Originally Posted in 2011 about July – August at BasicChristian.org
by David Anson Brown

Update 2011: The Basic Christian Ministry still has more material to post and I would like to detour from the 8 Kingdoms/History Study and re-examine Doctrines and Theology particularly; Redemption, Salvation, Baptism, Born-Again, Once Saved Always Saved, Etc. – But before we get back into more Doctrine it’s possible that I might do another short series this time decoding the 1967 movie ‘Cool Hand Luke’ – Also it looks like I will have a few breaks in posting between now (July) and September so around September 2011 we should be back full-speed into the 8 Kingdoms & Church History Study ~

God bless everyone,
David Anson Brown

The 1967 movie Cool Hand Luke is kind of the movie where all the previous Occult introduction themes [rebellion, disobedience, drugs, nudity, sexuality, homosexuality, etc.] finally gained mainstream acceptance with the general public and movie audience. After Cool Hand Luke [highly based off the 1965 movie King Rat] and many other similar Occult themed [losing your religion] movies the rebellion of the 1960’s entered virtually unabated into almost all segments of society [some of the theme music from Cool Hand Luke became the theme sound for most of the Nation’s nightly ‘Eyewitness News’ broadcasts]. — Though obvious the primary reason for decoding the movie ‘Cool Hand Luke’ is not going to be to point out all the rebellion and societal angst that is purposely scripted and directed into the movie [as we did with the 1966 movie The Good, The Bad and The Ugly]. Instead the movie ‘Cool Hand Luke’ [in attempting to ruin religion] accidently portrays a very realistic portrayal of a sinful man ‘Luke’ seeking and groping after a real relationship with the Holy God. The question the movie fails to ask but we will not fail to ask is ‘in the end was Luke saved?’ The question of Luke’s salvation is going to be paramount to our brief study and it is going to be the premise and conclusion of this study that yes indeed the slightly fictional character of Cool Hand Luke if real would indeed be saved and in heaven. — Coming Soon: ‘Cool Hand Luke’ decoded. [article link]

Cool Hand Luke (1967) Part 1 (YouTube)
Paul Newman was nominated for an Oscar and George Kennedy received one for his work in this allegorical prison drama. Luke Jackson (Paul Newman) is sentenced to a 2 year stretch on a Florida chain gang (Road Prison) after he’s arrested for drunkenly decapitating parking meters. While the avowed ambition of the captain (Strother Martin) is for each prisoner to “get their mind right,” it soon becomes obvious that Luke is not about to give in/submit to anybody. When challenged to a fistfight by fellow inmate Dragline (George Kennedy), Luke simply refuses to give up, even though he’s brutally beaten. Luke knows how to win at poker, even with bad cards, by using his smarts and playing it cool. Luke also figures out a way for the men to get their work done in half the usual time, giving them one afternoon off. Finally, when Luke finds out his mother has died, he plots his escape; when he’s caught, he simply escapes again. Soon, Luke becomes a symbol of hope and resilience to the other men in the prison camp — and a symbol of rebelliousness that must be stamped out by the guards and the captain. Along with stellar performances by Newman, Kennedy, and Martin, Cool Hand Luke features a superb supporting cast, including Ralph Waite, Harry Dean Stanton, Dennis Hopper, Wayne Rogers, and Joe Don Baker as members of the chain gang [and Jo Van Fleet as Luke’s dysfunctional mother Arletta]. [article link]

Cool Hand Luke – Wikipedia: Eyewitness News – Eyewitness News is a name used by local television newscasts, widely used in different markets across the United States – The earliest known use of the Eyewitness News name in American television was in April 1959 when KYW-TV (now WKYC-TV) in Cleveland, owned at the time by Westinghouse Broadcasting, launched the nation’s first 90-minute local newscast (under the title Eyewitness), combined with the then 15-minute national newscast – Primo used the cue 007 from the 1963 film From Russia with Love as the musical theme – In 1968, Primo moved to WABC-TV in New York City and took the Eyewitness News concept there with him, choosing music from the 1967 Paul Newman film Cool Hand Luke – the “Tar Sequence” cue (composed by Lalo Schifrin) as the theme – However, he added a new twist at WABC-TV-chatter among the anchors, which came to be known as “happy talk”
Origins: The earliest known use of the Eyewitness News name in American television was in April 1959 when KYW-TV (now WKYC-TV) in Cleveland, owned at the time by Westinghouse Broadcasting, launched the nation’s first 90-minute local newscast (under the title Eyewitness), combined with the then 15-minute national newscast. The name was then adopted for use by Westinghouse’s other television stations-KPIX in San Francisco, WJZ-TV in Baltimore, WBZ-TV in Boston and KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh-for its local newscasts. … between stories to let viewers know their personalities. Primo used the cue 007 from the 1963 film From Russia with Love as the musical theme. The format quickly became a hit in Philadelphia and allowed KYW-TV to surge past longtime leader WCAU-TV for first place, a position it kept on and off until the late 1970s. KYW-TV’s success spawned rival station WFIL-TV (now WPVI-TV) to develop the Action News format to compete with it. (After NBC was ordered back to Cleveland in 1965, the Eyewitness News name left that city until WEWS adopted it for its newscasts in the 1970s). — Expansion: In 1968, Primo moved to WABC-TV in New York City and took the Eyewitness News concept there with him, choosing music from the 1967 Paul Newman film Cool Hand Luke – the “Tar Sequence” cue (composed by Lalo Schifrin) – as the theme. However, he added a new twist at WABC-TV-chatter among the anchors, which came to be known as “happy talk”. Among the newscasters in the first wave of happy talk on WABC was a very young Geraldo Rivera, a comical and entertaining weatherman in Tex Antoine, and with Roger Grimsby as traditional humorless anchorman. WABC-TV has kept the name and format since then, and has been the highest-rated station in New York for much of that time. — The format, as tweaked by WABC-TV, was copied by many other stations in the United States, with four other stations owned and operated by ABC – KABC-TV in Los Angeles, WLS-TV in Chicago, WXYZ-TV in Detroit and KGO-TV in San Francisco — using both the format and the Cool Hand Luke theme. (In the case of KGO, since KPIX was already using the Eyewitness News name, KGO named its newscast Channel 7 NewsScene in 1969 and by 1983 simply Channel 7 News, while WXYZ used the Action News name since rival WJBK-TV called its newscasts Eyewitness News; KABC and WLS were free to use the Eyewitness News name as did WABC-TV). Ironically, WPVI, which developed the Action News format, is also now an ABC owned-and-operated station. In addition, U.S. Spanish-language stations also use their own version of Eyewitness News, called Noticias de Primera Plana (Headline News, a concept translation in Spanish of Eyewitness News) on its owned-and-operated stations. [article link]

