Ruddy accepted a meeting with Colombo at the Park Sheraton Hotel. He was met by about a thousand waiting League delegates. Ruddy reiterated that the film was going to focus on individuals, not slur an entire ethnic group. He started pointing to members, suggesting they could be extras, and the group broke out into cheers, even affixing a League “Captain” pin to his lapel. While Ruddy later disputed that the meeting had any influence on hiring, some members of the League appeared as extras or did crowd control.
On March 19, 1971, Ruddy held a press conference at League headquarters to make the announcement that the two terms would not be included in the dialogue. The national press jumped on the news, with front-page stories in both The New York Times and Wall Street Journal scorching Paramount for bending under the pressure.
Paramount issued a statement in Variety that the deal was “completely unauthorized,” but grudgingly acknowledged that their film would indeed comply with the attorney general’s directive on the phrases. Gulf+Western CEO Bluhdorn initially fired Ruddy (who absconded with a dozen cigars from his desk on his way out the door). But the deal was made and the damage was done. In the end, Coppola saved Ruddy’s job, convincing Bluhdorn that Ruddy was the only one who could get the film done. And, indeed, after Ruddy and the League reached their understanding, all the production problems disappeared—no more union threats, no boycotts or demonstrations. In an interview with the author, Ruddy sums up the experience: “I’d rather deal with those guys than a Hollywood studio, because once the deal was made, no one would go against their obligation.”
On June 28, just as New York principal photography was winding down in New York, Joseph Colombo was shot multiple times in the head. The incident occurred at another Italian-American Unity Day rally—just a stone’s throw from the Gulf+Western building. The cast and crew were shocked that the film they were making had such relevance in contemporary America.
Ruddy severed ties with the League, who was not invited to the premiere, much less given the proceeds. When the League threatened to sue Paramount, CEO Frank Yablans suggested they sue Ruddy instead. Clearly, although his attempt to smooth over the production problems was successful, Ruddy was made the fall guy of this public relations nightmare. The crew couldn’t resist teasing him: when Ruddy sat down to his first screening of The Godfather, he watched footage of Bonasera saying he believed in “the Mafia.” The prank nearly gave him a heart attack.
FADE IN:
EXT DAY: 5TH AVENUE (WINTER 1945)
Fifth Avenue in the snow. Christmas week. People are bundled up with rosy faces, rushing to buy presents. “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” plays over the scene.
KAY and MICHAEL exit a 5th Avenue department store, arm in arm, carrying a stack of gaily wrapped gifts.
KAY
I got something for your mother, and for Sonny, and a tie for Freddy, and Tom Hagen got the Reynolds pen.
MICHAEL
And what do you want for Christmas?
KAY
Me? Oh, just you.
They kiss.
THE NUTS AND BOLTS: PRODUCTION DETAIL
This was the first scene shot for the picture. It was filmed in front of Best & Co., on 5th Avenue and 51st Street. The store had gone out of business, but reopened for the filming. It was shot earlier than planned—by the second unit—to take advantage of a predicted snowfall. Unfortunately, flurries were nonexistent. A snow machine was brought in, but it wouldn’t work except under conditions colder than twenty-eight degrees. By 8 a.m. the weather was too warm, so wind machines and plastic snow were brought in. In a preproduction meeting, Coppola discussed that he wanted to have the snow and winter to indicate the passing of three months’ time, as well as to use the upbeat concept of Christmas to “mislead” the audience with its tone—in contrast to the upcoming frightening and violent scene of the Don’s shooting.
THE CREW WORKS WITH THE SNOW MACHINE.
COPPOLA COUNSELS AL PACINO AND DIANE KEATON ON THE FIRST DAY OF PRODUCTION.
THE NUTS AND BOLTS: PRODUCTION DETAIL
The window displays were designed to show 1945 prices and designs. The scene required 143 extras: soldiers, sailors, WACs, Christmas shoppers, a Santa, mothers with children, nuns, and taxi drivers, in addition to 1940s cars. The streetlights were replaced to match the period at $1,000 a pop, as well as street signs. Sixty crew members were present for this twenty-hour first day.
