Music, of course, is a commonplace in film. And I am not an amateur student of film. Yet, I don't know that I have ever heard of music being used in quite the same way as it was in Paper Moon. A song can set a mood to reinforce the action or dialogue, but in Paper Moon, the song lyrics act as a hidden voice, hidden in the background of the foreground audiovisual. The lyrics to the music are another voice in the film. Unless captions are on, the audience member doesn't notice what the singing voices say. I have mentioned in previous posts how important the Paper Moon song lyrics were to the movie. I have mentioned how the song dissolves into the Rock of Ages hymn, a change that Peter Bogdanovich made from the Sept. 1, 1972 Sargent screenplay music, and how important the words to those songs are to the film. I have mentioned the song Flirtation Walk. There is no song in this movie that was not inserted deliberately by Bogdanovich. Here are some others:
This is in the scene where Addie, lying in bed, is plotting how to get rid of Trixie Delight. "Picture Mr. Lord minus Mr. Taylor, Picture poor Philadelphia without a Biddle..."
"Just a picture of me without you": Just like the picture of Addie without Moze. Remarkable attention to detail by Bogdanovich.
In the scene where Moze and Addie plot to steal the whiskey:
There's a chase scene at the end of this segment of the film. The bootlegger's sheriff brother shoots after Moze and Addie fleeing in the car. Moze could have gotten Addie, the girl he loved (his daughter), killed.
Of course I didn't notice any of these mentioned in this post on first, second, or third viewing. I noticed the two screenshotted only in rewatching to look for the mention of Herbert Hoover! (which I haven't found). It is a perfect film.
