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Just like a ripe watermelon
that's about to bust itself open.
Your boy's done for, Drag.
I'm putting in my last tenner.
-lt don't look good, Drag.
-Man's gut can't hold more than that.
-He's all right, he's all right.
-He's going to make it.
I give you a dollar he don't eat
all 50 eggs, I get two dollars back.
Fixer, you're a sweet old boy.
Better take that dollar and buy yourself
a new spark plug or something.
But as long as you done took a stand...
...why don't you put some money where
your mouth is and not no measly buck!
Well, all I got is 3.75, Drag.
That's a bet, Koko.
All right, now the rest of you, I want
to hear from some big-money men.
Where's all the high rollers?
I believe you've got it all, Dragline.
Every cent in the camp is riding.
-What's the time?
-Come on, baby.
Twenty-four minutes to go.
Just let that little old belly sag
and enjoy itself.
Forty-one.
Stay loose, buddy. Just nine more
between you and everlasting glory.
-ls he eating them, Alibi?
-He's chewing. Look at that.
They're pigeon eggs, that's all.
Fish eggs, practically.
How much more time, Carr?
Six minutes to go, Stevie.
Chew, chew, chew!
You're helpin' him chew now!
Oh, no.
Forty-two.
Tiny, tiny egg.
Two minutes to time!
Forty-four.
All right, now, get mad
at them damned eggs.
Eat it there, boy.
Chew on it.
Gnaw on it.
Thirty seconds.
You got the last one.
Stuff it down in there. Get it in.
That's the last one in there now, baby.
Chew. Chew.
Ten...nine...eight...
...seven...six...five...
...four...three...two...
...one...zero!
Hold it! He didn't swallow the last.
You think so? Just take a look here.
Open that mouth.
Nobody can eat 50 eggs.
Snake in the grass here, Boss!
Get it.
Get it!
Hey, Boss.
Forgot your walking stick?
Man, you sure can shoot.
You gone too far when you mess
with the Man With No Eyes.
You'll be out of here in a little bit.
Why don't you take it a little easy?
All right, everybody in the trucks.
Boy, look at Him go! Bam! Bam!
Just knock it off, Luke!
You can't talk about Him that way.
You still believe in that big
bearded Boss up there?
You think He's watching us?
Get in here!
Ain't you scared?
Ain't you scared of dying?
Dying? Boy, He can have this
little life anytime He wants to.
You hear that? You hear it?
Come on! You're welcome to it,
Old Timer.
Let me know You're up there.
Come on.
Love me, hate me, kill me, anything.
Just let me know it.
Just standing in the rain...
...talking to myself.
Blind *** is paying back
three and borrowing five.
Next.
You borrowing or paying back?
Borrowing.
Well, Mr. Cool Hand here is
the soft heart in our loan department.
I just need five, Luke.
I knew you could really
eat all them eggs.
Yeah, well, I didn't.
That's my darling Luke.
He grins like a baby...
...but he bites like a 'gator.
I believe I still owe you thirty.
I don't suppose you'd care
to take a check?
For you.
His mother's dead.
"I don't care if it rains or freezes...
"...as long as I got my plastic Jesus...
"...sitting on the dashboard of my car.
"Comes in colors pink and pleasant.
"Glows in the dark
'cause it's iridescent.
"Take it with you...
"...when you travel far.
"Get yourself a sweet Madonna...
"...dressed in rhinestone sittin' on...
"...a pedestal of abalone shell.
"Going 90, I ain't scary...
"...'cause I got the *** Mary...
"...assuring me...
"...that I won't go to hell.
"Get yourself a sweet Madonna...
"...dressed in rhinestone sittin' on...
"...pedestal of abalone shell.
"Going 90, I ain't scary...
"...'cause I got the *** Mary.
assuring me...
"...that I won't go to hell."
Luke, fall out.
When a man's mother dies and...
...he gets to thinkin' about her
funeral and paying respects...
...before he knows it,
his mind ain't right.
He's got rabbit in his blood
and he runs.
We're keeping you
off the road for a while.
I'm going to say a prayer
for your ma, Luke.
Sorry, Luke, I'm just doing my job.
You've got to appreciate that.
Calling it your job
don't make it right, Boss.
Ma's in the ground now,
God rest her soul.
You best forget about it, Luke.
Got a day and a half lay-in.
Tomorrow's a holiday.
-Happy Fourth of July!
-Same to you!
Break it up. Come on,
you've had your fun.
First bell! Move it, Stevie.
What have you got,
another one of them dirty books?
Do yourself a favor. Read this part
that Koko underlined for me.
"She moved her head another inch
while he reached up...
"...and put his left hand on Carol's...
"...as Carol pressed her..."
Oh, I can't stand it!
