The Annotated Godfather: The Complete Screenplay with Commentary on Every Scene, Interviews, and Little-Known Facts
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MICHAEL
(desperately)
They don’t say if he’s dead or alive.
MICHAEL looks around frantically, then races across the street into a phone booth, with KAY following. KAY peers inside as MICHAEL calls SONNY.
MICHAEL
Sonny, Michael.
SONNY’S VOICE
(on phone)
Michael, where you been?
MICHAEL
Is he all right?
SONNY’S VOICE
(on phone)
We don’t know yet. There’s all kinds o’ stories. He was hit bad, Mikey.
MICHAEL
Oh.
SONNY’S VOICE
(on phone)
Are you there?
MICHAEL
Yeah, I’m here.
SONNY’S VOICE
(on phone)
Where you been? I was worried.
MICHAEL
Didn’t Tom tell you I called?
SONNY’S VOICE
(on phone)
No. Look, come home, kid. You should be with Mama, d’you hear?
MICHAEL
All right.
CAST AND CREW: JAMES CAAN AS SONNY CORLEONE
As with many roles, the part of Santino “Sonny” Corleone was hotly contested. Carmine Caridi was the original casting choice. Ecstatic, Caridi celebrated with a party for his family and friends. However, for him the role was not meant to be—possibly because of the height differential between him (six feet four inches) and Pacino (five feet seven inches). Caridi went on to appear in another gangster picture, (The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight), and eventually was cast in The Godfather: Part II and Part III.
Robert Evans has said he made a deal with Coppola: he would allow Pacino as Michael if James Caan could be Sonny (he actually wanted Caan as Michael). He takes full credit for the casting, remarking in Maxim: “I had to fight for Jimmy Caan to be in The Godfather more than I had to fight to stay alive.” However, Coppola also had Caan in mind from the beginning for the part of Sonny.
James Caan, despite several post-Godfather awards for Italian of the Year, was born in the Bronx of German-Jewish descent. He and Coppola were classmates at Hofstra University. His first substantial role was in Paramount’s Lady in a Cage, and he went on to do work in television and several films, including Coppola’s The Rain People with Robert Duvall. Caan first received great acclaim as Brian Piccolo in the television production Brian’s Song. Like Pacino, he signed on to The Godfather for a mere $35,000.
Caan clearly relished the role of Sonny, and he acted the part with gusto. He spent time in Brooklyn with “Italian guys” to research their mannerisms and speech—how they carried themselves, with their thumbs in their belts; and how they were great dressers, very clean and neat with their shirts open and ties loose. He enthused in the Los Angeles Times: “They’ve got incredible moves. I watched them with each other and with their girls and wives. It’s incredible how affectionate they are to each other … They toast each other—‘centanni,’ ‘salute a nostra’—all of this marvelous old-world stuff from guys who were born here and don’t even speak Italian.”
INT NIGHT: SONNY’S LIVING ROOM
Sonny hangs up the phone as SANDRA looks on anxiously in the background.
SANDRA
Oh my God.
SONNY moves to comfort SANDRA, when they are startled by a CRASH at the door. A BABY starts crying.
SANDRA
(really frightened)
Ohhh! Sonny!
SONNY reaches into a cabinet drawer, takes out a gun, and moves quickly to the door as the KNOCKING continues.
SONNY
(to SANDRA)
Stay back there.
(to KNOCKER)
Who is it?
CLEMENZA
Open up, it’s Clemenza.
SONNY opens the front door quickly. CLEMENZA enters, and SONNY closes the door. SANDRA goes to look after the baby.
CLEMENZA
There’s more news about your old man.
(turns to SONNY)
The word is, out in the street, he’s already dead.
SONNY grabs CLEMENZA by his coat and throws him up against a door.
SONNY
Watch your mouth! What’s the matter with you?
CLEMENZA
Jesus Christ, Sonny, take it easy. Take it easy!
SONNY
Where was Paulie?
CLEMENZA
Paulie was out sick. He been a little sick all winter.
SONNY
How many times he been sick?
