Cool Hand Luke Page #6

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Luke rolls over and goes to sleep.

DRAGLINE:

(to his back)

You jus' keep flapping your mouth

and one of these times, you and me

gonna raise a little dust.

The Wicker Man begins hitting the tire rim again.

CARR:

Awright, last bell!

Silence.

CARR:

(continuing)

Forty-nine and one in the box, Boss!

WICKER MAN'S VOICE

Forty-nine and one in the box. Right,

Carr.

EXT. ROAD CLOSEUP YOYO TRANSITIONAL DEVICE (DAY)

It slashes away like a pendulum, golden in the sun, TICKING

away time, over roads that stretch to infinity -- a SHOT

that will always tell us that the men are building time.

SHOT WIDENS. The gang is laboring, filling in washouts by

the roadside. The bosses are Paul, Kean, Higgins, and, always,

Godfrey, the Walking Boss.

CLOSE LUKE:

He is tanned and hardened now, and has mastered the work

rhythm. SHOT WIDENS to show Dragline near him, checking his

shovel for nicks but really eyeballing a passing car. In the

ditch, Luke expertly scoops up a shovel full of sand and,

levering the handle on his knee, flips the sand through the

air so it hits spang in the pan of Dragline's shovel while

Dragline is still eyeballing. It knocks him off balance and

by the time he has caught up, Luke is already catching him

with another shovel full.

DRAGLINE:

Slow down, man. They ain't passing

out medals for slinging dirt.

LUKE:

I thought you knew, boy... they

sentenced me by the mile.

Dragline grins at this insouciance, sneaks a look down the

road. He digs into his pocket and hauls out a pair of salvaged

sunglasses, which he holds up.

DRAGLINE:

Puttin' 'em on here, Boss!

BOSS KEAN'S VOICE

Yeah, put 'em on, Drag!

NEW ANGLE DRAGLINE, LUKE

as Dragline hooks on the glasses. Luke, Tattoo and Tramp are

working around here.

LUKE:

(to Tramp)

Lookit that. Some Hollywood movie

star jus' joined up with us.

Tramp smiles.

DRAGLINE:

(to Koko)

Man, this here Newmeat parking meter

bandit thing what calls itself Luke

don't know nuthin' 'bout nuthin'.

LUKE:

(to Tramp)

But damn if he don't look like a fat

old Dragline.

TRAMP:

Coulda fooled me.

DRAGLINE:

(to Tattoo)

These is my eyeballin' glasses. Now

I'm gonna play peek-a-boo and ol'

Godfrey ain't gonna know if I'm

eyeballin' or tootin' the piccolo.

TATTOO:

That ain't nuthing compared to what

we used to do in San Pedro. There

was this ensign...

DRAGLINE:

(has been sniffing

the air)

Ah believe I smell me a blonde-haired

lady.

ANGLE ON BULL GANG

They all look up covertly and, sure enough, in the second

car slowed down by Rabbit's sign, is a lush BLONDE in a sun

dress that is hiked up high on the thighs and cut low over

the bosom. She cringes under their gaze and starts the top

going up on the car as though to hide from them.

KOKO:

Man, see her legs. She's tanned all

over.

BLIND DICK:

Nice broad. Nice set.

DRAGLINE:

She looks just like Mrs. Patricia

Handy, a married woman... I useta

fool with. Man, I kin sniff blondes

from a hunnert yards and redheads

from a mile and a half.

KOKO:

(to Tattoo)

Drag's been chain-ganging so long

he's got a nose like a bloodhound.

LUKE:

Maybe he's been chain-ganging too

long.

DRAGLINE:

Long enough to see redhots come and

redhots go.

The car begins to move away. They sigh. The work begins again.

OMITTED:

NEW ANGLE ON GANG

Time has passed; they are further down the road. A small

blue coupe kicks up dust as it jitters down the road and

stops across the highway before a small home. A blonde, mid-

twenties, gets out, and heads covertly look up.

THE BULL GANG:

The woman is too much for them, too close, too blonde, too

lush. They stop as one and watch as she disappears into the

house.

