The Sugarland Express
Movie, 1974, The '70s, Set in A Texas police chase
The Sugarland Express is #2 of 35 in release order and #2 of 35 in chronological order in the Steven Spielberg.
The story
Married small-time crooks Lou-Jean and Clovis Poplin lose their baby to the state of Texas and resolve to do whatever it takes to get him back. Lou-Jean gets Clovis out of jail, and the two steal their son from his foster home, in addition to taking a highway patrolman hostage. As a massive dragnet starts to pursue them across Texas, the couple become unlikely folk heroes and even start to bond with the captive policeman.
The Sugarland Express recap
The Sugarland Express (1974) follows a Texas mother who breaks her husband out of prison to reclaim their son from foster care, with police in slow pursuit. Steven Spielberg directs a script by Hal Barwood and Matthew Robbins, based on a real 1969 case. Goldie Hawn plays Lou Jean Poplin, who persuades her husband Clovis Poplin (William Atherton) to escape from prison four months before his release. When a highway patrolman, Maxwell Slide (Michael Sacks), stops their stolen car, they take him hostage and drive across Texas toward Sugar Land in his cruiser. Behind them grows a convoy of dozens of police cars, news crews and fans, directed by Captain Tanner (Ben Johnson), who would rather talk them down than shoot. Along the way townspeople cheer the couple and hand them gifts, vigilantes open fire, and Slide grows to like his captors. The Sugarland Express is Spielberg's first theatrical feature, after Duel and before Jaws.
The Sugarland Express ending explained
The Sugarland Express ends with an ambush at the foster parents' house in Sugar Land, where Texas Rangers lie in wait. Tanner gives up on negotiation, and both Slide and Clovis sense a trap, but Lou Jean insists Clovis go in for the boy. Two marksmen fatally wound Clovis, and after a last chase the police arrest Lou Jean. Slide walks away unharmed. An epilogue says she served 15 months of a five-year sentence and later won the right to live with her son.
Post-credits scenes
No. The Sugarland Express has no mid- or post-credits scene.
Where to watch The Sugarland Express
The Sugarland Express isn't on a US streaming service right now. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 6.8/10, Rotten Tomatoes 87%
Where it fits
Cast
- Goldie Hawn as Lou Jean Poplin
- William Atherton as Clovis Poplin
- Ben Johnson as Captain Tanner
- Michael Sacks as Slide
- Gregory Walcott as Mashburn
- Steve Kanaly as Jessup
- Louise Latham as Mrs. Looby
- Harrison Zanuck as Baby Langston
- A.L. Camp as Mr. Nocker
- Jessie Lee Fulton as Mrs. Nocker
- Dean Smith as Russ Berry
- Ted Grossman as Dietz
Directed by Steven Spielberg.