CLEMENZA
Only maybe three, four times. I mean, I asked Freddy if he wants me to get a different bodyguard, but he said no.
SONNY
(interrupts)
Listen, do me a favor, pick him up right now. I don’t care how sick he is. If he’s breathin’, I want you to bring him to my father’s house now, y’understand? Now!
CLEMENZA
Yeah. You want me to send any people over here?
SONNY
No no no, just you and I. Go ahead.
CLEMENZA exits. SANDRA reappears, comforting her crying BABY. SONNY moves toward her.
SONNY
Look … I’m gonna have a couple people come over to the house—a couple of our people.
GOOFS, GAFFES, AND BLOOPERS
There appears to be a strange continuity error in this scene: the gun Sonny puts in his belt disappears when he throws Clemenza against the kitchen counter, and then reappears when he turns around after talking to his wife. As there is no edit in the scene, it’s unclear what could have happened to the gun, unless it slipped down Caan’s pants.
A telephone rings. SONNY answers it.
SONNY
Hello.
SOLLOZZO’S VOICE
(on phone)
Santino Corleone?
SANDRA moves behind him, anxious to know who it is. SONNY indicates that she be quiet.
SONNY
Yeah.
SOLLOZZO’S VOICE
(on phone)
We have Tom Hagen. In about three hours he’ll be released with our proposition. Listen to everything he has to say before you do anything. What’s done is done. And don’t lose that famous temper of yours, huh, Sonny?
SONNY scribbles the time on a kitchen cabinet door.
SONNY
(quietly)
No, I’ll wait.
Evans’s memoir recounts Caan at the premiere, yelling: “Hey, you cut my whole fuckin’ part out!” Truly, the role of Sonny Corleone was reduced from the way it was originally conceived. Caan has reported—perhaps overstated—that forty-five minutes of his character was left on the cutting room floor. In discussing the post-Vito shooting scenes, he bemoaned how Sonny’s sensitive side wasn’t shown: “There were all kinds of nice moments—like Sonny not being able to bring himself to sit in his father’s chair. I worked hard on those scenes. They meant something to me as an actor. Little things—showing Sonny’s inability to cry because he thinks it’s unmasculine, but his voice cracks when he talks to his mother …” Caan was upset the first time he saw the completed film: “It was like painting a fourteen-foot canvas and ending up with a three-foot canvas. I felt like telling everybody they ought to see the other eleven feet!” Despite the shortened screen time, Caan was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar® for his spirited performance.
ADAPTATION AND THE CUTTING ROOM FLOOR
A scene in the shooting script that was shot but doesn’t appear in the 1972 film shows Sonny receiving a call from an informant letting him know about the attempted assassination on his father. It was included in The Godfather Trilogy: 1901–1980. The scene where Michael calls Sonny was an addition made after the shooting script was written.
ADAPTATION AND THE CUTTING ROOM FLOOR
A DELETED MOMENT OF POIGNANCY BETWEEN SONNY AND MAMA.
Several poignant scenes of Sonny were in the shooting script but not in the 1972 mov
ie. Sonny goes to the Corleone Mall, calmly tells his mother about Vito’s shooting, calls Tessio to tell him to get more men out on the street—being careful not to sit in his father’s chair—and then looks in his phone book:
We follow the names, until the finger stops at one: LUCA BRASI. SONNY dials the number. There is no answer.
SONNY
Luca.
A similar scene was shot but does not appear in the 1972 film. It was included in The Godfather Trilogy: 1901–1980.
INT NIGHT: ABANDONED DINER
SOLLOZZO is drinking from a cup; HAGEN sits.
SOLLOZZO
Your boss is dead.
(pauses respectfully)
I know you’re not in the muscle end of the Family, Tom, so I don’t want you to be scared. I want you to help the Corleones—and I want you to help me.
One of the BUTTON MEN brings a bottle of rye to the table and pours a little into a cup, giving it to HAGEN.
SOLLOZZO
Yeah, we got him outside his office just about an hour after we picked you up. Drink it.
HAGEN drinks gratefully.
SOLLOZZO
So now it’s up to you to make the peace between me and Sonny.
