Where was Cool Hand Luke filmed?

Luke arrives at the prison and is introduced to the prison rules. In one of the best scenes in Cool Hand Luke, the night guard Carr shares this information.

“There’s no playing grab-*ss or fighting in the building. If you got a grudge against another man, you fight him Saturday afternoon. Any man playing grab *ss or fighting in the building spends a night in the box. The first bell is at 5 minutes of 8, the last bell is at 8. Any man not in his bunk at 8 spends a night in the box. There’s no smoking in the prone position in bed. To smoke, you must have both legs over the side of your bunk. Any man caught smoking in the prone position in bed spends a night in the box. You get two sheets. Every Saturday you put the clean sheet on the top and the top sheet on the bottom. The bottom sheet you turn into the laundry board. Any man turns in the wrong sheet spends a night in the box…”

To visit this Cool Hand Luke location by public transit, it is best to travel on bus line 1. Though prison officials do not allow spectators on the prison compound found here, it is possible to see the outside of the facility and the surrounding area which is also seen in several different Cool Hand Luke production scenes throughout the film.

The men are hard at work on the chain gang, digging a deep ditch. They notice a beautiful woman, exiting her home with a large bucket full of water. The lady places the bucket by her car and gets ready to wash the vehicle while the men stare lustily at her. Dragline takes a long look at the gorgeous blonde and makes this comment in one of the most funny scenes in Cool Hand Luke, “Taking ‘em {his sunglasses} off here, Boss. D*mned things is blocking the scenery.”

There are several different bus lines you can take to reach this Cool Hand Luke filming location including bus routes 120, 21, 46, and 47.

Luke has been spending his time aggravating the guards and his fellow inmates and trying to rise to the highest position in the prison hierarchy. His antics draw the ire of the prison leader, a man known as Dragline and the two decide to fight. In a brutally bloody fistfight, it is obvious that the larger Dragline has the advantage.

Yet Luke refuses to surrender. Though ultimately, Dragline refuses to continue the fight, Luke’s tenacity earns the respect of the other inmates and draws the attention of the guards. In one of the best action scenes in Cool Hand Luke, this dialogue unfolds.

Inmate #1: Just lay down, Luke. He’s just gonna knock you down again, buddy.

Inmate #2: It’s not your fault. He’s just too big.

Inmate #3: Just let him hit you in the nose and get some blood flowing. Maybe the bosses will stop it before he kills you.

Luke: No, I don’t want to frighten him.

Tavares Road Prison was replicated in a film shoot location that was constructed in Stockton, California. The outdoor fistfight scenes were filmed here. To reach this former Cool Hand Luke film set from nearby Modesto, take A-99 N, traveling for approximately 31 miles until you reach the town’s limits.

In this Cool Hand Luke scene, the men are inside their bunkhouse during a rainstorm. Dragline addresses the inmates, and the following conversation takes place.

Dragline: You calling me a liar?

Antagonizing inmate: No, not a liar. You just have a common, unlikeable tendency towards exaggeration.

Dragline: Ooh, ooh, ooh. That there is the champion hog gut in this camp {pointing at Luke.} H*ll, I seen him eat ten chocolate bars and seven cold drinks in fifteen minutes. He can eat busted bottles and rusty nails, any d*mn thing. If you’d be so kind as to let me cut off your Yankee head, he’ll even eat that.

Luke: I can eat 50 eggs.

Dragline: Nobody can eat 50 eggs.

Inmate #2: You just said he could eat anything.

Dragline: You ever eat 50 eggs?

Luke: Nobody ever ate 50 eggs.

Inmate #3: Hey, bubaloobas! We got a bet here!

Dragline: My boy says he can eat 50 eggs, he can eat 50 eggs!

The best way to reach this former Cool Hand Luke film set is by taking bus lines 222, 501, or Pink or by boarding the Subway’s B Line Red.

The men are working on the chain gang, digging a particularly challenging ditch. The work is hot and grueling. Luke is returned to the work site in shackles after his last escape attempt. He is beaten but still very defiant as he is marched out to the ditch by the Captain. Leg shackles are placed around his feet, and his hands are also then bound.

Captain: You’re gonna get used to wearing these chains after a while, Luke. But you’ll never stop listening to them clinking. Cause they gonna remind you of what I’ve been saying for your own good.

Luke: I wish you’d stop being so good to me, Captain.

Captain: Don’t you ever talk to me that way again.

The Captain begins to viciously strike Luke until he is knocked off his feet and rolls down the hill into the ditch.

Captain: What we’ve got here is failure to communicate. Some men you just can’t reach. So, you get what we had here last week. Which is the way he wants it. Well, he gets it. I don’t like it any more than you men.

To visit the site where this scene was shot, travel CA-99 N from Stockton for just over 16 miles. A passenger vehicle is the most efficient mode of transportation; however, bus and taxi services are also available.

In the final scene in Cool Hand Luke, Luke and Dragline have escaped. Though Luke tells Dragline he should separate from him for his own safety, Dragline stays nearby as Luke enters a church to have a discussion with God whom he blames for all the hardships in his life.

The police stand outside the church. A smiling Luke mocks The Captain by quoting his infamous line back to him when he says, “What we have here is a failure to communicate.” Luke is then shot in the neck. Dragline carries him outdoors, surrendering them both and begging that the officers show mercy to Luke.

The decision is made to take Luke to a hospital that is further away than the local hospital, an act that will intentionally cause his death.

Jacksonville has its own international airport, and this is the best way to access the city in which this iconic Cool Hand Luke scene was shot. From the airport, you can take a shuttle bus, a taxi, or travel by passenger vehicle to the outskirts of the city where this scene was filmed.