| Goldie Hawn | ... | Lou Jean Poplin | |
| Ben Johnson | ... | Captain Harlin Tanner | |
| Michael Sacks | ... | Patrolman Maxwell Slide | |
| William Atherton | ... | Clovis Michael Poplin | |
| Gregory Walcott | ... | Patrolman Ernie Mashburn | |
| Steve Kanaly | ... | Patrolman Jessup | |
| Louise Latham | ... | Mrs. Looby | |
| Harrison Zanuck | ... | Baby Langston Poplin | |
| A.L. Camp | ... | Mr. Alvin T. Nocker | |
| Jessie Lee Fulton | ... | Mrs. Nocker | |
| Dean Smith | ... | Russ Berry | |
| Ted Grossman | ... | Dietz | |
| Bill Thurman | ... | Hunter | |
| Kenneth Hudgins | ... | Standby | |
| Buster Daniels | ... | Drunk (as Buster Danials) | |
| James N. Harrell | ... | Mark Fenno (as Jim Harrell) | |
| Frank Steggall | ... | Logan Waters | |
| Roger Ernest | ... | Hot Jock #1 | |
| Guich Koock | ... | Hot Jock #2 | |
| Merrill Connally | ... | Mr. Vern Looby (as Merrill L. Connally) | |
| Gene Rader | ... | Fred Mingers | |
| Gordon Hurst | ... | Hubie Nocker | |
| George Hagy | ... | Mr. Sparrow | |
| Big John Hamilton | ... | Big John | |
| Kenneth Crone | ... | Deputy | |
| Peter Curry | ... | Judge (as Judge Peter Michael Curry) | |
| Charles Conaway | ... | Attorney | |
| Robert Golden | ... | Mechanic | |
| Rudy Robbins | ... | Mechanic | |
| Charlie Dobbs | ... | Local Cop | |
| Gene Lively | ... | Reporter | |
| John L. Quinlan III | ... | Bailiff | |
| William Scott | ... | Station Man (as Bill Scott) | |
| Ralph E. Horwedel | ... | Highway Patrol Houston Dispatcher | |
| Edwin 'Frog' Isbell | ... | Jelly Bowl |
Directed by | |||
| Steven Spielberg | |||
Writing credits | ||
| Steven Spielberg | (story) and | |
| Hal Barwood | (story) & | |
| Matthew Robbins | (story) | |
| Hal Barwood | (screenplay) & | |
| Matthew Robbins | (screenplay) | |
Produced by | |||
| David Brown | .... | producer | |
| Richard D. Zanuck | .... | producer | |
Original Music by | |||
| John Williams | |||
Cinematography by | |||
| Vilmos Zsigmond | |||
Film Editing by | |||
| Edward M. Abroms | |||
| Verna Fields | |||
Casting by | |||
| Mike Fenton | (uncredited) | ||
| Shari Rhodes | (uncredited) | ||
Art Direction by | |||
| Joe Alves | (as Joseph Alves Jr.) | ||
Production Management | |||
| William S. Gilmore | .... | unit production manager (as William S. Gilmore Jr.) | |
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director | |||
| James Fargo | .... | first assistant director | |
| Tom Joyner | .... | second assistant director (as Thomas Joyner) | |
Sound Department | |||
| John R. Carter | .... | sound (as John Carter) | |
| Robert L. Hoyt | .... | sound (as Robert Hoyt) | |
Special Effects by | |||
| Frank Brendel | .... | special effects | |
Stunts | |||
| Carey Loftin | .... | stunt coordinator | |
| Max Balchowsky | .... | stunts (uncredited) | |
| Ted Duncan | .... | stunts (uncredited) | |
| Patty Elder | .... | stunts (uncredited) | |
| Robert Golden | .... | stunts (uncredited) | |
| Ted Grossman | .... | stunts (uncredited) | |
| Bob Harris | .... | stunts (uncredited) | |
| Carey Loftin | .... | stunts (uncredited) | |
| Rudy Robbins | .... | stunts (uncredited) | |
| Dean Smith | .... | stunts (uncredited) | |
| Dale Van Sickel | .... | stunts (uncredited) | |
Camera and Electrical Department | |||
| Nick McLean | .... | first assistant camera (uncredited) | |
| Sven Walnum | .... | camera operator (uncredited) | |
Editorial Department | |||
| Jeff Gourson | .... | assistant film editor (uncredited) | |
Music Department | |||
| Toots Thielemans | .... | musician: harmonica solo | |
| John Williams | .... | conductor: "The Eyes of Texas" (uncredited) | |
Transportation Department | |||
| Alby Thomas | .... | transportation manager | |
Other crew | |||
| William S. Gilmore | .... | production executive (as William S. Gilmore Jr.) | |
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| Bonnie and Clyde | In Cold Blood | Radar Patrol vs. Spy King | Blow | Traffic |
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| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| News articles | IMDb Adventure section | IMDb USA section |
| Add this title to MyMovies |
The first theatrical feature by Spielberg, his last as just another director before "Jaws," this story is saddled by what I call an 'idiot's resolve' plot. This means the main characters behave like complete idiots and, in real life, wouldn't get two steps in the direction they're going, much less the miles of roadway managed in this pic. But - and this is an important point - the story is supposedly based on a real life incident, which means such theorizing may not apply here. It all depends on how much Spielberg and the writers exaggerated events, which I tend to think was quite a bit. The story is jump-started in that a 2-year old baby is placed in foster care; the real parents (Hawn & Atherton), small-time criminals, won't have it and break the father's incarceration to set out for the foster home. But, from the outset, these two are presented as such obvious losers, I was hoping they'd never reach the kid. The father, for example, has only 4 months remaining of post-prison time to do; in short order, the idiot couple's transgressions escalate from auto theft to kidnapping of a cop (Sacks). In essence, they quickly sabotaged any chance for themselves of getting the kid back in a happy fashion.
I also got the impression Spielberg was poking a lot of fun at Texas and Texacans in general, where this takes place. Besides the two idiotic so-called parents, most everyone else is also presented as a buffoon, a country hick with no clue. The more sinister examples are those who live for the opportunity to shoot someone - this is gun country, after all. The only one who escapes with his dignity intact is the police captain, well played by Ben Johnson. There are traces of the imagery and poignancy which many of Spielberg's later pictures would be laced with. There's the absurdity of that long, very long line of police vehicles, lights flashing, following that one car with the fugitives (I guess no other crimes needed attention in the county that day?). And the sudden look on Atherton's face when he watches a Road Runner cartoon is amazing. But these are a few instances far and between in an ambling picture. Hawn is immensely likable, of course, but in the end she comes off as an idiotic screaming shrew who directly causes bad stuff to happen. Maybe it's just me, but I don't really like women such as this. But then, if this is true-to-life, Spielberg captured some sense of an unpleasant reality we have no control over. It just didn't retain such a consistency through the entire movie.