Midnight Cowboy#Theme song

Young Texan Joe Buck quits his dishwashing job, and heads by bus to New York City in cowboy attire to become a male prostitute. Initially unsuccessful, he finally beds a middle-aged woman, Cass, in her Park Avenue apartment. She is insulted when he requests payment, and Joe ultimately gives money to her.

Joe meets Rico "Ratso" Rizzo, an indigent con man with a limp who takes $20 for introducing him to a pimp. After discovering that the alleged pimp is actually an unhinged religious fanatic, Joe flees and unsuccessfully searches for Rico. Joe spends his days wandering the city, listening to his Zenith portable radio and sitting in his hotel room. When his money runs out, management locks Joe out and impounds his belongings.

In an attempt to make money, Joe receives oral sex from a meek young man in a movie theater, but the man cannot pay. Joe threatens him, but releases him unharmed. The next day, Joe spots Rico at a diner, and angrily confronts him. Rico manages to calm Joe, and invites him to share his squalid, condemned apartment squat. Joe reluctantly accepts, and the two begin a "business relationship" as hustlers. Rico asks Joe to call him "Rico" instead of "Ratso", but Joe does not oblige. They struggle with severe poverty, stealing food and failing to get work for Joe. Joe pawns his radio and sells his blood, while Rico's persistent cough worsens during a winter without heat in the freezing apartment.

In intermittent flashbacks, Joe's grandmother raises him after his mother abandons him. He has a tragic relationship with Annie, disclosed through hazy flashbacks in which they are attacked and raped by a cowboy gang. Annie shows signs of mental trauma and is taken into an ambulance.

Rico tells Joe his father was an illiterate Italian immigrant shoeshiner whose job yielded a bad back and lung damage from inhaling shoe polish. Rico learned shoeshining from his father, but considers it degrading and generally refuses to do it. When he breaks into a stand and shines Joe's cowboy boots to attract clients, two police officers arrive and sit with their dirty boots next to Joe's. Rico dreams of escaping to Miami, shown in fantasies in which he and Joe frolic on a beach and are pampered at a resort, including a boy polishing Rico's boots.

A Warhol-like filmmaker and an extrovert female artist approach Joe in a diner, taking his photograph and inviting him to a Warhol-esque art event.{{efn|This sequence incorporates actual Warhol superstars Viva, Ultra Violet, Taylor Mead, Joe Dallesandro, and filmmaker Paul Morrissey.Blake Gopnik, Warhol: A Life as Art London: Allen Lane. March 5, 2020. {{ISBN|978-0-241-00338-1}} p. 629}} Joe and Rico attend, but Rico's poor health and hygiene attract unwanted attention. After mistaking a joint for a cigarette and receiving uppers, Joe hallucinates. He leaves with Shirley, a socialite who pays him $20 for spending the night, but Joe cannot perform sexually. They play Scribbage, and the resulting wordplay leads Shirley to suggest that Joe may be gay; suddenly, he is able to perform. The next morning, she sets up her female friend as Joe's client, and at last his career appears to be progressing.

When Joe returns to the apartment, Rico is severely feverish. He refuses medical help, and begs Joe to put him on a bus to Florida. Desperate for cash, Joe picks up an effeminate middle-aged man in an arcade. The two return to the man's hotel room, where Joe demands money. However, when the man refuses to give him more than $10, Joe brutally beats, robs, and apparently smothers him. Joe buys two bus tickets to Florida with the stolen cash. Rico again tells Joe that he wants to be called "Rico", not "Ratso", and Joe finally begins to oblige. During the bus trip, Rico's health worsens, and he suffers from urinary incontinence.

Joe buys new clothing for Rico and himself at a rest stop, discarding his cowboy outfit and boots. Back on the bus, Joe muses that there must be an easier way to make money than hustling, and tells Rico that he will get a regular job in Miami. When he does not respond, Joe realizes that Rico has died. Joe alerts the bus driver, who asks Joe to close Rico's eyelids, saying that they will soon be in Miami. With tears in his eyes, Joe sits with his arm around his dead friend as the bus continues past rows of Floridian palm trees.

