Now he knows something is happening. He moves quickly, alertly, running through the hospital corridors.
INT NIGHT: HOSPITAL STAIRS
Now he turns onto a staircase, ever quickening; up a flight.
INT NIGHT: 4TH-FLOOR CORRIDOR
He steps out onto the fourth floor. He looks. There is a special card table set up there with a newspaper—but no detectives, no police, no bodyguards. He proceeds slowly around the corner to a door marked “2” and pauses.
INT NIGHT: DON’S ROOM #2
Slowly he pushes the door open, almost afraid at what he will find. He looks. Lit by a lamp, he can see a FIGURE in the hospital bed, alone in the room. Slowly MICHAEL walks up to it and is relieved to see his FATHER, securely asleep. Tubes hang from a steel gallows beside the bed and run to his nose and mouth.
NURSE
What are you doing here?!
This startles MICHAEL, who almost jumps around. It is a NURSE.
NURSE
You’re not supposed to be here now.
MICHAEL
I’m Michael Corleone—this is my father. There’s nobody here. What happened to the guards?
The NURSE pushes him out of the way to check on THE DON.
NURSE
Your father just had too many visitors. They interfered with hospital service. The police made them leave about ten minutes ago.
Quickly MICHAEL moves to a telephone and dials.
MICHAEL
(into phone)
Uh, get me, uh … Long Beach four-five-six-two-oh, please.
(to NURSE)
Nurse! Wait a minute. Stay here.
(into phone)
Sonny, Michael. I’m at the hospital.
SONNY’S VOICE
(on phone)
Yeah.
MICHAEL
Listen, I got here late, there’s nobody here.
SONNY’S VOICE
(on phone)
What, nobody?
MICHAEL
Nobody. No—no—no Tessio’s men, no detectives, nobody. Pop is all alone.
SONNY’S VOICE
(on phone)
Don’t panic. We’ll send somebody over.
MICHAEL
(furiously, but kept inside)
I won’t panic.
MICHAEL hangs up; he inspects the door frame.
NURSE
I’m sorry, but you will have to leave.
MICHAEL
Uhhh … you and I are gonna move—move my father to another room. Now can you disconnect those tubes so we can move the bed out?
NURSE
That’s out of the question!
MICHAEL
D’you know my father? Men are coming here to kill ‘im. You understand? Now help me, please.
MARLON BRANDO’S FIRST DAY ON SET.
GOOFS, GAFFES, AND BLOOPERS
If you look closely at the shot of Michael moving his unconscious father, you’ll notice Brando jerking his hand back after it bangs into the door frame.
INT NIGHT: 4TH FLOOR HOSPITAL
They roll the bed, the stand, and all the tubes silently down the corridor. We HEAR FOOTSTEPS coming up the stairs, and they push the bed into the first available room. MICHAEL peeks out from the door. We see a montage of the empty hospital corridors. The footsteps are louder; then they emerge. It is a man carrying a bouquet of flowers.
MICHAEL
(stepping out)
Who are you?
ENZO
I am Enzo—the baker. Do you remember me?
MICHAEL
Enzo.
ENZO
Yes, Enzo.
MICHAEL
You better get out of here, Enzo; there’s gonna be trouble.
ENZO
If there is trouble, I stay here to ‘elp you. For your father. For your father.
MICHAEL thinks. He realizes he needs all the help he can get.
MICHAEL
All right, listen. Wait for me outside, in front of the hospital. All right? I’ll be out in a minute. Go ahead.
ENZO
Okay, okay.
INT NIGHT: DON’S SECOND HOSPITAL ROOM
They part. MICHAEL moves into the hospital room where they put his FATHER.
MICHAEL
(whispers)
Just lie here, Pop. I’ll take care of you now. I’m with you now. I’m with you.
MICHAEL looks at the OLD MAN; touches his head tenderly. THE DON’s eyes are open, though he cannot speak. MICHAEL kisses his hand; THE DON smiles, a tear escaping his eye.
ADAPTATION AND THE CUTTING ROOM FLOOR
Puzo’s novel includes the Michael dialogue: “Some people want to kill you, understand? But I’m here so don’t be afraid.” To which Vito replies: “Why should I be afraid now? Strange men have come to kill me ever since I was twelve years old.” In Coppola’s notebook, he questions how to handle this quote: “Should the Don talk or not? Maybe like in Five Easy Pieces—it’s a one-way conversation, with just the Don’s eyes open.”
