Sugarland Express (1974)

Sugarland Express: Directed by Steven Spielberg. With Goldie Hawn, Ben Johnson, Michael Sacks, William Atherton. A woman attempts to reunite her family by helping her husband escape prison and together kidnapping their son. But things don’t go as planned when they are forced to take a police hostage on the road.

“I wasnu0026#39;t sure what to expect from this film. Fellow fans of Steven Spielberg advised me to see u0026quot;Sugarland Express,u0026quot; so I bought the DVD. Iu0026#39;m glad I did it as it is one of Spielbergu0026#39;s best. He should have made films more along the lines of u0026quot;Duel,u0026quot; u0026quot;Jawsu0026quot; and the above film. Being based upon a true story is a Feather in the films cap. The two main characters – played by Goldie Hawn and William Atherton – are very sympathetic in spite of their circumstances. She is planning to find their baby boy so they can be re-united. He is a convict serving a light sentence. They both help his breaking out of jail and after taking a police officer hostage, they lead the police of Texas on a state wide chase. The wife and her convict husband race against time so they can find their son. This has thoughtful moments and it isnu0026#39;t a hard- hitting film. There is some violence but itu0026#39;s fairly mild and minimal. The pace is good and the tension is sustained throughout. Ben Johnson does well as one of the senior police officers who leads the Dragnet. He is a tough man but he isnu0026#39;t totally lacking in compassion. The direction is some of the best from Steven Spielberg.”