Introduction
The false premise of the movie ‘Cool Hand Luke’ is that Society is accurately structured off of Religion and that society therefore accurately reflects religion i.e. Christianity and that to then properly conform to Society is to properly conform to Religion and therefore be ‘Saved’ by God – This very false [straw man] proposition [with society being wrong then God must be wrong] regarding Society in equating Society to Religion is much of what we are going to examine in this series of decoding the movie ‘Cool Hand Luke’ — {Note: Biblically [Revelation chapters 1-4] it is clear that the Christian Church in whole often does not accurately reflect the image of God (Jesus), and much less does society as a whole, but that individuals [i.e. Cool Hand Luke] do at times more accurately reflect the true image of Jesus Christ as God has intended for all mankind.}
The reason the movie as a whole is a “straw-man proposal” [society being wrong so God must be wrong] movie presentation and an obvious one at that is that the straw ‘not real’ and easily swept away argument being that society accurately represents Christianity and therefore a dysfunctional Society [on whole or in part] is an offspring of a dysfunctional religion i.e. Christianity and being dysfunctional then reasonable people would have every reasonable need to depart from a dysfunctional [religion] system and incorporate a much less ‘dysfunctional’ [seemingly freely open] i.e. prison (socialism) society system and style for their own life and culture. Of course reality is that human society has little to do with actual Biblical Christianity [even within the Church, Mega-Church system] especially regarding sinful mankind. The movie is falsely portraying a Society equals Religion premise and insinuating that Luke while rebelling against society’s unfairness is actually rebelling against the unfairness of God. But in reality Luke in rebelling against the unfair nature of society [Church (Mega-Church) and State] is actually in more of a true relationship with the just, righteous and fair God of the Bible than many people [Christians included] would rightly realize.

[Movie] King Rat (1965) Both Steve McQueen and Paul Newman [Cool Hand Luke] turned down the lead in this intriguing film
This film (King Rat) also has a secondary storyline about the role of class in our society. Most of the British POWs are officers of fine breeding while King is an enlisted man of a questionable background. Some of the “upper-crust” British feel it is beneath them to work with someone like Cpl. King, let alone be bested or dependent upon him. This class-warfare intrigue is still in question today. Are some people better than others because of who they are? Rich vs. poor, male vs. female, white vs. black, educated vs. street smarts are all still issues plaguing humanity. — This film is based upon a best-selling novel by James Clavell. Clavell spent much of his literary life writing a series of best-selling novels about Asia and its interaction with the West. From ‘Shogun’ to ‘Noble House’ to ‘Gai-Jin’ all of Clavell’s novels about Asia are intriguing. The mini-series based upon ‘Shogun’, starring Richard Chamberlin and Toshiro Mifune, is still one of my favorite television events. And this novel is one of his best. Whether you like intense drama or prefer intellectual action, King Rat will provide some enjoyable entertainment. Upon viewing please keep one question in the back of your mind. If you were in a similar situation, would make a deal for food or would you starve for principle and honor? Filmed in 1965, directed by Bryan Forbes, written by Forbes from the novel by James Clavell, starring George Segal, John Mills, Tom Courtenay, James Fox and Denholm Elliott. — Wiki.com James Clavell – Early life and World War II: Born in Australia, Clavell was the son of Commander Richard Clavell, a British Royal Navy officer who was stationed in Australia on secondment from the Royal Navy to the Royal Australian Navy. In 1940, when Clavell finished his secondary schooling at Portsmouth Grammar School, he joined the Royal Artillery to follow his family tradition. Following the outbreak of World War II, at the age of 16 he joined the Royal Artillery in 1940, and was sent to Malaya to fight the Japanese. Wounded by machine-gun fire, he was eventually captured and sent to a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp on Java. Later he was transferred to Changi Prison in Singapore. Clavell suffered greatly at the hands of his Japanese captors. According to the introduction to King Rat, written by Clavell, over 90% of the prisoners who entered Changi never walked out, although the actual mortality rate was under 1% [850 out of a total of 87,000 prisoners are known to have died at Changi, although many more died after being transferred out to other sites like the Death Railway]. Clavell was reportedly saved, along with an entire battalion, by an American prisoner of war who later became the model for “The King” in Clavell’s King Rat. [article link]

