A nice rest in a state mental hospital beats a stretch in the pen, right? Randle P. McMurphy (Jack Nicholas), a free-spirited con with lightning in his veins & glib on his tongue, fakes insanity & moves in with what he calls the "nuts." Immediately, his contagious sense of disorder runs up against numbing routine. No way should guys pickled on sedatives shuffle around in bathrobes when the World Series is on. This means war! On one side is McMurphy. On the other is soft-spoken Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher), among the most coldly monstrous villians in film history. At stake is the fate of every patient on the ward.