Cool Hand Luke 'Tar Sequence' / News Theme

I got in an argument with Darrin Verhagen one time about the origin of the Australian National Nine News theme. I argued that it was a cue from the Paul Newman movie Cool Hand Luke; he swore that it was by the Argentinian composer Lalo Shifrin. Shifrin is famous for the blistering 5/4 Mission Impossible theme.

As it happens we were both right: Shifrin wrote the score for Cool Hand Luke. If you've never seen it, I urge you to: it's a bloody good film, one of my favourites. I'm uploading this clip because I've never been able to find a good quality recording of this cue on Youtube, which hardly seems right.

According to Wikipedia this cue "was the longtime theme for the Eyewitness News broadcasts on New York station WABC-TV and other ABC affiliates, as well as National Nine News in Australia."

Category:

Music

Tags:

• cool
• hand
• luke
• lalo
• schifrin

[ChristianKidsShowFan]

"This is Eyewitness News with Roger Grimsby, Bill Beutel, plus Spencer Christian, Storm Field and the Eyewitness News team."

[rileykernaghan]

It always amazes me how they made a news theme out of a few seconds of music from a movie

[RubicantX]

Almost every news station used this at one time...I think parts of Australia, Samoa and Guam still do....badass!

[zoebryce1]

Theme from NewsWatch of RPN

[Cleftonefan]

I believe I saw Cool Hand Luke on WABC-TV on the Sunday Afternoon movie and it led into the news.

[micmac99]

An earlier comment noted that WABC, the original user of this music for their local news, never broadcast the ''Cool Hand Luke'' film. I thought that at one time in the 1970s, KGO (the ABC-owned sister station to WABC) in San Francisco DID show "Cool Hand Luke" on the 3:30 Movie, but I could be mistaken. Also, did ABC ever broadcast "Cool Hand Luke" nationally on the Sunday Night Movie?

[cwf1701]

This is Channel 7 Action News with Bill Bonds, John Kelly, Marilyn Turner, and Al Ackerman.

[newscaster13]

Opening spiel with Symphonic Sketches (watch?v=5dAKAnJYZx0) and the voice-over from Don LaFontaine.

We Report, You Decide - FOX News Channel - A Unit of FOX Television.

Now, Shepard Smith; chief corresponent Johnathan Hunt; and Trace Gallagher in Los Angeles.

Whenever news breaks, whatever it takes, you're the first to know on THE FOX REPORT with Shepard Smith.

[tvtimetravel]

@micmac99 That's where I first heard it from!

[Aeolis7]

@micmac99 That's the team I grew up watching!

[darrylhaynes]

this was eyewitness news..7...in LOS ANGELES....back in the 80s....ANN MARTIN....JERRY DUMPHRY....