Addie Loggins' (Tatum) mother has died. A con man named Moses Pray (his father Ryan O'Neal) agrees to take her to another city to her aunt's. Instead, the two end up performing Moses' bible selling fraud together, and the original plan appears to be forgotten. Behind the uneasy relationship is the possibility, and suspicion of Addie, that Moses is in fact her father.

The film won Tatum the Oscar as the youngest person ever. This and many praising reviews indicate her acting was considered excellent at the time. It hasn't aged well, however. Made in 1973, the style seems more like it's from the previous decade. Perhaps the biggest merit of the role is its complete lack of then-customary cuteness. Addie is rather the opposite, sullen and serious.

Tatum and Ryan's relationship was never good in real life. He divorced when Tatum was 5 years old. His wife moved to a ranch with their children, and sank deep into an addiction to alcohol and amphetamines. Tatum lived there for three years, neglected and abused, and then moved to live with Ryan. Life didn't improve much for Tatum, since Ryan was also neglectful and led a life not at all suitable for a child to be around. Tatum, deeply scarred for lack of attention and love, didn't get much of either from his father either. When Tatum won the Oscar, Ryan is said to have hit her, apparently out of disappointment of not having gotten the award himself.

Having read Tatum's autobiography "A Paper Life," the relationship between her and Ryan in the movie appears eerily similar to real life at the time. For me, that fact is how the movie creates its biggest impact. When Addie asks Moses "You don't like me, do you?", he answers "No, I don't like you!" It's very easy to imagine Tatum, so hungry for his love, hurting inside when filming the scene.