Paper Moon

"As P.T. Barnum put it, "There's a sucker born every minute.""

1973 1h 42m EN

🙌

7.9

BANGER

🔥

91%

CERTIFIED FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

8.1

IMDB

★7.9TMDB · 877🍅91%Rotten Tomatoes●77Metacritic★8.1IMDB · 57,050

ComedyCrimeDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

During the Great Depression, a con man finds himself saddled with a young girl who may or may not be his daughter, and the two forge an unlikely partnership.

“As P.T. Barnum put it, "There's a sucker born every minute."”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Ryan O'Neal
Moses Pray
Tatum O'Neal
Addie Loggins
Madeline Kahn
Trixie Delight
John Hillerman
Deputy Hardin / Jess Hardin
Burton Gilliam
Floyd
P.J. Johnson
Imogene
James N. Harrell
The Minister
Noble Willingham
Mr. Robertson

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Peter Bogdanovich
Writers: Alvin Sargent
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $2.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $31M — a 12.4× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

53 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Peter Bogdanovich, shot by László Kovács. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Verna Fields shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Ryan O'Neal and Tatum O'Neal and Madeline Kahn carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "As P.T. Barnum put it, "There's a sucker born every minute."".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0070510 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Peter Bogdanovich directs. László Kovács behind the camera. Verna Fields cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $2.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Grossed $31M — a 12.4× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
353 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Directed by Peter Bogdanovich, shot by László Kovács. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Editor Verna Fields shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Ryan O'Neal and Tatum O'Neal and Madeline Kahn carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "As P.T. Barnum put it, "There's a sucker born every minute."".
8IMDB entry: tt0070510 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 19 themes, including "friendship", "funeral", "missouri", "bible".
10Released under 15 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: László Kovács
Editing: Verna Fields
Production design: Polly Platt
Costume design: Polly Platt
Makeup / hair: Rolf Miller
Sound: Richard Portman
Runtime: 102 min · 1h 42m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $2,500,000
Box office: $30,900,000
Return: 1236% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Paper Moon (1973)
Rotten Tomatoes: 91% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 77/100
IMDB rating: 8.1/10 · 57,050 votes
MPAA: PG

Awards

Won 1 Oscar. 9 wins & 10 nominations total

National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Silver nugget for the best foreign film

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Peter Bogdanovich

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2016-01-27
★ 9/10
Utterly delightful. Father and daughter Ryan and Tatum O'Neal, under Peter Bogdanovich's superlative direction, produce one of the most affectingly warm and cunningly sly movies of the 1970s. Set in depression era America and beautifully photographed in pristine monochrome by Laszlo Kovacs, it's a period piece that refuses to get old, such is the deft imagery and sharpness of the screenplay. Story essentially comes down to conman Moses Pray (R. O'Neal) hooking up with orphan Addie Loggins (T. O'Neal), who may or may not be his actual daughter. Addie proves to be a precocious live wire, not easily fooled and she smokes, cusses and is more than capable of pulling a con herself. After initial indignation, Moses comes to court Addie's strengths and they form a dynamic partnership as they travel through Kansas, pulling cons left right and centre and piling the money up. But can it last forever? The chemistry between father and daughter is obviously set in stone, with young Tatum an absolute revelation. The screenplay gives them both ample opportunities to enchant and amuse the viewer as they get up to all sorts of tricks and scrapes. Yet there's always that feeling hanging in the dusty air that something has to give, that we are treading firmly in bittersweet territory, the crafty couple having earned our complete investment in their well being keeping us concerned even as we laugh out loud. Delightful. 9/10
Wuchak2019-05-22
★ 7/10
Ryan O’Neal and his kid daughter Tatum in 1930’s Kansas In Depression-era Kansas, a conman who sells Bibles (Ryan O’Neal) is coerced into allowing a precocious 9 year-old (Tatum O’Neal) to ride with him as they travel to St. Joseph, Missouri, where her aunt lives. Madeline Kahn plays a carnival “dancer” with P.J. Johnson as her teen aide. John Hillerman appears in a double role as a bootlegger and police officer. "Paper Moon" (1973) is a B&W drama with amusing moments. Imagine “The Highwaymen” (2019) and “Bonnie and Clyde” (1967), but with a lighter tone and much less severe criminality, mixed with father/quasi-daughter antics. The movie’s entertaining throughout, but the ending’s too low-key for my tastes (How about some good ol’ fashioned emotion?). But that’s a minor quibble. The film runs 1 hour, 42 minutes and was shot in Kansas, Nebraska & Missouri (with one part done in Pasadena). GRADE: B