By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Dennis and Chuck Budke were little boys when the Hollywood crew for "Paper Moon" descended on Hays.
The boys' mother attended a casting call in Hays but was told they didn't have any more female roles. They needed kids. That she had. There were 14 siblings in the Budke family.
Eight of those siblings were cast in a scene from "Paper Moon," which was filmed in Wilson, Hays and locations around Ellis County.
Dennis and Chuck recounted their memories of the filming Saturday during the "Paper Moon" Festival in Wilson, which celebrated the 50th anniversary of the film's release.
The Budke family was in a scene during which Moze, played by Ryan O'Neal, and Addie, played by his daughter Tatum O'Neal, try to sell a Bible to a poor family.
The widow comes to the door and her many children, the Budke siblings, file in behind her. Addie turns to Moze and tells him the Bible is paid for.
Dennis, who was about 10 when the movie was filmed, remembers his youngest sibling in the scene, his sister who was about 2, kept crying. The crew tried to get her to stop, but she just keep crying.
Finally, they decided to precede and include the crying child in the scene.
Dennis said he remembers eating lunch with Tatum and Ryan O'Neal. He said Tatum was much like she was in the movie, complaining to her dad about her ham sandwich.
He said his siblings played with Tatum on a nearby playground between takes.
"It was a pretty good experience," Dennis said, "It was kind of scary at first. We got to see all of these people and the lights and trucks and trailers."
Chuck, who was only 5 during the filming, said the filming of the movie was one of his earliest memories. Chuck is now a resident of Salina.
Chuck was so small that the crew gave him a couple of Sears catalogs to stand on so he could be seen in the shot.
Dennis still has the pay stub from the film. It was for a whopping $14.
Both men remember the Hays premiere of the film, which included a red carpet showing at the Fox Theatre in downtown Hays.
The boys, who came from a family of modest means, remember drinking pop and eating popcorn, a rare treat.
Dennis said a few girls even asked him for his autograph.
The McCraken Historical Museum still has a newspaper clipping from the time that includes a picture of the eight Bubke siblings who were in the movie.
"Paper Moon" depicts the Depression era in Kansas and Missouri. It was shot in black and white by director Peter Bogdanovich and tells the story of drifter, Moze, and a little girl, Addie, as Moze takes Addie from rural Kansas to St. Joseph, Mo., to live with her aunt.
Tatum O'Neal won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film, becoming the youngest actress to do so.
Seven locations in Wilson were in the movie. All of those locations in Wilson were marked during the festival with photos of the original images from the movie. Several of the buildings are now vacant, and one, the Otasco Building, has been torn down.
In September 1974, ABC premiered a television series by the same name based on the film. Jodie Foster was cast as Addie and Christopher Connelly played Moze. Dennis Budke received a callback and was in the third episode of the series, but the series only ran 13 episodes and was canceled.
Susan Keith was only 4 when the "Paper Moon" crew shot the opening scene of the movie at her family's cemetery outside of McCracken. Her mother, Carolyn Thompson, took Keith to the Nickel family cemetery where she met Tatum O'Neal.
Although Keith was too young to remember that day, she still has a photo of her and the young actress.
The Nickel family cemetery is still being maintained today and is much the same as it was 50 years ago when the movie was shot there, said Keith, who grew up in McCracken, but now lives in Ellsworth.
A father-daughter duo came from San Diego just for the festival. Jim Croff came dressed as Moze and his daughter, Adrienne Blake, as Addie. Croff has owned a Ford Model A since he was in his twenties. This is the car that Moze is driving at the beginning of the movie.
Croff said he has always loved vintage cars, and movies, including "Paper Moon" and "The Sting" and the TV show "The Waltons" amplified his fascination with the Model A.
"Paper Moon" debuted before Adrienne, 39, was born, but she said she remembers watching the movie with her dad and riding in parades in the Model A.
The duo also toured the cemetery and the "Paper Moon" wing at of historical museum at McCracken.
"That's been the best part," Blake said, "hearing the stories about what it was like when the crew was here. My favorite part is that it was just people from the town who were also in the movie. I just can't imagine what it was like at the time having this whole Hollywood movie crew come into your town and want to film there."
Croff said he enjoyed meeting the local residents.
"There's just wonderful folk wherever you go," he said, wearing a pinstripe linen suit. ... "People opened their homes to us."
Hays and McCracken are partnering for their own "Paper Moon" Festival June 16-18.
Defiance Brewing Co. will have a commemorative beer, which has yet to be named. Two free showings of the movie will be offered at 7 p.m. Saturday, June 17 and 2 p.m. Sunday, June 18 at Beach/Schmidt Performing Arts Center.
There will be special exhibits at the Hays Arts Council Annex along with the Summer Art Walk on June 16 and at the McCracken Historical Society will be open on Friday and Saturday, June 16 and 17.
McCracken also will have a luncheon from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, June 17 at the McCracken Community Building, and The Little Big Band will perform from 1 to 2 p.m. at the community building.