Adapted from the novel «Addie Pray» by Joe David Brown, the story is set during the Great Depression. It follows a con artist named Moses Pray, played by Ryan O’Neal, and a young girl named Addie Loggins, portrayed by O’Neal’s real-life daughter Tatum O’Neal. After Addie’s mother dies, Moses reluctantly agrees to take the girl to her aunt’s home, but they form an unlikely partnership along the way. Addie proves to be a natural at Moses’s cons, and the two develop a bond as they travel through the Midwest swindling unsuspecting marks.

The film was originally to be directed by John Huston starring Paul Newman and his daughter Nell Potts. But when John dropped the project, Peter Bogdanovich took over and cast Ryan and Tatum O’Neal, keeping with the original plan of casting a father-and-daughter duo. Tatum O’Neal’s portrayal of Addie earned her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, making her the youngest recipient of an Oscar at the age of ten. After a recommendation by Peter’s mentor Orson Welles, Peter shot the film in black and white using a red filter which causes the stark contrast in the picture.

“I sell the good book, ma’am. Just movin’ through the country with the Lord’s good news.”

PAPER MOON
PAPER MOON
USA 1973
Regi: Peter Bogdanovich
Medv: Ryan O’Neal, Tatum O’Neal, Madeline Kahn
Spilletid: 102 min
Språk: Engelsk (norsk tekst)
Aldersgrense: 12 år
Omtale: Court Ropp

Trivia:
John Hillerman plays both the sheriff and his brother the bootlegger having gained and lost weight between shooting weeks.