60 Fun Facts About The Godfather

Who directed The Godfather (1972)?

He initially turned it down as sleazy; debts from THX 1138 changed his mind, and Evans later tried to have Kazan replace him.

Who wrote the 1969 novel on which the film is based?

He was paid $80,000 for the rights and, by his own account, needed $10,000 urgently to pay off gambling debts.

Who plays Don Vito Corleone?

Paramount resisted him; Coppola snuck a screen test, in which Brando stuffed his cheeks with tissue, into the middle of a pile of audition tapes.

Which actor did Paramount want for Michael Corleone before settling on Al Pacino?

Warren Beatty, Alain Delon and Ryan O'Neal were also floated; Jack Nicholson turned it down saying an Italian-American should play it.

Which film convinced Evans and Ruddy to accept Pacino as Michael, if James Caan played Sonny?

Caan replaced Carmine Caridi, who had already been cast, partly because he was several inches shorter and better matched Pacino.

Which actor, originally cast as Paulie Gatto, left The Godfather and later won an Oscar as young Vito in Part II?

He also read for Sonny; Pacino's departure from the other film opened the slot De Niro took.

Which singer, warned off by Frank Sinatra, ended up playing crooner Johnny Fontane?

Damone had been given the role first but dropped it, not wanting to provoke the mob and unhappy with the pay.

What was the name of the racehorse whose severed head ends up in Jack Woltz's bed?

A real horse's head was used, obtained from a dog-food plant; the $600,000 stallion persuades Woltz to cast Fontane.

Vito Corleone is gunned down after refusing to protect which drug baron's narcotics business?

Sollozzo has the Tattaglias behind him; Michael later kills him and the corrupt Captain McCluskey in a restaurant.

Which former wrestler and Colombo family enforcer plays Luca Brasi?

His nervous, flubbed rehearsal of the birthday speech was written into the film; the fish wrapped in his vest means he 'sleeps with the fishes'.

Which real-life mobster is Las Vegas casino boss Moe Greene based on?

Alex Rocco played him; he is shot through the eye on a massage table during the baptism montage.

Sonny Corleone is ambushed and machine-gunned where?

The scene was shot on a runway at Mitchel Field on Long Island, using a 1941 Lincoln Continental pre-drilled with bullet holes.

What make of car is Sonny driving when he is killed?

The shoot took three days and reportedly cost over $100,000.

Who does Michael marry while hiding in Sicily?

She is killed by a car bomb meant for him; the actress, Simonetta Stefanelli, was 16 during filming.

In the climactic montage, Michael is godfather at whose baptism while his enemies are murdered?

The infant is played by Coppola's own daughter Sofia; Bach's Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor plays over the killings.

Which caporegime betrays Michael by arranging a meeting with Barzini, and is led away to be killed?

Abe Vigoda played him; 'Tell Mike it was only business' is his farewell.

Coppola gave the role of Connie Corleone to which family member?

His father Carmine plays the piano-playing extra and wrote extra music; baby Sofia is the christened infant.

Which mob-linked group pressured The Godfather's producers to drop the words 'Mafia' and 'Cosa Nostra'?

Joseph Colombo led it; the script had used 'mafia' only twice anyway, and producer Al Ruddy became an honorary league captain.

Paramount originally wanted the film set in the present day in which Midwestern location, shot on the backlot?

Coppola insisted on the 1940s and 50s and on location shooting in New York and Sicily, and won as the novel's sales grew.

Which cinematographer, the 'Prince of Darkness', shot the film in underexposed amber?

He first turned it down as chaotic, then agreed with Coppola to use no zoom lenses or helicopters and a tableau format.

Which Italian composer wrote the score, including the Love Theme?

Robert Evans thought it too highbrow; Rota lifted part of it from his 1958 score for Fortunella, which cost him an Oscar nomination.

Rota's Oscar nomination for the score was withdrawn because he had reused music from which 1958 film?

A re-ballot gave the slot to John Addison's Sleuth; Rota won for Part II two years later.

Which three Oscars did The Godfather win at the 1973 ceremony?

It had 11 nominations, including Pacino, Caan and Duvall all for Supporting Actor; Pacino skipped the ceremony, feeling he should have been up for lead.

Who did Brando send to the Oscars to decline his Best Actor award?

He was protesting Hollywood's portrayal of Native Americans and the Wounded Knee standoff; after her 2022 death her sisters said she had no Native ancestry.

Brando was not the first actor to decline a Best Actor Oscar. Who had done it in 1971?

Scott had refused for Patton, calling the ceremony a 'meat parade'.

Roughly how much did The Godfather gross worldwide, making it for a time the highest-grossing film ever?

It reached $101 million after 18 weeks at number one, then the fastest ever; ticket prices in New York were hiked to $4.

What was the film's budget after Coppola won his fights with the studio?

Paramount originally offered $2.5 million; costs ran to about $40,000 a day amid Coppola's clashes with executives.

Which Staten Island neighbourhood provided the Corleone compound and wedding location?

About 750 locals were extras; roughly 90% of the film was shot in and around New York City at over 120 locations.

Which two Sicilian towns stood in for Corleone in the film?

