The Getaway (1972 film) The Getaway (1972 film) The Getaway is a 1972 American neo-noir crime film directed by Sam Peckinpah and written by Walter Hill, based on Jim Thompson's 1958 novel. It stars Steve McQueen, Ali MacGraw, Ben Johnson, Al Lettieri, and Sally Struthers. The plot follows imprisoned mastermind robber Carter "Doc" McCoy (McQueen), whose wife Carol (MacGraw) conspires for his release on the condition they rob a bank in Texas. A double-cross follows the crime and the McCoys are forced to flee for Mexico with the police and criminals in hot pursuit. Peter Bogdanovich, whose "The Last Picture Show" impressed McQueen and
Meet McGraw "The Elderly Doctor", McGraw searches for a physician who disappears after he is given some valuable microfilm. In "Mojave", McGraw's car breaks down in the desert; stranded in a small town in the Mojave Desert, he is accused of murdering a waitress; character actor Claude Akins guest stars. In "The Joshua Tree", McGraw is again in the desert, where he finds the corpse of an artist who apparently died while at work. McGraw disputes the police, who list the death as one of natural causes. Paul Fix, later the reliable Sheriff Micah Torrance on ABC’s "The Rifleman", guest stars. In