Paper Moon

Name: Paper Moon
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Crime
Released: May 9, 1973
Duration: 102 min
Rating: 77
Cast: Bob Young, James N. Harrell, Jessie Lee Fulton, John Hillerman, Lila Waters

1973

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 8 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 27 Ratings

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8.6

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8.6	User Score Universal acclaim based on 27 Ratings

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Paper Moon

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Movie Details & Credits

Paramount Pictures | Release Date: May 9, 1973 | PG

Starring: Bob Young, James N. Harrell, Jessie Lee Fulton, John Hillerman, Lila Waters, Madeline Kahn, Noble Willingham, P.J. Johnson, Ryan O'Neal, Tatum O'Neal

Summary: 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.

Director: Peter Bogdanovich

Genre(s): Drama, Comedy, Crime

Rating: PG

Runtime: 102 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Roger Ebert

Tatum O’Neal creates a character out of thin air, makes us watch her every moment and literally makes the movie work. Read full review

Noel Murray

Snappy patter reigns again, but by letting the story develop in open spaces rather than through tight edits, Bogdanovich fosters an atmosphere of freedom and promise. Read full review

Dave Kehr

Ryan O'Neal is a con man and Tatum O'Neal is the foundling who may or may not be his daughter. Though their relationship is conventionally drawn, it has a heart that Bogdanovich hasn't been able to recapture. Read full review

TV Guide Magazine Staff (Not Credited)

Bogdanovich's warmest film, featuring charming performances from real-life father and daughter Ryan and Tatum O'Neal. Read full review

Staff (Not Credited)

Ryan O'Neal stars as a likeable con artist in the Depression midwest, and his real-life daughter, Tatum O'Neal, is outstanding as his nine-year-old partner in flim-flam. Read full review

Vincent Canby

Peter Bogdanovich and his screenwriter, Alvin Sargent, who adapted Joe David Brown's novel, have set out to make a bittersweet comedy that is both in the style of thirties movies and about the thirties. They evoke the time (1936) and the place (rural Kansas and Missouri) so convincingly that their rather sweet formula story seems completely inadequate, even fraudulent. Read full review

Jay Cocks

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. Read full review

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Keepzepack

May 22, 2021

A masterpiece. Ten-year-old Tatus O'Neal was awarded Best Supporting Actress, but deserved the Best Actress Award because she dominates the film and brilliantly. Also brilliant is the acting, throughout, the directing, the editing and the script.