PAPER MOON - A

Set during the Depression, a con man is suddenly responsible for a little girl who may or may not be his daughter.  The characters are played by real life father and daughter, Ryan O’Neal and Tatum O’Neal.  Also starring Madeline Kahn and John Hillerman, this motion picture is charming and definitely not for young children.  Madeline Kahn and Tatum O’Neal were both nominated for Best Supporting Actress and the Oscar went to 10-year-old Ms. O’Neal, making her the youngest Oscar winner ever. (The other nominees in that category were Linda Blair for The Exorcist; Candy Clark for American Graffiti and Sylvia Sidney for Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams.)

Adapted by Alvin Sargent from Joe David Brown’s novel “Addie Pray”, the film was directed by Peter Bogdanovich and filmed in black and white.  Paper Moon is a very endearing comedy and one of my favorite films of all time (probably in the top 20 to 25).  The film was also nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Sound though it did not win in those categories.  That year, the film, in those categories at least, had to compete with Day of the Dolphin(starring George C. Scott, Trish Van Devere and Paul Sorvino), The Exorcist(starring Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow and Linda Blair ), The Last Detail(starring Jack Nicholson and Randy Quaid), The Paper Chase (starring  ),Serpico (starring Al Pacino, John Randolph and Jack Kehoe) and The Sting (starring Paul Newman, Robert Redford and Robert Shaw).

I recommend Mr. Bogdanovich’s screwball comedy What’s Up Doc?  It was released in 1972 and stars Ryan O’Neal, Barbra Streisand and Madeline Kahn. I regret I haven’t seen The Last Picture Show (1971, starring timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges and Cybill Shepherd with John Hillerman) and therefore won’t recommend it but I will put it on my must-see list, especially since I love Larry McMurtry who wrote the novel on which it is based.  Alvin Sargent wrote many screenplays, two of which are on my must-see list:  Julia(1977, starring Jane Fonda, Vanessa Redgrave and Jason Robards) andBobby Deerfield (1977, starring Al Pacino, Marthe Keller and Anny Duperey).  Of movies I have seen, I most recommend Ordinary People (1980, starring Donald Sutherland, Judd Hirsch, Mary Tyler Moore and Timothy Hutton) which was adapted from the Judith Guest novel of the same name. Ordinary People won four Academy Awards:  Best Picture (Ronald L. Schwary), Best Supporting Actor (Timothy Hutton who vied with Judd Hirsch in the category), Best Director (Robert Redford) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Alvin Sargent).  Mary Tyler Moore’s performance is powerful and she was nominated for Best Actress but she had to compete against some formidable opponents that year:  Ellen Burstyn in Resurrection (which also starred Sam Shepard and Richard Farnsworth); Goldie Hawn in Private Benjamin (which also starred Eileen Brennan); Gena Rowlands in Gloria(which also starred Buck Henry and Julie Carmen) and my favorite, the winner Sissy Spacek in Coal Miner’s Daughter where she plays Loretta Lynn(which also starred Tommy Lee Jones and Beverly D’Angelo as Patsy Cline).

As for Ryan O’Neal, I am not a big fan of sad romantic movies like Love Story(1970, starring Ali MacGraw and Ryan O’Neal) and it has been many years since I have seen Barry Lyndon (1975, starring Ryan O’Neal, Marisa Berenson and Patrick Magee); however, I can recommend A Bridge Too Far (1977, starring Sean Connery, Ryan O’Neal and Michael Caine amongst many others). As far as Ms. O’Neal goes for younger audiences I would recommend:  The Bad News Bears (1976, starring Walter Matthau, Tatum O’Neal, Vic Morrow, Joyce Van Patten, Ben Piazza and Jackie Earle Haley); International Velvet(1978, starring Tatum O’Neal, Christopher Plummer and Anthony Hopkins) and Little Darlings (1980, starring Tatum O’Neal, Kristy McNichol and Armand Assante).  I also recommend The Runaways (2010, starring Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning and Michael Shannon) wherein Tatum O’Neal plays Dakota Fanning’s mother. 

Madeline Kahn’s most famous work would probably be in the Mel Brooks’ classic films Blazing Saddles (1974, starring Cleavon Little, Gene Wilder and Slim Pickens with Madeline Kahn and John Hillerman)and Young Frankenstein(1974, starring Gene Wilder, Madeline Kahn, Marty Feldman with Cloris Leachman, Peter Boyle and Teri Garr); however, I think her role as Eunice is pivotal because as the ‘straight man’, she anchors the whole picture so you can appreciate the rather bland Ryan O’Neal and the peppery Barbra Streisand in What’s Up Doc?  John Hillerman may be best-loved as Magnum PI’s Higgins; however, he was a character actor in many films, the most notable being:  High Plains Drifter(1973, starring Clint Eastwood and Verna Bloom); Chinatown (1974, starring Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway and John Huston); and The Day of the Locust (starring Donald Sutherland, Karen Black, Burgess Meredith and William Atherton).

 A Favorite Quote:  “No, I don’t know what it is, but if you got ‘em, it’s a sure bet they belong to somebody else!” (Tatum O’Neal as Addie Loggins)

Running Time:  102 Minutes