Midnight Cowboy is a 1969 (1969 in film) American drama film based on the 1965 (1965 in literature) novel of the same name (Midnight Cowboy (novel)) by James Leo Herlihy. It was written by Waldo Salt, directed by John Schlesinger, and stars Dustin Hoffman and then-newcomer Jon Voight in the title role. Notable smaller roles are filled by Sylvia Miles, John McGiver, Brenda Vaccaro, Bob Balaban, and Barnard Hughes; M. Emmet Walsh is an uncredited, pre-fame extra.

The film won three Academy Awards: Best Picture (Academy Award for Best Picture), Best Director (Academy Award for Best Director) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Academy Award for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)). In addition, it was the first X rated movie to win the Oscar: later, certain parts of the film were edited and it received an R rating, followed by the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America)s decision to let the complete original print stay as is: the R rating for this film remains to this day.