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The Sugarland Express (1974)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
5 April 1974 (USA)
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Tagline:
The true story of a girl who took on all of Texas...and almost won. more
Plot:
Lou-Jean, a blonde woman, tells her husband, who is imprisoned, to escape. They plan to kidnap their own child...
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Awards:
1 win
&
2 nominations
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NewsDesk:
(3 articles)
Harvey Keitel is Now Part of the 'Focker' Franchise
(From Rope Of Silicon. 12 November 2009, 2:52 AM, PST)
Villains We Love: William Atherton
(From Cinematical. 28 October 2009, 11:33 AM, PDT)
(From Rope Of Silicon. 12 November 2009, 2:52 AM, PST)
Villains We Love: William Atherton
(From Cinematical. 28 October 2009, 11:33 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
Spielberg's first film is wonderful, a classic.
more (36 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| 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) |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
Carte Blanche (USA) (working title)
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Parents Guide:
Runtime:
110 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
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:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Director Trademark: [Steven Spielberg] [father]Clovis
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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.
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Quotes:
Movie Connections:
Referenced in 'Duel': A Conversation with Director Steven Spielberg (2004) (V)
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Soundtrack:
I've Been Working on the Railroad
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FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (36 total)
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Haven't heard about "Sugarland Express" till recently and I had to see it because it was vintage Spielberg, and I'm a fan. And I wanted to see the young Goldie Hawn. I was not disappointed. It was one of these road-chase movies, bigger than life, but it was unique, especially because it was based on a true story. That fact made me incredulous throughout the film, but everything in Texas is supposed to be bigger than life.
Goldie desperately wants to get her baby back. She was in jail for some minor crimes and was found to be an unfit mother and her baby was put in a foster home and the foster parents were going to adopt him. Despite being a young girl, or maybe because of it, she was desperate to have her baby back. It was a love-child and the mother-love was passionate and obsessive. Hawn played the part to the hilt and used her sexuality and femininity to overcome the objections of her husband who was in a pre-release facility with low security.
She had a plan to help him escape, but he didn't want to risk it, take a chance of being caught and being incarcerated again. He only had four more months to serve. The other inmates were incredulous as they disguised themselves and got an old couple to give them a ride.
From this quiet beginning the film proceeded to repeated crescendos of drama and excitement. Try to imagine the young couple, young officer in tow, leading a chase of police cars, first a few, then a few dozen, then many dozen and ultimately hundreds, law-enforcement officers from all over the state and then snipers and a helicopter.
Lucky for the young couple an old-hand cop realized they were just a couple of kids and he staved off snipers with telescopic long-range rifles and a couple of vigilante gun-nuts.
You know something bad is going to happen at the end, because these kids didn't know what they were doing; they were madly in love and in a fantasy-land of getting their little boy back and living happily ever after in Mexico. Something bad happened, but something good happened. It will be worth your while to see this little classic from one of the greatest directors of the 20th century.