The Sugarland Express

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3:14

The Sugarland Express

PG

1974

1h 49m

Comedy

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

87%

Tomatometer

52 Reviews

66%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

Married small-time crooks Lou-Jean (Goldie Hawn) and Clovis Poplin (William Atherton) 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.

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Critics Consensus

Its plot may ape the countercultural road movies of its era, but Steven Spielberg's feature debut displays many of the crowd-pleasing elements he'd refine in subsequent films.

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Rex Reed

New York Daily News

Apr 20, 2021

A highly winning entertainment.

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Kevin Thomas

Los Angeles Times

Apr 20, 2021

It is astonishing to contemplate all that director Steven Spielberg and his writers Hal Barwood and Matthew Robbins, all of them in their theatrical feature debuts, have managed to accomplish.

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Susan Stark

Detroit Free Press

Apr 20, 2021

Engrossing to watch, it begins to work on you, to declare its claim to greatness, after a while. You'll see.

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David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

Dec 26, 2025

3.5/4

The Sugarland Express builds towards a third act that’s both electrifying and unexpectedly heartbreaking...

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Nov 8, 2025

3/4

It features real attention to the sort of character dynamics that would serve subsequent Spielberg titles.

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Rob Gonsalves

Rob's Movie Vault

Nov 29, 2022

B+

Made before Spielberg became a thousand-pound gorilla, "Sugarland" is pleasantly small and unassuming.

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Anthony P

Jan 19, 2026

It's an extraordinary picture. Stunned from beginning to end, and Spielberg's grandest theatrical debut.

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Blu B

@RT43513976 6 days ago

A Classic Crime Flick. Spielberg was born to be a director right from the start. The direction here is just first rate with gorgous lighting, framing, superb camerawork and a real vision for everything. The cinematography is superb. The car chases are really good when they happen as well. He knows how to convey total chaos when needed. Everything else is really well done here. It's like if someone took Dog Day Afternoon, Smokey & The Bandit, and a road movie like Scarecrow and mashed them together you'd get something like this. It's funny also and somehow never takes itself oo serious and gets you to really like all the characters and feel sorry for everyone involved in this on all sides. Not an easy feat at all. The only real issue is it can feel a bit long despite being under 2 hours. It did start to drag a bit near the end and even though it doesn't jump around that much really it does feel like stuff just happens as we stay focused on them. It's all meant to show they aren't bad

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Adam K

@SunsetLonerCinema May 31, 2026

This does not get enough credit as an early Spielberg studio film. It channels the excitement of a high speed chase car movie and gets boosted by its exploration of what would become its filmmaker's trademark familial themes.

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Julian C

@juliancooper_12 Apr 19, 2026

Not bad for Steven Spielberg's debut film. You get good performances from the main cast and following the journey of Lou Jean and Clovis is very intriguing.

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Amanda B.

@Amanda719 Jan 19, 2026

I enjoyed this. Funny and they nailed the Texas aesthetic. Maybe a tad too long and Goldie’s character did well walking the line between likable and manipulative sociopath, but in a charming way. Apparently, this is Steven Spielberg’s directorial debut, which is a stunning accomplishment.

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Tyler G

@tylergross121 Sep 3, 2025

A dark, deceptively simple, lovers-on-the-run movie. It is pretty good, but is not a fun watch. I would pprobably only recommend to people exploring Spielberg's filmography.

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Steven Spielberg

Director

Goldie Hawn

Lou Jean Poplin

William Atherton

Clovis Michael Poplin

Ben Johnson

Captain Harlin Tanner

Michael Sacks

Patrolman Maxwell Slide

Gregory Walcott

Patrolman Ernie Mashburn

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Synopsis

Married small-time crooks Lou-Jean (Goldie Hawn) and Clovis Poplin (William Atherton) 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.

Director: Steven Spielberg
Producer: Richard D. Zanuck, David Brown
Screenwriter: Hal Barwood, Matthew Robbins
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Universal Pictures, Zanuck/Brown Productions
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 31, 1974, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Dec 8, 2024
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2015
Runtime: 1h 49m

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