Paper Moon

Paper Moon
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Peter Bogdanovich
Produced by	Frank Marshall Peter Bogdanovich
Written by	Joe David Brown (novel) Alvin Sargent (screenplay)
Starring	Ryan O'Neal Tatum O'Neal Madeline Kahn Randy Quaid
Cinematography	László Kovács
Editing by	Verna Fields
Studio	The Directors Company
Distributed by	Paramount
Release date(s)	May 9, 1973 (1973-05-09)
Running time	102 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$30,933,743[1] $16,559,000 (rentals)

Paper Moon is a 1973 American comedy film directed by Peter Bogdanovich and released by Paramount Pictures. The screenplay was adapted from the novel Addie Pray by Joe David Brown, and the film was shot in black-and-white. The film is set during the Great Depression in the U.S. states of Kansas and Missouri. It stars the real-life father and daughter pairing of Ryan and Tatum O'Neal, as on-screen father and daughter Moze and Addie.

Plot

The story follows con man Moses Pray (Ryan O'Neal) and young Addie Loggins (Tatum O'Neal), an orphaned daughter of a prostitute. Because Moze had once had an affair with her mother (and because the girl "has his jaw"), there is speculation that he is in fact Addie's father (which he denies). Moze is reluctantly persuaded to deliver Addie to her aunt's home.

With Addie in tow, Moze makes a stop at a local grain mill and convinces the brother of the man who drove his car into a tree, killing Addie's mother, into giving him two hundred dollars for the now-orphaned Addie. Addie overhears this conversation and later demands the money. Because he spent nearly half of the money on car repairs, Moze agrees to travel with Addie until he has raised two hundred dollars to give to her. Addie soon learns how Moze makes his money: he finds recently widowed women and visits them pretending to be a Bible salesman who recently sold an expensive, personalized Bible to the deceased husband. The widows usually overpay him for the books inscribed with their names. Addie joins in the scam, pretending to be his daughter, and exhibits a talent for larceny. As time passes, Moze and Addie become a formidable team and seem to forget about Addie joining her aunt.

One night, Moze and Addie stop at a local carnival, where Addie visits a photo booth and has her photograph taken sitting on a crescent moon and Moze becomes enthralled with an "exotic dancer" named Miss Trixie Delight (Madeline Kahn), who is accompanied by her downtrodden, 15-year-old African American maid, Imogene (P.J. Johnson). Although Addie becomes friends with Imogene, she becomes jealous of how Moze begins to focus more and more of his attention on the gold-digging Miss Trixie. When Addie subsequently discovers that Moze has spent all of their money on a new car to impress Miss Trixie, she quickly devises a plan to get rid of her, which includes giving Imogene enough money to get back home to her mother. An elaborate series of maneuvers on Addie and Imogene's part result in Moze catching Miss Trixie in bed with another man. Devastated, Moze leaves Miss Trixie and Imogene behind.

At a hotel, Moze is able to find a bootlegger's store of whiskey, steals some of it, and sells it back to the bootlegger. Unfortunately, the bootlegger's brother is the sheriff, who quickly arrests Moze and Addie. Addie hides their money, steals back the key to their car, and the pair escape, trading their car for a farm truck after Moze beats Leroy (Randy Quaid) in a 'wrasslin' match. The pair then makes their way across the state line to Missouri, where the Kansas law can't follow them. The sheriff finds them in Missouri, and unable to arrest Moze, he and his cohorts chase, beat and rob him. Humiliated, Moze drops Addie at her aunt's house.

Back on the road, Moze stops to let his overheated truck cool down. He discovers the photo of Addie, sitting in a quarter moon, that she left for him on the passenger seat. As he contemplates the photo, he glances into the rear-view mirror and sees a small figure running toward the stopped truck. It is Addie; she has fled her aunt's house and hopes to rejoin Moze. Angry, Moze tells Addie that he doesn't want her traveling with him anymore. She matter-of-factly reminds him that he STILL owes her two hundred dollars, and they drive off together.

Production

Filming Locations

The film was shot in the small towns of Hays, Kansas; McCracken, Kansas; Wilson, Kansas; and St. Joseph, Missouri. Various shooting locations include the Midland Hotel at Wilson, Kansas; the railway depot at Gorham, Kansas; storefronts and buildings on Main Street in White Cloud, Kansas; sites on both sides of the Missouri River; Hays, Kansas; and Saint Joseph, Missouri.