INT NIGHT: LUCA’S ROOM
LUCA BRASI’s tiny room. The Christmas music continues, on the radio. He is partly dressed. He reaches under his bed and pulls out a small trunk. He opens it and takes out a heavy, bulletproof vest. He puts it on over his wool undershirt, and then puts on his shirt. He takes his gun, quickly disassembles, checks, and then reassembles it.
THE NUTS AND BOLTS: PRODUCTION DETAIL
Luca Brasi’s room was filmed at the Hotel Edison, West 47th Street and Broadway, near Times Square, Manhattan.
This was also the shooting location of Brasi’s murder. To save time and money, the crew used one of the hotel rooms instead of a Mott Street location originally selected.
INT NIGHT: OLIVE OIL OFFICES
FREDO is sitting on a bench in the corner, reading the afternoon paper. THE DON moves to FREDO and raps his knuckles on his head to take his nose out of the paper.
DON CORLEONE
Andiamo, Fredo. Tell Paulie to get the car; we’re going.
FREDO
Okay, Pop. I’ll have to get it myself, Pa. Paulie called in sick this morning.
DON CORLEONE
Huh?
FREDO
Paulie’s a good kid; I don’t mind gettin’ the car.
FREDO exits as the OFFICE MANAGER helps THE DON with his coat and hat.
DON CORLEONE
Buon Natale … Grazie.
BEHIND THE SCENES
When young aspiring actor Marlon Brando first moved to New York in the spring of 1943, he very briefly worked as an elevator operator at Best & Co.
INT NIGHT: BUILDING LOBBY
LUCA walks through an ornate lobby, taking off his coat. He continues through a hallway, approaches the nightclub door, opens it, and enters.
THE NUTS AND BOLTS: PRODUCTION DETAIL
A fish etching on the front door of the nightclub foreshadows Brasi’s sleeps-with-the-fishes demise.
INT NIGHT: NIGHTCLUB
A man moves behind the bar.
BRUNO
Luca! I’m Bruno Tattaglia.
LUCA
I know.
BRUNO
Sue bequero Scotch? Prewar.
LUCA
Io no bib’.
Out of the shadows emerges SOLLOZZO.
SOLLOZZO
You know who I am?
LUCA nods.
LUCA
(in Italian; subtitled)
I know you.
SOLLOZZO
(in Italian; subtitled)
You have been talking to the Tattaglia Family … right? I think you and I can do business.
LUCA listens.
SOLLOZZO
(in Italian; subtitled)
I need someone strong like you. I heard you are not happy with the Corleone Family. Want to join me?
LUCA
(in Italian; subtitled)
What’s in it for me?
SOLLOZZO
(in Italian; subtitled)
Fifty thousand to start with.
LUCA looks at him; he had no idea the offer would be so good.
LUCA
(in Italian; subtitled)
Not bad!
SOLLOZZO
(in Italian; subtitled)
Agreed?
SOLLOZZO extends his hand, but LUCA pretends not to see it; rather, he busies himself putting a cigarette in his mouth. BRUNO TATTAGLIA, behind the bar, makes a cigarette lighter magically appear and holds it to LUCA’s cigarette. Then he does an odd thing: he drops the lighter on the bar and puts his hand lightly on LUCA’s, patting it.
> LUCA
Grazie.
Suddenly, TATTAGLIA clamps down as hard as he can, grabbing LUCA’s wrist to keep it on the bar. SOLLOZZO stabs a knife into LUCA’s hand, pinning it to the bar.
A garrote is thrown around his neck and pulled violently tight. His face begins to turn to purple blotches, right before our eyes; his tongue hangs out; his eyes bulge as he grunts in pain. The STRANGLER slowly forces the gasping LUCA down to the ground.
“The audience is probably waiting for the vest to come into play. This is a beautiful piece of misdirection.”
—Coppola’s notebook
ADAPTATION AND THE CUTTING ROOM FLOOR
Puzo’s book details a more gruesome passing for Luca Brasi, as well as a very brutal background story on his character. The big-screen visual, though, certainly makes for a vivid death. When the movie was shown on TV, the network eliminated the hand piercing, but the garroting remained.
