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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 | |
| 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) |
| 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>
A charmer.
Ryan O'Neal stars with his real-life daughter Tatum in this story about a father and daughter con team scraping together an existence in Depression-era America. Along the way, the dad picks up a brassy floozy, played by the expert comedienne Madeline Kahn, which doesn't go down well with the precocious kid.
The entire success of "Paper Moon" relied upon the performance of the child actor, and Peter Bogdanovich did well to cast Tatum, as she plays the role without any of the self-conscious cutesiness that makes other child actors unbearable. Ryan was never more relaxed or likable in a role, maybe because he was working with his daughter. And Kahn of course is a delight, though one wishes she had a bigger role.
As with "The Last Picture Show," Bogdanovich shoots in nostalgic black and white, but this project is much more light-hearted than the other.
Grade: A-