Cool Hand Luke (background) – Wikipedia: Donn Pearce an American author best known for the novel and screen play ‘Cool Hand Luke’ – He served two years in the Florida Department of Corrections chain gangs [Road Camp No. 48] – In 1965 Scribners published his first novel, Cool Hand Luke, and he went on to write the Academy Award-nominated screenplay for the 1967 film version – The film starred Paul Newman, and Pearce made a cameo appearance as a convict named Sailor
Donn Pearce (born 1928) is an American author best known for the novel and screen play Cool Hand Luke. — Born Donald Mills Pearce in a suburb of Philadelphia, Pearce left home at 15. He attempted to join the United States Merchant Marine at 16, but was turned away due to his age. He lied about his age, registered for the draft, and was inducted into the United States Army in 1944. Frustrated by rules he considered unnecessary, he went AWOL, then three days later thought better of it and turned himself in to a Navy MP. His sentence was 30 days in the stockade. He served three days of his sentence, then was transferred to a combat infantry unit. Anticipating being sent to the front (this was during WWII), he wrote his mother a letter. She contacted the Army, informed them of his true age, and he was thrown out of the Army. By this time, he was old enough to join the Merchant Marine. — The Merchant Marine took him to Venice when he was 18, to Spain, Denmark, France, Portugal and Bombay. Post-war Europe had a thriving black market, and Pearce became involved in counterfeiting American money. He attempted to pass some counterfeit bills to a police officer in Marseilles, and was arrested, tried, and sent to prison. Assigned to a work detail outside the prison grounds, Pearce escaped, making his way to the Italian border. The French officials had taken his seaman’s papers, so he forged new ones and signed on a ship to Canada. He crossed from Canada into the United States, where he began a new career – burglary. — He became a safecracker, and in 1949, at the age of twenty, he was arrested for burglary. He served two years in the Florida Department of Corrections chain gangs. In 1965 Scribners published his first novel, Cool Hand Luke, and he went on to write the Academy Award-nominated screenplay for the 1967 film version. The film starred Paul Newman, and Pearce made a cameo appearance as a convict named Sailor. His other books included Pier Head Jump (1972) and Dying in the Sun (1974). During the seventies and early eighties he was a freelance journalist, often contributing to magazines such as Playboy and Esquire. In 2005 he published a fourth book, Nobody Comes Back, a novel about the Battle of the Bulge, which received an excellent review from Malcom Jones in the 21 February 2005 edition of Newsweek. Pearce continues to live and write in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. [article link]

Cool Hand Luke (Updated – Background) – imdb: Biography for Donn Pearce – “I seem to be the only guy in the United States who doesn’t like the movie” Pearce told the Miami Herald in 1989 – “Everyone had a whack at it – They screwed (manipulated) it up 99 different ways”
It’s been said that if Donn Pearce is remembered at all, it won’t be for having written “Cool Hand Luke,” his acclaimed but little-read novel about his life as a convict on a southern chain gang, but for the classic movie based on it. Starring Paul Newman in the Oscar-nominated title role, Cool Hand Luke (1967) was both a critical and commercial success. An outstanding film across the board, it brought us one of the screen’s most compelling anti-heroes and one of the all-time great movie lines: “What we’ve got here is failure to communicate.” Nominated for Best Picture, “Cool Hand Luke” was one of the key films of the Sixties. Many consider it a masterpiece. – Donn Pearce is not one of them. – “I seem to be the only guy in the United States who doesn’t like the movie,” Pearce told the Miami Herald in 1989. “Everyone had a whack at it. They screwed it up 99 different ways.” [article link]

[Movie] ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’ is a 1969 American Western [losing your religion] film directed by George Roy Hill and written by William Goldman – The title roles were originally cast with Paul Newman and Steve McQueen, but the latter (McQueen) left after a dispute over billing – The role of Sundance was then offered to Jack Lemmon, whose production company, JML, had produced the 1967 film Cool Hand Luke starring Newman — Note: According to the DVD director commentary director George Roy Hill during pre-production for his 1969 movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid went to Europe (Italy) in 1966 knowing that the movie by Sergio Leone “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” would not be released to American audiences until 1968. In viewing the movie “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” he later incorporated some of the film style [slow-motion and noise emphasis] from Sergio Leone into the shootout sequence in scene #21 titled ‘Going straight’ the scene also included fellow Cool Hand Luke actor Strother Martin.
Production: The film was originally rated M (for mature audiences) by the Motion Picture Association of America. It was re-rated PG when 20th Century Fox re-released the film in 1974. According to the supplemental material on the Blu-ray disc release, William Goldman’s script, originally called The Sundance Kid and Butch Cassidy, was purchased by Richard Zanuck at 20th Century Fox for $400,000, double the price the studio’s board of directors had authorized. The title roles were originally cast with Newman and Steve McQueen, but the latter left after a dispute over billing. The role of Sundance was then offered to Jack Lemmon, whose production company, JML, had produced the 1967 film Cool Hand Luke starring Newman, who had been grateful for Lemmon’s…Lemmon, however, turned down the role; he did not like riding horses, and he also felt he had already played too many aspects of the Sundance Kid’s character before. Warren Beatty was then considered, as was Marlon Brando, but the role of Sundance eventually went to the lesser-known Redford. (Initially Newman was to play Sundance (whom he did not resemble) and Redford Cassidy.) Fox [studio] did not want Redford, but director George Roy Hill insisted. Redford later said this film catapulted him to stardom and irreversibly changed his career. Butch Cassidy’s outlaw gang was actually called “The Wild Bunch”; this was changed, in the film, to “The Hole-In-The-Wall Gang” to avoid confusion with Sam Peckinpah’s recently released film The Wild Bunch. — Box office: With a box office of over US$100 million (equivalent to over $500 million in 2009 dollars), it was the top grossing film of the year. [article link]