THE NUTS AND BOLTS: PRODUCTION DETAIL
The scene where Michael visits his father in the hospital was scheduled to be Marlon Brando’s first—on April 12. Brando missed his plane and arrived on set at 2 p.m., much too late to film a scene, with two to three hours of face-makeup prep alone. According to Robert Evans, when Paramount sent Brando a check for $12,000 for the time he spent looping the movie, Brando called to inform them that they had given him $4,000 too much, because of his missed day, and asked where to send it back.
CAST AND CREW: MARLON BRANDO SPOTLIGHT
“The scene between Al and Marlon in the hospital was shot at the end of the day. They shot the master and then they shot the reaction on Marlon Brando, who doesn’t say anything, but just looks. Then they turn around and the last shot of the day is supposed to be Michael saying, ‘Just lie here, Pop …’ I told Marlon, ‘You can get out of makeup if you want, because you’re not on camera in this shot.’ He replied, ‘But I can’t do that. I have to be here as Pop for Michael.’ He understood what the other actor needs: he needs the actor to respond to him. He wouldn’t think of changing clothes when Al had a very serious reaction to do. Marlon was like that. He could be quite selfish, but for people that he was concerned about, liked, or just respected, he did what was needed. He was so good to other actors. When I questioned him about that, he was surprised that I even asked. It was so natural for him to behave like that.”
—Dick Smith, makeup artist
CAST AND CREW: CASTING THE DON
The casting of the title character from the novel was quite contentious. A plethora of actors were interviewed for the part, including Ernest Borgnine, Anthony Quinn, and Raf Vallone. Every older Italian actor in existence was considered. Two actors who were in contention but then hired for smaller parts in the picture were Richard Conte (Barzini) and John Marley (Woltz), who had appeared in Paramount’s extremely successful Love Story. Evans had the idea of Sophia Loren’s husband, producer Carlo Ponti. Coppola pointed out that he spoke like an Italian, not a New Yorker. Besides, he wasn’t well-known enough. George C. Scott was also at the top of the list. Even Frank Sinatra was rumored to want to play him. Of course, Marlon Brando finally got the part, over strenuous Paramount objections. The role garnered him an Academy Award® and a firm place in film history.
INT NIGHT: HOSPITAL CORRIDOR
MICHAEL walks back through a corridor.
EXT NIGHT: DON’S HOSPITAL STREET
Outside, the hospital is empty save for a nervous ENZO, brandishing the flowers as his only weapon. MICHAEL exits the hospital and moves to him. MICHAEL takes the bouquet of flowers and throws them off the side of the steps.
MICHAEL
Get rid o’ these. C’mere. Put your hand in your pocket like you have a gun.
MICHAEL folds up ENZO’S collar, and then his own.
MICHAEL
You’ll be all right.
The exterior of the hospital twinkles with Christmas decorations.
MICHAEL
(exhaling)
You’ll be okay.
We hear the SOUND OF A SINGLE AUTOMOBILE coming. MICHAEL and ENZO look with fear in their eyes. MICHAEL puts a hand on ENZO’s chest to steady him. They stand, hands in their pockets. A long, low black car turns the corner and cruises by them. The car’s occupants peer out. MICHAEL’s and ENZO’s faces are tough, impassive. MICHAEL unbuttons his coat and puts his hand inside. The car seems as though it will stop, and then quickly accelerates. MICHAEL and ENZO are relieved.
MICHAEL
You did good.
ENZO takes out a cigarette. MICHAEL looks down; the BAKER’s hands are shaking. MICHAEL lights it; his hands are not.
GOOFS, GAFFES, AND BLOOPERS
The scene with Enzo was supposed to be filmed at Bellevue Hospital Center, but because Pacino had sprained an ankle ligament and had to go to the hospital, they couldn’t finish his scenes for the day. The scene was eventually filmed on a Hollywood lot. Consequently, there is a continuity disruption: the flowers Enzo holds change from pink carnations with baby’s breath to plain orange carnations in the exterior shot.