HAGEN is still focused on the grief of losing the old man.
SOLLOZZO
Sonny was hot for my deal, wasn’t he? And you knew it was the right thing to do.
HAGEN
(pulling himself together)
Sonny’ll come after you with everything he’s got.
SOLLOZZO
That’ll be his first reaction, sure. That’s why you gotta talk some sense to him. The Tattaglia Family is behind me with all their people. The other New York Families’ll go along with anything that’ll prevent a full-scale war. Let’s face it, Tom, in all due respect, the Don—rest in peace—was slippin’. … Ten years ago, could I have gotten to him? Well now he’s dead. He’s dead, Tom, and nothing can bring him back.
HAGEN is overwhelmed; actual tears spring to his eyes.
SOLLOZZO
So you gotta talk to Sonny. You gotta talk to the Caporegimes: that Tessio, that fat Clemenza. It’s good business, Tom.
ITALIANISMS
Caporegime is a Mafia term for a lieutenant, or second in command.
HAGEN
I’ll try. But even Sonny won’t be able to call off Luca Brasi.
SOLLOZZO
Yeah. Well … let me worry about Luca. You just talk to Sonny. And the other two kids.
HAGEN
I’ll do my best.
SOLLOZZO
(lifting his hands in an expression of harmlessness)
Good. Now, you can go.
SOLLOZZO escorts HAGEN to the door.
SOLLOZZO
I don’t like violence, Tom. I’m a businessman. Blood is a big expense.
He opens the door; they step out together.
THE NUTS AND BOLTS: PRODUCTION DETAIL
The scene between Hagen and Sollozzo was shot in an abandoned diner. The snowstorm when Hagen and Sollozzo exit the diner was real.
EXT NIGHT: OUTSIDE ABANDONED DINER
HAGEN and SOLLOZZO exit into a snowstorm.
But a car pulls up, and ONE OF SOLLOZZO’S MEN rushes out. With an air of urgency, he talks to SOLLOZZO in private.
Then SOLLOZZO moves with a grave expression to HAGEN.
SOLLOZZO
He’s still alive! They hit ‘im with five shots and he’s still alive! Well, that’s bad luck for me, and bad luck for you if you don’t make that deal.
DELETED SCENE
ADAPTATION AND THE CUTTING ROOM FLOOR
A scene that was shot but doesn’t appear in the 1972 film: After Michael arrives at the Mall, he consoles Theresa Hagen, then talks with Sonny about the culprit who “fingered the old man.” Sonny has a spy within the phone company, which explains how the Corleones confirm that Paulie is the traitor, not Clemenza. Tom Hagen returns from his abduction. Finally, there is a shot of Paulie Gatto sitting alone in the Don’s living room; the clock reads 4:00 a.m. The scene was included in The Godfather Trilogy: 1901–1980 and is excerpted here.
INT NIGHT: DON’S OFFICE
SONNY and TESSIO are huddled around a yellow pad. They look up, startled.
SONNY
Hey, Theresa, sweetheart, don’t worry; they’re gonna turn Tom loose the minute they get the proposition.
He reassuringly hugs THERESA.
TESSIO
(waving)
Hello, Michael.
SONNY embraces MICHAEL.
SONNY
Where were you? Hey, kid, you had me worried when I couldn’t get in touch with you.
MICHAEL
How’s Ma taking it?
SONNY
She’s good. You know, she’s been through it before. Me too.
The phone rings. SONNY answers it.
SONNY
Yeah.
VOICE ON PHONE
Hello, Santino? This is Sam from the company. The number you gave me? It checked out.
SONNY
Hey, listen, thank you very much. You’re going to have a very, very extra-merry Christmas, all right?
VOICE
Okay, thanks a lot.
SONNY
Thank you.
SONNY hangs up the phone.
SONNY
Listen, you two wanna wait outside? I’ve got some business I want to finish with Tessio.
THERESA exits.
SONNY
(to MICHAEL)
What are you doing? Hey, you hang around here, you’re gonna hear things you don’t wanna hear.
