The Sugarland Express

For American football player with the nickname "Sugar Land Express", see Ken Hall (American football).
The Sugarland Express
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySteven Spielberg
Screenplay by
Story by
  • Steven Spielberg
  • Hal Barwood
  • Matthew Robbins
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyVilmos Zsigmond
Edited by
Music byJohn Williams
Production
company
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release dates
Running time
110 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$3 million
Box office$12 million[2]

The Sugarland Express is a 1974 American crime drama film directed by Steven Spielberg in his theatrical film directing debut, following the television film Duel (1971).[3] The film follows a woman (Goldie Hawn) and her husband (William Atherton) as they take a police officer (Michael Sacks) hostage and flee across Texas while they try to get to their child before he is placed in foster care. The event partially took place and the film was partially shot in Sugar Land, Texas.[4] Other scenes were filmed in San Antonio, Live Oak, Floresville, Pleasanton, Converse and Del Rio, Texas.[5]

The Sugarland Express marks the first collaboration between Spielberg and composer John Williams, who has scored all but five of Spielberg's films since. Although Williams re-recorded the main theme with Toots Thielemans and the Boston Pops Orchestra for 1991's The Spielberg/Williams Collaboration,[6] the score was not released as an album until June 15, 2024, coinciding with the film's 50th anniversary.[7]

The film premiered at the New Directors/New Films Festival on March 29, 1974 and was released theatrically in New York City on March 31, 1974, followed by a year-long worldwide theatrical rollout. It received positive reviews from critics, who praised Hawn's performance, Spielberg's direction and the cinematography.[8]

  1. ^ "The Sugarland Express - Details". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
  2. ^ Klady, Leonard (June 28, 1996). "Box Office Behemoth". Daily Variety. p. S28.
  3. ^ "The "Sugarland Express" Gang". TexasMonthly September 1, 2001. Retrieved 2013-03-14.
  4. ^ Rohan, Linda Sue (2 June 2020). "Caught on camera — spot our hometowns in the movies". WilsonCountyNews.com. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  5. ^ "Movie Locations of the Great Southwest : The Sugarland Express". Taos Unlimited Movie Locations. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  6. ^ "The Spielberg/Williams Collaboration: John Williams Conducts His Classic Scores For the Films of Steven Spielberg". Amazon. 1991. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  7. ^ "SUGARLAND EXPRESS. THE: LIMITED EDITION". La-La Land Records. Retrieved 2024-06-28.
  8. ^ Carson, Lexi (2024-06-16). "Steven Spielberg Throws Apple Watch at 'Sugarland Express' 50th Anniversary and Remembers Finding 'Jaws' Script 'Sitting Out' in Producer's Office". Variety. Retrieved 2024-06-28.