The Sugarland Express
original film poster
Directed by	Steven Spielberg
Produced by	David Brown Richard D. Zanuck
Written by	Steven Spielberg Hal Barwood Matthew Robbins
Starring	Goldie Hawn William Atherton
Music by	John Williams
Cinematography	Vilmos Zsigmond
Editing by	Edward M. Abroms Verna Fields
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date(s)	April 5, 1974 (USA)
Running time	110 min.
Language	English
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

The Sugarland Express is a 1974 feature film starring Goldie Hawn and William Atherton. It is the first theatrical feature film directed by Steven Spielberg. It is about a husband and wife trying to outrun the law and was based on a true story. The event partially took place in, the story is partially set in, and the movie was partially filmed in Sugar Land, Texas.^[1] Other scenes for the film were filmed in Lone Oak Community Floresville and Converse,Texas Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Steven Allan Spielberg KBE (born December 18, 1946)[1] is an American film director and producer. ... This is the movie producer David Brown David Browns, see David Brown. ... Richard Darryl Zanuck (born December 13, 1934) is an American movie producer. ... Steven Allan Spielberg KBE (born December 18, 1946)[1] is an American film director and producer. ... Hal Barwood is a game producer. ... Matthew Robbins may refer to: Matthew Robbins (footballer). ... Goldie Jeanne Hawn (born November 21, 1945) is an Academy Award-winning American actress, director and producer. ... William Atherton (born William Atherton Knight) is an American film actor. ... Williams conducting the London Symphony Orchestra during the recording of the score for Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. ... Vilmos Zsigmond (born June 16, 1930) is a Hungarian-American cinematographer. ... Verna Fields (21 March 1918 - 30 November 1982) was an American film editor and executive. ... Universal Pictures is the main motion picture production/distribution arm of Universal Studios, a subsidiary of NBC Universal. ... April 5 is the 95th day of the year (96th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... A reel of film, which predates digital cinematography. ... Goldie Jeanne Hawn (born November 21, 1945) is an Academy Award-winning American actress, director and producer. ... William Atherton (born William Atherton Knight) is an American film actor. ... Steven Allan Spielberg KBE (born December 18, 1946)[1] is an American film director and producer. ... City nickname: The Land of Sugar City slogan: Sugar Land. ... Official language(s) No Official Language See languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Area  Ranked 2nd  - Total 261,797 sq mi (678,051 km²)  - Width 773 miles (1,244 km)  - Length 790 miles (1,270 km)  - % water 2. ... Floresville is a city located in Wilson County, Texas. ...

Background

In 1969, Ila Fae Dent helped her husband Robert escape from a Texas pre-release prison facility (the same one where the movie was filmed), because she feared losing custody of their child to Ila Fae's mother. During their flight, they overpowered and kidnapped Texas Department of Public Safety trooper Kenneth Crone, holding him hostage during a slow-moving caravan of up to 150 DPS vehicles, along with reporters in cars and helicopters and hundreds of curious bystanders, that passed through Port Arthur, Houston, Navasota, and finally Wheelock, near Bryan. Unlike the film, the events took just several hours. For the Stargate SG-1 episode, see 1969 (Stargate SG-1). ... Child custody and guardianship are legal terms which are sometimes used to describe the legal and practical relationship between a parent and his or her child, such as the right of the parent to make decisions for the child, and the parents duty to care for the child. ... The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) is a department of the government of the state of Texas. ... Police often train to recover hostages taken by force, as in this exercise For the 2005 film, see Hostage (film). ... Port Arthur is a city in Jefferson County within the Beaumont-Port Arthur metropolitan area and is situated in southeast Texas. ... Nickname: Location in the state of Texas Coordinates: Country United States State Texas Counties Harris County Fort Bend County Montgomery County Incorporated June 5, 1837 Government  - Mayor Bill White Area  - City  601. ... Navasota is a city in Grimes County, Texas, United States. ... Bryan is a city in Brazos County, Texas, United States. ...

At Ila Fae's mother's house, they encountered numerous officers including an FBI agent. The situation grew tense, with Crone held at gunpoint. The FBI agent and county sheriff shot and killed Robert. The trooper was uninjured. Ila Fae spent five months in prison. She died in 1992. Crone was an advisor on the film and had a small role as a deputy sheriff. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is a federal criminal investigative, intelligence agency, and the primary investigative arm of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). ... Look up Sheriff in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ... Look up Sheriff in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Film Promotion

The promoters of the film played up the grassroots support that existed for a mother trying to claim custody of her child. Some posters used the tagline:

A girl with a great following
Every cop in the state was after her.
Everybody else was behind her.

For the DVD release, the first line was dropped.

Trivia

Goldie Hawn, lobbycard for The Sugarland Express

• The pre-release facility is located in the Jester III Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Institutional Division, in present-day northwestern part of Sugar Land, Texas.
• Every Spielberg film from this one on has been scored by John Williams, except The Color Purple and Twilight Zone: The Movie.
• The movie misspells the name of the city (Sugar Land is properly spelled as two words, not one).
• The female dispatcher's voice in the movie saying "2311 Houston...2311 Houston...Houston Pierce", was an actual employee of the DPS.
• Patrolman Slide's DPS cruiser is a 1973 Dodge Polara. After filming was completed, Spielberg purchased the vehicle, and drove it as his daily driver for a short period of time - bullet holes and all.

Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Goldie Jeanne Hawn (born November 21, 1945) is an Academy Award-winning American actress, director and producer. ... City nickname: The Land of Sugar City slogan: Sugar Land. ... Williams conducting the London Symphony Orchestra during the recording of the score for Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. ... The Color Purple is the ninth film directed by Steven Spielberg, and was released 1985. ... Twilight Zone: The Movie was a 1983 movie produced by Steven Spielberg as a theatrical version of The Twilight Zone, a long-running early TV series. ... The Dodge Polara was introduced for the 1960 model year as Dodges top-of-the-line full-size car. ...

Notes

1. ^ Internet Movie Database - Locations - accessed 20 March 2006.

March 20 is the 79th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (80th in leap years). ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...

References

• "The Sugarland Express Gang", Texas Monthly, September 1, 2001

Texas Monthly is a monthly American magazine published in Austin, Texas. ... September 1 is the 244th day of the year (245th in leap years). ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ...

External links

• The Sugarland Express at the Internet Movie Database