''Stay Hungry'' is a 1976 American comedy-drama film by director

Bob Rafelson Robert Jay Rafelson (February 21, 1933 – July 23, 2022) was an American film director, writer, and producer. He is regarded as one of the key figures in the founding of the New Hollywood movement of the 1970s. Among his best-known films as a ...

from a screenplay by Charles Gaines (adapted from his 1972 novel of the same name). The story centers on a youn
scion
from Birmingham, Alabama, played by

Jeff Bridges Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is an American actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. Bridges comes from a prominent ac ...

, who gets involved in a shady real-estate deal. In order to close the deal, he needs to buy a

gym A gymnasium, also known as a gym, is an indoor location for athletics. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasium". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learning spaces in educational i ...

building to complete a multi-parcel lot. He becomes romantically interested in the gym's receptionist (

Sally Field Sally Margaret Field (born November 6, 1946) is an American actress. She has received many awards and nominations, including two Academy Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Cannes Film Fe ...

) and drawn to the carefree lifestyle of the Austrian

bodybuilder Bodybuilding is the use of progressive resistance exercise to control and develop one's muscles (muscle building) by muscle hypertrophy for aesthetic purposes. It is distinct from similar activities such as powerlifting because it focuses ...

Joe Santo (

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...

), who is training there for the Mr. Universe competition. Schwarzenegger won a

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...

for Best Acting Debut in a Motion Picture, but it was not his true debut role; he had played Hercules (as Arnold Strong) in the 1970 film '' Hercules in New York'', a gangster's henchman in

Robert Altman Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was a five-time nominee of the Academy Award for Best Director and is considered an enduring figure from the New ...

's 1973 film '' The Long Goodbye'', and a masseur in the 1974 television movie ''

Happy Anniversary and Goodbye ''Happy Anniversary and Goodbye'' is a 1974 American TV movie directed by Jack Donohue and starring Lucille Ball and Art Carney as Norma and Malcolm Michaels. Plot Norma and Malcolm Michaels are a middle-aged married couple who are in the midst ...

''.

Plot

Craig Blake is a young Southern man born of a wealthy family, but left lonely and idle after his parents died in a plane crash. He is content to spend his time fishing, hunting and puttering around his large family mansion in Birmingham, Alabama, inhabited only by himself and a butler. Blake is employed at a shady investment firm run by a slick con artist named Jabo where Blake does very little actual work. He is asked to handle the purchase of a small

that the firm is buying to clear space for an office high-rise. Blake represents himself as a businessman looking to buy the gym and meets its owner Thor Erikson and employees Franklin and Newton. He is strangely fascinated with the world he discovers there. Blake's usual social life is centered around his upscale country club and its crowd, including his friends Lester and Halsey, and spends his time there playing tennis, shooting poker dice and flirting with women, one of whom asks Blake to find a musical guest for an upcoming party. As Blake moves forward with the business deal, he is smitten with the receptionist, Mary Tate Farnsworth, and befriends bodybuilder Joe Santo, who aspires to win the Mr. Universe title. He finds he ultimately cannot sell out his newfound friends at the gym for the sake of his job, so he constantly evades questions about the progress of the gym deal from friend and coworker Hal Foss. Mary Tate and Craig begin a passionate relationship, but trouble erupts when he tries to integrate her into his country-club scene. At a party at the club, which features Santo performing with a country group, Craig's friends mock Santo as a "freak" and an outcast. A fight nearly breaks out between Halsey and Blake but is broken up. Halsey and his friend Packman formulate a plan to embarrass Santo. When Santo takes the stage, Halsey and Packman drunkenly heckle him and the band. Santo tries to ignore it but soon stops playing his violin and leaves the party. Craig tries to convince Mary Tate to see him for who he really is, and not for his snobbish friends and surroundings. When Jabo realizes that Blake will not purchase the building, he plies Thor and his assistant Newton with drugs, booze and hookers. The Mr. Universe competition arrives and Santo is hoping to beat his rival Dougie Stewart. While Thor is drunk and distracted with the prostitutes, Newton secretly stashes the prize money inside his bag and flees. Blake visits the gym and engages in a fight with the drunken and drugged Thor. He finds Mary Tate, who earlier had been assaulted by Thor in an

amyl nitrite Amyl nitrite is a chemical compound with the formula C5H11ONO. A variety of isomers are known, but they all feature an amyl group attached to the nitrite functional group. The alkyl group is unreactive and the chemical and biological properties ...

