Luke (an Oscar-nominated Paul Newman) is sent to a Deep South chain gang after smashing up some parking meters. Convict boss Dragline (an Oscar-winning George Kennedy) tries to crack the new inmate's spirit but Luke refuses to be broken. Reformed safecracker Donn Pearce based his novel and screenplay on his own experiences of imprisonment.

Walter Hill directs this sports drama starring Charles Bronson. In Depression-era New Orleans, bare-knuckle boxer Chaney (Bronson) teams up with gambler-turned-promoter Speed (James Coburn) to enter a series of illegal prize fights after drifting into town. Chaney's relationship with new girlfriend Lucy (Jill Ireland) suffers under the strain of his fighting career, which is itself hampered by corruption within the sport, as he makes his way through the New Orleans fighters willing to meet him.

Luke (an Oscar-nominated Paul Newman) is sent to a Deep South chain gang after smashing up some parking meters. Convict boss Dragline (an Oscar-winning George Kennedy) tries to crack the new inmate's spirit but Luke refuses to be broken. Reformed safecracker Donn Pearce based his novel and screenplay on his own experiences of imprisonment.