Six Powerful Prison Films Compared

Paul Newman is Luke.

I've long been a fan of Cool Hand Luke, the epic prison film starring Paul Newman and George Kennedy. Like all great films, there are memorable scenes and memorable lines, including this one by the prison captain: "What we've got here is... failure to communicate."

Paul Newman is Luke Jackson, who ends up with a two year sentence for a meaningless crime. His story becomes a metaphor for the existential hero who refuses to accept things as they are and is inwardly determined to be free from the constraints of existence. I've watched the film several times over the years and find it to be the perfect expression of existential philosophy, which was very much in vogue in the decades after WW2.

With this film as a gold standard of prison films, here are several more flicks to add to the Prison Films canon.

Cell Block 19 (1954)
I only discovered this movie by accident and what a nice surprise. Unlike the rest of the movies here, it is not centered around movie stars but rather a gritty story about a prison riot. When COVID-19 resulted in lockdowns around the world, there were numerous prison riots that soon followed, hence this 1954 movie caught my attention earlier this year.

Inhumane prison conditions ultimately prompt inmates at a prison to take action. They successfully take over one of the cell blocks and hold a number of guards hostage, hoping to negotiate with the prison warden, who is between a rock and a hard place. To give the prisoners what they want requires the governor's endorsement and he refuses to be bothered with this.

The movie shows how political shenanigans impact the ability of getting a straight answer. It also shows how the media can make a difference, because as a result of the takeover of Cell Block 19, the press gives ear to the prisoners' peeves, which has an influence on public opinion. The appalling circumstances in the prison are no longer hidden and the public can put pressure on the governor.

There are other features of the film of note, one being the manner in which there are differences of opinion on what to do now that the mob rules. Two factions have different ideas about what to do with the hostages, among other things.

Trivia: Walter Wanger, who produced this film, had just done time in prison (four months) and wanted to make a film that showed what prison conditions are really like. As a result, the film is less slick in production but packs a punch for its eye-opening storyline.

Cool Hand Luke (1967)

 

The only thing I have to add here are these two anecdotes. While driving to Hibbing a number of years ago, I picked up a hitchhiker. As it turns out, he had just gotten out of prison and was in the process of getting a Minnesota residency so he could get a job as a cabby. He had an interesting story, had been framed by the police who claimed he had 5000 hits of LSD and was a dealer. He did have LSD, but never saw 5000 hits of acid in his life. The audiobook I was listening to when I picked him up? Cool Hand Luke.

The second tale is that I spent a year in Puerto Rico in 1979 during which time I visited the Bayamon Prison once a week. I was assisting Bruce Fowler, a prison chaplain who was nicknamed "The Prisoner's Friend." Of this much more can be said. So many stories, so little time.

Papillon (1973)
This is a powerful account of one man's escape from a prison on Devil's Island. Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman are the lead characters, two prisoners whose friendship carries them through a horrendous life experience. Like Luke Jackson, Steve McQueen early on realizes this place is not for him. Either he must escape or die trying.

Runaway Train (1985)

This film stars Jon Voigt, another existential hero type. Voigt is one of those prisoners who refuses to be confined, is determined to break free. He's escaped twice before from other prisons and this one is supposed to be the end of the line. Nevertheless, he finds a way and a younger prisoner (Eric Roberts) who idolizes him tags along. It is the dead of winter and up here in the Northland the weather can be pretty inhospitable.

The two manage to jump on a train that is leaving a railway yard but one that has bad luck written on it. That is, as the train leaves the station the engineer has a heart attack. The train, picking up speed, is heading east and it becomes a very wild ride. The two figure out that something is not quite right, and they work their way forward to try to reach the engine. They soon discover that there's someone else on the train, a female railway worker (Rebecca DeMornay).

The train itself becomes a character in the film, and if you like trains, the film is especially fantastic. Some detractors may have issues with some of the storyline cliches. I overlook that.

