Midnight Cowboy (1969)

A naive male prostitute and his sickly friend struggle to survive on the streets of New York City.

Director:

John Schlesinger

Writers:

Waldo Salt (screenplay), James Leo Herlihy (novel)

Stars:

Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voight, Sylvia Miles

Won 3 Oscars. Another 26 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dustin Hoffman	...	Ratso
Jon Voight	...	Joe Buck
Sylvia Miles	...	Cass
John McGiver	...	Mr. O'Daniel
Brenda Vaccaro	...	Shirley
Barnard Hughes	...	Towny
Ruth White	...	Sally Buck - Texas
Jennifer Salt	...	Annie - Texas
Gilman Rankin	...	Woodsy Niles - Texas (as Gil Rankin)
T. Tom Marlow	...	Little Joe - Texas
George Eppersen	...	Ralph - Texas
Al Scott	...	Cafeteria Manager - Texas
Linda Davis	...	Mother on the Bus - Texas
J.T. Masters	...	Old Cow-Hand - Texas
Arlene Reeder	...	The Old Lady - Texas

Storyline

Texas greenhorn Joe Buck arrives in New York for the first time. Preening himself as a real 'hustler', he finds that he is the one getting 'hustled' until he teams up with a down-and-out but resilient outcast named Ratso Rizzo. The initial 'country cousin meets city cousin' relationship deepens. In their efforts to bilk a hostile world rebuffing them at every turn, this unlikely pair progress from partners in shady business to comrades. Each has found his first real friend.

---

Plot Keywords:

friend | new york city | hustler | texas | male prostitute | 

---

Taglines:

For those who have never seen it and those who have never forgotten it. (1980 re-release)

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Certificate:

X

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

16 June 1969 (Brazil)

Also Known As:

Perdidos en la noche

Filming Locations:

114 East 72nd Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,600,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Florin Productions, Jerome Hellman Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Mono Dolby Digital (DVD Release)

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One studio executive sent director John Schlesinger a memo stating, "If we could clean this up and add a few songs, it could be a great vehicle for Elvis Presley." Presley wanted to be taken seriously as an actor, and was interested in the role of Joe Buck. Presley went on instead to do Change of Habit with Mary Tyler Moore, which bombed, and became his last theatrical movie.

---

Goofs

When Joe is riding into New York on the bus and talking to the nun, in some shots the scenery outside the window is moving in the wrong direction.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Joe Buck: Whoopee-tee-yi-yo. Get along little dogies. It's your misfortune and none of my own.

---

Connections

Referenced in A.W.O.L.: Absent Without Leave (1990)

---

Soundtracks

"Caisson Song"
(1907) (uncredited)
(also called "The Caissons Go Rolling Along")
Music and Lyrics by Edmund L. Gruber
Sung by bus passengers

User Reviews

Truly brilliant

Watching Midnight Cowboy is like taking a masterclass in acting/ directing/ cinematography/ editing/ writing. I was too young to watch it when it was originally released, and only saw it for the first time a couple of years ago, but it has absolutely stood the test of time, and I have watched it several times since.

Everything about this film is brilliant, from the poignant performances from Voight and Hoffman (even though I know this movie well, I still find myself welling up every time Voight flashes one of his innocently pained looks, or Hoffman coughs in his sickly and ominous way) to the stunning cinematography and superbly edited dream sequences.

It's a shame that more of our contemporary filmmakers aren't prepared to take a risk on making movies that are as visually and aurally interesting as this one. Midnight cowboy should be required viewing at all film schools.

10/10