After DUEL, Spielberg was hired by Goldie Hawn to direct her in THE SUGARLAND EXPRESS, a pretty good "based on a true story" road trip/family melodrama/car chase movie with Hawn busting her beau William Atherton out of prison so they both can get their child back who's been taken away by the state. And they're holding a policeman hostage. Some splashes of BONNIE & CLYDE and ACE IN THE HOLE when their little adventure becomes a media carnivale. Co-starring Ben Johnson as the Texas state trooper out to stop them.

Mostly notable for being the first time Spielberg worked with composer John Williams, a partnership that's continued to this day.