{{div col}}

• Dustin Hoffman as "Ratso" or Enrico Salvatore "Rico" Rizzo
• Jon Voight as Joe Buck
• Sylvia Miles as Cass
• John McGiver as Mr. O'Daniel
• Brenda Vaccaro as Shirley
• Barnard Hughes as Towny
• Ruth White as Sally Buck
• Jennifer Salt as Annie
• Gilman Rankin as Woodsy Niles
• Georgann Johnson as Rich Lady
• Anthony Holland as TV Bishop
• Bob Balaban as Young Student
• Viva as Gretel McAlbertson, the Warhol-like The Factory party/happening giver
• Paul Rossilli (aka Gastone Rossilli) as Hansel McAlbertson, The Factory party/happening filmmaker
• Craig Carrington as Charlie Dealer

{{div col end}}

The opening scenes were filmed in Big Spring, Texas, in 1968. A roadside billboard, stating, "If you don't have an oil well...get one!", was shown as the New York-bound bus carrying Joe Buck rolled through Texas.{{cite web|url=http://exquisitelyboredinnacogdoches.blogspot.com/2006/10/midnight-cowboy-1969-locations.html|work=Exquisitely Bored in Nacogdoches|author=Chris|title=Midnight Cowboy locations|date=October 5, 2006|access-date=February 14, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150106215047/http://exquisitelyboredinnacogdoches.blogspot.com/2006/10/midnight-cowboy-1969-locations.html|archive-date=January 6, 2015|url-status=live}} Such advertisements, common in the Southwestern United States in the late 1960s and through the 1970s, promoted Eddie Chiles' Western Company of North America.{{cite web|url=http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/if_you_dont_have_an_oil_well_get_one_eddie_chiles_of_western_company/|title=The Big Apple: "If you don't have an oil well, get one!" (Eddie Chiles of Western Company)|first=Barry|last=Popik|work=The Big Apple|date=August 22, 2007|access-date=February 14, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150319173410/http://barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/if_you_dont_have_an_oil_well_get_one_eddie_chiles_of_western_company|archive-date=March 19, 2015|url-status=live}}

In the film, Joe stays at the Hotel Claridge, at the southeast corner of Broadway and West 44th Street in Midtown Manhattan. His room overlooked the northern half of Times Square.{{cite web|url=http://www.onthesetofnewyork.com/midnightcowboy.html|title=Midnight Cowboy Film Locations|work=On the Set of New York|access-date=February 14, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150107120337/http://onthesetofnewyork.com/midnightcowboy.html|archive-date=January 7, 2015|url-status=live}} The building, designed by D. H. Burnham & Company and opened in 1911, was demolished in 1972.{{cite web|url=http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=56559|title=Hotel Claridge, New York City|work=Skyscraper Page|publisher=Skyscraper Source Media|access-date=February 14, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150326030025/http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=56559|archive-date=March 26, 2015|url-status=live}} A motif featured three times throughout the New York scenes was the sign atop of the facade of the Mutual of New York (MONY) Building at 1740 Broadway. It was extended into the Scribbage scene with Shirley the socialite, when Joe's incorrect spelling of the word "money" matched that of the sign.{{cite web|url=http://www.filmsite.org/midn.html|title=Midnight Cowboy (1969)|work=AMC Filmsite|publisher=AMC Network Entertainment|access-date=February 14, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150214010846/http://www.filmsite.org/midn.html|archive-date=February 14, 2015|url-status=live}}

