November 1, 1967 –
Warner Brothers released one of Paul Newman’s signature films, Cool Hand Luke on this date.
Originally, the scene where Luke plays Plastic Jesus as an ode to his mother was scheduled for the beginning of the shoot, but after Paul Newman insisted on learning the instrument, director Stuart Rosenberg delayed it a few weeks. When they tried it, and the playing was unsatisfactory, it was bumped until the next-to-last day of production. Newman and Rosenberg had a shouting match after Newman still couldn’t get it down. In what George Kennedy remembered as a “tense, electrically charged, quiet” place, Newman tried again. When he finished, Rosenberg called “Print.” Newman insisted he could do better. “Nobody could do it better,” Rosenberg replied. Harry Dean Stanton (who is listed only as “Dean Stanton” in this movie’s opening credits) taught Paul Newman how to play Plastic Jesus.
The Haus of Dcaligari 