The Getaway (1972)

Director:

Sam Peckinpah

Writers:

Walter Hill (screenplay)
Jim Thompson (novel)

Release Date:

13 December 1972 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

They're Hot - McQueen/MacGraw

Plot:

A recently released ex-con and his loyal wife go on the run after a heist goes awry.

Plot Keywords:

Slow Motion | Spare Ribs | Sadism | Kidnapping | Garbage Truck

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 win

Cast

Steve McQueen	...	Doc McCoy
Ali MacGraw	...	Carol McCoy
Ben Johnson	...	Jack Beynon
Sally Struthers	...	Fran Clinton
Al Lettieri	...	Rudy Butler
Slim Pickens	...	Cowboy
Richard Bright	...	The Thief
Jack Dodson	...	Harold Clinton
Dub Taylor	...	Laughlin
Bo Hopkins	...	Frank Jackson
Roy Jenson	...	Cully
John Bryson	...	The Accountant
Bill Hart	...	Swain
Tom Runyon	...	Hayhoe
Whitney Jones	...	The Soldier

Runtime:

122 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:X (original rating) | Norway:16 (cut) (1973) | Portugal:M/16 | UK:18 (re-rating, uncut) | USA:PG (cut) | France:-12 | Norway:18 (uncut) | Iceland:16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-18 | Germany:16 (re-rating) | Italy:VM14 | Sweden:15 | West Germany:18 (nf) | Canada:13+ (Québec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

El Paso, Texas, USA

Company:

National General Pictures

Trivia:

W. Dee Kutach, the Texas prison parole board chairman who denies Doc McCoy (Steve McQueen) his parole in the opening minutes of the film, was actually a prison official at the time the movie was made -- he was the Assistant Director for Treatment for the Texas Department of Corrections in Huntsville, TX.

Goofs:

Continuity: Doc and Carol are stuck in the garbage truck at night. However, some shots of the vehicle's pneumatics show clear blue sky in the background.

Quotes:

Carter 'Doc' McCoy: If you're trying to get me back in Huntsville, you're going about it the right way.
Carol Ainsley McCoy: Well I just wouldn't worry about that Doc, becasue I can always get you out, you know I can screw every prison official in Texas if I have to!
Carter 'Doc' McCoy: Texas is a big state.
Carol Ainsley McCoy: I can handle it.
Carter 'Doc' McCoy: Yeah, I bet you can.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade (2004) (TV)

Have a RIB, Harold!

The Getaway has the very important "Three S's" which are so crucial to any film: Style, Substance, and Steve McQueen.

This film, right behind PAPILLON, is definitely my favorite McQueen vehicle -- it's a big, BIG film (which makes sense, it takes place in Texas), has an epic feel, yet at the same time is very gritty and very honest in its approach to storytelling. The simplistic yet larger-than-life style of THE GETAWAY makes this flick a great watch on a Saturday Night.

Oh, and you can't go wrong with Steve McQueen. At his side is *THE* girl-next-door type, the ultra-likable Ali MacGraw. Their chemistry is very obvious (which would make a lot of sense, the two had an on-set affair which was followed by a five year marriage), and it carries the film. The score, composed by Quincy Jones, hits all the right notes in all the right spots, and is definitely pivotal in giving THE GETAWAY its "feel." The supporting cast couldn't be better-suited to their roles. The bad guys are really bad, and quite despicable. Despite the sinister villains, this early 70s gem has a sense of humor. At times the more "innocent" characters are mocked by the situations they find themselves in, much to your amusement or disgust (I, for one, found laugh-out-loud moments all the way through). By the very nature of a McQueen film, the characters are all "approachable," and down to earth in their own strange way. In a nutshell, a simplistically epic film that finds the time to not take itself so seriously.

While THE GETAWAY may not be the best to bring out at a movie get-together due to its slightly slow pacing and early 70s narrative (which, unfortunately, due to the breakneck music-video pacing of most "modern" films, tends to turn off anyone with a less-than-sufficient attention span), it is definitely worth a purchase, and something that you will be proud to say that you've seen.

Long Live McQueen, and Have a RIB, Harold!