CLOSE GODFREY:

Seeing their odd behavior, he turns to see what's happening

but the woman is gone; when he turns back, the men's heads

are back down.

DRAGLINE, KOKO, LUKE, OTHERS

KOKO:

Oh, man, did you see her? Did you

see her?

DRAGLINE:

I got eyes, don't I? How my not gonna

see something like that?

BLIND DICK:

Nice broad. Good set.

LOUDMOUTH STEVE:

How could you tell? You could hardly

see her.

GAMBLER:

She's back!

Heads pop up again as the blonde comes out of the house, now

dressed in a short house dress, carrying a radio, a pail and

a sponge. She is clearly buxom. She goes to the outside

faucet, fills the bucket and drags the attached hose toward

the car.

LOUDMOUTH STEVE:

Look at that!

DRAGLINE:

Shut up, you loudmouth jerk!

THE BLONDE:

She begins to hose the dusty car, splashing herself, making

the cotton dress cling to her body, tossing her hair, every

movement and gesture erotic and provocative.

THE MEN:

Their work is completely disorganized as they attempt to

shovel while watching. Their voices overlap.

KOKO:

Man Oh Man.

LUKE:

That is one mean lady. Bet her husband

spends one day a week shooting

milkmen.

BLIND DICK:

Lookit her bounce.

GAMBLER:

Oh lean over here, lady. Lean this

way.

TRAMP:

I wouldn't mind being that hose.

GAMBLER:

More... a little more.

TATTOO:

I don't know if I believe it.

BLONDIE:

She's so big!

GAMBLER:

Now lean down... a little more.

DRAGLINE:

Lookit that little honeypot. Lookit

those legs.

MECHANIC:

Oh man, I ain't never been so thirsty

in my life.

THE BLONDE:

She begins to rub the windshield erotically.

BLIND DICK:

Oh rub.

SLEEPY:

Rub.

DRAGLINE:

Rub!

BABALUGATS:

Rub-a-dub-dub. Rub-a-dub-dub.

KOKO:

I'm dyin'. I'm dyin'!

DRAGLINE:

Look, she's got paint on her toenails!

Oh Lord, whatever I done, don't strike

me blind for 'nother couple minutes.

Oh you Lucille!

DRAGLINE AND LUKE

LUKE:

Lucille? Where do you get that?

DRAGLINE:

(whirling)

That'sa Lucille, you mullet head!

Any girl so innocent and built like

that gotta be named Lucille.

LUKE:

Innocent?

BLIND DICK:

She don't even know what she's doin!.

LUKE:

She knows exactly what she's doin.

She's drivin' you crazy and lovin'

it.

DRAGLINE:

Shut your mouth 'bout my Lucille.

LUKE:

Your Lucille? Man, you better put

them glasses back on and take a look

at yourself.

DRAGLINE:

(glaring)

Boy. You jus' asking to be handled!

P.O.V. MEN TO GIRL

as Godfrey moves across the scene, blocking their view,

staring at them, FILLING THE SCREEN.

OMITTED:

INT. SHOWERS (NIGHT)

Trashing bodies and heads in the steam. Feeling of tension,

irritation, except for Babalugats, who is SINGING.

SLEEPY:

Babalugats, shut up.

MECHANIC:

Leave him alone. He's happy.

SLEEPY:

That's because he's a damn moron.

LOUDMOUTH STEVE:

Now why don't you just shut up?

INT. BARRACKS (NIGHT)

The men are in their bunks, sullen, quiet as the tire iron

SOUNDS.

CARR:

Awright, last bell.

Carr paces, counting. Beds SQUEAK as men turn restlessly,

unable to get comfortable. At the far end of the barracks, a

slow-turning fan CREAKS gratingly. It will continue to do so

throughout the scene, adding irritation to Carr's SQUEEGEEING

steps and the regular SQUEAKING of bedsprings.

OMITTED:

ANGLE ON MEN:

restless, irritated.

CARR'S VOICE (O.S.)

Fifty, Boss.

NEW ANGLE ON MEN

WICKERMAN'S VOICE

Fifty, right, Carr.

ANGLE ON KOKO:

KOKO:

Man, it's so hot.

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