"The Sugarland Express" was Steven Spielberg's first feature film and together with his earlier TV movie "Duel" and, I suppose, the later "Jaws", showed that he was more than capable of making outstanding films aimed at a grown-up audience. Even to this day, this is one of his finest films. It's based on a real incident that took place in Texas in 1969 although I'm sure Hal Barwood and Matthew Robbins' superb script embellished events somewhat as Goldie Hawn breaks husband William Atherton out of prison, kidnaps policeman Michael Sacks and heads off to the town of Sugarland to get back their baby son, pursued all the way by the police, (lead by Ben Johnson), and a convoy of interfering onlookers. Of course, it could only happen in America where freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose and where, fifty years later, Donald Trump is the President.
It's also a classic road movie; exciting, funny and ultimately tragic and is beautifully acted by everyone and in particular by Hawn who handles both the comedy and the tragedy perfectly. Of course, it's very much a film of its time; road movies were all the rage in the seventies but none were as smart as this and in place of his usual sentimentality Spielberg imbues it with real feeling and a terrific sense of place and he uses extras the way they should be used, as real people. Indeed this is one of the key films of its decade and is as good as it was on the day it was made.
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