Dustin Hoffman, who played a grizzled veteran of New York's streets, is from Los Angeles.{{cite magazine |url=https://ew.com/article/2012/08/03/monitor-august-10-2012/ |title=Monitor: August 10, 2012 |first=Grady |last=Smith |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |publisher=Time |page=27 |date=August 10, 2012 |url-status=live |access-date=February 27, 2021 |archive-date=March 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308062006/https://ew.com/article/2012/08/03/monitor-august-10-2012/ }}{{cite web|url=http://www.californiabirthindex.org/birth/dustin_lee_hoffman_born_1937_1929184|title=The Birth of Dustin Hoffman|work=California Birth Records, 1905 Thru 1995|access-date=February 14, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129080653/http://www.californiabirthindex.org/birth/dustin_lee_hoffman_born_1937_1929184|archive-date=November 29, 2014|url-status=live}} Despite his portrayal of Joe Buck, a character hopelessly out of his element in New York, Jon Voight is a native New Yorker, hailing from Yonkers.{{cite web|url=http://www.pitt.edu/~votruba/qsonhist/celebrities/voightjon.html|title=Jon Voight|work=Slovak Studies Program|first=Martin|last=Votruba|publisher=University of Pittsburgh|access-date=February 14, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150219111111/http://www.pitt.edu/~votruba/qsonhist/celebrities/voightjon.html|archive-date=February 19, 2015|url-status=live}} Voight was paid "scale" (the Screen Actors Guild minimum wage) for his portrayal of Joe Buck, a concession he willingly made to obtain the part.{{cite news |agency=Associated Press |title=Voight Worked for Scale for 'Midnight Cowboy' Role |url=https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2013/08/29/arts/ap-us-people-jon-voight.html |work=The Denver Post |date=August 29, 2013 |access-date=August 29, 2013 |publisher=Digital First Media}} Harrison Ford auditioned for the role of Joe Buck.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=McqLdkUnTVgC&pg=PA19|title=Harrison Ford: The Films|first=Brad|last=Duke|date=July 1, 2008|publisher=McFarland|isbn=9780786440481|via=Google Books}} Michael Sarrazin, who was Schlesinger's first choice, was cast as Joe Buck, only to be fired when unable to gain release from his contract with Universal.{{sfn|Frankel|2020|p=175–176}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/74222/15-uncensored-facts-about-midnight-cowboy|title=15 Uncensored Facts About Midnight Cowboy|date=May 25, 2019|website=www.mentalfloss.com}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/8467353/Michael-Sarrazin.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/8467353/Michael-Sarrazin.html |archive-date=2022-01-11 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title = Michael Sarrazin|date=21 April 2011 }}{{cbignore}}

{{anchor|I'm walkin' here!}}File:I'm walkin' here!.webm list AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes.]]

The line, "I'm walkin' here!", which reached number 27 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes, is subject to differing accounts. Producer Jerome Hellman disputes the notion that it was an ad-lib on the two-disc DVD set of Midnight Cowboy. The scene, which originally had Ratso pretend to be hit by a taxi to feign an injury, is written into the first draft of the original script.{{cite web |url=http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/Midnight%20Cowboy.txt |title=Midnight Cowboy by Waldo Salt; Based on a novel by James Leo Herlihy; Draft: 2/2/68 |access-date=2018-11-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181130071542/http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/Midnight%20Cowboy.txt |archive-date=2018-11-30 |url-status=live }} Hoffman, however, on an installment of Bravo's Inside the Actors Studio, stated that there were many takes, with the actors hoping to get to the crosswalk at a red light so as not to have to wait for traffic while talking. In that take, they were able to cross the road without waiting, but a cab unexpectedly ran the red light and nearly hit them. Hoffman wanted to say, "We're doing a movie here!" and can be heard beginning to say as such in the final film, but he ultimately changed his sentence halfway and stayed in character as he berated the driver. As such, the latter's angry response is also unscripted.{{cite web |url=http://xfinity.comcast.net/slideshow/entertainment-unscriptedmoviemoments/8/ |title=Greatest Unscripted Movie Moments |access-date=September 20, 2012 |last=Onda |first=David |publisher=Xfinity |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120817130034/http://xfinity.comcast.net/slideshow/entertainment-unscriptedmoviemoments/7/ |archive-date=August 17, 2012 |df=mdy-all }}