Cool Hand Luke – The movie Cool Hand Luke’s opening scene is of a normal looking guy [Luke] who happens to be in the process of damaging Govt. property by cutting off the tops of the parking meters in his small town’s shopping district
The word ‘violation’ looms from each parking meter as Luke topples it from its stand. Luke following his own BYOB policy, a bottle opener hanging from a chain around his neck, has brought his own beer to his own little getting even party. The intoxicated Luke has a grand time while he spends a few minutes in the dark of night “evening the score” for a parking ticket that Luke certainly didn’t deserve. Soon, as expected a local police officer pulls his patrol car to the curb and asks Luke “what are you doing there fella?” The movie viewer is instantly presented with a series of internal conflicts regarding the situation. Knowing that what Luke is doing is wrong but hoping that the officer will see the good natured humor in Luke’s antics and simply drive Luke home for a needed night’s rest and a chance for Luke to sober up from his mostly harmless antics of the night. — The second scene of the movie quickly reveals that not only was Luke not given a break in being taken home and let off by the police but Luke was not given any kind of a break in the form of either a fine or a suspended sentence, instead Luke is on his way to prison. Note: The opening scene is complete and almost overstuffed with occult themes [rebellion, alcohol, intoxication, disobedience] and imagery, a neon sign blazing the single word “Drugs” is the main backdrop for much of the scene and stylistically comes into view just as the officer is asking Luke “what are you doing there fella?” i.e. drugs. The main prop in the opening scene is the looming red light of a distant streetlight warning everyone [Luke and the audiance] to stop any and all dissent that is in any way directed towards government at any level. [article link]

Cool Hand Luke – In the movie’s 2nd scene titled “Yes, Cap’n” Luke and three new fellow inmates arrive at the prison “Road Prison Camp No. 36” under the leering eyes of an inmate trustee and to the sounds of baying dogs the four new prisoners encounter a prison guard and meet the Camp Commandant [Captain – played by Strother Martin] in being inducted into their new prison surroundings
This second scene is one of the important pivotal scenes of the movie. The first new prisoner [Alibi – played by ‘The Waltons’ family TV show star Ralph Waite] reveals his sentence of two years for the horrendous crime of manslaughter, the accidental death of another person. Soon we are startled to learn that Luke also has received in his case a very steep two year penalty as well and not for the crime of manslaughter but for the victimless crime of damaging government property. — Further the scene goes on to reveal the dreadful news that not only has Luke committed the grievous act of interfering with government property particularly property [parking meters] that help finance and enrich the government but Luke is also on record for having committed the other grievous act against the government, the act of disobedience in disobeying Army authority [he was reduced in rank from Sargent back down to Private]. The viewer begins to get a brief sense of a foreboding future for Luke in that Luke having committed not one but two sins, the two most unforgiving sins, against the government [state and church] system in committing acts of disobedience to authority and by interfering even ever so slightly by momentarily hindering the governments’ ability to continually collect tax from the citizens [via a parking tax]. The audience begins to sense that Luke’s mostly innocent behavior is going to have a disastrous result for Luke in that the government [state – church – mega-church] system will not tolerate in any way financial meddling or disobedience to authority of any kind. Note: in the scene a white picket fence is clearly prominent when the new prisoners arrive outside the Warden’s house. The prisoner trustee ‘Dog Boy’ is also seen petting the bloodhound ‘Blue’ next to the fence. The white picket fence [attempts to reveal in the movie’s false premise] that society makes and enforces a just and orderly rule of law [as opposed to the true Word of God revealing just law for all]. After the prisoners introduction they are led away from the white picket fence to their new housing area an area where a large locked metal gate and chain linked fence topped with barbed wire surrounds where the prisoners of society live.

Cool Hand Luke – In one of the truly amazing scenes of the movie, or of any movie, is the interaction between Luke and his visiting Mother Arletta (played by Jo Van Fleet) – Luke calling his mother only by her name “Arletta” and Arletta constantly referring to Luke only as “kid” unleashes a barrage of un-motherly love on Luke the likes of which the world has seldom witnessed
The [carefully written and scripted] scene begins with an ill Arletta having been toted to the prison camp compound in a makeshift bed in the back of an old pickup truck driven by her son John [a half-brother to Luke], John is accompanied by a young son of his own. Arletta wastes no time in harassing Luke by beckoning him to come around to the other side of the pickup truck bed knowing full well that Luke can’t go out of sight of the prison guard. The guard quickly denies Luke permission to go where Arletta as beckoned him to be. A smiling Arletta briefly relishes in her ability to make life impossible for her favored son Luke. Immediately Arletta begins to challenge Luke in his lack of having any children of his own. Luke comments that yeah it cannot be done just now. Moving on to more devastation Arletta begins to side with everyone but Luke in her taking sides with the law, any past girlfriend or anything else that can put Luke down. In the crescendo of the scene Arletta begins to cough and choke while an obedient Luke lifts a glass of water to her, yet amazingly Arletta won’t even give Luke the satisfaction of assisting her and Arletta twice refuses to accept the much needed glass of water from Luke’s outstretched hand. Previously Arletta had just dug into Luke by pointing out that Luke had never met his biological father – something Luke would have liked to have done. Permanently finishing Luke off Arletta tells him that she will soon be dead and “it won’t matter what he does when he gets out of prison” and that she was going to leave everything to his half-brother John so regardless his life didn’t matter to her anyhow but that he should try to just “laugh if up” anyhow. — After Luke has been unfairly kicked while he is down by the system and now by his own family the movie at its lowest point then introduces religion as a main new theme in the movie.

