For those of you who like ‘The Godfather’
Marlon Brando wanted to make Don Corleone “look “like a bulldog,” so he stuffed his cheeks with cotton wool for the audition. For actual filming, he wore a mouthpiece made by a dentist; this appliance is on display in the American Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, New York.
During rehearsals, a false horse’s head was used for the bedroom scene. For the actual shot, a real horse’s head was used, acquired from a dog-food factory. According to John Marley, his scream of horror was real as he was not informed that a real head was going to be used.
The cat held by Marlon Brando in the opening scene was a stray the actor found while on the lot at Paramount, and was not originally called for in the script. So content was the cat that its purring muffled some of Brando’s dialogue, and, as a result, most of his lines had to be looped.
During an early shot of the scene where Vito Corleone returns home and his people carry him up the stairs, Marlon Brando put weights under his body on the bed as a prank, to make it harder to lift him.
Marlon Brando did not memorize most of his lines and read from cue cards during most of the film.
The three-year-old child actor Anthony Gounaris responded best when his real name was used while shooting the film. That’s why Michael’s son’s name is Anthony.
The actor playing Luca Brasi, Lenny Montana, was so nervous about working with Marlon Brando that, in the first take of their scene together, he flubbed some lines. Francis Ford Coppola liked the genuine nervousness and used it in the final cut. The scenes of Brasi practicing his speech were added later.
The scenes in which Enzo comes to visit Vito Corleone in the hospital were shot in reverse with the outside scene shot first. Gabriele Torrei, the actor who plays Enzo, had never acted in front of a camera before and his nervous shaking after the car drives away was real.
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.
The smack that Vito gives Johnny Fontane was not in the script. Marlon Brando improvised the smack and Al Martino’s confused reaction was real. According to James Caan, “Martino didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.”
James Caan improvised the part where he throws the FBI photographer to the ground. The extra’s frightened reaction is genuine.
James Caan asked that he be paid the same amount of money to play Sonny Corleone at the end of the film in the flashback as he was paid to do the first film. He got his wish.
Marlon Brando was scheduled to return for a cameo in the flashback at the end but, because of the way Paramount treated him duringThe Godfather (1972), he did not show up for shooting on the day the scene was filmed. Francis Ford Coppola quickly re-wrote the scene on the spot.
Co-authors Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola disagreed over whether Michael should have Fredo killed. Coppola only agreed on condition that Michael would wait until their mother was dead.
