Stay Hungry (1976)

So-called 'special agent' infiltrates into the gym, which is targeted by a dirty business fraud.

Director:

Bob Rafelson

Writers:

Charles Gaines (screenplay), Bob Rafelson (screenplay)

Stars:

Jeff Bridges, Sally Field, Arnold Schwarzenegger

Won 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jeff Bridges	...	Craig Blake
Sally Field	...	Mary Tate Farnsworth
Arnold Schwarzenegger	...	Joe Santo
R.G. Armstrong	...	Thor Erickson
Robert Englund	...	Franklin
Helena Kallianiotes	...	Anita
Roger E. Mosley	...	Newton
Woodrow Parfrey	...	Uncle Albert
Scatman Crothers	...	William
Kathleen Miller	...	Dorothy Stephens
Fannie Flagg	...	Amy
Joanna Cassidy	...	Zoe
Richard Gilliland	...	Hal
Mayf Nutter	...	Richard Packman
Ed Begley Jr.	...	Lester

Storyline

A syndicate wants to buy a whole district to rebuild it. They've bought every house except the small gym "Olympic", where Mr. Austria Joe Santo prepares for the Mr. Universum championships a month ahead. The rich sunny-boy Craig Blake is brought in by the syndicate as a dummy to buy the gym. But then he starts to like the people and falls in love with Joe's friend Mary Tate.

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Plot Keywords:

year 1976 | 1970s | female rear nudity | fight | competition | 

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Taglines:

The folks at the Olympic Gym would like to invite you over for a little workout.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 May 1976 (Brazil)

Also Known As:

Loputon treeni

Filming Locations:

Birmingham, Alabama, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Outov Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The music playing during the intro of the bodybuilding competition is from Exodus (1960).

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Goofs

When Craig goes up the stairs to fight Thor, Thor throws a set of weights down the stairs, hoping that they will hit Craig, and roll towards the doorway. But in the next shot, they are right next to the stairs.

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Quotes

William: Your grandmama. She'd come right out of the picture on the wall and drive a butcher knife through your heart... and I would help her.

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Connections

Featured in The 34th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1977)

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Soundtracks

Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy
(uncredited)
Written by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

User Reviews

Still quirky

Although "Stay Hungry" feels like the filmmakers made it up as they went along, it still gets you in mainly because of its overall quirkiness and interesting stars early in their careers.

The story centres on Jeff Bridges' character, Craig Blake, and his attempts to buy a gym in Alabama in order to redevelop the site. However he is drawn into the lives of the people he meets including gym receptionist, Mary Tate Farnsworth, played by Sally Field, and Joe Santo, played by Arnold Schwarzeneger, who is training for the Mr. Universe contest.

The story meanders all over the place with many sub plots and characters while everyone goes to town on their Southern accents - all except The Austrian Oak of course.

It's hard to place "Stay Hungry" in a genre; it's a comedy of sorts, but the humour is in the odd situations rather than in funny lines. To be honest, it needed editing; some scenes are interminable. For anyone watching it 40 years later, the appeal must surely be in seeing the stars before their careers really took off.

Arnie is arresting. This was his first speaking part; he looks big chested and powerful, but plays it low key; he's a sensitive guy, no "Hasta la vista baby" or "I'll be back" in this movie. His best scene is when he joins a group in the backwoods and indulges his passion for fiddle playing. Apparently he practiced the violin for months to look convincing.

Sally Field was 29 when she made this (a few years older than Jeff Bridges), but looks as though she would have needed proof of age to get into a nightclub - it actually makes her brief nude scene slightly disturbing. Even now she still looks way younger than her real age; check out 2015's "My Name is Doris" for confirmation.

These days Jeff Bridges looks his years, but like a bottle of Château Mouton Rothschild, he simply improves with age. He has some good scenes in "Stay Hungry", including one where he does a little Appalachian flatfooting.

With memories of Vietnam and Watergate still fresh, filmmakers seemed affected by the mood of disillusionment and mistrust of the 1970's. They came up with some off-the-wall movies, and the chaotic style of "Stay Hungry" fits perfectly into the era.