The Sugarland Express movie poster

The Sugarland Express


The Sugarland Express Goofs/Mistakes

  • Movie Goof (continuity error): Throughout the film, Captain Tanner's unmarked blue Dodge Polara is shown to have full-size factory hubcaps. When he is crashed into by the local sheriff trying to "76" the hi-jacked patrol car, Tanner jumps out and the car now has typical police dog dish hubcaps.
  • Movie Goof (continuity error): During the first chicken eating scene, the chicken bucket is with LouJean. In the next scene inside the car, Slide asks for something and LouJean pulls something (WetNap?) from the bucket and gives it to him. The next scene has the bucket between Slide and Clovis. Time between shots doesn't allow for this because the background song, When my Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again, is playing uninterrupted.
  • Movie Goof (anachronisms): There is an Exxon station shown near the prison. The movie is based on events of May 1969. Standard Oil did not change Esso to the Exxon brand until 1973.
  • Movie Goof (continuity error): While Lou Jean is shopping through the mail-order catalog in the car, the gold stamps behind her in the back seat disappear, then reappear between shots.
  • Movie Goof (errors in geography): The "Texas" of this film is a figment of the filmmakers' imagination. The trip from just outside Houston to Sugar Land takes two days, and Sugar Land is a few miles from the Mexican border. In fact, Sugar Land is a municipality southwest of Houston, not much more than an hour from anywhere in the Houston metro area. And Houston is on the Texas Gulf Coast, two days' drive from the border.
  • Movie Goof (incorrectly regarded as a mistake): While the Border Patrol's purpose is indeed to protect the United States against illegal entry and not vice-versa, they are still a law enforcement agency that can be called upon to assist other state or federal agencies (as depicted in the film) to prevent wanted felons fleeing the United States jurisdiction during a pursuit. This has happened numerous times in reality and as such they are completely justified in firing at Clovis's car during their attempted escape.