Review of The Sugarland Express (1974) by Calvin C — 22 Nov 2012
Steven Speilbergs first theatrical feature has all the elements that would feature in his later more sucessful films and contains three excellent central perfomances.
When Lou Jean Poplin loses her son to a foster family in Texas she breaks her feckless husband Clovis out of prison and kidnaps a Texas deputy.
What follows is a sometimes funny and moving chase across the state as various law enforcers track the couple down and they become celebrities along the way.
Spielberg shows here how good his eye is with several excellent sequences including a mass Rally of law enforcement cars anda shoot out in a used car depot.
Goldie Hawn is perfect as Lou Jean a woman determined to take the law into her own hands in order to seee her son again,William Atherton is the perfect foil as the easily led and sometimes dangerous Clovis.
Ben Johnson is equally good a s Captain Tanner a man who respects his quarry and isnt afraid to del with those who seek to kill the couple as they reach their final destination of Sugarland.
The last 20 minutes of the film are pretty bleak and this would provoke Spielberg to stay away from those endings for a few years after the film flopped.
This review of The Sugarland Express (1974) was written by Calvin C on 22 Nov 2012.
The Sugarland Express has generally received positive reviews.
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