The Godfather: The Real History Behind Michael’s First Kill
The Godfather, directed by Francis Ford Coppola from the bestselling novel by Mario Puzo, has just hit another historic milestone: its 50th anniversary. Released on March 24, 1972, it is a landmark film that made and remade history. The ultimate saga, which can be seen in the recently-released The Godfather Trilogy 4K Ultra HD edition, follows an immigrant family as they rise in American society. The Corleones reflect the vantage point of one of the Five Families of New York’s organized crime ruling commission.
While the words “mafia” and “cosa nostra” are never used in the film, many of the scenarios reflect specific points in the mob’s story. Some of these are strictly from Puzo’s imagination for the novel, like the horse’s head in a Hollywood producer’s bed scene. There is no evidence in gangland history to a corresponding incident like that. However, one of the most pivotal scenes in The Godfather is very similar to the incident which inspired it: The scene where Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) executes Virgil “The Turk” Sollozzo (Al Lettieri) and police captain Mark McCluskey (Sterling Hayden) at Louis’ Italian American Restaurant in the Bronx.
The moment is a turning point in many ways. It captures Michael’s transformation from war hero to mobster, and it starts a mob war. It also marked a turning point in production. Paramount Pictures was banking on a gory gangster picture filled with bullets and bloodshed, and Coppola kept delivering intimate personal scenes of subtle suspense and too much talking. The studio constantly threatened to fire Coppola, keeping stand-in directors on set to intimidate the young filmmaker.
To paraphrase Mike’s older brother, Coppola was about to get fired when the studio executives at Paramount got brains splattered all over their Ivy League suits.
