Thanks to Netgalley and FSG for the ebook. I love the film Midnight Cowboy, the American films of the late sixties and seventies are among my all time favorites, and this book is an exhaustive look into every aspect of the making of the film, starting with the novel and the author who wrote it, the British director and his America producer who saw something in the story that almost no one else did, the former blacklisted screenwriter who also understood the book and saw this project as a chance to once again write something he loved and believed in, the Polish emigre cinematographer in his first American feature and two actors, Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight, who the director didn’t want to hire, but ended up admiring their hard work and inventiveness more than any actors he would ever work with in his career. Like most movies, there are a hundred times where the film seems like it’s going to derail and either not get made or become a mess, but somehow finds that magic that averts disaster and becomes a wildly successful film and later a classic.

John Schlesinger was not in attendance at the 1970 Academy Awards ceremony when he won the best director Oscar for Midnight Cowboy (1969). He had his towering blonde star John Voight accept on his behalf, and asked the actor to highlight the contribution James Leo Herlihy’s source novel had made to the success of the film. For that reason I find it interesting that in writing about the making of the film, Glenn Frankel has also spotlighted Herlihy as the heart and soul of the project.

Writers, whether of screenplays or novels are rarely given such prominent recognition in the making of a film, which makes it especially satisfying to see Herlihy’s central role in the film’s production history. It is also appropriate, because the wistfully drifting spirit which defines the film comes directly from the author and the way he processed the turbulent scene in late sixties New York.

Before digging into the particulars of the production, Frankel sets the scene by using Herlihy’s story to reflect his own personal imprint on the novel and the dramatic change of the times he lived in. For a while I felt impatient to get into the production back story, but this background is essential to understanding the film and how it was made. That said I enjoyed the details of the production in the second half of the book so much more that I think these opening chapters could have been more effective if they were at least somewhat condensed.

While Midnight Cowboy was a studio production, United Artists was a different kind of studio, and Schlesinger was able to make his movie with more of an independent eye. The book is at its best when it explores how that freedom allowed a feeling of creative, collaborative community during filming and in the creation of key elements such as the script, set, and costumes. A lot of the film’s authenticity is thanks to that liberty, like the fun of costume designer Ann Roth spotting a key piece in the backseat of a hustler’s car or the way Schlesinger was able to use unusual lighting and different kinds of cameras to achieve his vision.

Frankel is also diligent in recording the stories of those made most vulnerable in the process. Often a production history will focus on the ravings of the director (Schlesinger had his moments) or the drama between the stars (in this case, Dustin Hoffman and Voight were strong collaborators). I appreciated that Frankel acknowledged less prominent stories like the emotional torment Schlesinger’s partner Michael Childers endured from the crew as his assistant and the trauma actress Jennifer Salt suffered in filming a graphic rape scene. He also acknowledges casting director Marion Dougherty’s essential role in the success of the film and the frustration she felt being overlooked for her contributions.

I found this production history more satisfying than most, partly because of how Frankel acknowledges that exploring the times in which it was made is key to understanding this particular film, but also because he gets the complexity of filmmaking and the necessity of capturing small details that affect the whole.

Shooting Midnight Cowboy by Glenn Frankel is a superb read on the making of a seminal movie. Definitely a page turner and well worth a read!

i always enjoy learning how movies were made, I enjoyed the stories in this book and thought the author did a great job writing this.

A terrific read an iconic film really brought alive.From the author who wrote the book it’s based on th the producers actors directors so many behind the scenes people .If you love film Hollywood lore grab this book.#netgalley #fsg

Such a phenomenal piece of nonfiction! Not only was it well researched and written it so eloquently illustrates history in that moment for film and the country. I can’t wait to recommend this and see the attention it garners.

I have read all of Frankel’s books on film and have enjoyed each of them-including Shooting Midnight Cowboy. This is a very behind the scenes look at the making of Midnight Cowboy and the book on which it is based. The book gives us a look at the author,James Herlihy, the director of the movie, James Schlesinger and of course, the stars-Hoffman and Voight. Not just a book about a movie but the book also examines New York in the seventies with an emphasis on gay culture and the arts. A very interesting melange. My only complaint is that I think the book is too detailed and could have been shorter. The details sometimes bog down the interesting story of the key players and the movie making story. But I still enjoyed it and if you have any interest in film making and/or this classic movie—this book is for you.

There's a lot to unpack here.

As I write this, I hear John Barry's haunting theme, and realize it is one of those pieces of music that has never worn out its welcome for over 50 years. That and Harry Nilsson's cover of Everybody's Talkin' which I had always attributed to him, but was actually composed by Fred Neil, a lesser known musician of the time who wrote while wishing to return to solitude in his sailboat in Florida. How these two pieces became so closely identified with a gritty depiction of life on the streets of a downward sliding New York City in the 1960's is only one of the elements of this remarkable study. For those of us who remember that time and the impact this mature film made on the movie industry, this book is a trip to our past. For those too young or who weren't paying attention, it is a virtual window on an era long gone. I would imagine only real cinema nerds will make it all the way through, but this densely packed, extraordinarily researched examination reaches beyond the confines of film production and instead presents historical forces that had to be in place for this movie to be made but even more so, for its impact on the pop and cultural landscapes of its time. Integral to this history are the historical events regarding student upheavals, terrorist groups, protests against the Vietnam War, and most importantly, the history of gay culture featuring the Stonewall riots and the emergence of HIV.

There are in depth bios of the primary creators which reveal personal detail - Author John Leo Herlihy (including his intense friendship with Anais Nin), Director John Schlesinger (looking for a quality project after scoring with Darling and flopping with Far From the Madding Crowd). The section on Waldo Salt brought in the shameful era of McCarthyism and the Black List. The fortunate timing of the schedule that evolved under John Lindsay's term as mayor during which only one permit was required for shooting a film as opposed to an earlier, more difficult and expensive system. Then of course there was the casting. It is impossible to envision this film with anyone else, but the contribution particularly of Dustin Hoffman and his willingness to work with aspirants to the Joe Buck role were invaluable.

It's a lengthy, detailed portrait of an indelible contributor to the zeitgeist.