The 1973 crime drama film, Paper Moon follows a con man who finds himself stuck with a young girl who may or may not be his daughter. Set during the Great Depression, the two forge an unlikely relationship that’s depicted in the film. The run time of this film is one hour forty-two minutes and it was nominated for several categories in the Academy Awards and Golden Globes.
The filming of Paper Moon began on 25th September 1972 and ended at some point in December 1972. Directed by Peter Bogdanovich, the film was written by Joe David Brown and Alvin Sargent but is said to be based on a novel titled Addie Pray by Joe David Brown.
Moses Pray and Addie Loggins first meet at a funeral, where he agrees to help her travel to St. Joseph, her aunt’s home. As they travel, Addie learns about Moses’ job and the two somehow become a team.
Moses is a con man who tricks people into paying him money. When he asks recently widowed women to pay him for the Bibles he sold to their husbands, Addie learns about it and joins the scam. The duo as a team begins tricking people, Addie confidently showcasing her tricks while Moses lies to people and scams them.
But like all the stories, the duo faces their share of problems too. In the end, when Moses tries to make the right decision and leave the young girl at her aunt’s place, she disagrees, and they set out on a journey together.
The 1973 film was mainly shot in the USA in the year 1972 and some of the locations have changed as well. But, given below is a list of all the locations that were seen in the film.
Paper Moon Filming Locations
- Kansas
The scene where Pray gets Addie’s money at Robertson’s mill, Hairdresser, and General Store on Avenue E is shot in Wilson, Kansas, USA. Some of the scenes of Paper Moon were also shot in Hays, Kansas, but nothing specific has been mentioned anywhere.
For the exteriors of Doniphan Co. sheriff’s office, Main Street, White Cloud, Kansas, USA, was chosen as the destination. Gorham Train station was demolished, but at the time, it was shot at Gorham, Kansas, USA. The opening scene at the Nickel Cemetery, which is shown in this movie, was filmed in McCracken, Kansas, USA.
You might remember that final scene where the truck was rolling down the hill in Paper Moon – the scene was shot fully at King Hill, Codell, Kansas, USA.
There were other scenes, such as Aunt Billie’s home and the fight scene between Moses Pray and Lorey which was shot at the Saline River Road, Ellis County, Kansas. These houses which appeared in the film were situated on the road above but unfortunately, they have been razed now.
Paper Moon was shot all over in the USA and the cast and crew even travelled to other locations such as Boca Raton in Florida and Kendall Alley, Pasadena in California. The Missouri River Bridge, which has been demolished, was shot at US-159 Bridge, Rulo, Nebraska, USA.
- Missouri
The story also took the cast and crew members to Missouri. A couple of exact locations that can be seen in the film are the St. Charles Hotel, St. Joseph, Missouri, and the Missouri Valley Trust Co. Bank at 402 Felix Avenue, St. Joseph, Missouri. One of the scenes where Moses was running away and got cornered in the alley was also shot at Missouri, specifically at Jules Street in St. Joseph.
Where To Watch Paper Moon?
Ryan O’Neal plays Moses Pray, and Tatum O’Neal plays his daughter, Addie Loggins, in Paper Moon. A fun fact about these actors is that they are real-life father-daughter and played the roles in the film together.
Paper Moon was released in Hollywood on 9th April 1973, and later, it was released all over the United States on 9th May. If you haven’t watched the movie, you can watch still watch it on Prime Video.