You're just coming to
the interesting part now.
-I can't hear you.
-"Her trembling body..."
Last bell. Last bell.
Move it.
What's that noise outside?
Man on the fence, Boss!
Wait a minute, damn it!
Come back here! Dammit!
Forty-eight, Boss.
One in the box and one in the bush.
Forty-eight.
One in the box and one in the bush.
Oh, listen to Blue sing!
He's on to him, he says. He's got him.
Hell, that dog's running
around in circles.
No, he's on to him.
Captain says for us to wait
till the patrol gets here.
Shoulda waited for me to get him out.
Loose like that he can run him crazy.
Didn't even have enough sense to run
from the road like everybody else.
Oh, I'm beat. This ain't my job nohow.
Your dogs are crazy.
He's smarter than a dog. Let's go!
He made it!
Look, Captain!
Look what he done to Blue.
He's dead.
He run himself plumb to death.
Get in line facing the Captain.
You're going to get used to wearing
them chains after a while, Luke...
...but you never stop
listening to them clinking.
'Cause they're going to remind
you of what I've been saying...
...for your own good.
Wish you'd stop being
so good to me, Captain.
Don't you ever talk that way to me.
Never!
Never!
What we've got here is...
...failure to communicate.
Some men you just can't reach.
So you get what we had here last week.
Which is the way he wants it.
Well, he gets it.
I don't like it any more than you men.
Well, lookie here.
I knew they'd get you.
Them chains and a bonus
of a couple of years...
Your running days are over forever, boy.
Hell, I'd like to see you
try to run again.
You know, you getting so you smell
so bad I can track you myself.
Yeah, well, that ought to be easy
for a genuine son of a ***.
What happened. How far did you get?
Shut up and let him eat.
About a mile and a half.
This supermarket parking lot.
Found a car with keys in the ignition.
Hit this red light and this police car
slides up alongside.
Then what did you do?
Waited for that light to change.
This cop kept looking over, wondering
what somebody looks like me...
...dressed in state issue, was doin'
driving a shiny new buggy.
So what did you do?
He leaned over and said, "Hey!"
Top flight police work,
that's all there is to it.
Fella's probably a lieutenant by now.
Now, we're just gonna lay low
and build time.
Before you know it,
the heat's going to be off of you.
Everything will be right back
where it was. Right, sweet buddy?
I hear tell you don't believe
in no God, Luke.
I was wondering how come a nice,
clean-cut young fellow like you...
...gets put on the hard road.
Now I reckon I knows.
I've been on the road gang
almost 22 years.
In all that time, I ain't never
killed a white man...
...but I ain't afraid to because...
Excuse me, Boss, don't mean
to interrupt. Caught short here.
So did I. It's okay.
You just go on out there
behind them trees.
Man's gotta have his privacy sometime.
You just keep shaking that bush
so we know you're there.
Just keep shaking that bush.
Shaking it up here, Boss!
Still shaking it, Boss.
I'm shaking it, Boss.
He's gone. Get the dogs.
What you got them on for?
How do you take your pants off?
Best way is to get rid
of them leg irons...
...but you ain't strong enough.
Strong enough for what?
Hell, you couldn't heft an axe.
Can, too.
-I bet you can't.
-Can, too.
Bet you can't.
Well, then, go get it, man.
What's your name, boy?
Aren't you going to take
those stripes off your pants?
You know it, kid.
-You want to see something real funny?
-Yeah?
Well, you go on in there
and you get me...
...chili powder and pepper and the like.
You better let me handle that, son.
Here they are.
Thank you, son.
What's the matter with him?
He'll be all right.
Now listen. You're going to
have some fun. You hear that?
Well, you remember how them dogs do
when they come through here...
...so you can tell me about it
someday, okay?
My wife hasn't written me for a month.
She's probably sick of you.
Magazine for you.
Hey, Koko,
who's sending me magazines?
Don't know. It's from Atlanta.
My uncle!
Ain't heard from him in eight years
and now he's sending me magazines!
He must have gone crazy!
Look at that!
-That's Luke?
-Look at that, two of 'em.
What's the writing say?
What's that, that writing say?
"Dear Boys: Playing it cool."
They must be six feet tall.
Look at that!
My baby! We're in here
digging and dying...
...he's out there living and flying.
Koko, will you stop that?
Why don't you try making me?
-Hey, Drag? Let me see the picture.
-What for?
Come on, Drag, let us see the picture.
No, you're just a kid.
What you know about it?
You don't want to see
that dirty picture.
Luke and those broads
and all that ***.
Come on, let me take a look.
It would go to your coconut head.
You're liable to get ideas...
...and pass right out.
Now, what you figure it's worth?
A peek at that there picture?
