Ryan O'Neal said that he hoped that Paper Moon would exonerate him from the overwhelming success of Love Story (1970), a film he found hard to live down and which threatened to typecast him as an Ivy League yuppie.

Paper Moon became an unsuccessful, short-lived television series in 1974, starring Christopher Connelly and future two-time Oscar winner Jodie Foster.

The soundtrack is a crucial piece of the film's captivating milieu. The music in the background and on the radio was culled from the record collection of Rudi Fehr. Included are such Depression era standards as "A Picture of Me Without You," "Mississippi Mud," "About a Quarter To Nine," "Georgia On My Mind." "After You've Gone," and "The Music Goes Round and Round."

One important aspect of Paper Moon is Laszlo Kovacs' celebrated black and white cinematography. This was director Peter Bogdanovich's second film photographed in black and white, the first being The Last Picture Show (1971). Bogdanovich was quoted as saying, "I have more affection, more affinity for the past. Since I am more interested in it, it comes easier for me."

By Scott McGee