On initial review by the Motion Picture Association of America, Midnight Cowboy received an "R" ("Restricted") rating. However, after consulting with a psychologist, executives at United Artists were told to accept an "X" rating, due to the "homosexual frame of reference" and its "possible influence on youngsters". The film was released with an X rating. The MPAA later broadened the requirements for the "R" rating to allow more content, and raised the age restriction from 14 to 17. The film was later rated "R" for a reissue in 1971.{{cite book|last=Monaco |first=Paul |year=2001 |title=History of the American Cinema: 1960–1969 |series=The Sixties |volume=8 |location=New York |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons |isbn=9780520238046 |page=166}}

It took several hours to shoot the rape scene, and Jennifer Salt recalls the evening as a traumatic ordeal for her. The wardrobe crew had given Jennifer a nude-colored body suit to wear, but the night was so hot and sticky that she quickly stripped it off. "I felt that the most horrible thing in the world was that people were seeing my bare ass, and that was so humiliating I could not even discuss it. And this kid was just on top of me and all over me and it hurt and no one gave a fuck and it was supposed to look like I was being raped. And I was screaming, screaming, and it was traumatic in some way that couldn't be acknowledged."{{sfn|Frankel|2020|p=132}}

Critical response to the film has been largely positive. Vincent Canby's lengthy 1969 review in The New York Times was blunt: "a slick, brutal (but not brutalizing) movie version of{{nbsp}}... Herlihy's 1965 novel. It is tough and good in important ways, although its style is oddly romantic and at variance with the laconic material.{{nbsp}}... As long as the focus is on this world of cafeterias and abandoned tenements, of desperate conjunctions in movie balconies and doorways, of ketchup and beans and canned heat, Midnight Cowboy is so rough and vivid that it's almost unbearable.{{nbsp}}... Midnight Cowboy often seems to be exploiting its material for sensational or comic effect, but it is ultimately a moving experience that captures the quality of a time and a place. It's not a movie for the ages, but, having seen it, you won't ever again feel detached as you walk down West 42nd Street, avoiding the eyes of the drifters, stepping around the little islands of hustlers and closing your nostrils to the smell of rancid griddles."{{cite news|last=Canby|first= Vincent|title=Film: 'Midnight Cowboy'|work= The New York Times|date=26 May 1969|volume=118|issue=40665|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1969/05/26/archives/film-midnight-cowboy-dustin-hoffman-and-jon-voight-are-starred.html}}

Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune said of the film: "I cannot recall a more marvelous pair of acting performances in any one film."{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1999/10/15/the-movie-reviews/|title=The Movie Reviews|work=Chicago Tribune|first=Gene|last=Siskel|date=October 15, 1999|access-date=July 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140701142740/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1999-10-15/entertainment/9910200025_1_movie-reviews-star-film|archive-date=July 1, 2014|url-status=live}}

In a 25th-anniversary retrospective in 1994, Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly wrote: "Midnight Cowboy{{'}}s peep-show vision of Manhattan lowlife may no longer be shocking, but what is shocking, in 1994, is to see a major studio film linger this lovingly on characters who have nothing to offer the audience but their own lost souls."{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/1994/03/04/midnight-cowboy/|title=Midnight Cowboy|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|publisher=Time|first=Owen|last=Gleiberman|date=March 4, 1994|access-date=July 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180615191207/http://ew.com/article/1994/03/04/midnight-cowboy/|archive-date=June 15, 2018|url-status=live}}

