The Sugarland Express

The Sugarland Express (1974) starring Goldie Hawn, Ben Johnson, Michael Sacks, William Atherton. Directed by Steven Spielberg. Hawn stars (above the title!) as a young mother, just released from prison, whose baby has been taken away from her by social services. She breaks her husband (Atherton) out of prerelease from the prison where he is incarcerated, and the couple is off on a cross-country chase to try to get their baby back from foster parents who live in Sugarland, Texas. Things get complicated when they kidnap a highway patrolman (Sacks) and force him to drive them across Texas. The fact that the film is based on true events makes it all the more entertaining. This was Spielberg's debut feature film, and it gained critical praise although it didn't do too well at the box office. The subtitles are adequate, but closed captions are not available. Grade: B+