-fueled rage. When the Mr. Universe contestants discover that the prize money has been stolen, they run after Santo, who is running to meet Mary Tate. The chase of bodybuilders pours out into the streets of Birmingham and attracts an amazed crowd of onlookers. The bodybuilders engage in an impromptu posing routine for the crowd. Craig sarcastically derides his former bosses at the real-estate firm and goes into the gym business with Santo. Craig mocks Jabo with an exaggerated bodybuilding pose and moves out of his family's mansion, leaving his old family memorabilia to his butler.

Cast

as Craig Blake *

as Mary Tate Farnsworth *

as Joe Santo *

R. G. Armstrong Robert Golden Armstrong Jr. (April 7, 1917 – July 27, 2012) was an American character actor and playwright. A veteran performer who appeared in dozens of Westerns during his 40-year career, he may be best remembered for his work with director ...

as Thor Erickson *

Robert Englund Robert Barton Englund (born June 6, 1947) is an American actor and director. He is best known for playing the supernatural serial killer Freddy Krueger in the '' Nightmare on Elm Street'' film series. Classically trained at the Royal Academy o ...

as Franklin *

Helena Kallianiotes Helena Kallianiotes (born March 24, 1938) is a Greek-American film actress. In 1973, she was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture for her role as Jackie Burdette in ''Kansas City Bomber''. Career o ...

as Anita *

Roger E. Mosley Roger Earl Mosley (; December 18, 1938 – August 7, 2022) was an American actor, director, and writer best known for his role as the helicopter pilot Theodore "T.C." Calvin in the CBS television series '' Magnum, P.I.'', which originally aired ...

as Newton * Woodrow Parfrey as Uncle Albert *

Scatman Crothers Benjamin Sherman Crothers (May 23, 1910 – November 22, 1986), known professionally as Scatman Crothers, was an American actor and musician. He is known for playing Louie the Garbage Man on the TV show '' Chico and the Man'', and Dick Hal ...

as William * Kathleen Miller as Dorothy Stephens *

Fannie Flagg Fannie Flagg (born Patricia Neal; September 21, 1944) is an American actress, comedian and author. She is best known as a semi-regular panelist on the 1973–1982 versions of the game show ''Match Game'' and for the 1987 novel '' Fried Green Tom ...

as Amy *

Joanna Cassidy Joanna Cassidy (born Joanna Virginia Caskey, August 2, 1945 Brady, James"In Step With: Joanna Cassidy" ''Miami Herald'', November 25, 1990. Accessed March 14, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "Born: Aug.2, 1944, in Camden, N.J.") is an American actress. ...

as Zoe *

Richard Gilliland Richard Gilliland (January 23, 1950 – March 18, 2021) was an American television and movie actor, best known as JD Shackleford in ''Designing Women'' (1986–1992). Life and career Gilliland was born in Fort Worth, Texas. He attended high sc ...

as Hal * Mayf Nutter as Richard Packman *

Ed Begley Jr. Edward James Begley Jr. (born September 16, 1949) is an American actor and environmental activist. Begley has appeared in hundreds of films, television shows, and stage performances. He played Dr. Victor Ehrlich on the television series ''St. E ...

as Lester * John David Carson as Halsey *

Joe Spinell Joe Spinell (born Joseph Spagnuolo; October 28, 1936 – January 13, 1989) was an American character actor who appeared in films in the 1970s and 1980s, as well as various stage productions on and off Broadway. He played supporting roles in ''The ...

as Jabo * Clifford A. Pellow as Walter Jr. (credited as Cliff Pellow) *

Dennis Fimple Dennis Clarke Fimple (November 11, 1940 – August 23, 2002) was an American actor. Biography Fimple was born in Ventura, California, the son of Dolly and Elmer Fimple. He graduated from Taft Union High School in 1958 and received a teaching c ...

