Cool Hand Luke Page #14

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OMITTED:

INT. BARRACKS (EVENING)

The Fourth of July. All hell is breaking loose. Four radios

going, chain men jitterbugging, one of the men has a mouth

harmonica, another plucks Luke's banjo. A lemonade barrel is

in a corner and men dip into it with coke bottles; others

are banging together bottles as instruments, playing combs,

etc.

ANGLE ON ALIBI AND DYNAMITE

just filling their bottles with lemonade.

ALIBI:

(toasting)

Happy Fourth of July.

SLEEPY:

Same to you.

ALIBI:

Boy, if anyone had told me where I

was going to be spending Independence

Day...

(shakes his head)

ON MUSIC MAKERS, OTHERS

Most of them are concentrated in front of Luke's bunk, singing

and screaming, trying to make as much noise as possible.

Tattoo is reading a new sex book aloud while Dynamite,

Loudmouth Steve, others listen intently, some avid, some

confused.

TATTOO:

(reading)

Wanda trembled, faced by this awesome

decision. It was the moment of choice.

Could she take the plunge and wantonly

hurl herself into pagan abandon? Or

would she remain ever fettered by

the bonds of her puritanical

upbringing? Could she take this chance

to experience the sensual thrill of

total release and gratification? Or

would she turn her back and retreat

into frigid denial? Desire and fear,

temptation and terror, yearning and

horror, warred within her beautiful

young body...

Luke is not to be seen among the music-makers and revellers.

Moving through the crowd, the CAMERA FINDS Luke on his hands

and knees, sawing at the floorboard with a piece of hacksaw.

ANGLE ON CARR:

as the tire iron SOUNDS and SOUNDS again to be heard over

the din.

CARR:

First bell! Let's git to bed. You

done had your fun.

The singers and music-makers around Luke finish their song,

reaching a high, piercing, noisy crescendo. At the same time,

Dragline has been reading another sex book to Stupid Blondie,

Blind Dick and Chief who are trying to act out the

description, tying themselves into an intricate anatomical

knot.

DRAGLINE:

(reading)

She moved her head another inch while

he reached up and put his left hand

on Carol's cheek as Carol pressed

her lips to... Oh Lord, I can't read

it!

He wriggles, panting with eye-popping pleasure, attracting

Carr's attention. Stupid Blondie, Rabbit and Chief are still

trying to untie themselves.

DRAGLINE:

Carr. Lookit this. Oh I don't believe

it.

CARR:

What you got there, Drag? You bought

yourself another of them dirty books?

Intrigued, Carr sits down on Dragline's bunk and follows

Dragline's finger pointing out the lascivious parts. He is

quickly absorbed.

ANGLE ON DRAGLINE

He looks over toward Luke who can be seen between the legs

of the surrounding men, poised, waiting to drop down into

the hole. Dragline winks.

ANGLE ON LUKE:

He winks back, grins and disappears through the hole in the

floor.

ANGLE ON DRAGLINE AND CARR

The tutor and the student.

DRAGLINE:

Here's a real hot one!

Carr reads intently.

ON THE HOLE BENEATH LUKE'S BUNK

gaping, empty, inviting.

VARIOUS REACTIONS OF MEN

A. KOKO - suppressing a giggle.

B. SOCIETY RED - considering it, cowardly.

C. ALIBI - tense, nervous.

ANGLE ON TATTOO:

He has been considering it, weighing his chances, his eyes

darting from the hole to Carr, back again. Now he scurries

to the hole, drops inside.

ANGLE ON CARR, DRAGLINE

as the tire iron SOUNDS. Carr gets up.

CARR:

Awright, last bell!

The men are in their bunks, Carr begins to make his count.

As he comes to Tatto's bunk:

WICKER MAN'S VOICE

HEY, CARR! WHAT'S THAT OUTSIDE?

Carr rushes to the window.

CARR:

Somebody's on the fence, boss!

