The Director's Chair Network

Scott and Andrew Gordion, from the Ramblin’ Amblin’ podcast, discuss Sam Peckinpah’s 1972 *The Getaway*

The film was released December 19, 1972, written by Walter Hill, and made over $36 million on a $3.5 million budget. McQueen’s production company produced it and he took a healthy back end. Both hosts revisit it after seeing it as teenagers. They talk about the oppressive real Texas prison opening, McQueen’s moments of vulnerability with Ali MacGraw, the propulsive Quincy Jones score, and the heist and hotel shootout as peak Peckinpah action. The Rudy/vet/wife B-plot is the part neither remembered and both find the most uncomfortable, especially when played for broader laughs than the sexual politics in films like *Straw Dogs*. They also cover the novel’s darker ending versus the film’s warmer note with Slim Pickens.

0:00 Andrew Gordion joins, film facts and box office
8:00 Peckinpah and McQueen context, Junior Bonner
16:00 First-time and teenage memories of the film
24:00 Prison opening, vulnerability, real Texas jail
32:00 Quincy Jones score and the pedal sequence
40:00 The Rudy B-plot and problematic elements
52:00 Heist, aftermath, and the hotel shootout
68:00 Ending versus the Jim Thompson novel
76:00 Ratings and next episode tease


CREDITS
Film: The Getaway (1972), directed by Sam Peckinpah
Guest: Andrew Gordion (Ramblin’ Amblin’ podcast)
Host: Scott