In Paper Moon, real-life father-daughter duo Ryan and Tatum O’Neal star as con-artists Moses Pray and Addie Loggins, respectively. Set in 1930s Kansas, nine-year-old Addie is orphaned after the death of her mother. Moses must take Addie to live with her relatives in Missouri, but Addie believes that he may be her father.
He tries to take her money, but she catches him in the act and makes him promise to get her $200 back. Grudgingly, he allows her to accompany him as he swindles recently widowed women into buying overpriced “special edition” bibles. Along their journey, they encounter some interesting characters, are chased by police, and have their tenuous relationship tested time and again.
Tatum O’Neal won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in her role as the precocious Addie Loggins, becoming the youngest person ever to win an Oscar at age ten. The film is a nostalgic comedic delight whose characters brighten the monochrome landscapes. Here are thirteen memorable quotes from Paper Moon.
Addie Loggins: “Daddy, I need to go to the sh*thouse.”
Moses Pray: “Her name ain’t Precious.”
Trixie Delight: “Hurry up, Doctor! This baby gots to go winky-tinky!”
Addie Loggins: “Well, she ain’t my grown-up and I ain’t plannin’ no more to sit in the back. Not for no cow!”
Moses Pray: “Will you keep your voice down? And Miss Delight ain’t no cow. She’s a proper woman. She has a high school diploma. And right now she’s got to go to the bathroom, so you get on down to the car!”
Moses Pray: “You know what that is, scruples?”
Addie Loggins: “No, I don’t know what it is, but if you got it, it’s a sure bet they belong to somebody else!”
Addie Loggins: “I want my two hundred dollars.”
Moses Pray: “And his name ain’t Frank, it’s Franklin!”
Moses Pray: “We just have to keep on veering, that’s all.”
Moses Pray: “I now owe you one hundred and three dollars and seventy-two cents.”
Addie Loggins: “Seventy-four.”
Trixie Delight: “I just don’t understand it, Daddy, but this baby has got to go winky-tinky all the time.”
Addie Loggins: “But we just stopped for her to winky tink at lunch!”
Addie Loggins: “Where you from?”
Imogene: “Nowhere.”
Addie Loggins: “Well, you gotta be from somewhere.”
Moses Pray: “I told you, I don’t want you ridin’ with me no more.”
Addie Loggins: “But you still owe me two hundred dollars.”