Cool Hand Luke – filmsite: Luke’s sickly, dying mother Arletta (Jo Van Fleet) visits one Sunday afternoon to say goodbye – Review by Tim Dirks
Luke’s sickly, dying mother Arletta (Jo Van Fleet) visits one Sunday afternoon to say goodbye, stiffly and painfully propped up in the bed of the pickup truck – it is presumably their last time together. Driven by her respectable son John, Sr. (John Pearce), she is chain-smoking a cigarette while coughing [with lung cancer or consumptive TB?]. Arletta still cares and expresses warm affection for her wayward yet favored son – but with guarded words. Although she is disappointed about how he turned out (and feeling guilty about her role as caregiver), Luke tells her that she’d done her best raising him as a single mother. In the tragic scene which implies much about her son’s broken childhood and upbringing, the terminally-ill Arletta expresses regrets and resigns herself to “let go” of her independent-minded son who tried to live like she did – “free and above board.” In the poignant conclusion to their conversation, she plans – after her death – to give her inheritance to her less-loved son John. [article link]

Cool Hand Luke – Where Are They Now? Joy Harmon (The Girl) – Aunt Joy’s Cakes – Aunt Joy’s Cakes began with Joy Harmon’s love for sweets and lifelong passion for baking – most remembered for her role in the movie “Cool Hand Luke” starring Paul Newman and George Kennedy – Joy Harmon plays a sexy, young woman who the men in the chain gang call Lucille – She drives the prisoners crazy as she seductively washes her car on a hot summer day
Aunt Joy’s Cakes began with Joy Harmon’s love for sweets and lifelong passion for baking. Before she was Aunt Joy, Joy Harmon was an actress in the sixties known for her ingénue style. She enjoyed bringing freshly baked goods for all of her co-workers, including Groucho Marx, who Joy Harmon appeared with on the television shows “You Bet Your Life” and “Tell It to Groucho.” She also acted in many films, such as “Village of the Giants” and “Angel in my Pocket,” but is most remembered for her role in the movie “Cool Hand Luke” starring Paul Newman and George Kennedy, who won the Oscar as Best Supporting Actor for the film. Joy Harmon plays a sexy, young woman who the men in the chain gang call Lucille. She drives the prisoners crazy as she seductively washes her car on a hot summer day. Although Joy Harmon’s legendary car wash scene lasted less than five minutes, it made history as one of the sexiest scenes in a motion picture. — Aunt Joy’s Cakes started in the kitchen of her home in California. The name originated when Joy Harmon began supplying cakes to her niece’s coffee shop. Whenever she made a delivery her niece would cheer, “Aunt Joy’s cakes are here!” Then Joy Harmon started supplying her desserts to Disney Studios, where her son worked and spread the word about his mom’s mouthwatering cakes and cookies. Her homemade desserts were becoming very popular, and Joy Harmon started supplying her baked goods to many more studios in the Los Angeles area. The demand for her delicious treats became too great for her to do alone in her kitchen, so now Joy Harmon is sharing her recipes and baking her secrets with her children. They are now running a wholesale bakery in Burbank, California specializing in cakes, cupcakes, cookies, and chocolate dipped strawberries. [article link]

King Rat – Where Are They Now? James Fox as Peter Marlowe [a type of a Christian missionary who loses his religion and joins in with the Devil “King Rat”] from Hut 16 in the movie “King Rat” – Fox subsequently joined [1970 to 1979] a religious organization known as “The Navigators” which is similar to the Gideons and is closely associated with the ministry of Billy Graham
Mini Biography: James Fox is the second of three sons, born to the theatrical agent Robin Fox and his actress wife Angela Worthington – aka Angela Fox. His brothers are the actor Edward Fox and the producer Robert Fox. He started acting as a child actor and used his real name, until he reached his early 20s. He trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama. He left for nine years from 1970 to 1979 to pursue Christian vocational work. His niece is the actress Emilia Fox and he has a half-brother to the actor Daniel Chatto. From his marriage to Mary Piper, he has four sons: Thomas Fox, born 1975; Robin Fox, born 1976; the actors Laurence Fox, born 1978; Jack Fox, born 1985, and one daughter, Lydia Fox, born 1979. He published a book, “Comeback: An Actor’s Direction”, in 1983. … Fox left the acting profession for nine years (1970-79) after he filmed Performance (1970) with Mick Jagger. A combination of his father’s recent death, the strain of filming and smoking the hallucinogen DMT with Mick Jagger led to a nervous breakdown. Fox subsequently joined a religious organization known as “The Navigators” which is similar to the Gideons and is closely associated with the ministry of Billy Graham. … Personal Quotes: [On his 9-year break from acting]: People think Performance (1970) blew my mind… my mind was blown long before that. Performance (1970) gave me doubts about my way of life. Before that I had been completely involved in the more bawdy side of the film business. But after that everything changed. [article link]

Cool Hand Luke – Where Are They Now? – Paul Newman (1925-2008) – In a 1980 interview with TIME magazine, Newman said he identified himself as Jewish, stating, “it’s more of a challenge” In Israel and among Jews worldwide, he will always be remembered as Ari Ben Canaan, the Zionist rebel of [the 1960 movie] Exodus who seizes a cargo ship and smuggles 600 Holocaust survivors to Palestine despite British opposition (2008 Haaretz.com) – founded Newman’s Own, a successful food company he built from the ground up in which all the proceeds go to charity – He would also start The Hole in the Wall Gang Camps, an organization for terminally ill children
Mini Biography: Paul Leonard Newman was born in January of 1925, the second son of Arthur and Theresa (nee’ Fetsko) Newman in Cleveland, Ohio. The Newmans were a well-to-do family and Paul grew up in a nice home in Shaker Heights. Newman’s father, the son of Jewish immigrants from Poland and Hungary, was the owner of a highly successful sporting goods store. Paul’s mother, a practicing Christian Scientist of Slovakian decent, and his uncle Joe had an interest in creative arts and it rubbed off on him. … He is as well known today for his philanthropic ways and highly successful business ventures as he his for his legendary actor status. Now in his 80s, Newman enjoys a near 50-year marriage to Joanne in Connecticut, their main residence since moving away from the bright lights of Hollywood in 1960, still attends races, is very much involved in his charitable organizations and in 2006 opened a restaurant called Dressing Room, which helps out the Westport Country Playhouse, a place the Newman’s take great pride in. In 2007 he made some headlines when he said he was losing his invention and confidence in his acting abilities and that acting is “pretty much a closed book for me.” Whether he’s on the screen or not, Paul Newman remains synonymous with the anti-heroism of the 1960s and 1970s cinema and rebellious nature his characters so often embodied. [article link]

