The Sugarland Express

Lou-Jean, a blonde woman, tells her husband, who is imprisoned, to escape. They plan to kidnap their own child…

• Director: Steven Spielberg
• Genre:Adventure / Crime / Drama
• Runtime:106 minutes

Cast

Goldie Hawn : Lou Jean Poplin
Ben Johnson : Captain Harlin Tanner
Michael Sacks : Patrolman Maxwell Slide
William Atherton: Clovis Michael Poplin
Gregory Walcott : Patrolman Ernie Mashburn

In May 1969, Ila Fae Dent assisted her husband Robert Dent escape from the Beauford H. Jester prison farm in Texas, because she feared their son will be placed in the care of her mother. During their flight, they overpowered and kidnapped Texas Department of Public Safety trooper Kenneth Crone, holding him hostage in a slow-moving caravan, along with reporters in news vans and helicopters. The Dents and Crone travelled through Port Arthur, Houston, Navasota, and finally Wheelock, Texas. In contrast to the film the events took only several hours.

The Dents brought Crone to the home of Ila Fae’s mother, where they encountered numerous officers. An FBI agent and county sheriff shot and killed Robert Dent, and later arrested Ila Fae. Trooper Crone was unharmed. Ila Fae spent five months in a women’s correctional facility, and later died in 1992. Crone was an advisor on the film and had a small role as a deputy sheriff. Read more