The Getaway (1972)

A recently released ex-con and his loyal wife go on the run after a heist goes awry.

Director:

Sam Peckinpah

Writers:

Walter Hill (screenplay), Jim Thompson (novel)

Stars:

Steve McQueen, Ali MacGraw, Ben Johnson

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Steve McQueen	...	Doc McCoy
Ali MacGraw	...	Carol McCoy
Ben Johnson	...	Jack Beynon
Sally Struthers	...	Fran Clinton
Al Lettieri	...	Rudy Butler
Slim Pickens	...	Cowboy
Richard Bright	...	The Thief
Jack Dodson	...	Harold Clinton
Dub Taylor	...	Laughlin
Bo Hopkins	...	Frank Jackson
Roy Jenson	...	Cully
John Bryson	...	The Accountant
Bill Hart	...	Swain
Tom Runyon	...	Hayhoe
Whitney Jones	...	The Soldier

Storyline

Carter "Doc" McCoy is a career robber, currently in his fourth year of a ten year prison sentence at the Texas State Penitentiary. After his request for parole is denied despite he being a model prisoner, Doc, unable emotionally to endure life inside, asks his loving wife Carol McCoy to contact crooked businessman Jack Beynon, a man with political connections, to secure his release in return for he being "for sale" to Beynon. Beynon is able to get Doc released, the sale price being for Doc to plan and execute a robbery at a small bank branch in Beacon City, Texas where Beynon knows that $750,000 will be kept in the vault for the next two weeks. Rather than Doc using his own men for the job, Beynon directs that the only other people involved will be the men of his own choosing, Rudy and Frank. There are to be no casualties, which is all right with Doc who is not a murderer. After the robbery is completed and the monies divvied up accordingly, Doc and Carol will cross the border into ...

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Plot Keywords:

modern western | robbery | texas | bank | on the run | 

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Taglines:

They're Hot - McQueen/MacGraw

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

16 December 1972 (Italy)

Also Known As:

The Getaway

Filming Locations:

100 Hopkins Street, San Marcos, Texas, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,352,254 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$36,734,619

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$58,831,997

Company Credits

Production Co:

First Artists, Solar Productions, Foster-Brower Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

Mono Mono (Todd-AO)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Writer Jim Thompson was originally hired to adapt his own novel for the movie. Thompson worked on the screenplay for four months and produced a prose treatment, a first draft, and alternate scenes and episodes. Thompson's script included the original borderline-surrealistic ending of the novel featuring the kingdom of El Rey. Steve McQueen objected to the depressing ending and had Thompson replaced with rising screenwriter Walter Hill.

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Goofs

When Doc and Carol flee their shootout with the cops in the small town of Fabens, south of El Paso, they are driving a blue 1968 Chevy, which they then ditch in a lot outside of town to jump on a bus. Subsequently, Carol buys a grey Mercury to continue their trip to El Paso, but as they stop at the drive-in, a news report on the car radio states that police are looking for the grey Mercury, when in fact the last vehicle the cops saw them in was the blue Chevy.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Parole Board Chairman: I think we can begin. First parole request for Carter 'Doc' McCoy.

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Connections

Referenced in From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

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Soundtracks

The Stars and Stripes Forever
(uncredited)
Music by John Philip Sousa
Played during the parade

User Reviews

Crime Pays, a little

If one is looking for a tough, gutsy, action oriented story about a professional criminal who takes on the law and gives it a run for its money, "The Get-Away" is for you. This film is one of the most stirring and awesome films created to-date. It begin within a maximum Texas prison where one, Carter 'Doc' McCoy, (Steve McQueen) is waiting out his sentence for bank robbery and expects to be released soon. As with most prison systems, it's subject to manipulations from the rich and powerful. In this case we have Jack Beynon (Ben Johnson, with superb acting) who is both. It is he who uses his influence to "spring" our hero, with the caveat that he commit a personal bank robbery for him. Each man has much to gain and just as much to lose as there is obvious tension and distrust from the arrangement. What follows is one of the best double-crossing, shoot-'em ups, high speed chases ever created by director Sam Peckenpaw. Along the way, we have a notable college of film stars as could be gather to make a truly memorable saga. For instance, we have Ali MacGraw as Carol McCoy, Al Lettieri as dangerous, vengeful and homicidal Rudy Butler. Slim Pickens as a truck-driving Cowboy. Famous Dub Taylor is ex-drunk Laughlin, Bo Hopkins as Frank Jackson and Roy Jenson as Cully. If one is looking for a superior motion picture which sets the standard for Action-Drama, this is it. A Classic, if ever there was one. ****