newman, well, he's the man.

The girl washing the car scene is awesome. George Kennedy's pugilistic skills. Stroter Martin. You name it.

Of course Strother Martin's last film, I believe, was the second Cheech and Chong flick, when he looked up and told Chong, "Oh my god, I think he's the Anti-Christ ... If you don't straighten up we're gonna send you to military school, with that Finkelstein Shit Kid."

I'm told there's a punk band in L.A. called the Finkelstein Shit Kids.

 

I had to stop and watch the egg scene. This is one of my dad's all-time favorite films.

 

Actually, my favorite Stother Martin line of the movie was when Luke reported to the camp and he looked as his record on the front porch of the house. Then he read Luke offense: "Cuttin' the haids awf pahkin metahs....We've nevuh had one of those those."

 

A man runs, he gits himself a set of chains. He runs agin, he gits two sets.
I guarantee he won't run a third time 'cause he gonna git his mind right.

 

"Boss...my mind is right ... please don't hit me no more.:

 

Strother Martin is perhaps my favorite character actor of all-time. All of those guys from the Sam Peckinpah school of character actors (Ben Johnson, Warren Oates, Slim Pickens, etc.) rule.

Martin was awesome in Cool Hand Luke, Wild Bunch, Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid, Slap Shot, True Grit, Ballad Of Cable Hogue, etc.

He did True Grit, Wild Bunch and Butch Cassidy consecutively in 1969. Not a bad streak.

 

This thread isn't complete without mentioning the music during the chase scene. Every local t.v. station in America used it for their news theme.