THE NUTS AND BOLTS: PRODUCTION DETAIL
In a preproduction special effects memo to the crew, Coppola discusses the strangulation special effect: “This is probably the most difficult effect in the movie. Essentially what I’m after is to see a man strangled before our eyes. Our research tells us that what happens is as follows: The outer veins that return the blood to the body are cut off, but the main artery continues pumping blood into the head. The face bloats and breaks out into dark, purple blotches, and eventually changes to a dark color completely. The eyes bulge; the tongue pushes out, far more than a man could do by voluntarily sticking out his tongue.” To make actor Lenny Montana’s face turn purple, different makeup methods were tested, such as a purple mist spray. Ultimately, a more realistic effect was achieved by Montana utilizing the muscle-tensing techniques he had learned as a wrestler to bring blood up to his head.
EXT DUSK: POLK’S TOY STORE
POLK’S HOBBIES, THE SECOND LOCATION OF THE FIRST DAY OF SHOOTING. COPPOLA DIRECTS AMIDST THE CROWD IN A SANTA-STYLE HAT.
TOM HAGEN exits carrying a children’s sled and a stack of presents, all gift-wrapped. He continues past the windows. As he walks, someone walks right in his way. He looks up. It is SOLLOZZO.
He takes HAGEN by the arm and walks along with him.
SOLLOZZO
Tom! Tom Hagen. Merry Christmas.
HAGEN
Thank you.
SOLLOZZO
Hey, I’m glad I run into ya. I wanna talk to you.
HAGEN
I haven’t got time.
A MAN suddenly appears at his side.
SOLLOZZO
(quietly)
Ah, make time, Consigliere. Get in the car. What’re ya worried about? If I wanted to kill you, you’d be dead already. Get in.
HAGEN, sick to his stomach, moves with his ESCORTS, leaving our VIEW on the store windows of a mechanical, gaily spinning Santa and Mrs. Claus.
THE NUTS AND BOLTS: PRODUCTION DETAIL
There were so many spectators in front of Polk’s Hobby Shop (now defunct) at 5th Avenue and 31st Street that the New York Tactical Patrol Force had to clear the way for filming, and the noise was so loud that dialogue had to be dubbed in later.
THE NUTS AND BOLTS: PRODUCTION DETAIL
The exterior of the Genco Olive Oil Company was shot on Mott Street on the Lower East Side of New York, part of Little Italy (now Chinatown). It was actually the outside of the building that held the Genco Olive Oil Company set within.
“Narrow street, unchanged from the turn of the century when it was designed for horse-and-wagon transportation, and its narrow sidewalks are cluttered with stands displaying the wares of local merchants. Windows and fire escapes in the neighborhood were jammed with spectators elbowing each other for a better view.”
—Paramount’s production notes
EXT DUSK: OLIVE OIL CO.
THE DON leaves the building. FREDO leans against a car.
The light outside is very cold and beginning to fail. When FREDO sees his FATHER coming, he moves toward him. THE DON moves to the car, and is about to get in when he hesitates and turns to the long, open fruit stand near the corner.
DON CORLEONE
Ah, aspetta, Fredo. I’m goin’ to buy some fruit.
FREDO
Okay, Pop.
THE DON crosses the street to the fruit stand; FREDO gets into the car.
The PROPRIETOR springs to serve him. THE DON walks among the trays and baskets and merely points to a particular piece of fruit. As he selects oranges, the MAN gingerly picks the pieces of fruit up and puts them into a paper bag.
COPPOLA’S NOTES ON THE DON’S SHOOTING, IN “THE GODFATHER NOTEBOOK.”
THE NUTS AND BOLTS: PRODUCTION DETAIL
At this juncture, Coppola references Hitchcock in his notebook. He underscores the shooting’s impact on the audience in noting: “The Don is the main character of this movie, so, as in Psycho, we are totally thrown when he is shot.” He also asks, “How would Hitchcock design this?” Coppola does indeed employ the Hitchcockian technique of an overhead shot to suggest a dramatic peak. This sparked debate with Gordon Willis, the cinematographer. The more traditionally inclined Willis questioned whose perspective this overhead viewpoint could possibly be.
