Paul Newman's Heat: Summer Movies We Love

Flights cancelled again? Wild fires hindering tourist snaps? Or just plain recession preparedness got you stay-cationing?

Watching a great film can take you from an air quality alerts to daddy day issues faster than an SST.

In reality, no reason is needed to escape with Paul Newman. Here are three all-time favorites to accompany June through August heat.

Martin Ritt’s directing keeps these stories relevant.

Cool Hand Luke (1967)

What tops a 4th of July jail breakout party? Lucas Jackson deeming his decorated war service as a leisure activity. It doesn't take a keen eye to see the inspiration for Stephen King’s Shawshank Redemption, down to the rainy prison escape and procuring beers for prisoners. If you need more convincing, the conversation between mother and son where Arletta wishes humans were like dogs to pacify the sadness of losing a son beats any Father’s Day cookout.

Sometimes nothing’s a real cool hand.

The Long, Hot Summer (1958)

TLHS is for those who go through life having to prove themselves over and over and over again. Ben “Barn Burner” Quick has more dad issues than Jody Varner digging for fool’s gold. But, the heat between Newman and Joanne Woodward can’t be fanned out. Sit back on the porch with iced cold beers and indulge in an all-star cast that includes Orson Welles and Angela Lansbury having a strained affair. This one is a nostrum for the hottest sleepless nights.

My old man. My old man.

Hud (1963)

Larry McMurtry’s book Horseman, Pass By will flabbergast anyone with ethics. But placing handsome Paul Newman as composite characters eases the pain of human loathsomeness. You’ll wake up wanting to be a better person, and then, call your grandpa.

No one gets out of life alive.

Paul Newman in Hud makes for a compelling summer movie. — The Bannon Men. Hud, Grandpa and Lonnie are at a crossroads in this story about ethics, survival and gratitude.

Bottom Line

These flicks are not for binge-watching, which has negative effects on the cognitive system. They are ideal for watch-and-think sessions to boost emotional intelligence through constructive rumination. Or just daydream about Mr. Newman.