Director

The film project was originally associated with John Huston and was to star Paul Newman and his daughter, Nell Potts. However, when Huston left the project, the Newmans became dissociated from the film as well.^[2] Peter Bogdanovich had just completed What's Up, Doc? and was looking for another project when his ex-wife and frequent collaborator Polly Platt recommended filming Joe David Brown's script for the novel Addie Pray. Bogdanovich, a fan of period films, and having two young daughters of his own, found himself drawn to the story, and selected it as his next film.^[3]

Title

Peter Bogdanovich also decided to change the name of the film from Addie Pray. While selecting music for the film, he heard the song It's Only a Paper Moon (by Billy Rose, Yip Harburg, and Harold Arlen). Seeking advice from his close friend and mentor Orson Welles, Bogdanovich listed Paper Moon as a possible alternative. Welles responded — "That title is so good, you shouldn't even make the picture, you should just release the title!"^[3] Director of photography László Kovács used a red filter on the camera on Welles' advice. Bogdanovich also used deep focus cinematography and extended takes in the film.^[3]

Screenplay

Various changes were made in adapting the book to film. Addie's age was reduced from twelve to nine to accommodate young Tatum, several events from the book were combined for pacing issues, and the last third of the novel, when Moses and Addie graduate to the big leagues as con artists after going into partnership with a fake millionaire, was dropped. The location was also changed from the rural south of the novel - primarily Alabama - to midwestern Kansas and Missouri.^[3]

Casting

At the suggestion of Polly Platt, Bogdanovich approached eight-year-old Tatum O'Neal to audition for the role although she had no acting experience. Bogdanovich had recently worked with Tatum's father Ryan O'Neal on What's Up, Doc?, and decided to cast them as the leads.^[3]

Reception

Reviews

It currently holds a 90 percent approval rating from critics, based on 22 reviews, at Rotten Tomatoes. While Vincent Canby of the New York Times found the juxtaposition of the saccharin-sweet plot with Laszlo Kovacs' stark black-and-white images of Depression-era poverty unsettling,^[4] Roger Ebert, who gave the film his top rating, found the mix to be the film's greatest virtue.^[5]

Awards

Tatum O'Neal won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Addie. She is the youngest winner in the history of the Academy Awards. Co-star Madeline Kahn was also nominated for that award that year but lost to Tatum. The film itself was nominated for Best Sound (Richard Portman, Les Fresholtz).^[6]

In September 1974, a television series called Paper Moon, based on the film, premiered on the ABC television network, with Jodie Foster cast as Addie and Christopher Connelly (who had appeared as O'Neal's brother in the earlier ABC series, Peyton Place) playing Moses. However, it was not a ratings success and the series was canceled after four months.

Cast

• Ryan O'Neal as Moses 'Moze' Pray
• Tatum O'Neal as Addie Loggins
• Madeline Kahn as Trixie Delight
• John Hillerman as Deputy Hardin/Jess Hardin
• Burton Gilliam as Floyd
• P.J. Johnson as Imogene
• Jessie Lee Fulton as Miss Ollie
• James N. Harrell as The Minister
• Lila Waters as The Minister's Wife
• Noble Willingham as Mr. Robertson
• Bob Young as Gas Station Attendant
• Jack Saunders as Station Master
• Jody Wilbur as Cafe Waitress
• Liz Ross as The Widow Morgan (Pearl)
• Yvonne Harrison as The Widow Bates (Marie)
• Dorothy Price as Ribbon Saleslady
• Randy Quaid as Leroy
• Hugh Gillin as 2nd Deputy

In popular culture

In a parody of the film in Mad magazine, an introductory speech delivered (hypothetically) by Ryan O'Neal has him saying that nepotism prompted O'Neal to cast his daughter.^[7]

References to Paper Moon have appeared in several different popular media. "The Great Money Caper", an episode of The Simpsons, shares a similar plot point to the movie. When Homer and Bart try to trick Ned Flanders into receiving a fake Bible by saying that his deceased wife, Maude, ordered it before she died, Ned says after a few moments, "Wait a minute, this is an awful lot like that movie Paper Moon...".

The song lyrics for "Sitting on a Paper Moon" by The Pillows from their album White Incarnation are based on this movie.

The movie is also referenced by the Drive-By Truckers in their song "Birthday Boy".

References

External links

• Paper Moon at the Internet Movie Database
• Paper Moon at AllRovi
• http://www.yoursdaily.com/culture_media/movies/bogdanovich_receives_visionary_award