Cool Hand Luke Page #4

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just as the gate is swung shut. We SEE Godfrey's face looking

in, then all is dim and the truck begins to lurch away,

gunning fast, throwing the men, searching for their customary

seats. Chaos.

DRAGLINE'S VOICE

Git outa my eyeballin' seat, you

Newmeat dummy!

Luke stands, holding a strut in the roof and watching with

amusement as Tattoo is shoved away by Dragline, then Koko,

and then pushed from man to man as he tries to sit down but

always finds a lap in the way. Bawdy laughter; it's a game

but earnest. As they settle Tattoo winds up on the floor but

grins, understands, finds a place beside Tramp. Across the

way Alibi begins a serious conversation with Blind Dick.

ALIBI:

(nervously)

Where are we going now?

LOUDMOUTH STEVE:

It's the Captain's birthday. They're

takin' us on a picnic.

ALIBI:

(uncertainly smiling)

I'm a salesman. I used to drive these

roads all the time. I never thought --

it was an accident, car skidded,

maybe I'd had a drink or two --

ANGLE ON KOKO, TRAMP, TATTOO

KOKO:

Man! It's gonna be one hot muther

today.

GAMBLER:

Bears gonna be walkin' the road today.

MECHANIC:

(to Tattoo)

You ever seen a man bearcaught?

Tattoo and Tramp look uncertain, frightened.

NEW ANGLE:

GAMBLER:

All the salt goes outa his body and

the water follers the salt and the

brain shrivels up like a dried pea.

TATTOO:

(trying to ingratiate)

When I was in the Navy --

SOCIETY RED:

(to Alibi)

Convulsions, shivering. Very

unpleasant to watch.

BLIND DICK:

(to Alibi)

Man's never the same. Makes him lose

his sex drive.

ON KOKO, OTHERS

KOKO:

(to Tramp)

I'm lucky I got a broom. Work up

top. Real easy job. Man, it's gonna

be hot down in that ditch.

ALIBI:

We work down in the ditch?

GAMBLER:

Ain't you never seen a chain gang,

in all your driving around?

TRAMP:

(to Koko)

I ain't used to hard labor neither.

Done my best to avoid it.

TATTOO:

I ain't crazy about it myself.

KOKO:

(shaking his head)

Gonna be a hot one to learn on.

SOCIETY RED:

Koko, why don't you let one of these

Newmeats take your broom for today?

KOKO:

Hell, no. I ain't goin' down in the

ditch.

TRAMP:

I shore would appreciate it. I ain't

in much shape just now.

TATTOO:

What about me?

SOCIETY RED:

(to Tramp and Tattoo)

Perhaps if you offered Brother Koko

a small...

(makes money gesture)

TRAMP:

I ain't got much. A quarter?

DRAGLINE:

(to Koko)

You was to sell your job, maybe this

Lucas War Hero would give you a price.

TATTOO:

I'll give you fifty cents.

KOKO:

Fifty cents? Sweet job like that

worth at least a buck.

ALIBI:

I'll make it a dollar.

KOKO:

Buck is a deal.

ALIBI:

(apologetically to

Tramp, Tattoo)

I've got this weak heart. Too much

drinking, I guess. As soon as they

find out about it, they'll probably

send me someplace else.

TRAMP:

If you even need dough in here, I'm

in big trouble.

LUKE:

(to Dragline)

Where'd you get that about war hero?

DRAGLINE:

Oh we got our sources... Tearing the

heads off... what was it... gumball

machines? What kind of thing is that

for a grown man?

LUKE:

(amused by the put-on)

Well, you know. Small town, not much

to do in the evenings. Mostly it was

settling up old scores.

SOCIETY RED:

You'll have to do better than that

if you want to impress these men.

Some pretty hard numbers here.

Dragline's an ex-safe cracker, Koko's

a jewel thief. Blind Dick is a rapist.

BLIND DICK:

(to Luke)

Show you the clippings some time.

News-Dispatch called me "The Shiek

of Simmonsville." Five broads in

three days...

