One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

A closer look at the story

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest follows a small-time criminal who pretends to be insane so that he can do his time in a psychiatric hospital rather than behind bars. Randle P. McMurphy is a fast-talking, restless free spirit who refuses to fit inside any set of rules, and a stay in the state asylum strikes him as far more appealing than rotting behind bars. Once he arrives, however, his infectious taste for disorder collides with the ward's rigid, medicated routine. Unable to stand the sight of his new companions drifting around dulled by sedatives, McMurphy soon becomes a leader in the other patients' eyes. That turns him into the enemy of the harsh, controlling nurse who rules the ward with an iron hand. Miloš Forman directed this 135-minute drama from 1975, adapted from Ken Kesey's novel by Lawrence Hauben and Bo Goldman. Jack Nicholson plays McMurphy and Louise Fletcher plays Nurse Ratched, with Brad Dourif, Danny DeVito and William Redfield also in the cast.