Guide Note

Paper Moon is a comedy film directed by Peter Bogdanovich in 1973.

Fast Facts

1. Director: Peter Bogdanovich
2. Writer: Alvin Sargent
3. Cinematographer: Lazlo Kovacs
4. Based on novel Addie Pray by Joe David Brown
5. Starring: Tatum O'Neal, Ryan O'Neal, Madeline Kahn
6. Released: May 9, 1973
7. Runtime: 105 min
8. Distributor: Paramount Pictures
9. Spawned by short-lived television series starring Jodie Foster

Based in the Depression era, Paper Moon is about a con man and an orphan girl who team up for various moneymaking schemes.

The catch: the girl, Addie (Tatum O'Neal), who never smiles and looks like a tomboy, turns out to be a smarter, better con man than the con man himself, Moses (Ryan O'Neal), who sells Bibles to unsuspecting Kansans and Missourians.

The two main characters, played by real life father and daughter O'Neals, form a bond through their disagreements and (mis)adventures, which especially endeared audiences to Tatum, winner of the "Best Supporting Actress" Oscar at the age of 10--the youngest person to ever win an Oscar to date.