Cool Hand Luke – In pivotal scene #15 ‘Snake in the grass’ Luke begins to challenge the authority of the prison guards – Fellow prisoner Dragline (played by George Kennedy) tells Luke “Luke, you’ve gone too far when you mess with [the guard] the man with no eyes” – Then in the next scene #16 ‘Standing in the rain’ Luke begins to question not just the existence of God but also the fairness, goodness and abilities of God – “Let me know you’re up there Old Timer (God) love me, hate me, kill me just let me know you’re up there”
Standing in the rain ‘talking to myself’ is what Luke replies to himself after his brief dialogue with God. Luke in seeking and questioning the goodness, nature and existence of God is doing it in an open, just and meaningful way. Not like the blasphemous sinner hurling insults to cause injury but more in a serious way like a man who has lived life, questioned life, fought [WWII] and survived most of what life has thrown his way and yet is still seeking an honest and sincere answer. This brings to mind, is it more appropriate to have a polished, even pretend mega-church cultured relationship with God where it is more rehearsed among men than freely given to God. Or is it more acceptable to God for a person like Luke in prison with most of the odds stacked against him and yet in openness and honesty from time to time he addresses God and looks into the things of God.

Cool Hand Luke – Luke continues to challenge the authority of the prison system and after news of his Mother’s death and some resulting unfair treatment from the prison staff Luke attempts a first escape but is caught just a few days later and returned to camp – Luke now has two more years of time to do and a clinking set of leg chains “to slow him down”
Chains on but not slowed down, Luke immediately escapes the work camp and is on the run for a second time. In scene #22 ‘Chili powder, etc.’ Luke has escaped for a second time and has stopped at a familiar small farm owned by a black family. Two black kids who are friends with each other help Luke, one goes and gets an axe to cut the chains and the other gets chili powder for Luke to spread on the ground to hinder the scent and smell of the chasing prison dogs. As Luke sits down he puts his feet on a chopping block and begins to break his leg chains with the axe and for the viewer a building in the background comes into view. As Luke is chopping at his leg chains he pauses and briefly looks over his shoulder at the nondescript building. Returning to his chopping the building looms in the background the entire time until the chains are broken and Luke is free to continue on with his escape. The building in the background is a small Church building and it is where Luke will have his climatic showdown with both God and man.

Cool Hand Luke – Luke is captured and returned again to the prison camp where he receives two sets of leg chains and an unbearable amount of work and harassment from the prison staff – It appears that after all of the hardship that Luke has been broken – Luke has appeared to have ‘gotten religion’ the kind of conforming obedient religion that one man seeks to place over another
Now the obedient Luke is reduced to every humiliation at the hands of both the prison guards and his fellow prisoners. But not for long as Luke is immediately on the run again and this time his friend Dragline joins Luke in the escape. In the dark of the night Luke and Dragline near the small farming community where Luke cut his chains in the previous escape attempt. Dragline scouts the road and tells Luke that they have it made and can escape on to every imaginable pleasure. Luke declines to go with Dragline saying “I’ve done enough world shaking for a while” and going his own way Luke passes then enters into the small Church to have another conversation with the Old Man (God).

Cool Hand Luke – Luke talks with God – Luke assumes that all of his previous attempts at reaching God have failed – But just in reaching back to the previous ‘talking to myself’ scene where Luke was shouting to God in a rainstorm Luke had told God “Let me know you’re up there Old Timer (God) love me, hate me, *kill me just let me know you’re up there” And now God in His goodness and kindness is about to let Luke know that He has had Luke in His loving hands all the time
Within minutes of Luke’s seemingly failed attempt at reaching God the small Church parking lot is filled with police cars and his friend Dragline enters into the building to talk Luke into surrendering proclaiming “maybe they will even give us our old bunks back.” Luke realizing the seriousness of the situation walks over to the window and using the Warden’s own iconic words says “what we have here is a failure to communicate.” The guard called no eyes again does his talking with his rife and quickly responds by shooting and wounding Luke in the neck. The prison staff rejects an offer to take the badly wounded Luke to a nearby hospital ensuring Luke’s death and as the car pulls away the ever foreboding red light appears assuring the viewer that Luke has passed from this life. Had God not taken Luke’s life at that moment as Luke had given God an open invitation to do, what would be his condition mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually after yet another session with the skilled prison staff? It would have been a Luke much different from the Luke God made and loved “You, made me like I am” and God did make Luke, in part like he was though sin also has a part in every person. The scene concludes with the smiling face of Luke and indeed it is a smile of a man who has overcome all the odds and perhaps it is the smile of a man that knowingly overcame this world and entered into the joy and presence of God in Heaven.

