The Sugarland Express (1974)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Steven Spielberg

Writers:

Steven Spielberg (story) and
Hal Barwood (story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

5 April 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Crime | Drama

Tagline:

The true story of a girl who took on all of Texas...and almost won.

Plot:

Lou-Jean, a blonde woman, tells her husband, who is imprisoned, to escape. They plan to kidnap their own child...

Plot Keywords:

Hostage | Texas | Police | Prison | Shootout

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

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.)

Production Companies

• Zanuck/Brown Productions
• Universal Pictures

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1974) (USA) (theatrical)
• Cinéma International Corporation (CIC) (1974) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Atlas Film (1974) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• GoodTimes Home Video (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (1992) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (1995) (USA) (VHS)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1977) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Tocantins (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Universal Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Universal Home Video (200?) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures (Spain) (2005) (Spain) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Benelux (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Cinematique  cosmetics
• Panavision  camera equipment provided by
• Universal Title  titles and opticals

Also Known As:

Carte Blanche (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:M (video rating) | Iceland:12 | Brazil:12 | Portugal:M/12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Norway:15 (re-rating) | Norway:18 (original rating) | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Del Rio, Texas, USA

Company:

Zanuck/Brown Productions

Trivia:

Director Trademark: [Steven Spielberg] [father]Clovis

Goofs:

Errors in geography: The "Texas" of this film is a figment of the filmmakers' imagination. The trip from just outside Houston to Sugar Land takes two days, and Sugar Land is a few miles from the Mexican border. In fact, Sugar Land is a municipality southwest of Houston, not much more than an hour from anywhere in the Houston metro area. And Houston is on the Texas Gulf Coast, two days' drive from the border.

Quotes:

Maxwell Slide: Is your name Buster Daniels?
Drunk: Well, it was before I married.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Making of '1941' (1996) (V)

Soundtrack:

I've Been Working on the Railroad

Ambling into Film History, Young Spielberg Starts Out

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.