Trivia: Djordje Milicevic, who wrote the screenplay for this film, also wrote Iron Will, another Northland winter film. As an extra in two scenes, it was my first "up close and personal" experience with Hollywood.

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Andy and Red. A story of friendship, dignity and hope.

This is the story of Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) as told through the eyes of Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding (Morgan Freeman). It is the top-rated movie of all time on imdb.com, based on viewer rankings. As with Papillon, it is a story of two men bonding within a context of oppression and injustice. It's also about what it means to be human.

One reviewer at imdb.com says that renting the movie is a waste of money because you will have to rent it again. "Buy it." He also said it is the best film that never got an Oscar, though it did receive seven nominations.

Morgan Freeman, like all our favorite stars, has an amazing ability to project warmth and that "special something" that makes you want to spend time with him. Was it Driving MIss Daisy that put him on the map? Shawshank sealed the deal that he was a force for good in Hollywood. Writing about all this makes me want to see it again, of course. And so I will look for it.

Papillon (2017)

When I saw that there had been a Papillon remake, I questioned its validity. How could you re-do this classic. Afterwards, I conceded. This is a great remake.

SPOILER ALERT

I'd forgotten that in addition to being a story revealing the horrors of Devil's Island, it was also an injustice that put Henri Charriere (Charlie Hunnam) into this hell-hole, wrongly convicted for murder. Rami Malek plays the Dustin Hoffman character in this version. In addition, it's based on the bok which Charriere wrote after his escape. In other words, the film is based on a true story.

The amount of time Charriere suffered was far longer than I'd remembered, though it's near 50 years since I saw the original. Suffering, in a film, is relatively brief... two to three hours at most. In real life, it's near impossible to imagine what people have gone through. I think here of the POWs who were caged and tortured in the Hanoi Hilton.

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EndNote: I saw first-hand some very bad things inside Bayamon Prison, but Bayamon was actually a good prison compared to what I heard about others, one of which was nicknamed Satan's Synagogue. That is a place you just don't want to go. And then there was my visit to the prison in Monterrey, Mexico. The old man we brought food to was living in Hell.

The Existential Hero/Anti-Hero Cool Hand Luke

“You made me like I am…. When does it end? What do you got in mind for me? What do I do now?” ~Luke Jackson

For a variety of reasons, existentialism became one of the prevailing philosophies of mid-Twentieth century. It is a philosophical view with fuzzy edges, as writers as varied as Kierkegaard, Sartre and Camus bring differing perspectives to the equation. Nevertheless, at its core there are several common defining features: a sense of personal alienation, that our life situation is absurd, and the sense of calling to live authentically.

One definition refers to modern man's situation as "a sense of disorientation and confusion in the face of an apparently meaningless or absurd world."

Merriam-Webster offers this definition: "A chiefly 20th century philosophical movement embracing diverse doctrines but centering on analysis of individual existence in an unfathomable universe and the plight of the individual who must assume ultimate responsibility for acts of free will without any certain knowledge of what is right or wrong or good or bad."

When Cool Hand Luke was released in 1967, Existentialism was a prevailing wind on college campuses and in popular culture. Hence, the film demonstrates, without preaching, the fundamental essence of this worldview.

SPOILER ALERT

Luke Jackson (Paul Newman) is a combination existential hero/anti-hero and Christ-figure in this film. As the opening credits roll we see a drunken Luke cutting the tops off of parking meters in the middle of the night, not to rob them but simply out of his sense of boredom, or for whatever meaningless reason. The rest of the film is about his time in prison. Luke has one quest here, to escape this meaningless existence. I see the overall film as a metaphor for Sartre's No Exit or Camus's The Stranger.