Cool Hand Luke – Occult symbolism – The movie is stuffed with imagery, innuendo and outright occult symbolism
At the end of the famous egg eating contest a self-sacrificed Luke lays sprawled on top of the table in the obvious form of the crucified Christ [a pose that Newman would nearly duplicate in the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid as Butch falls backward into a puddle of water during the film’s long chase scene]. Though mimicking Christ, in a unique way the pose and context is not extraordinarily Antichrist but instead is more of a man who identifies with Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross and not of a man who is taking the place of Christ. Throughout the movie the character of Luke does not take the nature of Antichrist [no miracles, extended blasphemy or self-anointing] but consistently continues in the theme of a sinner trying to reach out to God as opposed to the movie King Rat where Corporal King (a type of Satan) made the system and used the system for his gain – Cool Hand Luke instead was a part of the system and often a victim of the system. The film concludes with the prison chain-gang [now, once again without Luke] cutting the grass of the ditches along a crossroad intersection then the torn [in the shape of a cross] picture of Luke with the two women is placed directly over the crossroad intersection creating the occult double cross (treachery) symbolism. Lastly the movie camera zooms into the picture of Luke until only an eye of Luke is left visible in the viewing frame showing the occult one-eye of enlightenment copying the technique that was so often used in the previous movie The Good the Bad and the Ugly.

Cool Hand Luke – Conclusion: The effects on the modern Church from the 1960’s losing your religion movies of King Rat, The Good the Bad and the Ugly, Cool Hand Luke, etc.
It is only fair and accurate to lay the demise of the modern Church, and the accompanying critically ill condition of the present Church, at the feet of the Pastors who have willingly, either knowingly or unknowingly, led the Church into this direction for now three generations of preaching, teaching and Church service since the 1960’s. The first generation of preachers and Church leaders during the 1960’s-1970’s consisting of men like Robert H. Schuller of Crystal Cathedral, Calvary Chapel’s Chuck Smith Sr., Hal Lindsey, Chuck Missler, Jerry Falwell Sr., Dr. James Dobson, Pat Robertson, Tim LaHaye, Bill Gaither, Billy Graham etc. though not being directly open with the Church harbored within themselves the thoughts and concepts of the occult themed movies enabling the second generation of preachers and leaders to become more boldly occult within the true Church. The second generation of preachers during the 1980’s-1990’s consisting of men like Rick warren, John MacArthur, John Piper, Chuck Smith Jr., Jerry Falwell Jr., Greg Laurie, Mike MacIntosh, Skip Heitzig, etc. teachers who more openly added and abetted the Occult influence into the true Christian Church. The third and also current generation [including the Basic Christian Ministry – though from this generation is not of this worldly generation] of preaching 2000’s-2010’s is now openly advocating the very Occult concepts of the 1960’s. In the Fall of 2010 Liberty University professor Ergun Caner began to publically address Christians as ‘haters’ the very line from the ending of the movie King Rat where Peter Marlowe [twice for effect] calls the Christian Lieutenant Robin Grey a hater. Now in 2011 Pastor Perry Noble mimicking the deleted scene ‘6 the perfect number’ from the occult movie The Good the Bad and the Ugly informs his members that “I think you officially suck as a human being” and just like Blondie from the movie if we don’t agree and acquiesce to Perry Noble and his every whim no matter how deranged then even our very life and existence is unworthy to be in his presence. Christianity in America and in the world has fallen a long way from the historical Christianity of the Bible, mostly in just the few short decades since the 1960’s. But what has been so quickly lost to the true Church can be even more quickly returned as Biblical fellowship, respect, honor, grace and the Lordship of Jesus Christ all return to the Church body exposing the unholy deeds of the occult darkness and lighting the world with the true Gospel of Jesus Christ!

by David Anson Brown

{Summer 2011 – Platform Project!} Basic Christian AIR (Version 2.54) – Available – as a FREE Download – Note: The ‘Adobe Air’ document [BasicChristian.air] can be downloaded to any desktop computer (PC or Mac) and also on some of the newer phones (To download and install – Right click this link) {Note: This is the ‘Platform’ Basic Christian resource format that I’m now using the most (though it doesn’t have the universal search feature of a PDF file). It has all the Basic Christian documents [Contents] easily accessible and it also has the ability for each user to change font sizes [lower right slide bar], add comments [Comments Pod] and **also a section to add your own ‘Platform’ quick links [Favorites] to other websites a feature that I use daily to quickly visit several websites and blogs.}
The project is now in the Summer 2011 Version. It will provide excellent anytime devotions and is perfect as a gift for others. Most importantly [with the free Adobe Air (2.7) program] the end user can create their own comments list, add links to other websites, blogs, RSS feeds, references and documents that once combined create an inclusive individual ‘Platform’ for Christian research, devotional and study projects. — Now Available for Free Download! [article link]

Adobe: Adobe AIR [an advanced Adobe Document (newer than PDF) Environment] Version 2.7 (Free Download)
Note: The Air program from Adobe is much like the (PDF) Acrobat program from Adobe, both programs have to be installed on the computer before you can view Air Documents or PDF files. The Air program is a next generation file system and is more interactive than PDF files. [article link]

{4th of July, 2011} Bible verse: Psalms 145:9-14 The LORD is good to all: and His tender mercies are over all His works. … Thy Kingdom is an Everlasting Kingdom, and Thy dominion endureth throughout all generations. The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down. {The complete Bible is available at ChristianFaithDownloads.com}
Psalms 145:9-14 The LORD is good to all: and His tender mercies are over all His works. All thy works shall praise Thee, O LORD; and Thy saints shall bless thee. They shall speak of the glory of Thy Kingdom, and talk of Thy power; To make known to the sons of men His mighty acts, and the Glorious Majesty of His Kingdom. Thy Kingdom is an Everlasting Kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations. The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down. — Holy Bible [article link]

