Otto Penzler ranks, analyzes, & celebrates the 106 greatest crime films of all-time. Catch up on the series and find new installments daily here.
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The Godfather (1972)
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TYPE OF FILM: Crime
STUDIO: Paramount
PRODUCER: Albert S. Ruddy
DIRECTOR: Francis Ford Coppola
SCREENWRITERS: Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo
SOURCE: The Godfather, novel by Mario Puzo
RUNNING TIME: 175 minutes
PRINCIPAL PLAYERS:
Marlon Brando………………………………………………………………….Don Vito Corleone
Al Pacino…………………………………………………………………………Michael Corleone
James Caan…………………………………………………………………………Sonny Corleone
Richard Castellano………………………………………………………………….Peter Clemenza
Sterling Hayden……………………………………………………….………………..McCluskey
Diane Keaton…………………………………………………………………….…….Kay Adams
Talia Shire……………………………………………………………….…Connie Corleone Rizzi
Robert Duvall…………………………………………………………………….…….Tom Hagen
John Marley………………………………………………………………………….….Jack Woltz
Richard Conte…………………………………………………….…………………………Barzini
Al Lettieri………………………………………………………………………………….Sollozzo
Abe Vigoda………………………………………………………………………………Sal Tessio
Giani Russo……………………………………………………………………………..Carlo Rizzi
John Cazale…………………………………………………………………………Fredo Corleone
Rudy Bond……………………………………………………………………………………Cuneo
Al Martino………………………………………………………..………………..Johnny Fontane
Morgana King……………………………………………………..…….Mama Carmella Corleone
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DID YOU KNOW?
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The most important and successful casting decision for the Godfather was for the central figure of Don Vito. Mario Puzo, the author of the novel, had always envisioned Marlon Brando for this pivotal role, and both the producer and director agreed that Brando had the talent, the charisma, and the sheer gravitas to play head of the powerful family. But several things weighed against this choice with the executives at Paramount. First, Brando’s films had been commercial failures for more than a decade, and, equally important, he was regarded as one of the most difficult actors in Hollywood to work with. Stanley Jaffe is reputed to have said, “As long as I’m president of the studio, Marlon Brando will not be in this picture, and I will no longer allow you to discuss it.” He further is reported to have said, “If Marlon Brando is in the picture, it will gross five million less than if no one is in it.” When Coppola finally persuaded Jaffe to change his mind, it was under the most insulting conditions ever handed down to an actor of Brando’s stature. He would have to submit to a screen test, accept far less money that the actor’s usual minimum, and to assume personal financial responsibility for any delays in production caused by his actions. Incredibly, Brando accepted the terms and went on to win an Oscar for his performance.
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THE STORY
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At the wedding reception of Vito Corleone’s daughter, Connie, his godson, Johnny Fontane, asks the don for help in getting a movie role that will revive his career. Corleone sends his adopted son and counselor, Tom Hagen, to Hollywood to convince the film’s producer that, in spite of his previous rejection, he ought to cast Fontane in the coveted role. When the producer refuses again, he awakens to find the head of his prize racehorse in bed with him, causing him to change his mind.
When Vito’s son Michael, who has tried to stay away from any involvement with crime, visits his father, who has been gunned down, in the hospital, he sees that the police guard has been sent away by captain McCluskey, a corrupt cop, and saves Vito from a second attempt on his life. Michael’s love for his father draws him into the family business, and at a meeting called to settle differences among the various crime factions, Michael kills both Sollozzo and his hireling, McCluskey. He then escapes to Sicily to be protected by friends and relatives of the Corleone family, leaving his fiancée, Kay Adams, behind.
War breaks out among the various crime families and results in the murder of Sonny, Don Vito’s son, causing the Don to negotiate a truce with the other families and agree to become involved with the despised but lucrative drug trade that began the battles.
Michael, still in Sicily, has fallen in love with Apollonia and married her, only to see her killed when a car bomb intended for him explodes. He returns to America and Kay to become the head of the Corleone crime empire.
Planning to extend the family’s influence in Las Vegas, he tries to buy a casino but is rebuffed by Moe Greene, who has the protection of another crime family. Michael plots revenge for various acts against himself and his family, especially the murder of Sonny. As his nephew is baptized, all the principal enemies are gunned down and his position is secured as the new Don Corleone.
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The significance of The Godfather and its sequels cannot be overstated. Mario Puzo’s long novel created a world that never existed as he shows it. His book added words and phrases to the language, including godfather in the context of the Mafia (which is never mentioned in the book and only rarely in the three Godfather movies) and swimming with the fishes which connotes a murdered body thrown into the river or ocean. Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola’s version of the largely Italian underworld seems so real and so complete that readers and viewers come away feeling that this is what it’s really like.
When Paramount acquired film rights to The Godfather, it was expected to be a huge blockbuster, with a large budget and sprawling canvas. Then the studio released The Brotherhood, another “Mafia” picture, with Kirk Douglas, which proved unsuccessful, forcing Paramount executives to rethink the wisdom of making another gangster film. Backing away from its initial grandiose plans, they budgeted the film at $2,000,000, hired the relatively unknown Francis Ford Coppola to direct it when every other director they approached turned it down, and got Albert S. Ruddy to produce it. As the producer of one television show and three failed motion pictures, the only reason he was hired is that Paramount knew he could make the film cheaply. It was finished well over the original budget, costing $6,500,000.
In perhaps the most famous scene in The Godfather, movie producer Jack Woltz is persuaded to hire Johnny Fontane by waking up to find the bloody head of his prize racehorse in bed with him. The head was real. The studio prop looked nothing like what Coppola wanted, so someone was sent to a slaughterhouse to find a head. It was frozen and used in several takes.
The Godfather was nominated for ten Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director (Coppola), Best Actor (Brando), Best Supporting Actor (James Caan, Robert Duvall, and Al Pacino), and Best Screenplay. It won only three (Best Picture, Actor and Screenplay) as Cabaret won eight Oscars. The presenter for Best Picture was Clint Eastwood, who substituted for Charlton Heston, who got stuck in traffic. The producer, Albert S. Ruddy, an old friend of Eastwood’s, had jokingly asked him earlier to read his name when he opened the enveloped, no matter what name was on the card, and then quickly eat the card. When Eastwood named him the winner, Ruddy actually believed for a moment that Eastwood had done as he had been asked.
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BEST LINE
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Nearly washed-up singer Johnny Fontane has asked Don Corleone for help in getting an important film role. “I’ll handle it,” he tells the singer. When asked how he will manage it, the don famously responds. “I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse.”