A quick look now. I'm not
talking about no memorizing job.
Cold drink.
A coke? One cold drink...
...to feast your starving, fishy,
little eyes on the picture?
A true vision of paradise itself...
...with two of the angels right there
frisking around with my boy?
Okay, it's a deal.
One cold drink, in advance.
One chilly bottle right
in my hot little hand.
That goes for the rest of you
mother-heads, too.
Let me see.
Did you pay?
Come on in there, Wicker Man.
You run one time,
you got yourself a set o' chains.
You run twice,
you get yourself two sets.
You ain't going to need no third set...
...because you're going to get
your mind right.
And I mean "right."
Take a good look at Luke.
Cool Hand Luke.
Easy, easy! Let him breathe!
Oh my poor baby.
They done you real good.
I don't know if you're going
to have the girls chasing you.
I'll get some aspirin.
He should have a doctor.
Ain't you gonna learn?
They ain't gonna let no doctor see
what they done.
Get your razor. We'll clean up
some them cuts on his head.
How you feeling, buddy?
How you feeling?
Somebody ought to give him
something cold to drink.
-That's my baby.
-Now he's going to be all right.
Hey, Luke, look we got the picture
you sent us. Look here.
You really can pick 'em, Luke.
Come on...tell us.
What were they like?
Can't you wait until he stops bleeding?
-Why don't ya go back to your knitting?
-Oh, knock it off, you guys.
Picture's a phoney.
Cost me a week's pay.
What do you mean, a phoney?
What you talking about, man?
We saw them two women
right here in the picture.
Did you have them both at once?
I mean, together?
Picture's a phoney.
I had it made up for you guys.
What do you mean? We saw it all!
You was having a big time, man.
You had it made!
Nothing. Made nothing, had nothing.
Couple of towns, couple of bosses.
I laughed out loud once,
he turned me in.
But I got it here!
Oh, come on! Stop beating it!
Get out there yourself!
Stop feeding off me! Get outa here!
Can't breathe. Give me some air!
Well, he ain't himself,
can't you see that?
He's all beat up. He don't know
what he's sayin'.
All right, come on, break it up.
Now, straighten out that bench.
You were eyeballing.
Can't get your mind on them weeds
if you're eyeballing.
You don't need reasons to kick me, Boss.
First bell. Move it.
He'll never make it.
What are you talking about?
That old box will collapse and fall
apart before old Luke calls it quits.
Your Luke's got more guts than brains.
Well, I don't see
no sign of guts in you.
No. No chains, either.
Big deal paperhanger,
passing two bit checks.
You haven't had much luck playing
follow-the-leader, have you?
You want to spend the night
in the box, too?
Well, here's our champion hog-gut.
Hasn't eaten for four days.
You're going to need a little extra.
Got plenty for you.
Now you know the rules.
Got to clean your plate or go back
to the box. Right, Boss?
That's enough, Dogboy.
Oh, man used to free-world food
has got a big appetite.
We're going to stretch that
hog-belly right out?
Well, you made the week, boy.
Now you got a day and a half
to rest up for old Monday.
That ditch is Boss Kean's ditch.
I told him that dirt in it is your dirt.
What's your dirt doing in his ditch?
I don't know, Boss.
You better get in there
and get it out, boy.
"We work in the morning
hear the ding-*** ring...
"...go march to the table,
see the same damn thing.
"Well, it's on the table,
a knife, a fork and a pan.
"Say anything about it you
get in trouble with the man.
"That Midnight Special.
Shine a light on me.
"Let the Midnight Special shine
your ever-loving light on me.
"If you ever go to Houston,
boy, you better walk right.
"And you better not stagger,
and you better not fight...
"...Because the sheriff
will arrest you."
Luke, what you think you're doing?
Just getting my dirt out of
Boss Kean's ditch, Boss.
I'm damned if you're going
to put your dirt in my yard.
You hear me?
Now let's get it out of here.
I told you to get your dirt out
of Boss Kean's ditch, didn't I?
Yeah, Boss.
Then how come it ain't out?
I don't know, Boss.
You don't know.
"Ain't no grave going
to keep my body down.
"Ain't no grave...
"...going to hold my body down.
"Keep Your mind on me above.
"Keep Your heart full of love.
"Ain't no grave
gonna hold my body down..."
What's all this dirt doing in here?
I don't know...
"When I was a little bitty baby, my
mamma used to rock me in my cradle.
"In them old cotton fields back home."
Don't, Boss.
Get to work.
Don't, Boss. Don't hit me anymore.
For God's sake, don't hit me anymore.
What was that you said?
What was that name you used, Luke?
Oh, God!
Oh, God!
Oh, God, I pray to God
you don't hit me anymore.
