Cool Hand Luke Page #16

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LUKE:

(between mouthfuls)

Topflight police work.

GAMBLER:

Tell us about it.

BLIND DICK:

You steal a car?

LUKE:

Yeah, found one in this supermarket,

keys in the ignition.

KOKO:

Well, how far didya get?

LUKE:

(eating)

Fat mile'n a half. Hit this red light,

highway patrol pulls up alongside.

LOUDMOUTH STEVE:

Didya fight it out with him?

LUKE:

Nope. I jus' kept lookin' straight

ahead waiting for that light to

change. And he kept lookin' over,

wondering what somethin' that looked

like me was doin' drivin' a shiny

new car.

ALIBI:

And then...?

LUKE:

Then he leans over and sees this

state issue... All there was to it.

Feller's probably a lieutenant by

now.

Luke continues to shovel in his beans. The men are clearly

disappointed. Only Dragline understands.

DRAGLINE:

Well now we jus' gonna lay low and

build time and afore you know it the

heat'll be off you and things be

back where they was. Right, sweet

buddy?

Luke winks and slaps Dragline affectionately on the cheek.

During this last, Luke has been idly winding a piece of kite

string found on the ground beside him. As, idly, he shoves

it into his pocket.

ANGLE ON BOSS KEAN LATER

The gang has resumed working, Kean stands looking out at the

horizon, not talking directly to Luke, just leaning on his

gun, following Luke whenever he moves, his voice as calm and

secure as a priest in his study.

BOSS KEAN:

Ah hears tell you don't believe in

no God, Luke. Ah was wonderin' how

come a nice lookin' feller like you

come to get put on the Hard Road.

But now ah reckons ah knows. Ah been

on the Road Gang for twenny-two year,

Luke, and in all that time I ain't

never killed no white man but I ain't

afeerd to cause a body has to do his

work. And I ain't never seen no man

that wasn't afeerd to die neither.

LUKE:

'Scuse me, Boss. Don't mean to

interrupt... but... caught short

here.

Boss Kean is stunned.

BOSS KEAN:

(slow, dangerous)

Awright, Luke. Thas okay... You go

on up there in them trees. Man's

gotta have some privacy sometime.

But you grab a bush and keep shakin'

it, hear? Jes' so we know you're

there. Jes' keep shakin' that bush.

LUKE:

Yes, boss.

He begins to trot off, awkward in his chains. Kean looks at

Godfrey who snaps his fingers to Dogboy, a gesture that means

rifle. Dogboy runs to the truck and brings back the rifle

which Godfrey loads and arms with the bolt from his pocket.

ANGLE ON LUKE:

Slowly walking off into the rough grass, his chains catching

on brush and stumps. He disappears behind a large bush.

CLOSE SHOT GODFREY

Luke's bush is in distance. He raises the gun to his shoulder

and FIRES.

REVERSE HIS P.O.V.

The bush shakes, we can't see Luke.

LUKE:

I'm shakin' it, Boss. I'm shakin'

it!

We see the dust kick up behind the stump and another SHOT.

LUKE:

Still shakin' it, Boss.

CLOSE SHOT GODFREY

impassively:
SHOOTS again, aiming.

REVERSE HIS P.O.V.

The bush goes on shaking. Then it stops.

GODFREY:

Caught loading. He brings up the rifle fast, FIRES.

CLOSE THE BUSH:

It is still.

FULL SHOT:

The gang stops working, looks up stunned.

ANGLE ON BOSS KEAN AND GODFREY

A long beat of shock -- they (and us) think Godfrey's hit

him. Boss Kean trots hurriedly up to the bush.

ANGLE BY THE BUSH

Boss Kean appears, looking down and off. CAMERA ADJUSTS so

we see what he sees: a piece of kite string tied to the bush

and leading off into the brush.

BOSS KEAN:

Damn!

He turns and rushing back down toward Godfrey, others.

BOSS KEAN:

He's gone! Git the dogs!

EXT. DIRTY ROAD (DAY)

It is a rutted country road with farms on both sides. Luke

appears, a filthy wide-eyed, stumbling, bearded beast in

filthy uniform and chains. PAN with him past sharecropper's

village of ramshackle huts, rusted junk. An OLD NEGRO WOMAN

sees Luke and goes inside, closing the door. PAN with him to

a General Store where an OLD NEGRO MAN watching, quickly

retreats inside leaving only two small Negro boys (BEN and

LAWRENCE) staring at Luke as he shambles toward them.

LAWRENCE:

(looking at chains)

Whattaya got them on for?

BEN:

How do you take your pants off?

LUKE:

(smiling)

Well -- the best way is to take the

leg irons off first.

(to Lawrence)

But you ain't strong enough.

LAWRENCE:

Strong enough for whut?

LUKE:

You couldn't heft an axe.

LAWRENCE:

Can, too.

He's off, running toward a house. In the distance now, we

hear the dogs baying, coming closer. Luke smiles at Ben.

LUKE:

What's your name?

BEN:

Ben.

(a beat)

Had'n you better take them stripes

off your pants?

Smiling, Luke sits in the dirt and begins ripping off the

stripes as Lawrence appears, dragging a huge double-bitted

axe behind him.

LUKE:

(to Ben)

You wanna see somethin' funny? Go

get some chili powder, pepper, curry,

dried mustard and like that. A lot

of it.

Ben rockets off and Luke turns to see Lawrence, struggling

mightily, attempting to bring the axe over his head and down

on the chains.

LUKE:

Hold it!

He takes the axe, sets the chains up on a stump and begins

to back heavily, BAYING OF DOGS growing louder.

LAWRENCE:

No, me, me. Let me do it!

Lawrence cries and stomps unhappily, clouding up dust as

Luke severs the chain from one shackle. Ben APPEARS with an

armload of spices.

BEN:

Here's them spices.

(looks at Lawrence,

crying, stomping)

What's wrong with him?

Luke begins backing away, scuffing his feet in the dust,

pouring out the spices as he goes.

ANGLE ON LUKE:

stopping at Lawrence. The baying of the dogs is much closer

now.

LUKE:

You remember how them dogs do when

they get here so you can tell me

about it someday.

He is gone.

ON DOGS IN DISTANCE

They are approaching quickly.

ON VILLAGE:

Some of the people have reappeared, now go back inside.

ANGLE ON DOGS:

They fill the FRAME, milling around the empty street,

sneezing, howling, stirring up dust, pawing at their noses.

CLOSE LAWRENCE:

He is peeping from a corner. His tears stop and he smiles.

EXT. ROAD CLOSEUP YOYO TRANSITIONAL DEVICE (DAY)

...cutting away at the time.

INT. CAGE TRUCK (PROCESS) (DAY)

as it passes the Negro Church.

DRAGLINE'S VOICE

Thas the church. After he chopped

off those old chains and whilst he

was layin'd down the pepper --

GAMBLER'S VOICE

I heard it was curry powder.

DRAGLINE'S VOICE

It was pepper and curry powder and

dry mustard. Now shut your face.

Whilst he was layin' down them spices,

Luke heard them choir practicin' in

there. So he just sauntered inside,

cool's kin be, and sung along with

them... my baby Luke... and he was

still singin' when the dogs come by,

singing and grinning and eatin' the

food the people had brung him.

EXT. ROAD TRANSITIONAL DEVICE

EXT. ROAD (DAY)

The bull gang at the end of bean time.

BOSS PAUL'S VOICE

Awright, let's git to work.

Dragline and the others deposit their chow plates, pick up

their yoyos and start to work.

DRAGLINE:

He ain't eating beans fer lunch.

KOKO:

He's eatin' steak and corn with butter

and green beans and...

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