# Obvious things about a creative work you realize after the millionth time (OPEN SPOILERS POSSIBLE) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 24, 2009, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117 "2009-07-24T13:20:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 351
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2026, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/7007 "2026-04-30T15:52:27Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > In _The Godfather_, the scene involving Woltz and his horse head is even more far-fetched than it appears. Consider the sequence of events: > > 1. Hagen and his men would have arrived in LA not knowing that Khartoum was Woltz’ weak spot. So they would have had to formulate their Khartoum-related plot _ad hoc_ as soon as they realized this. Which creates further complications. > 2. Hagen’s men would have had to gain ingress into Khartoum’s stable. Easy enough, one supposes; pay off (or intimidate) the guards and you’re good to go. > 3. They’d have had to secure, in advance, a vial of whatever substance veterinarians use to put down horses. I imagine just shooting the poor beast would have alerted the neighbors, so that would have been out. > 4. They’d have had to go to a hardware store and purchased a big-ass saw to relieve the beast of his head. Using a chainsaw would have made too much noise and woken Woltz and everyone else. That must have taken a couple of hours. Hagen’s goombahs would have gotten blood and sinew all over their suits, so they’d have had to change at some point. > 5. They’d have had to get into the house (again, pay off or intimidate the guards, no big deal). > 6. Sneak into Woltz’ budoir carrying a big-ass horse’s head, without making a sound, then put it in his bed without waking him up. This is where the whole thing falls apart. Unless they somehow drugged Woltz, this would be the most difficult part. If Woltz sleeps like Mrs. Homie, a cockroach walking across the floor is going to wake him up (to say nothing of two goombahs carrying ~300 pounds of horse head). And if he sleeps like me, well, the cockroach may not do the job, but two men and a bunch of horse sure as hell are. I agree it stretches probability but how many full time guards do you think movie producers have at their house? I’m guessing on average, zero. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2026, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/7008 "2026-04-30T15:55:36Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I agree it stretches probability but how many full time guards do you think movie producers have at their house? I’m guessing on average, zero. From where I sit, it makes sense for an extremely wealthy person to have armed security at home. I don’t know _why_, I just thought it was a thing The 0.1 Percent did. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2026, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/7009 "2026-04-30T16:21:39Z")
Depend on what you mean by “very wealthy” , exactly. Top 0.1 percent is around $3 million a year in income. Those people probably have 24 hour security at home - but I doubt many movie producers are there year after year and most of them probably have to rely on lesser security, like gated communities and doorman buildings. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2026, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/7010 "2026-04-30T16:29:41Z")
I also don’t understand how Johnny Fontaine “ruined” the _ingénue_ Woltz was fucking. I get his rage at spending tens of thousands to groom her for stardom to come to naught, and I get that it probably kind of stung to have a young hottie run off with a headstrong goombah. But she could have still shown up for work the next day after boning Fontaine and, you know, life goes on. And Woltz losing his shit at being made to “look ridiculous,” – look ridiculous to whom, exactly? Other than Johnny and the girl, I doubt anyone had any interest at all in the whole situation. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2026, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/7011 "2026-04-30T16:58:58Z")
One thing to keep in mind is that the Hollywood scene in _The Godfather_ is set in the **1950s** so I am not even sure if 24 hour security would be available or needed for a Hollywood producer in that time period. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2026, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/7012 "2026-04-30T17:00:51Z")
Woltz probably wasn’t talking about her public image. He probably meant Fontaine had ruined Woltz’ image of the girl. He thought of her as an innocent that he had introduced to sex and who was only interested in him. Finding out that she was also having sex with other men and might only be sleeping with Woltz to advance her career shattered that illusion. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2026, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/7013 "2026-04-30T17:24:44Z")
If you had played the Godfather video game … in which you play a Corleone soldier, following tangents of the movie … you’d realize how they did it. Planting the horse head is one of the missions. I can’t remember exactly because it’s like 20 year old game or something, but they/you pull it off. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2026, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/7014 "2026-04-30T18:59:50Z")
I imagine they left the rest of the horse in the stable. Wolz was going to find the head first, no matter what. The difficulty of the task was part of the warning. “Look. We got this giant bloody horse head into your innermost bedroom (hell, into _your bed_) while you were sleeping and didn’t wake you. We can get you anytime we want.” I imagine the goons were probably snickering to themselves as they put it in there. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2026, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/7015 "2026-04-30T19:26:44Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > In _The Godfather_, the scene involving Woltz and his horse head is even more far-fetched than it appears. Good point. Plus of course- anger could come from it, not necessarily fear. They could have made a dedicated enemy just as likely. Cool scene tho. > [@dorvann](#): > > One thing to keep in mind is that the Hollywood scene in _The Godfather_ is set in the **1950s** so I am not even sure if 24 hour security would be available Available, certainly. or the rich person could just depend on the chauffeur, gardener, and other staff for security. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2026, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/7016 "2026-05-01T06:49:43Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > They’d have had to go to a hardware store and purchased a big-ass saw to relieve the beast of his head. > [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > If you had played the Godfather video game … in which you play a Corleone soldier, following tangents of the movie … you’d realize how they did it. Planting the horse head is one of the missions. > I can’t remember exactly because it’s like 20 year old game or something, but they/you pull it off. So they didn’t use a saw? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2026, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/7017 "2026-05-01T07:45:08Z")
_golf clap_ ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2026, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/7018 "2026-05-01T16:57:42Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > One thing to keep in mind is that the Hollywood scene in _The Godfather_ is set in the **1950s** The first half starts in 1945. It’s not set in the 1950’s until Michael returns from Sicily. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2026, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/7019 "2026-05-01T17:37:29Z")
In the series Blue Bloods there’s a portrait of Teddy Roosevelt in the police commissioners office. Teddy Roosevelt was a former New York city police commissioner. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2026, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/7020 "2026-05-01T18:21:33Z")
Frank even went to a big Halloween even dressed at Teddy. ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2026, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/7021 "2026-05-01T20:18:18Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > the _ingénue_ Woltz was fucking And THAT is the obvious thing that had never occurred to me until now. Whoops! ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2026, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/7022 "2026-05-01T20:40:10Z")
> [@iamatractorboy](#): > > And THAT is the obvious thing that had never occurred to me until now. Whoops! I don’t understand what you mean. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2026, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/7023 "2026-05-01T20:50:48Z")
I’ve heard Patti LaBelle sing _Lady Marmalade_ since 1975, and only today realized that she’s called that because, as a lady of the evening, she spreads. ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2026, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/7024 "2026-05-01T20:59:33Z")
That the producer was sleeping with the young star ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2026, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/7025 "2026-05-01T21:22:26Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > I’ve heard Patti LaBelle sing _Lady Marmalade_ since 1975, and only today realized that she’s called that because, as a lady of the evening, she spreads. Well, I just learned that the lyric is ‘Creole’ Lady Marmalade. All these years I thought it was something like ‘free your’ Lady Marmalade. I also thought the word marmalade referred to skin color, perhaps a golden brown. I think I like my interpretation better. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2026, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/7026 "2026-05-01T23:17:24Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Good point. Plus of course- anger could come from it, not necessarily fear. They could have made a dedicated enemy just as likely. Cool scene tho. That was discussed in the book. (I don’t remember if the lines were in the movie.) After Tom meets with Woltz he calls Don Corleone to discuss what to do next. The Don asks Tom if he thinks Woltz will give in to threats or if he’ll fight back. Tom says he believes Woltz will give in. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117.md?page=350) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117.md?page=352)