Another moment goes by and we can hear the distant sound of POLICE SIRENS. They are clearly coming toward the hospital, getting louder and louder. MICHAEL heaves a sigh of relief. A patrol car makes a screaming turn in front of the hospital; then two more squad cars follow, with uniformed POLICE and DETECTIVES. MICHAEL starts toward them. Two huge, burly POLICEMEN suddenly grab his arms while ANOTHER frisks him. A massive POLICE CAPTAIN, spattered with gold braid and scrambled eggs on his hat, with a beefy red face and white hair, seems furious. This is McCLUSKEY.
McCLUSKEY
I thought I got all you guinea hoods locked up. What the hell are you doin’ here?
MICHAEL studies McCLUSKEY closely.
MICHAEL
What happened to the men who were guarding my father, Captain?
McCLUSKEY
(furious)
Why you little punk! What the hell are you doin’, tellin’ me my business?! I pulled them guys offa here, eh? Now you get outta here—and stay away from this hospital.
MICHAEL
I’m not moving until you put some guards around my father’s room.
McCLUSKEY
Phil, take ’im in!
ANOTHER COP standing nearby.
DETECTIVE
The kid’s clean, Captain. He’s a war hero; he’s never been mixed up in the rackets.
CAST AND CREW: SONNY GROSSO
SONNY GROSSO, SECOND FROM RIGHT.
Sonny Grosso plays the uncredited role of the policeman with the line “The kid’s clean, Captain.” In an interview, he reported that with each take his voice rose higher and higher. After about fifteen takes, Coppola took him aside and pointedly said, “You’re playing a cop, right?” Grosso was not a professional actor and was under extra stress because he had only taken three hours off from his detective job to be on set. He likened the sensation to getting jumped in a parking lot late at night: “You get to a point where you almost can’t scream, and your throat and vocal cords swell up.” Through the experience he learned to have respect for actors and what they go through.
Grosso wrangled the police extras for The Godfather and got his stint in the movie when William Friedkin introduced him to his friend Francis Ford Coppola. Friedkin was finishing up work on a movie about the life of New York City detective Eddie Egan and his partner, Sonny Grosso: The French Connection—another landmark film in the American cinematic renaissance of the seventies. When Grosso mentioned to Friedkin how much more he got paid for The Godfather than for The French Connection, Friedkin pointed out, “Well, I’m the one who introduced you to Coppola, right?”
McCLUSKEY
(overlaps, furious)
Goddamn it! I said take ‘im in!
MICHAEL
(deliberately, right to McCLUSKEY’s face, as he’s being handcuffed)
What’s The Turk paying you to set up my father, Captain?
McCLUSKEY
Take a hold of him! Stand ‘im up! Stand him up straight!
McCLUSKEY leans back and hits MICHAEL squarely on the jaw with all his weight and strength. MICHAEL groans, and he falls to the ground, just as we see HAGEN and CLEMENZA’S MEN arrive. HAGEN holds MICHAEL up as the CORLEONE MEN rush into the hospital.
HAGEN
I’m attorney for the Corleone Family. These men are private detectives, hired to protect Vito Corleone. They’re licensed to carry firearms. If you interfere, you’ll have to appear before the judge in the morning and show cause.
McCLUSKEY
All right, let ‘im go. Go on.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT DAY: MALL
HIGH ANGLE VIEW of the CORLEONE MALL. The gateway now has a long black car blocking it. There are BUTTON MEN stationed formally; the houses close to the courtyard have MEN standing by gates. It is clear that the war is escalating. A car pulls up and out get CLEMENZA, LAMPONE, MICHAEL, and HAGEN. MICHAEL’s jaw is wired. He looks up at a balcony. We can see MEN holding rifles. They continue walking. TESSIO joins them. The various BODYGUARDS make no acknowledgment.
CLEMENZA
What’s with all the new faces?
TESSIO
We’ll need ‘em now. After the hospital thing, Sonny got mad. We hit Bruno Tattaglia four o’clock this morning.
CLEMENZA
Jesus Christ!
(shakes head)
Looks like a fortress around here.
GORDON WILLIS AND CREW ON SCAFFOLDING, SETTING UP THE OVERHEAD SHOT OF THE “FORTRESS.”
