Paper Moon (1973)
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A cynical con man and a sharp-witted orphan team up to pull off a series of swindles across the American Midwest during the Great Depression.
The story
In 1936 Gorham, Kansas, itinerant con man Moses Pray meets nine-year-old orphaned Addie Loggins at her mother's graveside service. Despite neighbors' suspicions, Moses agrees to deliver Addie to her aunt in Missouri. After a series of events involving a local grain mill, Moses convinces a man to give him $200 for the girl. Addie demands the money as hers, and Moses agrees to let her travel with him until he can repay the full amount. The pair begins a life of traveling scams, with Addie quickly proving to be a talented partner in various confidence tricks as they move through the Midwest.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1936 Gorham, Kansas, itinerant con man Moses Pray meets nine-year-old orphaned Addie Loggins at her mother's graveside service. After securing $200 from a man whose brother killed Addie's mother, Moses agrees to let Addie travel with him until he can repay the full amount. They begin a life of traveling scams, including selling personalized Bibles to widows. Addie quickly proves to be a talented partner in confidence tricks. Their partnership is tested when Moze becomes infatuated with an exotic dancer, Miss Trixie Delight, and spends their money on a new convertible to impress her. Addie and a maid named Imogene devise a plan to humiliate Moze, leading him to abandon Trixie. Later, Moze steals whiskey from a bootlegger but is caught by the sheriff, who is the bootlegger's twin brother. They escape by trading their car for a decrepit farm truck after Moze wins a 'rasslin' match. After being caught again in Missouri and robbed of their savings, a defeated Moze drops Addie off at her aunt's house. However, Addie rejoins him on the road, reminding him of the debt and the fact that his truck rolled away, and they continue their journey together.
- Original title
- Addie Pray
- First release year
- 1973
- Runtime (minutes)
- 102
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Peter Bogdanovich
- Writers
- Alvin Sargent · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Ryan O'Neal · Moze; Tatum O'Neal · Addie; Madeline Kahn; John Hillerman
- Genres
- road comedy-drama; crime comedy-drama
- Themes
- Con artistry; Poverty; Parental dynamics; Survival
- Tone and mood
- Funny; Depressing; Honest; Witty
- Premise and plot tags
- Con artists; Orphans; Great Depression; Road movie
- Source material / true-story basis
- Addie Pray by Joe David Brown (1971 novel)
- Reception
- The film received generally favorable reviews, with critics praising the performances of Ryan and Tatum O'Neal. While some found it oddly depressing or mildly amusing, others lauded its honesty, wit, and the quality of the screenplay.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 77 · scale: 100
- Awards and nominations
- Academy Award · Best Supporting Actress · 1974 · Winner
- Production trivia
- The title 'Paper Moon' was inspired by the song 'It's Only a Paper Moon'.; Tatum O'Neal was the youngest competitive winner in the history of the Academy Awards.; The film was originally associated with John Huston and was to star Paul Newman and his daughter Nell Potts.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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