The Sugarland Express Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
The true story of a girl who took on all of Texas...and almost won.
Every cop in the state was after her. Everybody else was behind her.
Lou-Jean, a blonde woman, tells her husband, who is imprisoned, to escape. They plan to kidnap their own child, who was placed with foster parents. The escape is partly successful, they take a hostage, who is a policeman and are pursued through to Texas...
| 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 Danials | Drunk |
| Steven Spielberg |
6.70 out of 10 (3343 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Spielberg's first film is wonderful, a classic.
posted on 29 Oct 2008Haven'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.
OK chase movie
posted on 29 Oct 2008She didn't use it that much in this film, but Goldie Hawn has about the sweetest smile in the world. I found the early-70's Texas scenery interesting. Took me back. Gas prices at 29 cents! A pretty good film overall, if a little unrealistic. Hawn and Atherton's characters were really naive. And Texas cops are not known for having that sort of patience. Trust me. Grade B-
Spielberg previews his future genius in an important highly underrated film...
posted on 29 Sep 2008THE SUGARLAND EXPRESS was the first feature film directed by Stephen Spielberg, based on a true story about a woman with a questionable past who breaks her husband out of jail in order to retrieve their baby who they lost through some muddy legalities and, in the process, kidnap a police officer who they use as leverage to complete their journey to Sugarland, Texas, where the baby is. Spielberg, in this early effort, is already showing is uncanny ability to tell a very human tale on a grand scale, arousing strong emotion and sentiment, giving us larger than life, yet human characters, and sending them and the viewer on a extraordinary journey that the viewer cannot help but get wrapped up in. Goldie Hawn surprised everyone with her surprisingly effective dramatic performance as LuJean, the mother who knows no bounds in attempting to get her son back. William Atherton is impressive as her cuckolded jailbird husband and Ben Johnson is quietly powerful as the police officer trying to stop the pair. Michael Sachs (whatever happened to him?) also gives a very affecting performance as the young officer the Poplins take hostage. This story is riveting from start to finish and is early evidence of the genius that is Spielberg.
Surprisingly Moving
posted on 05 Sep 2008To see Goldie as not much older than a teenager is near worth the price of admission. But on top of this (and she IS cute) she puts in a GREAT performance as the lovable yet strong-willed mother of a somewhat criminal bent intent on getting her baby back. I started watching this last night and had to turn it off mid-way to go to bed. There were some moments in the middle there which could be described as *long*. However, this morning I threw it on again for the second hour and was not in the least bored. Far from it, I was very impressed, moved even, by the story and the actors performances. Good camera work too, if you're paying attention. This one's worth the watch - it's Spielberg!
Great performances by the bit players
posted on 15 Aug 2008After Duel, Something Evil, Savage which were all made for TV films and before Jaws came The Sugarland Express from Steven Spielberg. Loosely based on the true story of Bobby and Ila Faye Dent and their kidnapping of Texas State Trooper Kenneth Crone. While this film is not the actual tale of that incident it nonetheless is an entertaining picture with both drama and humor mixed in. It also shows that before Steven Spielberg got on his `FX' kick in his movies he was able to get great performances from his actors.
While Goldie Hawn, William Atherton, Ben Johnson and Michale Sacks make up the bulk of the acting keep a close eye on the performances of the supporting cast to include the couple that give the Poplins their ride off the correction facility, The Texas Rangers sharpshooters and Buster Daniels who plays the good ole boy in the back of Patrolman Maxwell Slides Patrol car.
Spielberg's 1st Real Movie.
posted on 19 Jun 2008Between the fame Spielberg garnered from the success of the tv film DUEL and that first movie blockbuster of all time called JAWS, Spielberg directed another movie. This film was THE SUGARLAND EXPRESS and was his real theatrical debut.
The movie is based on actual real-life events. It tells about the adventures of a woman named Lou Jean Poplin (Goldie Hawn) and her husband, Clovis Michael Poplin (William Atherton) and there attempt to take back their baby from the foster parents who adopted the child while they were both in jail. Lou Jean has had a difficult life and is attempting to start anew, but the State of Texas won't allow her to have her baby back. In an act of focused anger and despair, Lou Jean convinces Clovis to break out of jail and together the duo begin a race across Texas to get back their child. Long before their was O.J. Simpson, there was Lou Jean Poplin and on their journey just about every policeman in the state of Texas and many other nearby states join the "chase" which ends up being probably the longest parade in America history.
