Special Exhibit: THE SUGARLAND EXPRESS

Year: 1974

Duration: 110 minutes

Where to watch: Amazon Prime, Google Play.

I’ll start this year recommending a film from a very little director called Steven Spielberg.

Kidding aside, the movie in question is not a very well-known one among the famous filmmaker’s body of work. The Sugarland Express was the very first theatrical feature Spielberg made, but even his previous TV movie, Duel, is more well-remembered among audiences.

I was in two minds about which one of the two would I feature in this article. Duel is probably the superior film, especially considering its simplicity and the relatively low budget he had to make it. This thriller about a driver being terrorized by a mysterious Truck is the direct precursor to many of Spielberg’s later, mor famous works, including Jaws. His mastery of tension, even at this early stage was a clear flag that he would go to become one of the greats very soon.

But for that very reason, I decided to defend the often forgotten The Sugarland Express, which is also a pretty good product. In any case, what you should do is check them both if you haven’t. And who knows, maybe some day I’ll feature Duel itself in this section.

While Duel is a very Spielberg creature feature with a Truck as the monster, Sugarland is a relatively intimate character-based film under the guise of a moderately epic crime drama. The plot, which was based on a real incident, can be easily resumed:

It’s the late 60’s and Lou Jean (Goldie Hawn) is a young mother whose son is about to be placed into the foster system, mostly because her husband Clovis (William Atherton) is in jail. Deciding to go after their child, Lou Jean springs Clovis from prison and they escape.

Very soon, they’re forced to take a Patrolman (Michael Sacks) as a hostage and a slow-speed chase ensues, including policemen, media and civilians who are sympathetic with the couple’s cause. Stockholm Syndrome kicks in and the Patrolman bonds with his captors.

What follows is a relatively well-paced character piece, which also explores the influence of media and public opinion in situations like this, with a couple of well-crafted moments of tension and action. It’s not hard to see how he immediately became sought-after after Duel and this to become a large-scale filmmaker.

The Sugarland Express is also notable for having started one of the most important collaborative relationships in film business: it was the first movie where Spielberg worked with John Williams, so it's a vital piece of history in the careers of two legends.