The Sugarland Express

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"The Sugar Land Express" also was the nickname of the American football player Kenneth Hall.
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The Sugarland Express

original film poster
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Produced by David Brown
Richard D. Zanuck
Screenplay by Hal Barwood
Matthew Robbins
Story by Steven Spielberg
Hal Barwood
Matthew Robbins
Starring Goldie Hawn
Ben Johnson
William Atherton
Michael Sacks
Music by John Williams
Cinematography Vilmos Zsigmond
Editing by Edward M. Abroms
Verna Fields
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release date(s) April 5, 1974 (1974-04-05)
Running time 110 minutes
Country United States
Language English

The Sugarland Express is a 1974 American drama film starring Goldie Hawn, Ben Johnson, William Atherton, and Michael Sacks. It was directed by Steven Spielberg, in his second feature film directed.[1]

It is about a husband and wife trying to outrun the law and was based on a true story. The event partially took place, the story is partially set, and the movie was partially filmed in Sugar Land, Texas.[citation needed] Other scenes for the film were filmed in San Antonio, Lone Oak Community, Floresville, Pleasanton, Converse and Del Rio, Texas.[citation needed]

Contents

[edit] Plot

In May 1969, Lou Jean Poplin assists her husband Clovis Michael Poplin to escape from the Beauford H. Jester Prison Farm in Texas, because she fears their son will be placed in the care of her mother. During their flight, they overpower and kidnap Texas Department of Public Safety Patrolman Maxwell Slide, holding him hostage in a slow-moving caravan, along with reporters in news vans and helicopters. The Poplins and Slide travel through Beaumont, Dayton, Houston, Cleveland, Conroe and finally Wheelock, Texas.

The Poplins bring Slide to the home of Lou Jean's mother, where they encounter numerous officers. An FBI agent and county sheriff shoots and kills Clovis, and later arrests Lou Jean. Patrolman Slide is found unharmed. Lou Jean spends fifteen months on a five year prison term in a women's correctional facility.

Film characters Lou Jean Poplin and Clovis Michael Poplin are based on the lives of Ila Fae Holiday and Robert Dent, respectively. The character Patrolman Slide is based on Trooper Crone.

Trooper James Kenneth Crone passed away February 10, 2011. [2]

[edit] Cast

The actual kidnapped patrolman, J. Kenneth Crone, played a small role in the film as a deputy sheriff.

[edit] Reception

The Sugarland Express holds a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes with an average score of 7.2 out of 10 from 25 reviews.[3]

[edit] Awards

The film won the award for Best Screenplay at the 1974 Cannes Film Festival.[4]

[edit] References

  1. ^ "The "Sugarland Express" Gang". TexasMonthly September 1, 2001. http://www.texasmonthly.com/preview/2001-09-01/texana8. Retrieved 2010-03-21. 
  2. ^ actor Kenneth Crone dies, IMDb, 10 February 2011.
  3. ^ "The Sugarland Express Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/sugarland_express/. Retrieved January 18, 2011. 
  4. ^ "Festival de Cannes: The Sugarland Express". festival-cannes.com. http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/2230/year/1974.html. Retrieved 2009-04-26. 

[edit] External links

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