THE SUGARLAND EXPRESS was not only Spielberg's feature film debut, but it was also the film that turned Goldie Hawn's career around from that of purely comic to one of dramatic as well. The film displays the begins of the "Spielbergian charm"--the modern equivalent of a Frank Capra picture. However, unlike many of Spielberg's other movies, THE SUGARLAND EXPRESS doesn't have the happiest of endings (though some relief is given in the closing comments over the screen). The movie is over 30 years-old, but holds up well. The story is moving, yet not all very sentimental.
Many believe that THE SUGARLAND EXPRESS was a flop in theatres. This is not true. The original film earned over $8 million (US) in it's original release which at the time made the movie a modest success. It wasn't until a year later with the release of JAWS that the first $100 million movie would be distributed, setting a new standard of success in Hollywood.
Some other notes of interest: THE SUGARLAND EXPRESS was the first movie to feature a tracking shot (front seat to back) and a 360-degree pan with dialogue from within a car. Also, Spielberg bought the shot-up 1973 Dodge Polara, Texas Department
of Public Safety car at the end of filming. Rumor has it that it's still in his garage to this day.
Overall, THE SUGARLAND EXPRESS is a moving film. The talent that Spielberg later perfected in later movies is evident throughout the movie. Watching this film, it makes me wonder why it took so long for the Hollywood establishment to take Spielberg serious as a director. Besides it's footnote in movie history, THE SUGARLAND EXPRESS is a movie worth watching on it's own merit and might just bring a tear to your eye.
Are people really this stupid?
posted on 01 Jun 2008This was not a comedy, but I laughed hysterically at times. Goldie and her antics with the Gold Stamps coupled with the two ignorant rednecks in the car lot were way too much. I swear, nobody is this totally DENSE. Don't know who was dumber, the hapless couple or many of the police officers giving chase. A damn fine show was this, with great performances by the entire cast. I know for a fact that I've never seen this many cop cars in one place before.
Steven Spielberg messes with Texas
posted on 08 Feb 2008"The Sugarland Express" is the sort of movie at which we have to look in retrospective. It's about Lou Jean Poplin (Goldie Hawn) who gets her husband Clovis (William Atherton) to break out of jail so that they can retake their baby who has been put in a foster home. From there, they lead every law enforcement officer in the Lone Star State on a crazy chase.When this movie came out, Hawn was well known for "Laugh-In" and had already won an Oscar for "Cactus Flower". I think that Atherton was unknown, although he would later become famous as the EPA agent in "Ghostbusters". And of course Spielberg made his mark the very next year with "Jaws". I guess that this movie is sort of a before-they-were-famous situation. But it is worth seeing.
Excellent story, good acting and ...oh yes - a young Steven Spielberg
posted on 30 Mar 2007I saw The Sugarland Express for the first time about six months ago. I can't believe I've never heard of this movie before then. It had everything you could hope for in a movie. Good story, good acting and Steven Spielberg as the director. The story is about a young woman named Lou Jean (Goldie Hawn), who has lost custody or her baby son because of her criminal record. She decides the only way she can get him back is to get her husband and take her baby son away from his foster parents. Unfortunately her husband Clovis (William Atherton) still has four months of his own prison sentence left to serve. Lou Jean visits him at the Pre-release Center he is serving his time in and threatens him with divorce if he doesn't leave with her. He reluctantly agrees and escapes. (Actually he just walks out - the place has the worst security). From then on, the two only have bad luck. The older couple they hitch a ride with get stopped by Highway Patrol Officer Slide (Michael Sacks). Lou Jean and Clovis then steal the older couple's car, wreck the car and kidnap Officer Slide and force him to drive them to Sugarland where their son is living. The remainder of the film chronicles what happens to them on their trip. How the media transforms them into a cause celebre and how the police have to not only deal with the fugitives but with the media and the public which has rallied behind the couple. The movie also deals with the changing relationship between Clovis, Lou Jean and Office Slide.As Lou Jean, Goldie Hawn brings a heartfelt and sympathetic performance to the role of a women who refuses to see the futility of her actions and is blinded by her desire to get her son back at any cost. This is definitely one of her best performances and shows what she can do with a part that demands a range of emotions. It was a real surprise to see William Atherton as a good guy and not as a pompous jerk or villain. (I will always remember him as the idiot inspector in Ghostbusters). Atherton did a good job of letting you see that Clovis did whatever Lou Jean said not because he was weak-willed but because he really loved Lou Jean and didn't want to lose her. Michael Sacks gave dimension to a character which in lesser hands might have come across as your basic by-the-book cop. Over the course of the movie you see the gradual change in Officer Slide as he is torn between his duty as an officer and his desire to help the couple get their son. (It's a mystery to me why I've never seen Michael Sacks in anything I can remember - he was very impressive in this.)Spielberg's direction gives you a real feel for the expansive Texas countryside which contrasts with the fact that for most of the movie these characters are confined in cars. Spielberg uses everything at his disposal to highlight and backdrop his story - the sunsets, the open Texas highway, and local color are used to optimum effect. Not a surprise he went on to become as successful as he did.Overall - A must see.