EXT. YARD ON THE FENCE

It is Tattoo, half-way up the fence, startled by the clamor

as the Wicker Man whales the GONG. He falls back down, starts

up again, dogs BARKING.

EXT. YARD NEW ANGLE

as guards come running from the Captain's house, the dogs

HOWLING.

ON TATTOO:

frantically trying to get up the fence, falling down, starting

to run, seeing the guards approaching with guns and canes,

turning to the other direction: more guards. Caught like a

rat, eyes wild with fear, he makes terrified motions to go

in one direction, then the other but is rooted by fear and

indecision as the guards move in. He SCREAMS.

INT. BARRACKS ANGLE ON WICKER AND DOOR

which is unlocked. Dogboy is dressed, combing his hair, self-

importantly putting on his gloves while the men lie in their

bunks, staring contemptuously. Boss Paul, Godfrey and others

stare with shotguns leveled from the wicker.

BOSS PAUL:

Who else?

Carr has been tearing a sheet off Luke's bed.

CARR:

Jackson. He cut a hole in the floor,

Boss.

He hands the sheet to Dogboy.

BOSS PAUL:

He ain't even got the sense to run

from the road like everybody else.

DOGBOY:

Blue'll git him, Boss. We'll git

that bastid, Cool Hand Luke.

OMITTED:

EXT. DOG PEN MED. CLOSE SHOT (NIGHT)

Boss Paul is unlocking the pen. Dogboy stands by the screen

letting the yapping, frothing hounds sniff at the sheet.

BOSS PAUL:

Stan' back, Dogboy. Git the leash

here.

As he opens the pen, the hounds rush out. Dogboy grabs one,

Boss Paul grabs another but Big Blue, the lead hound, has

the scent and he bolts, howling and tearing off.

DOGBOY:

Blue! Come back here! Come back, I

said.

EXT. SWAMP (NIGHT)

Luke, smiling, running like hell through the murky water. In

b.g. Blue's baying.

EXT. SWAMP (NIGHT)

Blue in pursuit, sniffing, dashing, on the trail.

EXT. SWAMP (NIGHT)

Dogboy with the other dogs being pulled through the muddy,

murky, thickly-foliaged swamp. Behind him, wading unhappily

through knee-deep water are Bosses Paul, Higgins and Shorty.

EXT. ABANDONED RAILROAD STATION NIGHT (LATER)

Boss Paul is on the phone to the Captain, Bosses Higgins and

Shorty sit disconsolate, dirty, wet, exhausted. Only Dogboy

is still eager, two hounds by his feet, listening in the

distance to the howl of Blue baying.

DOGBOY:

Listen to Blue sing. She's on to

him. She says:
got him.

BOSS SHORTY:

Hail, that dog is jus' runnin' in

circles.

BOSS PAUL:

(returning from phone)

Captain says to wait 'til the Patrol

gits here.

DOGBOY:

(listening to Blue)

She's on to him. You shoulda waited

fer me to git her out -- loose like

she is, he kin run her crazy.

BOSS PAUL:

It ain't my fault you don't know how

to handle your dogs.

DOGBOY:

How my suppose to handle a dog someone

jus' let loose?

BOSS HIGGINS:

I'm beat. This ain't mah job, nohow.

BOSS SHORTY:

Me neither.

A Highway Patrol car pulls up.

BOSS PAUL:

Here's the Patrol.

DOGBOY:

(pulling up dogs)

She's got him! You hear that?

Higgins and Shorty shake their heads wearily.

OFFICER:

(to Dogboy)

Okay, let's get started.

EXT. FARM COUNTRY (PIPELINES) (NIGHT)

Luke steps under and through the pipeline supports and

vanishes. In b.g. Blue's plaintive HOWLING.

EXT. FARM COUNTRY (PIPELINES) DAY (DAWN)

Dogboy moves ACROSS the SCENE with his pack of dogs, having

trouble following through the supports. The Officer behind

him.

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