as Bubba * Garry Goodrow as Moe Zwick * Bart Carpinelli as Laverne * Bob Westmoreland as Fred Kroop * Brandy Wilde as Flower * Laura Hippe as Mae Ruth * John Gilgreen as Security Officer * Murray Johnson as Heavy #1 * Dennis Burkley as Heavy #2 * Autry Pinson as Heavy #3 * Martin Hames as The Bartender *

Byron Berline Byron Douglas Berline (July 6, 1944 – July 10, 2021) was an American fiddle player who played many American music styles, including old time, ragtime, bluegrass, Cajun, country, and rock. Life and career Berline was born in Caldwell, Kansas, ...

as Fiddler With Mustache * Susan Bridges as Blonde Photographer at Contest * Roger Callard as Bodybuilder In Blue Shorts *

Franco Columbu Francesco Maria Columbu (August 7, 1941 – August 30, 2019) was an Italian bodybuilder, powerlifter, actor, author, producer, and a licensed chiropractor. Originally a boxer, Columbu won the Mr. Olympia in 1976 and 1981, and competed in the i ...

as Franco Orsini *

Ed Corney Ed Corney (November 9, 1933 – January 1, 2019) was an American professional bodybuilder. He won many prizes in his 30s, including Mr. Universe twice (in 1971 and 1972), and Mr. America once (in 1972). He resumed competitive bodybuilding in his ...

as Bodybuilder * Roland LeGrand Godfrey as Water Skier Single Ski Dock Start * Mary Leona Perry Kirtley as Water Skier Double Ski Dock Start and Skiing Next to A Tug Boat and Barge * Janelle Kirtley as Water Ski Trainer For Sally Field *William Kent Jones as Contestant Judge *

as Man On Sidewalk With Painting * Robbie Robinson as Bodybuilder At Contest *

Ken Waller Kenny Waller (born March 20, 1942) is an American former bodybuilder featured in the 1977 movie ''Pumping Iron'', which starred Arnold Schwarzenegger. Waller also won the 1975 International Federation of Bodybuilders (IFBB) Mr. Universe contest i ...

as Doug Stewart * Jolene Wolff as Mrs. Clyde

Production

''Stay Hungry'' marked the final film for production designer Toby Carr Rafelson, Rafelson's wife and film-production partner. After learning that her husband pursued women during production, including Sally Field, she filed for divorce and never worked for Rafelson again. Roger Callard, a top bodybuilder of the era, said of his experience making the film: "The director was screaming over his megaphone, 'Please do not touch the bodybuilders!' People were rushing us, even scratching us!"

Reception

Critical response

For ''The New York Times'', critic

Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who served as the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in ...

wrote that the film "isn't all bad. It just seems that way when it pretends to be more eccentric than it is and to have more on its mind than it actually does." However, Canby praised the film's depiction of the

New South New South, New South Democracy or New South Creed is a slogan in the history of the American South first used after the American Civil War. Reformers used it to call for a modernization of society and attitudes, to integrate more fully with the ...

and the performances by Bridges, Field and Schwarzenegger. ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'' reviewer Charles Champlin wrote: "It is several movies not quite rolled into one, good performances and good sequences tossed together in the lap of chance, leading to a denouement that would be even cheerier if what went before had engaged belief or concern." On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

the film has an approval rating of 67% based on reviews from 15 critics. On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

it has a score of 60% based on reviews from 7 critics.

References

External links

* {{Bob Rafelson Films directed by Bob Rafelson Films based on American novels 1976 films 1970s romantic comedy-drama films American romantic comedy-drama films 1970s English-language films Culture of Birmingham, Alabama Bodybuilding films Films set in Alabama Films set in country houses Films with screenplays by Bob Rafelson United Artists films 1976 comedy films 1976 drama films Films scored by Bruce Langhorne Films produced by Bob Rafelson Films with screenplays by Charles Gaines Films scored by Byron Berline 1970s American films