The real Corleone was judged too developed; Bar Vitelli in Savoca is where Michael asks for Apollonia's hand.

Which 1990 honour did the movie receive from the Library of Congress?

It was in the registry's second-ever class; AFI later ranked it the second-greatest American film.

'I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse' was ranked where on AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes?

Balzac's Père Goriot and a 1933 John Wayne western had used almost the same line first.

What extra scene did Coppola add to placate a studio demanding more violence?

Paramount had threatened to bring in a 'violence coach'.

Which two crew members did Coppola pre-emptively fire, believing they were plotting to have him sacked?

'Like the godfather, I fired people as a preemptory strike,' he said; Brando threatened to quit if Coppola went.

How much was Puzo paid to work on the screenplay in 1970, on top of a share of profits?

He and Coppola wrote separate drafts in Los Angeles and San Francisco; the final script ran to 163 pages, 40 over the studio's limit.

What was the Don's real surname at birth, before an immigration officer renamed him?

Nine-year-old Vito flees Corleone in 1901 after Don Ciccio kills his family, and returns in 1922 to gut Ciccio.

Which Black Hand extortionist does young Vito kill in Part II, launching his rise?

Fanucci had demanded $200 and accepted $100; Vito shoots him in his apartment during the festa.

Where is Michael's compound in Part II, the setting for Anthony's First Communion party?

The Sicilian scenes were shot in Forza d'Agrò and the Havana scenes in Santo Domingo.

Which real gangster is Hyman Roth based on?

Al Pacino suggested his old acting teacher Lee Strasberg for the part.

Which enforcer takes Fredo fishing on the lake and shoots him while Michael watches from the house?

Michael had ordered that nothing happen to Fredo while their mother lived; the funeral embrace was a ruse.

Part II shares with which other film the distinction of being a sequel that won Best Picture?

The Godfather and Part II remain the only original-and-sequel pair to both win.

How many Oscars did Part II win?

Best Picture, Director, Supporting Actor for De Niro, Adapted Screenplay, Score and Art Direction.

Which actress dropped out of Part III, handing the role of Mary Corleone to Sofia Coppola?

Ryder cited nervous exhaustion; Sofia won two Razzies, for Worst Supporting Actress and Worst New Star.

Why is Robert Duvall's Tom Hagen absent from Part III?

Duvall said he did not mind Pacino getting twice his fee, 'but not three or four times, which is what they did'.

Who plays Sonny's illegitimate son Vincent Mancini in Part III?

He beat Baldwin and De Niro to the part and earned an Oscar nomination.

Part III's finale unfolds at Anthony's operatic debut in which Palermo opera house?

Mary is killed on the steps by a bullet meant for Michael.

Michael's bid to go legitimate in Part III involves buying control of what?

Internazionale Immobiliare; Archbishop Gilday has run up a $769 million hole at the Vatican Bank.

What was the title of Coppola's 2020 recut of Part III?

Released for the film's 30th anniversary, it drew warmer reviews than the original.

The Godfather Saga, aired on NBC in November 1977, did what to the first two films?

Coppola made the seven-hour version to raise money for the over-budget Apocalypse Now.

Which actor played Fredo, made only five films, and died of cancer in 1978 after finishing The Deer Hunter?

Coppola cast him after seeing him off-Broadway; Meryl Streep was his partner at the time.

For how many weeks did Puzo's novel sit on the New York Times bestseller list?

It sold over nine million copies in two years and Paramount had optioned it as an unfinished 60-page manuscript titled 'Mafia'.

Which subplot from the novel was never filmed?

Some cut backstories later resurfaced in The Godfather Saga.

Which Italian director was Paramount's first choice to direct The Godfather?

Robert Evans wanted an Italian-American director to make the film 'ethnic to the core'; Peter Bogdanovich, Arthur Penn and Costa-Gavras also declined before Coppola.

What salary plus share of gross rentals did Coppola agree to for directing The Godfather?

The studio also gave in to his demand to shoot on location in New York City and Sicily rather than on a backlot.

Which veteran director did Evans ask to take over from Coppola, fearing his inexperience?

Coppola knew about the approach and pre-emptively fired crew he believed were plotting against him.

Which actor did Gulf+Western boss Bluhdorn propose for Don Vito Corleone?

Evans pushed for Carlo Ponti or Ernest Borgnine, while Coppola favoured Brando or Laurence Olivier, whose agent said he was sick.

What did Brando stuff in his cheeks for his improvised screen test as the Don?

He also darkened his hair with shoe polish and rolled his collar; the test won over Paramount president Stanley Jaffe.

Who was initially given the role of Sonny Corleone when James Caan was first cast as Michael?

Once Pacino was approved as Michael on condition Caan played Sonny, Caridi lost the part.

What share of The Godfather was shot in New York City and its suburbs?

Over 120 distinct locations were used, though the Las Vegas scenes were not shot on location because money ran short.

For how many weeks did The Godfather hold the number-one spot at the US box office?

By the end of that run it had grossed $101 million, the fastest any film had reached the milestone.

Which 1975 film ended The Godfather's reign as the top rentals earner of all time?

The Godfather had taken the record from Gone with the Wind with an unprecedented $142 million in worldwide rentals.