The Getaway (1972)

Set in Texas, a local political boss (Ben Johnson) springs a convict (Steve McQueen) from prison so that he can execute a daring bank robbery. But a succession of crosses and double crosses find he and his wife (Ali MacGraw) on the run from both the law and the crooks. Based on the novel by Jim Thompson (THE GRIFTERS) and directed by Sam Peckinpah (STRAW DOGS). The film is a favorite among Peckinpah fans but I found it one of his weaker films. It's not bad but it's too sordid and the domestic scenes between McQueen and MacGraw are tedious and drag the film down. The movie further exposes MacGraw's inadequacies as an actress though to be fair, she does have a screen presence. The film's criminals seem too inept to be believable and the entire film has an aimless feel to it which might work if the film were directed by Jean Pierre Melville or Jean Luc Godard but the expected Peckinpah violence aside, it's monotonous. Original reviews were negative but its reputation has climbed in the ensuing years. Remade in 1994. With Al Lettieri, Sally Struthers, Slim Pickens and Bo Hopkins.