INT DAY: DON’S OFFICE
SONNY is in THE DON’s office; he is excited and exuberant.
SONNY
(to HAGEN)
Tomanuch! Hey, a hundred button men on the street, twenty-four hours a day. That Turk shows one hair on his ass, he’s dead, believe me.
SONNY smacks HAGEN on the behind. He sees MICHAEL and examines his swollen face.
SONNY
Hey, Mike, c’mere. Lemme look at you. You’re beautiful, beautiful. You’re gorgeous.
(pats MICHAEL on his behind)
Hey, listen to this: The Turk he wants to talk. Ye gods, imagine the nerve on that sonofabitch, eh? Craps out last night, he wants a meetin’ today.
HAGEN
What’d he say?
SONNY
What did he say. Baba beep, baba bap, baba boop, bada beep. He wants us to send Michael to hear the proposition and the promise is that the deal is so good that we can’t refuse, hey!
HAGEN
What about Bruno Tattaglia?
SONNY
That’s part of the deal, Bruno cancels out what they did to my father.
HAGEN
Sonny, we oughta hear what they have to say.
SONNY
No, no, no! No more! Not this time, Consigliere. No more meetin’s, no more discussions, no more Sollozzo tricks. Ya give ‘em one message: I want Sollozzo. If not, it’s all-out war because we go to the mattresses!
HAGEN
(overlaps)
Sonny! The other Families won’t sit still for all-out war!
SONNY
(overlaps)
Then they hand me Sollozzo!
HAGEN
(overlaps)
Your father wouldn’t want to hear this! This is business, not personal.
SONNY
(overlaps)
They shot my father—business my ass!
HAGEN
(overlaps)
Even the shooting of your father was business, not personal, Sonny!
SONNY
Well then, business will have to suffer, all right? And listen, do me a favor, Tom. No more advice on how to patch things up. Just help me win, please. All right?
SONNY sits.
HAGEN
I found out about this Captain McCluskey who broke Mike’s jaw.
SONNY
What about ‘im?
HAGE
N
Well, he’s definitely on Sollozzo’s payroll, and for big money. See? Now McCluskey has agreed to be The Turk’s bodyguard. What you have to understand, Sonny, is that while Sollozzo is being guarded like this, he is invulnerable. Now, nobody has ever gunned down a New York police captain. Never. It would be disastrous. All the Five Families would come after you, Sonny; the Corleone Family would be outcast! Even the old man’s political protection would run for cover! So do me a favor—take this into consideration.
SONNY
(sighs)
All right. We’ll wait.
MICHAEL
We can’t wait.
“Shoot these like Bergman … starting on one character, keeping other dialogue offscreen, then move to the next, all around the circle.”
—Coppola’s notebook
SONNY
What?
MICHAEL
We can’t wait.
MICHAEL
I don’t care what Sollozzo says about a deal, he’s gonna kill Pop, that’s it. That’s the key for ‘im. Gotta get Sollozzo.
CLEMENZA
Mike is right.
SONNY
Lemme ask you somethin’ … What about this McCluskey? Huh? What do we do with this cop here?
There is a slow camera ZOOM during MICHAEL’s speech.
MICHAEL
They want to have a meeting with me, right? It will be me, McCluskey, and Sollozzo. Let’s set the meeting. Get our informers to find out where it’s gonna be held. Now we insist it’s a public place—a bar, a restaurant—some place where there’s people so I feel safe. They’re gonna search me when I first meet them, right? So I can’t have a weapon on me then. But if Clemenza can figure a way to have a weapon planted there for me. Then I’ll kill ‘em both.
Everyone in the room is astonished; they all look at MICHAEL. Silence. CLEMENZA suddenly breaks out in laughter. SONNY and TESSIO join in; only HAGEN is serious.
BEHIND THE SCENES
The cane in Sonny’s hand could be a prop for Vito, but may also be actor Al Pacino’s. He was hobbled when he sprained an ankle ligament while shooting the scene where Michael flees Louis’ Restaurant after shooting Sollozzo and McCluskey.
The Annotated Godfather: The Complete Screenplay with Commentary on Every Scene, Interviews, and Little-Known Facts Page 11