As of 2022, Midnight Cowboy holds an 89% approval rating on online review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 8.50/10, based on 116 reviews. The website's critical consensus states: "John Schlesinger's gritty, unrelentingly bleak look at the seedy underbelly of urban American life is undeniably disturbing, but Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight's performances make it difficult to turn away."{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/midnight_cowboy|title=Midnight Cowboy (1969)|work=Rotten Tomatoes|publisher=Fandango Media|access-date=June 30, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920122641/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/midnight_cowboy|archive-date=September 20, 2019|url-status=live}}

The Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa cited this movie as one of his 100 favorite films.{{cite web |last1=Thomas-Mason |first1=Lee |title=From Stanley Kubrick to Martin Scorsese: Akira Kurosawa once named his top 100 favourite films of all time |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/akira-kurosawa-100-favourite-films-list/ |website=Far Out Magazine |date=12 January 2021 |access-date=23 January 2023}}

The film opened at the Coronet Theatre in New York City, and grossed a house record $61,503 in its first week.{{cite magazine|magazine=Variety|title='Men' Meek $17,219 on Slow B'way; But 'Cowboy' Tall $54,460 2d., 'West' Fast $54,324 in 2 Sites, 'Che' 52G|date=June 11, 1969|page=8}} In its tenth week of release, the film became number one in the United States, with a weekly gross of $550,237,{{cite magazine|magazine=Variety|title=50 Top-Grossing Films|date=August 13, 1969|page=11}} and was the highest-grossing movie in September 1969.{{cite magazine|magazine=Variety|title=Sept. Totals Soar to High Plateau; 'Cowboy,' 'True Grit,' 'Easy Rider,' 'Daddy,' 'Oliver,' 'Curious' Leaders|date=October 8, 1969|page=7|last=Wear|first=Mike}} The film earned $11 million in rentals in the United States and Canada in 1969,{{cite magazine|title=Big Rental Films of 1969|magazine=Variety|date=January 7, 1970|page=15|url=https://ameblo.jp/ayumi-niwano/entry-12249691199.html|access-date=July 16, 2018|archive-date=June 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613073539/https://ameblo.jp/ayumi-niwano/entry-12249691199.html|url-status=live}} and added a further $5.3 million the following year when it won the Academy Award for Best Picture.{{cite magazine|title=Top 10 Films Yield 40% Of Rentals|magazine=Variety|date=January 6, 1971|last=Fredrick|first=Robert B.|page=11}} It eventually earned rentals of $20.5 million in the United States and Canada.{{cite magazine|magazine=Variety|title=All-Time Film Rental Champs|date=October 15, 1990|page=M172|first=Lawrence|last=Cohn}} By 1975, it had earned rentals of over $30 million worldwide.{{cite magazine|magazine=Variety|title=Why Crix Give Producers The Brush|date=May 14, 1975|pages=3, 64|last=Verrill|first=Addison|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1975-05-14_279_1/page/n1/mode/2up?view=theater|access-date=April 12, 2024|via=Internet Archive}}

More than five years after its theatrical release, Midnight Cowboy premiered on television November 3, 1974. Twenty-five minutes were edited from the film due to censorship regulations and a desire for broader appeal.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}} Although the cuts were approved by director John Schlesinger, critic Kay Gardella of the New York Daily News said the film was "hacked up pretty badly".{{cite news|title=What's On|date=November 18, 1974 |page= 82}}