GAMBLER:

'Course two of them were sisters.

SOCIETY RED:

Of course some of them, like Stupid

Blondie, were just unlucky... he

fell off the fire escape... and one

or two don't really belong here at

all...

(indicates Babalugats)

...or myself, who just made the small

error of misspelling a friend's

name... on a check.

DRAGLINE:

Hey, Koko. You hear that? All this

time I been thinkin' Society just

come here for the sun and exercise.

Everyone laughs.

DRAGLINE:

(to Luke who is smiling)

Whatta you so happy about?

LUKE:

I just always did like truck rides.

EXT. CLAYPIT ROAD (JUST AFTER SUNRISE)

as the trucks pull up and stop and the men pour out, picking

up tools for the day's work.

EXT. TOOL TRUCK

The guards for the day are: Paul, Kean, Higgins and Godfrey.

As the men move through the line for tools, Alibi approaches

Boss Paul:

ALIBI:

Boss, I made an arrangement with

that man to take his broom.

BOSS PAUL:

(shoving him along)

Git your shovel and git to work.

ALIBI:

I don't think you understand. We

made a deal ---

BOSS PAUL:

(canes him on the leg)

Git movin', I said.

ALIBI:

(in pain)

But I made this arrangement --

BOSS PAUL:

(shoving him)

Cut that backsass!

Alibi sees the light, accepts a shovel and walks off

resentfully to where the others are working, casting hurt,

angry looks at Koko and Society who ignore him.

THE SUN COMES UP

in Godfrey's glasses, and we SEE the gang begin their work.

In VARIOUS CUTS, in each of which the sun leaps forward,

time passing inexorably...

FULL SHOT:
THE GANG

rhythmically working away.

CLOSE:
ALIBI

Trying to pretend to work, not doing it well and getting a

passing cut from Boss Paul's cane. Resentfully, he goes at

it, sweating heavily.

CLOSE:
LUKE

He is working hard but badly, unused to the awkward tool,

trying to master it. Society Red works up behind him.

LUKE AND SOCIETY

SOCIETY RED:

You're working too hard. You won't

last two hours. Watch the way the

Human Dragline does it.

ANGLE ON DRAGLINE

He is whipping away with apparently effortless ease but

accomplishing more than the others.

THE ROAD:

An open red Continental with kit zips past, the driver

grinning at the Gang.

CLOSE:
TATTOO

He is suffering along, sweat pouring off him. The sun is

beginning to really beat down now. Dragline works a little

behind him.

DRAGLINE:

Takin' it off here, Boss!

BOSS PAUL:

Yeah, take it off there.

He takes off his jacket and tosses it to the edge of the

road where Dogboy collects it. Tattoo decides to imitate,

tentatively.

TATTOO:

Takin' it off here, Boss?

BOSS PAUL:

Yeah, take if off there.

He strips, revealing a tattoo of "Mother" lodged thornlike

in his flesh and a great garland of flowers and a girl on

his chest.

DRAGLINE:

(sotto voce)

Hey, turn around! Let Koko see the

broad.

CLOSE TATTOO:

turning so Koko can see, grinning, stopping work.

KOKO:

Beautiful! A real work of art!

BLIND DICK:

(low voice)

Nice broad. Good set.

TATTOO:

(proudly, flexing it)

Had it done in Singapore. Bunch of

us drunk as coots --

DRAGLINE:

(hissing)

Hey, Tattoo!

TATTOO:

(not hearing)

-- went down to see this old hag and

she had needles the size of that

cane.

MECHANIC:

(quietly)

Hey. Swing that yoyo or you gonna

get a taste of that cane.

Tattoo realizes where he is and goes back to work.

MOVING SHOT TRAMP (LATER)

as he seems to spin, his eyes closed, his arms limp, his

head lolling back, he stumbles, twists, careens.

CLOSE DRAGLINE:

seeing this.

DRAGLINE:

Man bearcaught, boss!

CLOSE BOSS KEAN:

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