Speaking Of The Godfather...

[Lord Jim]

I was intending to put up a little post about how James Caan really disliked the actor who played "Carlo" (Talia Shire's husband) and how in the scene where Sonny kicks Carlo's ass for knocking around his sister, Caan genuinely kicked his ass...

Which he did; that is not "film lore"; it's a fact:

During filming, James Caan and Gianni Russo did not get along and were frequently at loggerheads. During filming Sonny's beating on Carlo, Caan nearly hit Russo with the stick he threw at him, and actually broke two of Russo's ribs and chipped his elbow.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068646/trivia

However in the process of looking for verification of that one historical point about the movie, I came across a number of other interesting (to me anyway, as great fan of the film, and the entire trilogy) back-story factoids about the movie that I was not aware of, and I thought I would share them:

I knew of course, that Mario Puzo had based the character Johnny Fontaine on Frank Sinatra, and how pissed off Sinatra was about that. I also knew the story of how Sinatra confronted Puzo about it when he met him in an upscale LA restaurant...(Puzo related this story in his auto-biography, and there were numerous witnesses who back it up.)

What I didn't know was that while the analogy in the film to Sinatra's experience with the movie From Here To Eternity was embellished:

In "The Godfather, Part I," a spiteful movie producer named Jack Woltz refuses to give Johnny Fontane a movie role that would be perfect for him. Don Corleone sends consigliere Tom Hagen as his emissary to try to change Woltz's mind, but the producer becomes enraged when he finds out who Hagen represents and hurls insults at the Corleone family and at Italians in general. Hagen doesn't get angry; he just lets it roll off his back. The next morning Woltz wakes up to find himself and his bed covered in blood. He whips off the covers and finds the severed head of his prized racehorse Khartoum. Within hours, Fontane is offered the part.

Many fans of "The Godfather" assume that Woltz is the fictional incarnation of Columbia studio head, Harry Cohn, and that the mob leaned on Cohn to force him to hire Sinatra for the part of Maggio in "From Here to Eternity."� But in truth, the Mafia had nothing to do with it. Actor Eli Wallach was the studio's first choice for the role, but the script called for a fight scene where the diminutive Maggio is beaten to a pulp by a vindictive sergeant played by Ernest Borgnine. When they put Wallach and Borgnine together, Wallach, who had an athletic physique at the time, didn't look puny enough by comparison. Sinatra, who had a 29-inch waist and was Italian-American just like the character, was offered the role instead because he looked right. (Many years later Wallach would play the duplicitous Don Altobelli in "The Godfather, Part III.")

http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/gang ... her/6.html

The story related in the book and the movie about "The Band leader" (Woltz: "Tell your boss I ain't no band leader...Yeah, I heard that story...") was 100% historically accurate:

But the mob did step in on Sinatra's behalf earlier in his career when he had problems with big-band leader Tommy Dorsey.� Eager to get more exposure with a nationally known band, the 24-year-old Sinatra left trumpeter Harry James's band and signed on with trombonist Tommy Dorsey. Sinatra's ambitions apparently clouded his thinking when he agreed to Dorsey's onerous terms. For a chance to sing in Dorsey's band, Sinatra would have to pay the band leader one-third of all his earnings for life as well as 10% off the top to Dorsey's agent. Sinatra's popularity soared with Dorsey, but it soon became obvious that people were paying to hear Sinatra, not the band.

In 1943, Sinatra attempted to buy out his contract, offering Dorsey $60,000 to dissolve their relationship, but Dorsey turned him down. Sinatra was worth a lot more, and Dorsey wasn't about to sell his golden goose. That's when Dorsey received an unexpected visit from three gentlemen who, according to Sinatra biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli, "talked out of the sides of their mouths and ordered [Dorsey] to 'sign or else.'"

New Jersey mob boss Willie Moretti had always been a big fan of the skinny crooner from Hoboken, and he looked out for Sinatra's interests. Rumor has it that Moretti himself was one of Dorsey's three visitors, and he was the one who made the bandleader an offer he couldn't refuse by sticking the barrel of a gun into the trombonist's mouth. Dorsey abruptly changed his mind and agreed to rip up Sinatra's contract in exchange for one dollar.

http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/gang ... her/6.html

Now, how anyone could possibly have gotten the idea that The Chairman Of The Board had Mafia ties is completely beyond me:



That's Frank paling around with prominent members of The Gambino Family...

And that dapper looking older gentleman standing next to the Wiseguy Frankie has his arm around is none other than Carlos Gambino himself...

I've come across a lot more interesting (again, to me anyway) factoids about the movie, and how ironically and unintentionally, the production of the original film actually wound up being "mobbed up"..

For example, the "actor" who played "Carlo", Gianni Russo, (who got his ass truly kicked by Caan) wasn't really an "actor"...he was actually a real Mob guy:

Gianni Russo used his organized crime connections to secure the role of Carlo Rizzi, going so far as to get a camera crew to film his own audition and send it to the producers. However, Marlon Brando was initially against having Russo, who had never acted before, in the film; this made Russo furious and he went to threaten Brando. However, this reckless act proved to be a blessing in disguise: Brando thought Russo was acting and was convinced he would be good for the role.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068646/trivia

There's a lot more; I'll put it in a follow-up post...

[oldr_n_wsr]

The GF was on all day yesterday (all three parts). I had stuff to do, but when I took a break, I watched it. Of course I have seen it many ties before. One of the best, if not the best movies. (I like part II the best).

And I remember the toll boothes at the end of the Southern State Parkway.

[Rick]

LJ can you find out if Al had braces on during the movie?

Before the altercation with the "chief" at the hospital he talked more or less normal, after that(when he had his jaw wired?) he was clench mouthed throughout the rest of the show.

Always been curious about that but not enough of a fan to search it out, actually the only movie Of his I did like was Serpico.