Pure Texas Trash...I Can't Get Enough of It!
posted on 13 Oct 2006THE SUGARLAND EXPRESS was Steven Spielberg's first feature film as a director about a Texas couple who set out to rescue their child from foster parents while avoiding police. This one didn't do much justice at the box office, but it deserved much better, for it was praised by critics everywhere. Goldie Hawn is sweet in the lead role. William Atherton is great as Hawn's escaped convict husband. This is one of the best chase movies ever, and quite possibly the best piece of Texas trash I've ever seen, and that's a good thing.4 out of 5
Fun movie!
posted on 10 Oct 2006Man, I forgot how much fun this movie actually was. In my mind it was a heavy drama but on my recent viewing (finally it's on DVD!) I rediscovered this movie and found out how fun it was. It kind of has the same fun feeling the other 'based on a true story' Spielberg movies: "Catch Me If You Can" and "The Terminal" have.The movie is made with lot's of profession and very little money. The small budget does not stop Spielberg of making a good movie. This movie was also the first Vilmos Zsigmond/Steven Spielberg collaboration. They later worked together on "Close Encounters of the Third Kind". But more importantly; it also was the first collaboration of John Williams and Steven Spielberg, one of the most successful collaborations in movie history, as later turned out.the movie features a young Goldie Hawn and William Atherton who I really like as an actor. Atherton is probably best known for his role in "Die Hard 1 & 2", "Ghostbusters" and the more recent movie "The Last Samurai" in which he has a small part early in the movie.It might be a bit too slow and probably boring for some people but I still recommend this movie. It has both action and substance. In a way also a must see because it was Spielberg his first real big hit and can be regarded as his breakthrough.8/10
Incredible underrated gem
posted on 05 Aug 2006I've always thought Sugarland Express to be the mother of films like Badlands, The Blues Brothers and Thelma and Louise among others. The direction and cinematography are way ahead of their time. So much so that it at times looks like a modern film with amazingly accurate historical set pieces.Apparently it didn't do very well at the box office, despite its critical acclaim, however this film and "Duel" are probably the most experimental of Spielberg's works and in a lot of ways the most interesting. The plot is great, the acting is great; it's a thoroughly entertaining piece.
Early Goldie, early Spielberg, both first-rate...
posted on 09 Jul 2006Petty crook is busted out of jail by his determined-yet-reckless wife; seems their infant son has been farmed out to a wealthy couple while the two were behind bars and the Mrs. wants her baby back now. There's a scene midway through "The Sugarland Express" that still takes my breath away: Goldie Hawn and William Atherton take refuge in a mobile home parked in a lot next to a drive-in theater, a cartoon is up on the screen and Atherton supplies the sound effects--but, as the cartoon descends into violence, he stares out the window while his wife giggles on, oblivious to the parallels between the film and the paths their lives have taken. It's a miraculous moment in a high-spirited comedy-drama about trying to get what you want--even at the expense of the law. I'm surprised most Spielberg fans turn their noses up at this movie, it's one of his best. The finale doesn't really work (the picture switches gears too many times and eventually leaves us eating dust), but Goldie Hawn's performance is brave and funny and wonderful. In fact all the acting is excellent, right down to the last two-line player. *** from ****
Oldie but a Goldie
posted on 21 Jun 2006Goldie Hawn was often so giddy and spaced out in her earliest roles that it bordered on "just too silly", but she is sweet, almost luminous in this role. It's a chase movie, but it's really not as much a chase as a controlled odessey across Texas in a long gone time. All major characters perform their tasks well and Ben Johnson has to be the most convincing Chief of Texas State Troopers ever. Not a deep movie, but great fun to watch. And Goldie and Atherton evoke real pathos with their plight. An excellent beginning for one who would become one of our most esteemed directors.
