

The Sugarland Express
A girl with a great following. Every cop in the state was after her. Everybody else was behind her.
Married small-time crooks Lou-Jean and Clovis Poplin 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.
TMDB
6.6/10
489 votes
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- Status
- Released
- Budget
- $3M
- Box office
- $12.8M
- Language
- English
- prison
- police
- stadium
- kidnapping
- hostage
- texas
- adoption
- texas ranger
- baby-snatching
- based on true story
- road trip
- on the run
Top billed cast












Behind the camera
Director
Writers
Music
Produced in
United States of America
Where to watch
All optionsAvailability for India. Provided by JustWatch through the TMDB API.
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Videos
Release dates
United StatesUS
- PremierePGNew Directors/New Films30 Mar 1974
- PremierePGUSA Film Festival31 Mar 1974
- TheatricalPG31 Mar 1974
- PhysicalPGDVD17 Aug 2004
- PhysicalPGBlu-ray5 May 2015
- Theatrical (limited)PGTribeca Festival 50th Anniversary Retrospective Screening15 Jun 2024
- PhysicalPG4K Blu-ray12 Nov 2024
United KingdomGB
- TheatricalPG22 May 1974
CanadaCA
- PhysicalDVD7 Jun 2005
BelgiumBE
- Theatrical123 Jan 1975
BrazilBR
- Theatrical125 Apr 1974
- Physical12DVD/VHS Universal8 Oct 2004
DenmarkDK
- Theatrical1528 Jun 1974
FinlandFI
- TheatricalK-167 Jun 1974
FranceFR
- PremiereCannes Film Festival11 May 1974
- TheatricalU12 Jun 1974
- TheatricalRe-release10 Oct 2001
GermanyDE
- Theatrical12West Germany 24 Jan 1975
Hong KongHK
- Theatrical19 Oct 1974
HungaryHU
- Theatrical614 Jun 1979
IrelandIE
- TheatricalPG22 Nov 1974
Frequently asked questions
The Sugarland Express was released on 31 March 1974.
Audience reviews
4- D6/10
DanDare
6/1/2020
Steven Spielberg's first proper cinema movie has some great photography from Vilmos Zsigmond. The tone is uncertain. A road movie, a tragic comedy with car pile ups that is based on true facts. Lou Jean Sparrow Poplin (Goldie Hawn) takes her husband Clovis (William Atherton) out of a minimum security prison just weeks before his eventual release. All to save their child who has been taken away and ready to p…
- C6/10
CinemaSerf
4/1/2023
When "Clovis" (William Atherton) is incarcerated, his wife "Lou Jean" (Goldie Hawn) is facing losing their son to adoption. She's having none of this so decides to spring her husband from jail so they can go collect their bairn and head for Mexico. Things do not go to plan, though, and pretty quickly they are in an hijacked police-car being driven by "Officer Slide" (Michael Sacks). Needless to say, the police - unde…
- R9/10
r96sk
5/8/2024
Quality! <em>'The Sugarland Express'</em> is Steven Spielberg's first theatrical release as director, which is quite something given the movie seems like it was made by a seasoned vet. On a similar note, the look and feel of the film is absolutely outstanding; it has aged remarkably well visually, almost hard to believe it came out in 1974! I also really enjoyed the score, particularly Toots Thielemans on the harm…
- W6/10
Wuchak
5/14/2026
**_Inspired by the real-life incident from May 2, 1969, mixed with…_** …elements of the Bonnie & Clyde account from 35 years earlier, such as the way Americans were rooting for the couple. In truth, the chase only lasted 5-6 hours and not several days. So, there was no time for the press to get ahold of the story and spread it to the people. Neither did the kidnapped patrolman warm up to the couple. Furthermore…
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