Midnight Cowboy Trivia Quiz

Answer: New York City

While the film begins in Texas and ends in Florida, most of the story happens in New York City. A young cowboy named Joe travels to New York to attempt to become a male prostitute. He is quite unsuccessful until he teams up with a sickly grifter named "Ratso" Rizzo.

The core of the film is about their unlikely friendship and their efforts to survive in the city. Much of the film was shot at Filmways Studios, 246 East 127th Street in East Harlem. Other locations include 114 East 72nd Street (Cass' Apartment), the Lincoln Tunnel as Joe enters Manhattan, Mercer Street and Times Square. Joe stayed in the Hotel Claridge (demolished in the 1970s), which was located near Times Square.

Answer: Jon Voight

Jon Voight received an Academy Award nomination for playing the naive cowboy. While it was not Voight's first film - that would be "Fearless Frank" (1967), a bizarre superhero comedy - it was certainly his first major role. Voight won an Academy Award for his work in "Coming Home" (1978).
Lee Majors was originally cast as Joe, but had to quit the film when "The Big Valley" was renewed. Michael Sarrazin was also cast as Joe Buck, but quit over salary demands. Voight worked union scale because he wanted the role so badly.
Beatty actually expressed interest in the part, but the director felt that Beatty was too famous to be credible. Harrison Ford also tested for the role of Joe Buck.
Most incredibly, Elvis Presley was suggested as a possibility for playing Joe Buck. Thankfully for film fans everywhere, Colonel Tom Parker rejected the idea.

Answer: Everybody's Talking

"Everybody's Talkin'" was first recorded by folk rocker Fred Neil in 1966. The version used in the film was recorded by Harry Nilsson in 1968. The Nilsson version reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.
Bob Dylan actually wrote "Lay Lady Lay" to be part of the soundtrack for "Midnight Cowboy" but he didn't finish the song in time. The song was a major hit for Dylan, reaching #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in July 1969.
"Cowboy" by Randy Newman was part of his debut album released in 1968, and the lyrics certainly fit well. "Old Man Willow" by Elephant's Memory is the song playing during the psychedelic party.

Answer: Enrico

Enrico Salvatore "Ratso" Rizzo. He does not like his nickname, and asks Joe to call him Rico. He is quite insistent on the point when Joe moves in to his apartment. Ratso first meets Joe in a bar and cons him out of $20. Dominic was the name of Enrico's father, who died in 1959. Enrico is sickly throughout the film, and ultimately dies during the bus trip to Florida. Dustin Hoffman received his second Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for playing Rizzo; "The Graduate" (1968) was his first. Hoffman's performance as "Ratso" was ranked #7 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time.

Answer: I'm walking here! I'm walking here!

The most famous line in the film was a complete ad lib, according to Dustin Hoffman. The film crew did not have permits to shut down the street, so they had to film around the traffic in New York City. As Hoffman and Voight were crossing the street, a cab driver pulled out of nowhere and nearly hit them. Hoffman was going to shout "We're filming here" but decided to stay in character and yelled "I'm walking here! I'm walking here!" and then used several gestures every native New Yorker is familiar with.

The result is one of the most iconic film lines of the 1960s - it was ranked #27 on the AFI list of Top 100 film quotes. The scene was shot at 58th Street and Sixth Avenue.

Answer: Sylvia Miles

Sylvia Miles received an Academy Award nomination for her role as Cass, even though she was only in the film around six minutes. She lost to Goldie Hawn. Joe picks her up, and has sex with her. Afterwards, not only doesn't he get paid, he winds up giving Cass money.
Sylvia Miles began acting in 1960, and did a great deal of film and television work in the 1970s and 1980s. She received a second Supporting Actress nomination for playing Jessie Florian in "Farewell, My Lovely" (1975).
Ellen Burstyn and Eileen Brennan were both prominent film stars in the 1970s.
Brenda Vaccaro played Shirley, the only client of Joe who actually pays him for sex. They met at the psychedelic party.

Answer: Client at the movie theater

After being unsuccessful at getting women to pay him for sex, Joe Buck decides to see if he can get men to pay him. Bob Balaban plays a young student who hires Joe; after the sex, Balaban informs him that he has no money. Joe assaults him briefly and considers taking the young man's watch, then changes his mind.
Balaban would appear with Voight the next year in "Catch 22" (1970). He has appeared in dozens of films since, and appeared on "Seinfeld" as the president of NBC.

Answer: Hansel and Gretel

The hosts of the party are Hansel and Gretel MacAlbertson. Ratso uses the party to steal large quantities of food, and Joe uses the party to hook up with a paying client. The party features several of Andy Warhol's groupies, including Viva (as Gretel), Ondine and Ultra Violet. Warhol was invited to appear in the party scene, but declined.

Answer: National

The bus is green and white and clearly has "National" on the side. Joe's first trip is from East Texas to New York. At the end of the film, Joe and Ratso travel to Miami. There is no "National" bus lines in reality.
The other three are real: Greyhound has been around since 1914, Trailways started in 1936 and Jefferson Lines began in 1919.

Answer: A shootout between Ratso and the NYPD

Since the core of "Midnight Cowboy" is about prostitution, there are several sex scenes involving Joe with both men and women. Joe Buck has multiple flashbacks throughout the film that are quite disturbing, suggesting child abuse and vividly portraying a brutal gang rape. The party scene featured alcohol, drugs and scantily clad people of both genders.
There is no shootout between Ratso and the police. While Ratso undoubtedly had problems with the cops -- he was a thief and a grifter -- the only violence in the film was done by Joe. For a world-class shootout with the cops, you'd have to turn to another 1970 nominee: "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid."
In April of 1970, when it received the Academy Award for Best Picture, "Midnight Cowboy" was still rated "X" by the MPAA. When the film was reissued in 1971, the MPAA revised the rating to "R." It is the only "X"-rated film to win for Best Picture, since the MPAA replaced the "X" rating with "NC-17" in 1990.
Two others X-rated films were nominated: "A Clockwork Orange" (1971) and "Last Tango in Paris" (1972).