The Sugarland Express (1974)

This well-acted chase movie was a box office flop when it was first released and is now most significant for being the first feature film that Steven Spielberg directed. Its story, which Spielberg also co-wrote with Hal Barwood and Matthew Robbins, features enough car chases and stunts to illustrate that his ability to choreograph action sequences was already well developed at this early stage of his career, as was his skill at creating shots that are beautifully composed and visually impressive.Based on a real-life incident that took place in 1969, "The Sugarland Express" is an account of what happened when a young married couple, who had both spent time in prison, decided to embark on a long trip across Texas with the intention of kidnapping their child from its new foster parents.Having recently been released from a prison sentence she'd served for shoplifting, Lou Jean Poplin (Goldie Hawn) visits her husband Clovis (William Atherton) at the minimum security prison where he has only four months of his one-year sentence to serve and insists that he should break out immediately (with her assistance) so that they can head to Sugarland, Texas to take back possession of their son who the welfare people had fostered out to a middle-aged couple. Clovis initially resists the plan but gradually gives in to Lou Jean's forcefulness and they simply walk out of the establishment together before travelling away from the place, courtesy of an elderly couple who travel along the highway at about half the speed limit before getting pulled over by a highway patrolman.When Patrolman Maxwell Slide (Michael Sacks) talks to the elderly couple outside of their vehicle, Lou Jean becomes convinced that he's actually pursuing them and so the young couple drive off at high speed and are soon followed by Slide. The chase ends when Lou Jean crashes the car she's driving and the couple then surprise the patrolman by taking him hostage and hijacking his vehicle. From this point on, the two fugitives and Slide continue their long journey to Sugarland during which they're pursued by an ever-growing number of police and media vehicles that follow them at a very slow speed. Police Captain Harlin Tanner (Ben Johnson) is put in charge of the whole operation and becomes determined to avoid any harm coming to Patrolman Slide or the misguided couple who he regards as being simply foolish and naïve rather than dangerous criminals.During their journey, an unlikely friendship develops between Slide and his captors and they're also met by crowds of well-wishers as they pass through various towns on their route. Lou Jean, who always acts on instinct without ever thinking about the repercussions of her actions, clearly has no idea of how much trouble they're in and foolishly expects that when she and Clovis are re-united with their baby, that they'll all be able to live together, as a family, and be happy ever after. The fact that the media attention has made them into celebrities and they get lots of public support only reinforces her delusional thinking and strengthens her determination even further. All the chaos and activity that characterised their journey suddenly ands' however, when they get to Sugarland and the police convoy comes to a halt some distance before they reach their baby's current home.This movie is brightened up by its action sequences, some moments of droll humour and an amusing example of Stockholm syndrome but otherwise its pace is too slow, and there is none of the exhilaration that would normally be found in a road movie or the excitement that a chase movie would usually provide. This is because the fugitives are only out of sight of the authorities for the first few miles of their journey and the remainder of the pursuit is played out in slow motion with the police even staying back at a respectful distance when the fugitives have to stop to refuel their vehicle.Goldie Hawn is brilliant as the loud and not-very-bright, Lou Jean and William Atherton is marvellous as her obedient husband who's prepared to do anything she wants even though he doesn't share her belief that everything will turn out fine. The remaining members of the cast also provide consistently solid performances with Ben Johnson and Michael Sacks standing out in their important roles.

An unintelligent yet beautiful and persuasive woman (Goldie Hawn) convinces her equally dimwitted husband (William Atherton) to break out of pre-release jail to take their baby son back from a pair of foster parents in Texas. Unfortunately, it's harder than it seems when they hijack a police car with a police officer, wonderfully played by relatively unknown actor Michael Sacks. Spielberg's first theatrical feature (Duel, while released before and even somewhat better than this, was actually originally a TV movie), has his cinematic language and vision stamped all over this. The shot composition, the heavy focus between parent and child, the wonderful John Williams score. The problems come in the form of the story itself. We're stuck in a police cruiser with three horribly underwritten characters who hardly ever leave their one location. This wouldn't be so bad, except the main two protagonists are insufferable. Atherton is a damn fine actor who has a few very funny beats here ("I never shot a man..."), but is generally played in broad strokes. The same can be said, but multiplied with Goldie Hawn, who just seems incredibly miscast here. These two characters are unfathomably stupid, and when the climax of the film arrived, I almost felt nothing for Atherton's dumb, dumb, dumb character decision. Fortunately, Michael Sacks, a relatively amateur actor who didn't go on to much later on, saves much of the film as the captive police offer, you feel for him, especially at the end. Also, Ben Johnson does great work here as the Police Captain trying to end this as peacefully as possible. The Sugarland Express also has huge pacing issues. The film is only 110 minutes, but it feels at least thirty minutes longer. The middle really drags here, because honestly, the script is stretched so thin, almost nothing happens, but the characters are so thin, they just can't keep the movie going in the slow spots. Overall, I think The Sugarland Express is worth watching for the few solid performances, the soundtrack and to see the birth of Spielberg's cinematic style. It's the transition between Duel and Jaws, and you can see the improvement in that famous shark thriller. Give it a watch, just expect to be frustrated by the story, and checking your watch in the middle 40 minutes or so.

"The Sugarland Express" is a decent chase movie about the world's most harmless prison escapees and the policeman they're forced to take as a hostage, becoming famous in the process.It's pretty slight, but Spielberg's direction shines through, a whiz kid even at this early stage in his career. It is slick and unobtrusive while still being inventive and masterful.Goldie Hawn is also a stand out. She would have stolen the show from the other two lacklustre performers anyway, so I'm glad Spielberg had the sense to focus the movie on her and not on one of the dullards like Hal Ashby did in The Last Detail.Ben Johnson is, as always, fantastic as the crusty old police officer who leads the chase.The movie does drag a little, though, ironically for a movie about a chase. It's not really Smokey and the Bandit - the runaways lead the police right at the front like a funeral procession.

THE SUGARLAND EXPRESS was the first film that Steven Spielberg made that was released to cinemas. A year later he would make JAWS and never look back, so this quirky oddity, mostly forgotten about today even by Spielberg fans, is worth a look. It's a familiar car chase caper, a genre which was all the rage back in the '70s.The film charts an odd line between intense character drama and comedy. Most of the humour comes from the quirky supporting characters and the situations in which they find themselves. The crowd scene at the climax is chaotically done and very well handled by a director in his prime. Goldie Hawn looks impossibly young as the female lead, but the real star for me is William Atherton, a decade away from his typecasting as the usual '80s baddie in the likes of GHOSTBUSTERS and DIE HARD.The film is packed with well-shot car chase scenes, the scale of which is remarkable given the obviously low budget Spielberg had to work with, although none of them are particularly thrilling or exciting. You never get a chance to feel really involved with the storyline or the characters. Some of Spielberg's cinematography is very good, and the film as a whole has a naturalistic feel to it. It's not my favourite '70s car film, but it's certainly not bad. Plus, it has an ending nearly as downbeat as the one in DIRTY MARY, CRAZY LARRY, which is very unusual for a Spielberg film.