The Only Spielberg Movie You Haven't Seen Is Now on Netflix
No aliens, no dinosaurs, no Tom Hanks — but still peak Spielberg.
Steven Spielberg's second feature, The Sugarland Express, just dropped on Netflix — and if you've never heard of it, you're not alone. Buried under his bigger titles, this one rarely gets mentioned in Spielberg lists, even though it quietly set the stage for everything that came after.
Wait, What Is This Movie?
- Release year: 1974
- Runtime: 110 minutes
- Rotten Tomatoes: 87% critics, 72% audience
- Starring: Goldie Hawn, William Atherton, Ben Johnson
- Streaming on: Netflix (as of now)
Goldie Hawn plays Lou Jean Poplin, a determined young mother who convinces her husband to bust out of prison so they can take back their baby from foster care. It immediately spirals — they take a highway patrolman hostage and lead a convoy of police cars across Texas.
It’s a road movie, a chase movie, and somehow also a character drama. Think Duel, but with emotions.
Goldie Hawn Is Seriously That Good
Most people think of Hawn as comedy royalty, but here she goes full dramatic range — desperate, hopeful, impulsive, and completely magnetic. You get the sense this woman has nothing left to lose. It’s arguably one of her best performances ever.
Spielberg’s great at pulling iconic performances out of actors (Day-Lewis in Lincoln, Rylance in Bridge of Spies), but Hawn in Sugarland deserves to be on that list too. She carries the film.
Spielberg already knew how to keep a movie moving. The pacing here is tight, with the emotional arc riding right alongside the police chase. And it’s not one-sided — the police captain (Ben Johnson) isn’t just a generic bad guy. He’s conflicted. Human. Which makes the standoff way more intense.
Also? It’s low-key funny. There’s a whole bit involving Lou Jean demanding a porta-potty as part of their hostage standoff. And it works. It somehow doesn’t break the tension — it makes the characters feel more real.
Everyone praises Duel (and it rules), but The Sugarland Express has more going on. Real emotion, character depth, and a story that hits harder because you know from the jump this is not going to end well.