BEHIND THE SCENES
According to producer Albert Ruddy, Brando “loved the people on Mott Street and they loved him.” An enormous crowd gathered to witness the scene of the Don shooting. When he collapsed, those assembled gasped—stunned—and then cheered wildly. Reports suggest the scene had to be reshot numerous times, as the audience couldn’t control their applause at Brando’s virtuoso performance. When it was completed, Brando bowed to the cheering crowd.
GOOFS, GAFFES, AND BLOOPERS
The fruit stand contains cardboard boxes labeled “Sunkist.” According to Sunkist, labels were used on wooden citrus boxes until the mid-1950s, only after which they were replaced by cardboard ones with preprinted labels on the box ends.
There is no sound accompanying the last gunshot.
After being shot, Vito stops moving while he is lying on his back with his right arm folded on his chest. The camera cuts to a distraught Fredo, and when it returns in a long shot to the Don, he’s inexplicably lying on his left side, with his right arm outstretched and his jacket closed.
DON CORLEONE
Ah, Merry Christmas. I want some fruit. … Gimme that one.
Two MEN appear and begin walking quickly toward THE DON, their hands in their pockets. THE DON notices them as he takes the bag of fruit. The MEN begin running. CLOSE-UP on their drawn guns.
Suddenly, THE DON drops the bag of fruit and darts with startling quickness toward the parked car. A fruit basket has hit the ground, and the fruit begins rolling along the sidewalk as we hear GUNSHOTS.
DON CORLEONE
Fredo! Fredo!
OVERHEAD SHOT of multiple bullets catching THE DON in the back; he arches in pain and slumps on the car. The GUNMEN continue to pump bullets into him at close range.
FREDO is hysterical. He tries to get out of the car; he is having difficulty opening the door. He rushes out, a gun trembling in his hand, his mouth open. He actually drops the gun.
The GUNMEN disappear around the corner as quickly as they came. FREDO is in shock. He looks at his FATHER, who slides off the hood of the car and falls into the now empty street.
FREDO falls back on the curb and sits there, saying something we cannot understand. He begins to weep profusely.
FREDO
Papa! PAPA!
THE NUTS AND BOLTS: PRODUCTION DETAIL
The scene between Michael and Kay was filmed outside Radio City Music Hall, 6th Avenue and 50th Street, Manhattan. The theater’s ushers informed passersby that the film being shown was not the Bing Crosby/Ingrid Bergman Paramount production The Bells of St. Mary’s as listed on the marquee, but Paramount’s A New Leaf with Elaine May and Walter Matthau, and the 1971 Easter stage show.
ADAPTATION AND THE CUTTING ROOM FLOOR
In the preproduction sh
ooting script, the attempted assassination on Vito Corleone occurs as a flashback: Michael and Kay see the newspaper that announces the shooting, which is followed by the scene of the shooting itself.
EXT NIGHT: RADIO CITY
RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL during the Christmas show. The marquee displays: “IN LEO MCCAREY’S ‘THE BELLS OF ST. MARY’S’ AND FAMED CHRISTMAS STAGE SPECTACLE.” KAY and MICHAEL exit, walking arm in arm.
KAY
Mike, would you like me better if I were a nun? Like in the story, you know?
MICHAEL
No.
KAY
Well then would you like me better if I were Ingrid Bergman?
MICHAEL
Now that’s a thought.
They have passed a little enclosed newsstand. KAY sees something that terrifies her. She doesn’t know what to do. MICHAEL still walks, thinking about her question.
KAY
(in a little voice)
Michael …
KAY stops.
MICHAEL
No, I would not like you better if you were Ingrid Bergman.
KAY
Michael. Michael …
MICHAEL
What’s the matter?
She cannot answer him. Rather she pulls him by the arm, back to the newsstand, and points. His face goes grave.
The headline reads: “VITO CORLEONE FEARED MURDERED.” MICHAEL opens the paper, seeing the interior headline: “ASSASSINS GUN DOWN UNDERWORLD CHIEF,” with a photo of his father.
THE NUTS AND BOLTS: PRODUCTION DETAIL
The crew constructed both a newsstand and a phone booth, and the newspaper inserts were shot by none other than Coppola’s American Zoetrope partner, George Lucas.
The Annotated Godfather: The Complete Screenplay with Commentary on Every Scene, Interviews, and Little-Known Facts Page 8