Paper Moon (1973)

Directed by Peter Bogdanovich. Starring Ryan O’Neal, Tatum O’Neal, John Hillerman, Madeline Kahn, P. J. Johnson, Burton Gilliam. [PG]

Highly-stylized Depression-era road comedy about a traveling con man (Ryan O’Neal) who uses obituaries to tour the Midwest and grift widows into buying “personalized” inscribed bibles. Then he meets an orphaned nine-year-old girl (Tatum O’Neal)—quite possibly his own daughter—who joins him on the road and changes his life. The real-life father-daughter performers would go on to have a storied and tempestuous relationship, but they’re well-matched here, the force of their personalities butting against each other until the erosion reveals grudging affection. Doesn’t always take the predictable course even if the script is too calculated to ever be surprising, and although belly laughs are hard to find, it’s a sweet, snappy, and nostalgia-hued charmer. Black & white photography by László Kovács. Making her film debut, precocious Tatum won an Academy Award; Madeline Kahn steals most of her scenes as carnival burlesque dancer, Trixie Delight. Randy Quaid has a minor role as a hick.

78/100