Like all good stories the film is a sequence of scenes which serve to define Luke's character for the viewer. His "never give up" attitude is demonstrated early in his fight with Dragline (George Kennedy). And though his "achievements" win the admiration of his bunkmates or "co-workers" in this hard labor camp, he is non-plussed about all of it, as A. Hardt points out in this 2011 forum discussion:

Through my multiple viewings of Cool Hand Luke, my analysis of the message of the film has switched back and forth between an existentialist one, and one of determinism. The existentialist references are the most common within the film; Luke is constantly discrediting the meaning in his actions. After Captain lists Luke’s significant war achievements, Luke responds by saying, “I was just passing time.” Also, when Dragline consults Luke about the 50 eggs in an hour bet, Luke says about the extremely difficult task, “Yeah well, it would be something to do.” From these and other examples, it seems that Luke has come to believe that his life is inherently meaningless, and in order to create meaning, he must give himself seemingly impossible tasks to complete to the amazement of those watching. When the chain gang is ordered to pave an entire road in one day, Luke recognizes the meaninglessness of this menial task, and by doing so he is able to accept it and even make the task into a game for the other workers, thereby achieving a sort of satisfaction.

Final showdown at the film's end.

In my recent watching of Cool Hand Luke I noted once more that in addition to being something of an existential hero/anti-hero, it's very clear that Luke is also something of a Christ-figure. In one of the reviews at imdb.com the writer points out that director Stuart Rosenberg consciously viewed the character of Luke in this manner, hence the deliberate use of Christian imagery in the film, most strikingly after the egg-eating scene where Luke is lying on the table, hands outstretched. The other prisoners have left his side, amplifying with a slightly long lingering shot the sense of Christ's abandonment at the Cross.

Though at first he was just another prisoner, his escapades serve to help give meaning and hope to his fellow prisoners, even if they seemingly mean nothing to him. In the end, like Jesus, he is abandoned by God (Matthew 27:46) and betrayed by a friend.

Peering through the existential lens we note that Luke is a non-conformist who is authentically himself. He is not like the others who, though discontent, accept their boundaries, their circumstances. Luke is a man of action, not resignation. Tragically his aspiration is impossible to achieve yet he pursues it till the end, hence his final despair.

There are plenty of great moments in this film. If you haven't seen it in a while, it may be time to re-visit this memorable classic.

How Badly Do You Want To Be Free?

Recently watched Walk the Line again, a movie about the life of Johnny Cash up thru his marriage to June Carter. Here is a man who knew well the gritty side of life. Hard times in his childhood, with deep wounds. And hard times from bad choices as he wrestled with personal demons. Yet out of this inner turbulence there came some powerful songs and by the grace of God he became a survivor.

These past few days I’ve been driving my mom from her winter home in Tampa back to Pennsylvania. I often sing to myself to pass the time as we rack up the miles. Yesterday some Johnny Cash songs came up on the mental dial, and this one, San Quentin, really hit me.

I remember several decades ago hearing a song about our personal prisons which we make with our own hands, the consequences of our own choices. The prison was a metaphor for everything that snares.

While singing San Quentin these old thoughts rose up and I saw the song as an anthem, a starting point for liberation from addictions. Perhaps many of our problems stem from a lack of real motivation to change. We lack the willpower, the drive, the determination. Instead we make a mild effort and then lean back against the wall with a shrug.

It’s not until we have an abject hatred of our prisons, whether habits or addictions, that we will do what it takes, whatever it takes, to find freedom. Johnny Cash sang,

San Quentin, you've been livin' hell to me
You've hosted me since nineteen sixty three
I've seen 'em come and go and I've seen them die
And long ago I stopped askin' why

San Quentin, I hate every inch of you.
You've cut me and have scarred me thru an' thru.

Until we absolutely hate our prisons, we’ll just reside there making the best of it. That’s why movies like Cool Hand Luke, Runaway Train and Shawshank Redemption have such power. At the center of each story is an existential hero who will not submit to his fate. He is committed to one aim: freedom. “San Quentin, you've been livin' hell to me,” Johnny Cash wrote. What is it that is living hell for you? Maybe it’s time to do something about it.

If your problem is an addiction and your will power feels like wet toilet paper, you might find help through True You Recovery.




Don’t let your prison keep you from your dreams.