Jon Voight portrays Joe Buck, a naive, good-looking Texas boy who thinks of himself as a real stud, and dreams of making lots of money as a high-priced gigolo. Joe soon discovers that he is no match for "streetwise" New York City women. And then Joe meets Enrico "Ratso" Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman in one of the screen's most unforgettable performances). Rizzo is a shabby (and crippled) petty street hustler with a tubercular condition. He has his own dreams: to make a fortune and retire, luxuriously, in Miami Beach. Joe and Rizzo's lifestyle deteriorates. But despite all this, Joe and Rizzo develop a kind of love for each other until it becomes Joe's only purpose in life to earn enough money to take his now-dying, tubercular friend to Florida. Based on the novel by James Leo Herlihy. John Schlesinger directed.