John Barry composed the score, winning a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Theme, although he did not receive an on-screen credit.{{cite web|title=Midnight Cowboy (1969)|date=25 May 1969|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064665/|publisher=IMDb|access-date=March 14, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140316113418/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064665/|archive-date=March 16, 2014|url-status=live}} Fred Neil's song, "Everybody's Talkin{{'-}}", won a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Vocal Performance, Male for Harry Nilsson. Schlesinger chose the song as its theme, and the song underscores the first act. Other songs considered for the theme included Nilsson's own "I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City" and Randy Newman's "Cowboy". Bob Dylan wrote "Lay Lady Lay" to serve as the theme song, but did not finish it in time.{{cite book |last=Heylin |first= Clinton |year=1991 |title=Dylan: Behind The Shades: The Biography |publisher= Viking Books |page=193 |location= New York |isbn= 978-0-6708-36024 }} The movie's main theme, "Midnight Cowboy", features harmonica by Toots Thielemans, but the album version is played by Tommy Reilly. The soundtrack album was released by United Artists Records in 1969.{{cite web |url= http://www.mfiles.co.uk/reviews/john-barry-midnight-cowboy.htm |title= Midnight Cowboy — John Barry |publisher= Music Files |access-date= July 18, 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160816003116/http://www.mfiles.co.uk/reviews/john-barry-midnight-cowboy.htm |archive-date= August 16, 2016 |url-status= live }}

{{track listing

| headline = Side one

| extra_column = Arranger / Producer

| title1 = Everybody's Talkin{{'-}}

| note1 = Nilsson

| writer1 = Fred Neil

| length1 = 2:30

| extra1 = George Tipton (arranger)

| title2 = Joe Buck Rides Again

| note2 = instrumental

| writer2 = John Barry

| length2 = 3:46

| title3 = A Famous Myth

| note3 = The Groop

| writer3 = Jeffrey Comanor

| length3 = 3:22

| title4 = Fun City

| note4 = instrumental

| writer4 = John Barry

| length4 = 3:52

| title5 = He Quit Me

| note5 = Leslie Miller

| writer5 = Warren Zevon

| length5 = 2:46

| extra5 = Garry Sherman (arranger)

| title6 = Jungle Gym at the Zoo

| note6 = Elephants Memory

| writer6 = R. Sussmann, Rick Frank Jr., Stan Bronstein

| length6 = 2:15

| extra6 = Wes Farrell (producer)

}}

{{track listing

| headline = Side two

| extra_column = Arranger / Producer

| title1 = Midnight Cowboy

| note1 = instrumental

| writer1 = John Barry

| length1 = 2:34

| title2 = Old Man Willow

| note2 = Elephants Memory

| writer2 = R. Sussmann, Michal Shapiro, Myron Yules, Stan Bronstein

| length2 = 7:03

| extra2 = Wes Farrell (producer)

| title3 = Florida Fantasy

| note3 = instrumental

| writer3 = John Barry

| length3 = 2:08

| title4 = Tears and Joys

| note4 = The Groop

| writer4 = Jeffrey Comanor

| length4 = 2:29

| title5 = Science Fiction

| note5 = instrumental

| writer5 = John Barry

| length5 = 2:46

| title6 = Everybody's Talkin{{'-}}

| note6 = Nilsson; reprise

| writer6 = Fred Neil

| length6 = 1:54

| extra6 = George Tipton (arranger)

}}

{{Infobox song

| name = Midnight Cowboy

| cover =

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = Ferrante & Teicher

| album = Midnight Cowboy

| B-side = Rock-A-Bye Baby

| released = June 1969

| recorded = 1969

| studio =

| venue =

| genre = Easy listening

| length = 3:20

| label = United Artists Records

| writer = John Barry

| producer =

| prev_title = Andrea

| prev_year = 1969

| next_title = Lay Lady Lay

| next_year = 1970

}}

• John Barry's version, used on the soundtrack, charted at No. 116 in 1969. It also charted at No. 47 in the U.K. in 1980.{{Cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/midnight%20cowboy/|title=midnight cowboy | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company|website=www.officialcharts.com}}
• Johnny Mathis' rendition, one of only two known recordings containing lyrics (the other being the Ray Conniff Singers), reached No. 20 on the U.S. adult contemporary chart in the fall of 1969.
• Ferrante & Teicher's version, the most successful, reached No. 10 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and No. 2 on the easy listening chart.{{cite book |title= Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |year=2002 |publisher=Record Research |page=91}} It went to No. 11 in Canada{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.6102.pdf|title=RPM Top 100 Singles - January 17, 1970|access-date=February 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120612012102/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.6102.pdf|archive-date=June 12, 2012|url-status=live}} and No. 91 in Australia{{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|edition=illustrated|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, N.S.W.|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6}}{{rp|110}} in 1970.
• Faith No More released a version as the final track on their 1992 album Angel Dust.