{4th of July, 2011} Bible verse: Proverbs 24:1-14 Be not thou envious against evil men, neither desire to be with them. For their heart studieth destruction, and their lips talk of mischief. ***Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established [1 Timothy 3:15]: … If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not He (God) that pondereth the heart [of man] consider it? and He (God) that keepeth thy soul, doth not He know it? and shall not He render to every man according to his works? {The complete Bible is available at ChristianFaithDownloads.com}
Proverbs 24:1-14 Be not thou envious against evil men, neither desire to be with them. For their heart studieth destruction, and their lips talk of mischief. Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established: And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches. A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength. For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety. Wisdom is too high for a fool: he openeth not his mouth in the gate. He that deviseth to do evil shall be called a mischievous person. The thought of foolishness is sin: and the scorner is an abomination to men. If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small. If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain; If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works? My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste: So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul: when thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation [life everlasting] shall not be cut off. — Holy Bible [article link]

Wikipedia: King Rat – King Rat is a 1965 World War II film adapted from the James Clavell novel King Rat – The film was directed by Bryan Forbes and starred George Segal as Corporal King, a World War II prisoner of war in a squalid camp near Singapore – [consisting of anti-religious overtones] the movie was nominated for two Academy Awards {Note: An excellent true life-human drama movie realistically portraying life in a WWII POW camp.}
Plot: Corporal King is an anomaly in the Japanese prison camp; not only is he one of only a handful of Americans amongst the mainly British and Australian inmates, he is actually thriving through his conniving and black market enterprises while others (nearly all of higher rank) struggle to survive the sickness and starvation, while retaining as much of their civilized nature as they can. … King has an entirely different relationship with the lower-class, seemingly-incorruptible [devout Christian] British Provost, Lieutenant Grey (Tom Courtenay). Grey has only contempt for the American and does his best to bring him down, with little success. — Meanwhile, Grey has another dilemma to deal with. When he accidentally discovers that the high-ranking officer in charge of the meager food rations has been siphoning off part of it, he rejects a bribe and zealously takes the matter to Colonel George Smedley-Taylor (John Mills). To his dismay however, Smedley-Taylor tells him that the corrupt officer and his assistant have been relieved of their duties, but orders him to forget all about it. Grey accuses him of being in on the scheme, but the tampered weight he presented to the colonel has been replaced, and he no longer has any proof of the misdeeds. Smedley-Taylor offers to promote him to captain; when a troubled Grey does not respond, Smedley-Taylor takes his silence as agreement. — Finally, one day, the camp commandant summons the senior British officers and notifies them that the Japanese have surrendered and that the war is over. Later, a single British paratrooper (Richard Dawson) walks up to the prison gates and disarms the guards. — After overcoming their shock and disbelief, the prisoners celebrate – all except King. He realizes he is no longer the unquestioned (if unofficial) ruler of the camp. He manages to squelch a premature attempt by resentful underling Sergeant Max (Patrick O’Neal) to reassert his rank and authority, but that only delays the inevitable. When Marlowe speaks to him before his departure back into the ranks of the U.S. Army, King ignores his overture of renewed friendship. — King’s unit sleeve patch is that of the U.S. 34th Infantry Division, which fought the Germans in North Africa and Italy, not the Japanese.
[article link]

imdb: King Rat (1965) Movie – A viewer rating of 7.6 stars out of 10 stars
The Japanese prisoner-of-war camp Changi in Singapore, which houses Allied POWs, is a living hell. The great mass of POWs are living at a sub-human subsistence level. US Army Corporal King has been living up to his surname, through his control of the camp’s black market, and by scamming the officers and other POWs. King has a facility for making deals with the Japanese to obtain the contraband he sells to the POWs. His nemesis is British Lieutenant Robin Grey, the camp provost marshal, a humorless, intense martinet who survives through his strict adherence to the British articles of war, which forbid collaboration with the enemy. He is suspicious of King, and is determined to catch him and bring him to justice. The humorless Grey is an upright, uptight moral prig who has been as badly damaged psychologically as any of the other POWs. The high-living King befriends a genteel young British soldier, Peter Marlowe, who at first resists his blandishments, and then succumbs, to his charm. The POWs become aware that the war is drawing to its end, and King and Marlowe grow concerned that the brutal Japanese guards may slaughter the prisoners before they can be liberated. King and Marlowe are determined to raise a large amount of money to buy their freedom by bribing their captors. One of the schemes that King devises is to raise the meat of deer mouse, a native delicacy, to sell to the officers and any POW who can afford it. Conditions are so desperate in the camp, that POWs are stealing rations form one another in order to stave off starvation. This is another one of King’s scams, as the “mouse deer’ are actually rats, the breeding stock for which have been the rats that have fed off the corpses of dead POWs. The desperate situation in the camp is exacerbated by the brutality of the Japanese guards, and by the senior British officers’ predilection for breaking the will of the POWs in order to maintain camp discipline. Resistance, thus, is futile, and with no other outlet, the animosity of the POWs has to be channeled against each other. It becomes quite apparent that, aside from Lieutenant Grey and the dead, everyone in the camp is corrupt. Corporal King merely stands out, as he is Jack-the-Lad, The King-of-the-Hill, King of the Camp, KING RAT. Written by Jon C. Hopwood — Trivia: Some of the actors had been POWS in the Second World War. Denholm Elliott, while serving in the RAF, had been shot down and taken prisoner by the Nazis. [article link]

King Rat the Movie part 1 of 10 (YouTube)
Note: Youtube has removed parts 2-10. [article link]

King Rat – Edward Trimnell discusses James Clavell’s 1962 debut novel, ‘King Rat’ – “What is good, what is evil? – How do people interact?” – “The novel is not an adventure script but is primarly a book of ideas” (YouTube)
King Rat is set in a Japanese POW camp in 1945. This video introduces the two major characters of King Rat, as well as the themes explored in the book. From EdwardTrimnell.com. [article link]