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The Getaway Sponsored by Mills Plaza Properties 1972 | PG | Action, Crime | d. Sam Peckinpah Steve McQueen, Ali MacGraw, Ben Johnson Filmed in El Paso, Texas |
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| All roads lead to El Paso, Texas in this early seventies classic, directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring Steve McQueen at the height of his fame and counter-cultural cache. McQueen plays a just-released convict, “Doc” McCoy, who is pressured into a risky bank job by a corrupt and well-connected Ben Johnson. Ali McGraw plays Doc’s wife, who doesn’t scruple at sleeping with Johnson to get her husband released. When the bank job goes south, McQueen and McGraw make a run for it, trying to stay one step ahead of their pursuers – while never knowing whom to trust, including each other. Shot on location in Texas towns, including San Marcos and Fabens, The Getaway is a fast-paced ride, full of tough dialogue and well choreographed gunplay. Ending up in El Paso, the action of the movie perfectly reflects the mood of the times and leaves the audience rooting for McQueen’s gritty antihero, much in the tradition of similar vehicles such as Bonnie and Clyde (1967), Vanishing Point (1971) and Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974). Based on the novel by Jim Thompson, The Getaway is gutsy, realistic, and features some classic lines by scriptwriter Walter Hill. - Tom Schmid | ||