The Getaway (1972)Is betraying your conscience forgivable if you do it for love? The Getaway (1972) is a caper-and-chase movie about bank heist engineer, Carter "Doc" McCoy (Steve McQueen), who is recently released from prison after his wife, Carol (Ali MacGraw), makes a conditional deal with a sleazy industrialist named Jack Beynon (Ben Johnson). Doc is ordered to rob a bank, alongside a pair of dubious accomplices--including the even sleazier Rudy Butler (Al Lettieri), who unsurprisingly tries to betray Doc and Carol. Husband and wife find themselves on the run from both the law and their former partners-in-crime, dashing pell-mell across Texas while trying to safeguard their half a million dollar take.
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The credits for The Getaway reads like a "greatest hits" list of hard-boiled, tough guy action flick talent, including director Sam Peckinpah, lead actor Steve McQueen, and with a screenplay by Walter Hill, adapted from the crime novel of the same name by Jim Thompson. There is a constant thrum of tension and testosterone running through the film, between the bevy of car chases, shootouts, and multiple double-crosses, with a musical score by Quincy Jones that drives the action and intensity. Much of The Getaway feels like a Western, or at least a modern take on the Wild West. All of the main characters are criminals or accomplices, and the law exists only as a hurdle for Doc and Carol to circumvent. Incarcerated for armed robbery, Doc appeals for early parole in the opening credits; his request is denied, and he resumes the mind-numbing mundane routines of prison life, amid the cacophony of an industrial loom, its constant noise burrowing like a drill into his sanity. Dreaming of being reunited with his lovely wife, Doc eventually asks her to convince Beynon to get him out, aware that he is trading one prison for another. Carol turns the heads of men when she enters a room; it is implied that she performed sexual favors for Beynon to cement his release, and she tries to hide away her shame after Doc is freed. Although it's never explained why "Doc" is Carter's nickname, it's certainly not because he's dumb. With rare exceptions, he is able to outmaneuver the police and his assassins because he's quick on his feet, and a capable planner. Doc deduces that Carol had not been faithful to him during his long stay behind bars, but even he isn't psychologically prepared when he discovers the extent to which she went to get him out of jail--an open wound that always threatens to tear them apart. Their relationship is strained after the revelation, and they seem to keep company with each other solely out of an interest in getting to safety and then splitting up the cash. Perhaps it comes from the real-life chemistry between McQueen and MacGraw, but there is also the constant feeling that they would like nothing better than to pretend that it didn't happen. Doc and Carol prove that they are capable of killing in the heat of the moment; but the damage they do to each other stings the most, despite originating from a choice intended to bring them together.
Despite Doc's attorney citing his good behavior at the parole hearing, his early release comes ironically from diving even deeper into crime. This emphasizes that Doc is only truly free when he is unbound by laws--a persistent theme in The Getaway. Doc plots out even the most minute details of the robbery to ensure a smooth operation; Rudy and Frank (Bo Hopkins) fail to take his preparations seriously, which proves costly in the moment of truth. Doc likely pre-visualizes his actions--preparing himself in advance so he can act with confidence--suggested in the editing of The Getaway by Robert L. Wolfe. When he is released from prison, he envisions himself and Carol leaping from a rope swing into a nearby creek in celebration, and then following through. Despite their emotional rift, Doc and Carol represent the more ordered end of the spectrum of characters in the film. A subplot involves Rudy--who survives his shoot-out with Doc--hobbling his way into a veterinary hospital owned by the milquetoast Harold Clinton (Jack Dodson), and his imprudent wife, Fran (Sally Struthers). He originally keeps the couple hostage at gunpoint while his wound is mended; Fran takes an unexpected shine to the reptilian Rudy, and openly seduces him, making her husband a cuckold. It is alarming at the ease with which Fran abandons monogamy and decency in her unabashed proclivity with Rudy. The development of this side story is also surprising given how insignificant it is compared to Doc and Carol's exodus. The best explanation for its inclusion is that Fran is a parallel for Doc, embracing her "lawless self" like Doc did after leaving prison; she blossoms in the dirt while Harold's submissive roots are choked out. The Getaway is also a love story--a cautionary one about the dangers of paying too high a price for it. It could also be argued that Fran's original intent to seduce Rudy was to get him to lower his guard--a plan that backfires horribly as Fran appears to forget the reason for doing so in the first place. Carol's infidelity leads to regret and feelings of betrayal between her and Doc, and their relationship is on the skids for a good deal of The Getaway. Yet their bond is reforged through adversity--they are literally forced to wade through garbage with one another to avoid capture at one point. The Getaway offers no apologies for the moral vacuum it depicts, but does offer the hope that love can survive, even if it takes a baptism of gunfire to temper it.
Recommended for: Fans of a hard-boiled action film that is rough, aggressive, and even mean at times, mixing cars, guns, and heists, with a dose of psychoanalysis about the feelings of insecurity and betrayal that come with committed relationships. The Getaway also showcases the different towns and peoples of "The Lone Star State" in the course of Doc and Carol's escape from it.
Despite Doc's attorney citing his good behavior at the parole hearing, his early release comes ironically from diving even deeper into crime. This emphasizes that Doc is only truly free when he is unbound by laws--a persistent theme in The Getaway. Doc plots out even the most minute details of the robbery to ensure a smooth operation; Rudy and Frank (Bo Hopkins) fail to take his preparations seriously, which proves costly in the moment of truth. Doc likely pre-visualizes his actions--preparing himself in advance so he can act with confidence--suggested in the editing of The Getaway by Robert L. Wolfe. When he is released from prison, he envisions himself and Carol leaping from a rope swing into a nearby creek in celebration, and then following through. Despite their emotional rift, Doc and Carol represent the more ordered end of the spectrum of characters in the film. A subplot involves Rudy--who survives his shoot-out with Doc--hobbling his way into a veterinary hospital owned by the milquetoast Harold Clinton (Jack Dodson), and his imprudent wife, Fran (Sally Struthers). He originally keeps the couple hostage at gunpoint while his wound is mended; Fran takes an unexpected shine to the reptilian Rudy, and openly seduces him, making her husband a cuckold. It is alarming at the ease with which Fran abandons monogamy and decency in her unabashed proclivity with Rudy. The development of this side story is also surprising given how insignificant it is compared to Doc and Carol's exodus. The best explanation for its inclusion is that Fran is a parallel for Doc, embracing her "lawless self" like Doc did after leaving prison; she blossoms in the dirt while Harold's submissive roots are choked out. The Getaway is also a love story--a cautionary one about the dangers of paying too high a price for it. It could also be argued that Fran's original intent to seduce Rudy was to get him to lower his guard--a plan that backfires horribly as Fran appears to forget the reason for doing so in the first place. Carol's infidelity leads to regret and feelings of betrayal between her and Doc, and their relationship is on the skids for a good deal of The Getaway. Yet their bond is reforged through adversity--they are literally forced to wade through garbage with one another to avoid capture at one point. The Getaway offers no apologies for the moral vacuum it depicts, but does offer the hope that love can survive, even if it takes a baptism of gunfire to temper it.
Recommended for: Fans of a hard-boiled action film that is rough, aggressive, and even mean at times, mixing cars, guns, and heists, with a dose of psychoanalysis about the feelings of insecurity and betrayal that come with committed relationships. The Getaway also showcases the different towns and peoples of "The Lone Star State" in the course of Doc and Carol's escape from it.