Guet-apens

Steve McQueen and Sam Peckinpah teamed to do two straight films, probably some of the best work in both of their careers. But the difference in a nice character study like Junior Bonner and a tough crime drama like The Getaway shows the versatility of both these remarkable men. The Getaway seems to take its inspiration from John Huston's classic, The Asphalt Jungle.

McQueen is a career criminal whose parole has once again been denied in the ten year stretch he's doing. Wife Ali McGraw submits to parole board chief Ben Johnson's sexual advances to spring McQueen.

But the corrupt Johnson isn't just about sexual harassment. He wants McQueen to rob a bank that his brother is a director, to cover a nice case of embezzlement. He even recruits another pair of criminals, Bo Hopkins and Al Lettieri as part of the gang.

Of course the plan goes wrong as a bank guard is killed and then Hopkins is killed in a double-cross by Lettieri who then fails to do the same to McQueen and McGraw. After that it's a three way race to the border between Johnson's men, Lettieri, and McQueen.

Al Lettieri is a talent that was lost to us way too soon. He played some of the best villains in the early seventies and this one is one of them. He kidnaps veterinarian Jack Dodson and his slut of a wife Sally Struthers. Soon she's more than willing to go and be his girl. Struthers has a great part, so far from being Gloria Bunker Stivic on All in the Family.

My favorite Sam Peckinpah moment in all of his films is that climax at Dub Taylor's flea bag hotel where all the forces meet and shoot up the place. It's Peckinpah's best violence ballet in all of his films, I never tire of seeing it.

The whole film was shot in Texas and I'm not sure how residents of Texas might like this picture of their state. It seems to be one very violent place and a very corrupt one as well.

But I like The Getaway very much, it's my favorite Sam Peckinpah film next to Ride the High Country.

The film centers about a robber named "Doc" McCoy (Steve McQueen) is paroled from a Texas state prison , somewhat to his surprise . His spouse , Carol (Ali McGraw) , has arranged for his freedom by sleeping with the corrupt but politically well connected Jack Benyon (Ben Johnson) . Ben Johnson assigns him a heist helped by Al Lettieri and Bo Hopkins but he's betrayed and the events burst .

In the motion picture there is suspense , drama , thriller, car pursuits and amount of violence reflected in slow-moving shots typical of Peckinpah . From the beginning to the end the action-packed is interminable . The final confrontation at hotel between the starring , Steve McQueen , Ali McGraw and the enemies is breathtaking and overwhelming . The picture has been classified ¨R¨ for crude murders and isn't apt for little boys , neither squeamish . However , it was rated PG by the MPAA in the United States. A few years later, in retrospect, this was considered a mistake and the board believed that the film should have been rated one step higher, an R . Steve McQeen and Ali McGraw's (marriage in real life) interpretation is top-notch . Sam Peckinpah direction is excellent though is better in Western films (Wild bunch , Pat Garret and Billy the Kid , Bring me the head Alfredo Garcia and Major Dundee).

The movie obtained success and originated a remake featured by Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger (marriage in real life, too) although failed at box office . The yarn will appeal to action buffs and Peckinpah fans . Rating : 7/10 .Well catching

Before Action became routine and Bruce Willis there was the 1970´s Action-film, which often had a lot of mood. "The Getaway" is one of those films, showing what range the Action-film could have - there is more than violence and wannabe-cool dialog here. This was before the Action-films became exaggerated, instead of having just explosions and being over-explicit there is booth plot and suspense in "The Getaway". It let Peckinpah use his well known style, in the way of Boorman´s "Point Blank". The result is pure. Ali McGraw is said to be limited and stiff, but Peckinpah made her solid here. I guess that Steve McQueen never was better than here, even if some wouldn't agree. Some of Peckinpah´s regular starred (such as Ben Johnson, Slim Pickens, Bo Hopkins and Dub Taylor) which makes it even better today - the impact of Peckinpah is powerful.

Rating: 8 of 10.

'The Getaway' is Sam Peckinpah in gun for hire mode making a commercial heist-gone-wrong/lovers-on-the-run movie. He tried to do something similar later in the Seventies with 'Convoy', but that one strayed too far into studio compromise and was nowhere near as successful on an artistic level. Even though one gets the feeling that the movie's star Steve McQueen was calling the shots, Peckinpah still manages to add some of his trademark flamboyant violence and moral ambiguity to what is, let's face it, essentially an action movie. And I must say it is a very good action movie at that, and one many directors today working in this often tired and lazy genre could learn a thing or two from concerning suspense, drama and genuine excitement. The less you know about Jim Thompson's original novel the more you will enjoy this movie. Walter Hill (future director of 'The Warriors' and 'Southern Comfort') takes most of the basic plot, but leaves out the brilliant final chapter set in the hellish criminal haven El Ray. Apparently this was at the insistence of Steve McQueen who thought it too depressing. I also would guess that McQueen influenced Hill to alter the character of Doc McCoy from the book's charming sociopath to a more traditional tough-but-still-fairly decent career criminal. Maybe McQueen felt more comfortable pulling that style off, which is odd because he showed a lot more depth in Peckinpah's low key 'Junior Bonner'. In this one respect 'The Getaway's inferior 1990s remake was closer to Thompson's original spirit by casting Alec Baldwin in the same role. Anyway, if you forget about the book, and accept this movie for what it is, and not what it might have been it is a taut and impressive thriller. McQueen and the beautiful Ali McGraw (then husband and wife) show some real chemistry and are consistently watchable. Peckinpah uses many of his regular dependable character actors (Bo Hopkins, Dub Taylor) to support them, including a first rate Ben Johnson ('The Wild Bunch') in an uncharacteristically nasty role. Al Letteri ('The Godfather') also impresses as McQueen's conniving colleague, Slim Pickens ('Dr Strangelove') as a helpful old geezer, Sally Struthers ('All In The Family') as a blonde bimbo, and the underrated Richard Bright ('Vigilante', 'Crimewave', 'The Godfather') has a scene stealing bit as a con-man who bites off more than he can chew. 'The Getaway' is by no means Peckinpah's most interesting or impressive movie but it is solid entertainment that is hard to beat, and should be watched by any self-respecting Seventies movie fan.

Was wondering why they don't make films like this anymore. Then it dawned on me. It has ambiguous morals and doesn't particularly ask for or seek redemption. The hero is a killer and bank robber, he says little and therefore you should have to work hard to empathize with him. But it comes easy because everyone else around Doc McCoy is ten times worse than he is. And Doc is played by Steve McQueen. A magnificent brooding presence who's character doesn't stop to question his actions, because if he did he'd die or get arrested. And this is where it is so much better than a contemporary film of the same vein. It's not made with actors who are scared that their image might be tarnished or misunderstood, it is not made by film-makers who are scared they might upset someone, it is not made by people who particularly need to be loved. So what you get is a story that rings true, a piece of fiction that at no time stops to apologize for itself. It grabs you, says this is what I am, and if you're hooked then great. If not go and watch Bambi or something.

A bona fide classic piece of storytelling.