I'll do anything you say,
but I can't take anymore.
-You got your mind right, Luke?
-Yeah...
...mind right.
Oh, I got it right, Boss.
Suppose you was to backslide on us?
Oh, no, I won't, Boss.
Suppose you was to back-sass?
Oh, no, I won't. I won't.
I got my mind right.
You try to run again,
we're going to kill you.
I won't, I won't, Boss.
Go get cleaned up and get yourself
some sleep. Expect you need it.
Come on, son.
Come on up outa there.
I got my mind right.
Where are you?
Where are you now?
-All right. Smoke it up.
-Yes, sir.
Luke, water 'em down.
Yes, Boss.
Luke! Fetch the rifle.
You got him, Boss. You got him.
Go fetch it, Luke.
There he is, Boss.
Deader than hell, but won't let go.
You cut that up for our lunch, Luke.
Yes, Boss Paul.
He took the keys off of Dogboy's truck.
He got the keys here, too.
"I'm shaking it here, Boss.
I'm shaking it."
That's my baby, Luke.
"Don't hit me, Boss.
Only don't hit me.
"I'll do whatever you say."
You are an original,
that's what you are.
Those mullet-heads didn't
even know you were fooling.
Fooling them? You can't fool them
about something like that.
They broke me.
But they didn't get my mind right.
Not with no sticks. No, sir.
All that time you were planning
on running again.
Never planned anything in my life.
That's just a little old farm road.
Clean as a whistle.
I worked it a couple times.
We're home free. Come on.
We ain't going nowhere.
Now, what are you talking about, Luke?
We're going by my house and
we're going to have a big meal.
Then I'm going to show you a couple of
farm girls that really know what fun...
And then we're going
to get Koko out of there.
And then the terrible trio
is gonna be complete again.
Man, this old free world ain't going
to know which ear to stand on.
Yeah, well, you and Koko
can handle it without me.
What's you mean, Luke?
I done enough world-shaking
for a while.
You do the rest of it for me.
Send me a postcard about it.
-But Luke...
-Take it easy, Drag.
Where are you going?
Just on my own.
But what am I going to do
all by myself?
Man, if I hadn't lost my head.
I only had a couple of years to do.
But when I saw you tearing down
the road in that truck...
Well, you're right, Luke.
We ought to split up.
And then, and then it will be
safer for the both of us.
Just the same,
you're a good old boy, Luke.
You take care!
Anybody here?
Hey, Old Man. You home tonight?
Can You spare a minute.
It's about time we had a little talk.
I know I'm a pretty evil fellow...
...killed people in the war
and got drunk...
...and chewed up
municipal property and the like.
I know I got no call to ask for much...
...but even so, You've got to admit You
ain't dealt me no cards in a long time.
It's beginning to look like You got
things fixed so I can't never win out.
Inside, outside, all of them...
...rules and regulations and bosses.
You made me like I am.
Now just where am I supposed to fit in?
Old Man, I gotta tell You.
I started out pretty strong and fast.
But it's beginning to get to me.
When does it end?
What do You got in mind for me?
What do I do now?
On my knees, asking.
Yeah, that's what I thought.
I guess I'm pretty tough
to deal with?
A hard case.
Guess I gotta find my own way.
Is that Your answer, Old Man?
I guess You're a hard case, too.
Luke, you all right?
They got us, boy. They're out there,
thicker than flies.
Bosses, dogs, sheriffs...
...more guns than I've ever seen
in my life. You ain't got a chance.
They caught up with me
right after we split up.
And they were aiming to kill you.
But I fixed that.
I got them to promise
if you give up peaceful...
...they ain't even going
to whip you this time.
They even going to give us
our same bunks back?
Sure, why not?
We only been gone a couple of hours.
They're reasonable men.
You've got to listen to me.
All you've got to do is give up...
...nice and quiet.
Just play it cool.
Yeah, like I always do?
Yeah, just play it...
"What we got here
is a failure to communicate."
Go get him.
You hang on in there, Luke.
You hang on.
There's going to be some
world-shaking, Luke.
We're going to send you a postcard.
You follow me and I'll radio
the emergency clinic to open up.
I'm taking him to the prison hospital.
But that's an hour away.
He isn't going to make it.
Get out of the way. He's ours.
They took him right down that road.
-What'd he look like, Drag?
-Yeah, Drag.
Did he have his eyes open or closed?
-He was smiling.
-Smiling?!
That's right. You know...
...that...Luke smile of his?
He had it on his face
right to the very end.
Hell, if they didn't know it 'fore...
...they could tell right then that they
weren't ever going to beat him.
That old Luke smile.
Oh, Luke. He was some boy.
Cool Hand Luke, hell!
He's a natural born world-shaker!