MICHAEL
Maybe I can help you out …
SONNY
No, no you can’t, marone! The old man’d have my neck if I let you get mixed up in this. C’mon!
MICHAEL
He’s my father too, Sonny.
SONNY
Oh, you wanna hear? Whose head do we blow off, Clemenza’s or Paulie’s?
MICHAEL
What do you mean?
SONNY
What do I mean? One of them set up the old man.
MICHAEL didn’t realize that the men waiting outside were on trial for their lives.
MICHAEL
Not Clemenza. I don’t believe it.
SONNY
See? College boy is right. It was Paulie. That was the contact from the phone company. On the three days that Paulie was home sick, he got calls from the pay phone across from the old man’s building.
TESSIO
So, it was Paulie.
SONNY
Hey, thank God it was Paulie …
TESSIO
That skinny punk.
SONNY
We’ll need Clemenza bad.
MICHAEL is just realizing the gravity and extent of the situation.
MICHAEL
Is it going to be all-out war, like the last time?
SONNY
Yeah, until the old man tells me different.
MICHAEL
Wait, Sonny. Talk to Pop.
SONNY
Wait? C’mon! Sollozzo’s a dead man—bada bing! Now I don’t care what it costs. I mean, we’re gonna go after all them families. The Tattaglias are gonna eat dirt.
MICHAEL
(softly)
That’s not how Pop would play it.
SONNY
Listen, I’m gonna tell you something and he’d tell you too: when it comes to the action, I’m as good as anybody, and don’t forget it.
Outside, we hear THERESA cry out, almost a scream of relief, then open the door and rush out.
Everyone is standing: In the doorway, TOM HAGEN is wrapped in a tight embrace with his WIFE.
HAGEN
Hey, boy, if I argue against the Supreme Court, I’ll never do better than I did against that Turk tonight!
EXT NIGHT: MALL
One of several BUTTON MEN opens a car door and MICHAEL steps out. He walks to the house. A MAN drives the car away, and
two other BUTTON MEN hook up a heavy chain across the gateway.
INT NIGHT: HALL
The hallway of the main house is filled with MEN MICHAEL doesn’t recognize. They pay little attention to him. Most of them are waiting, sitting uncomfortably; no one is talking.
INT NIGHT: DON’S LIVING ROOM
MICHAEL moves into the living room; there is a Christmas tree, and countless greeting cards taped to the walls.
THERESA HAGEN is sitting stiffly on the sofa, smoking a cigarette; on the coffee table in front of her is a water glass half filled with whiskey. On the other side of the sofa sits CLEMENZA; his face is impassive, but he is sweating. PAULIE GATTO sits, tense and alone, on the other side of the room. CLEMENZA sees MICHAEL. He stands up to shake MICHAEL’s hand.
CLEMENZA
Your mother’s over in the hospital with your father; looks like he’s gonna pull t’rough, thank God.
MICHAEL nods his relief.
“There is a lot of material in the book that I consider informational; so that, in a sense, this is an educational film. After seeing it, one should come out ‘knowing’ lots of things about the Mafia: terms, procedures, rationales, secrets. Not unlike Airport in the sense that you are given some ‘real workings’ of something exotic. One of the strong things about the book is that you come away with this understanding of the Mafia, in an intimate and apparently realistic sense; that is very valuable.”
—Coppola’s notebook
DISSOLVE TO:
INT NIGHT: DON’S OFFICE
TESSIO, CLEMENZA, SONNY, HAGEN, and MICHAEL, all exhausted, in shirtsleeves, are about to fall asleep. It is four in the morning. There is evidence of many cups of coffee. They can barely talk anymore.
SONNY
What do you think, goombah? Hah?
CLEMENZA
(speaks over SONNY and HAGEN)
That’s a lot of bad blood. Sollozzo, Philip Tattaglia, Bruno Tattaglia …
CLEMENZA points to a yellow pad containing a hit list.
HAGEN
I think it’s too much, too far. I think it’s too personal. The Don would consider this a purely—
MICHAEL
(interrupts)
You gonna kill all those guys?
SONNY
Hey, stay out of it, Mikey. Do me a favor.