Paper Moon (1973)
95%RT Audience Score: 94%
Awards & Nominations: Won 1 Oscar
8 wins & 10 nominations total
Expertly balancing tones, Paper Moon is a deft blend of film nostalgia and finely tuned performances — especially from Tatum O’Neal, who won an Oscar for her debut.
Paper Moon is a classic film that’s as charming as it is hilarious. Shot in black and white, it perfectly captures the feel of Depression-era America, and the performances from Ryan O’Neal and his daughter Tatum are nothing short of sensational. It’s a road trip movie that’s full of heart, humor, and a surprising amount of moral depth. If you’re looking for a film that’s both entertaining and thought-provoking, Paper Moon is definitely worth checking out. Plus, Tatum O’Neal’s performance is so good, it’ll leave a continent-sized impact crater in your heart.
Production Company(ies)
The Directors Company, Saticoy Productions, Paramount Pictures,
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Hays, Kansas, USA
MPAA / Certificate
PG
Year of Release
1973
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Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:Mono
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 42m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): May 9, 1973 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 12, 2003
Genre(s)
Comedy
Keyword(s)
starring Ryan O’Neal, Tatum O’Neal, Madeline Kahn, John Hillerman, P J Johnson, Jessie Lee Fulton, directed by Peter Bogdanovich, written by Joe David Brown, Alvin Sargent, comedy, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Gene Siskel, Jake Wilson, Wendy Ide, Jay Cocks, Roger Moore, produced by Peter Bogdanovich, PG rating, con artists, 1930s Kansas, road trip, father-daughter duo, swindling, burlesque dancer, bootlegger, Depression-era America, Oscar-winning performance, Tatum O’Neal debut, black and white cinematography, period detail, Dust Bowl era, heartless and heartfelt, foul language, women’s problems, unlikely partnership, phenomenal follow-up, The Last Picture Show, film nostalgia, finely tuned performances, expertly balancing tones, film critics, Fresh Kernels
Worldwide gross: NA
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): NA
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Tatum O’Neal – Addie Loggins
Madeline Kahn – Trixie Delight
John Hillerman – Deputy Hardin, Jess Hardin
P. J. Johnson – Imogene
Jessie Lee Fulton – Miss Ollie
Director(s)
Peter Bogdanovich
Writer(s)
Joe David Brown, Alvin Sargent
Producer(s)
Peter Bogdanovich
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Won 1 Oscar
8 wins & 10 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (43) | Top Critics (10) | Fresh (40) | Rotten (3)
It is distinguished by its moral tone, and it is the tone that lifts it above the average flim-flam comedy.
March 14, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/4
Gene Siskel
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
Shot in black and white by the versatile cinematographer Laszlo Kovacs, this has a mix of folksiness and precise craft that anticipates the Coen brothers, aiming to charm and succeeding.
September 15, 2018
Jake Wilson
The Age (Australia)
TOP CRITIC
Part of an incredible 1970s career run for the director Peter Bogdanovich, Paper Moon remains a high point, not just for the talent involved behind the scenes and in front of the camera, but also for Hollywood.
May 14, 2015 | Rating: 5/5
Wendy Ide
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
It is very fussy about period detail, and goes to some length to evoke the dim days of Depression America, while just about everything else is left to slide.
August 17, 2010
Jay Cocks
TIME Magazine
TOP CRITIC
It’s everything a road picture is supposed to be, a life-changing personal journey, a quest, a bit old-fashioned and a hoot.
May 13, 2009 | Rating: 5/5
Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel
TOP CRITIC
Tatum O’Neal makes a sensational screen debut.
March 26, 2009
Variety Staff
Variety
TOP CRITIC
A small but near-flawless gem—as well as a testament to the kind of eccentric film that could a big hit back then…
February 11, 2022
Dennis Harvey
48 Hills
Of all the nice things that can be said about Paper Moon, perhaps the nicest is this: it’s the first new film in a long while that’s as enjoyable as it is good, and absolutely first-rate in both departments.
October 8, 2021
Janet Maslin
Boston Phoenix
…grows more and more absorbing as it progresses…
May 25, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/4
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
[Paper Moon] is exactly what we have in mind when we talk nostalgically of what movies “used to be”–meaningful rather than metaphorical, engrossing rather than exploitative, humanistic in their comedy and their sentiment.
June 12, 2020
Judith Crist
Texas Monthly
O’Neal leaves a continent-sized impact crater in the center of the film, delivering an instantly iconic performance none have been able to replicate.
May 18, 2020 | Rating: 9/10
Nathanael Hood
Unseen Films
Peter Bogdanovich, using all of the hootchie-kootchie at his command, plus Ryan O’Neal, and even more importantly, O’Neal’s nine year old daughter Tatum, has made an ingratiating comedy.
July 10, 2019
Bernard Drew
Gannett News Service…
Plot
Set in the midwest of the depression-era, Paper Moon follows Moses Pray and Addie Loggins – one a con artist, the other, the young girl who’s the daughter of a woman who’s just passed away. The pair meet when ‘Mose’ stops by the sparsely-attended funeral in Kansas of a woman he once knew (we never see her). In attendance, is the woman’s young daughter, Addie, whom Moses agrees to transport to St Joseph, Mo
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Tatum O’Neal won an Oscar for her debut performance in Paper Moon.
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