The best movie I've ever seen!!!!!
posted on 03 Jun 2006This movie is truly the best film I have ever laid eyes on!!!!! Everything about it is just so perfect! The actors (William Atherton, Goldie Hawn, Michael Sacks and Ben Johnson) are all incredible, the directing is brilliant - you can hardly tell Steven Spielberg was only 26 at the time. The music by John Williams is also very good- especially the use of Harmonicas, which add a special effect to the country stile of the film.The film is based upon a real event, which makes it even more shocking. Although the movie is not completely loyal to reality, it still gives you stuff to thing about!A word or two about the plot: Lou-Jean, a young blond... and a bit naive and childish women -persuades her also young and naive husband Clovis to break out of a pre-release center, so they can both reclaim their infant son Langston who has been sent for adoption. Unfortunately for them, things don't go their way - and they end-up ,unwittingly, hijacking a Texas highway-patrolman and his car and being chased by more than 200 patrolcars (led by captain Tanner) while heading to a town called "Sugarland" to get Langston. A very special relationship is built between the couple and their captive, during which the young cop understands their causes and feels for them, to the point where he is willing to aid them (as far as he legally can) in their debious mission.I'm not saying who is wrong here and who's right and I'm not saying committing a crime is in any case okay, but this beautiful film makes you think: should the law be so quick in taring family apart? should all criminals suffer the same faith, regardless to consequences? How far should the long arm of the law reach and when should it back away? I don't know if the film answers those questions, but it sure brings 'em up, and that is not less important.While watching the film, you cry with the heroes, you laugh with them, you share their faith and most of all: you understand they are people like you and me.Don't rent this movie, but buy it! It is not enough to watch it only once or twice! this film is amazing! it would be a crime not to watch it!!
Spielberg's most underrated gem
posted on 31 May 2006Not many people have seen this one, and it doesn't show up on TV very often, but "The Sugarland Express" is a very good film. It is Spielberg's first major studio picture (after the made-for-TV "Duel"), and while it certainly isn't as dynaminc as his second film, the flawless "Jaws", it IS a very fine movie. Goldie Hawn is actually quite good. This was before she adopted the "Private Benjamin" approach to all of her performances. She is really acting here and very convincing as the not-too bright Texas girl naively trying to keep her family together. William Atherton is also very good as her husband. If you only know him as the prick from such 80s movies as "Ghostbusters", "Die Hard", and "Real Genius" check this out to see his true range."The Sugarland Express" is actually quite similar to the Eastwood-directed "A Perfect World" (another fine underrated film). Spielberg is already adept at filmmaking in his first feature. It has a sharper edge than the stuff he is most well-known for early in his career ("E.T.", "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and such). And it was based on a true story to boot. If you can find a letterboxed copy you're in for a treat. The camera really makes Texas look otherworldly and a poetic backdrop for this sad tale.
Vastly underrated effort and easily Spielberg's best
posted on 07 Apr 2006This is the Steven Spielberg I wish was still working today... a talented storyteller who doesn't pull punches, has a great sense of humour, and doesn't need a lightshow or a deus ex machina plot device. The ending, which you may or may not see coming, is still a powerful ending. The film doesn't really stand the test of time that well, but that's besides the point. Spielberg directs the film with a sure touch and doesn't hit you over the head with emotional overtones, which was to become his trademark in the 80's and 90's with his lesser efforts. Part of the reason for that is, Universal/ Sid Sheinberg/ Lew Wasserman took a big risk banking on this film with its unknown director, and "The Sugarland Express" flopped at the box office. Spielberg was conscripted for "Jaws" and in effect, became Sheinbergs fair-haired boy. The rest, as they say, is history.
Steven Spielberg's first theatrical feature follows the adventures of a Texas outlaw couple striving to keep their family together by any means necessary.
posted on 26 Nov 2005More influential than even the director's fans are willing to give it credit, Steven Spielberg's first theatrical feature exhibits many of the traits that would later become his signatures: a majestic sense of scope; a fleet-footed sense of technique with even the most mundane action sequences; a childlike, naïve sense of wonder; and, yes, an occasionally cloying sentimentality. The Sugarland Express merges the men-in-cars dynamics of Spielberg's breakthrough TV movie Duel with a ripped-from-the-headlines tale of two holy fools (played impressively but with just a little too much gusto by Goldie Hawn and William Atherton) who will stop at nothing to get their child back. Although the story verges on the melodramatic, what saves the film is Spielberg's sense of space, place, and mood. He's so completely tuned in with his characters' hopes and fears that he's able to convey their every feeling through the visuals, which -- as shot by master cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond -- are a mix of documentary-style observational shots, sweeping vistas, and absurdist car chases. With the notable exception of the film's de rigueur, early-'70s unhappy ending, many of Sugarland's story arcs, character quirks, and even camera placements can be traced through every subsequent Spielberg feature, from something as epic as Raiders of the Lost Ark to -- most obviously -- his 2002 fraud-on-the-run hit Catch Me if You Can.
not the best
posted on 19 Mar 2009I love Goldie Hawn but this movie was certainly not her best.