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Title: Paper Moon (1973)
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Ryan O'Neal | ... | Moses Pray | |
| Tatum O'Neal | ... | Addie Loggins | |
| Madeline Kahn | ... | Trixie Delight | |
| John Hillerman | ... | Deputy Hardin / Jess Hardin | |
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P.J. Johnson | ... | Imogene |
| Jessie Lee Fulton | ... | Miss Ollie | |
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James N. Harrell | ... | The Minister (as Jim Harrell) |
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Lila Waters | ... | The Minister's Wife |
| Noble Willingham | ... | Mr. Robertson | |
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Bob Young | ... | Gas Station Attendant |
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Jack Saunders | ... | Station Master |
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Jody Wilbur | ... | Cafe Waitress |
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Liz Ross | ... | The Widow Morgan (Pearl) |
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Yvonne Harrison | ... | The Widow Bates (Marie) |
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Ed Reed | ... | The Lawman (Bates' Home) |
Adapted from the novel, "Addie Pray" (1971) by Joe David Brown, PAPER MOON is the story of Moses Pray and Addie Loggins. With scenery reminiscent of "The Grapes of Wrath," the film is set in the depression-era Midwestern region of the United States. As the movie opens, we see a small group of mourners clustered at a graveside. Among the mourners is Addie, the dead woman's small daughter. Moses Pray -- ostensibly of the "Kansas Bible Company" -- approaches the group, as the service concludes, and two of the elderly women remark that the child bears some resemblance to him and asks if he might be related. "If ever a child needed kin, it's now," one lady says. With no knowledge of who her father is, Addie's only haven is her Aunt's home in St. Joseph, Missouri. Having identified himself as a "traveling man spreading the Lord's gospel in these troubled times," "Mose" is prevailed upon to deliver the helpless child to her Aunt since he's going that way, anyway. Addie, wise beyond her years... Written by MARK FLEETWOOD <mfleetwo@mail.coin.missouri.edu>
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True, TATUM O'NEIL won an Oscar for her role as Addie Pray in PAPER MOON and fully deserved it. Her dad, RYAN O'NEIL must have been proud of her but his only reward was a Golden Globe nomination.
The con artist and little girl theme had been used before in Damon Runyon's famous comedy "Little Miss Marker" with Shirley Temple and Adolphe Menjou. But here the twist is that the girl is just as much a con artist as the man--and that's the key that makes the film so much more palatable for 1970s audiences without getting too sentimental about it.
There's a real Depression-era feeling to the whole story, with some richly detailed panoramas of rural America and its citizens at that time in history. Peter Bogdanovich has done a commendable job in making sure that his authentic backgrounds illuminate an enchanting tale about two drifters who share an unusual partnership when it becomes clear to the man that the girl would be a valuable aid in his con work.
There's a bright supporting role by MADELINE KAHN as Trixie Delight, a stripper who tosses off some good one-liners, but it's the chemistry between Tatum and Ryan that turns this into the most satisfying "buddy" movie of the '70s.
Summing up: A treat not to be missed.