{{certification Table Top}}

{{certification Table Entry|type=album|region=United States|artist=John Barry|title=Midnight Cowboy|award=Gold|certyear=1970|relyear=1969}}

{{Certification Table Bottom | nosales=true}}

The song Crazy Annie from the album Any Way That You Want Me by Evie Sands and co-written by Chip Taylor was inspired by the film.{{Cite AV media notes |title=Any Way That You Want Me |first=Evie |last=Sands |others=Chip Taylor |date=1969 |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/any-way-that-you-want-me-mw0000262376 |page=1 |type=Album liner notes |publisher=A&M Studios |location=Hollywood, CA}}

The final scene on the bus was parodied in the Seinfeld episode "The Mom & Pop Store". Jon Voight guest stars in the episode as himself.{{cn|date=May 2025}}

Australian singer-songwriter Vance Joy references the film in his song Riptide.https://www.buzzfeed.com/kristinharris/get-to-know-riptide-star-vance-joy

The making of the film, as well as the time it was made, is subject of the 2022 documentary feature Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy by Nancy Buirski.{{cite web |last1=Carey |first1=Matthew |title=‘Midnight Cowboy’s Impact And How It Got X Rating Examined In New Doc |url=https://deadline.com/2023/06/desperate-souls-dark-city-and-the-legend-of-midnight-cowboy-zeitgeist-films-documentary-director-nancy-buirski-interview-news-1235428545/ |website=Deadline |access-date=14 May 2025 |date=30 June 2023}}

• List of American films of 1969
• List of Academy Award records
• List of cult films
• List of films featuring hallucinogens
• Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

;Bibliography

• {{Cite book|last=Frankel|first=Glenn|title=SHOOTING MIDNIGHT COWBOY: Art, Sex, Loneliness, Liberation, and the Making of a Dark Classic|publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux|year=2020|isbn=9780374209018|location=New York, NY|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5bniDwAAQBAJ|via=Google Books}}

{{wikiquote}}

• {{IMDb title|0064665}}
• {{TCMDb title|19299}}
• {{AFI film|23889}}
• {{Rotten Tomatoes|midnight_cowboy}}
• [https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/5705-midnight-cowboy-on-the-fringe Midnight Cowboy: On the Fringe] an essay by Mark Harris at the Criterion Collection

{{John Schlesinger}}

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Category:1969 films

Category:1969 drama films

Category:1969 LGBTQ-related films

Category:1960s buddy drama films

Category:American buddy drama films

Category:American LGBTQ-related films

Category:Best Film BAFTA Award winners

Category:Best Picture Academy Award winners

Category:1960s English-language films

Category:Films about homelessness

Category:Films about male prostitution in the United States

Category:Films about sexual repression

Category:Films based on American novels

Category:Films directed by John Schlesinger

Category:Films produced by Jerome Hellman

Category:Films scored by John Barry (composer)

Category:Films set in Florida

Category:Films set in New York City

Category:Films set in Texas

Category:Films shot in Florida

Category:Films shot in New York City

Category:Films shot in Texas

Category:Films whose director won the Best Directing Academy Award

Category:Films whose director won the Best Direction BAFTA Award

Category:Films whose writer won the Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award

Category:Films whose writer won the Best Screenplay BAFTA Award

Category:LGBTQ-related buddy drama films

Category:LGBTQ-related controversies in film

Category:Obscenity controversies in film

Category:Rating controversies in film

Category:Films with screenplays by Waldo Salt

Category:United States National Film Registry films

Category:1960s American films

Category:English-language buddy drama films