Most trivial Godfather question ever:
After Michael goes off to Sicily to hide out (after shooting the police captain), Kay goes to the Corleone compound trying to deliver a letter to Michael. Tom Hagan refuses to accept it, though, saying (rather woodenly, I thought) that if he accepted that letter, a court would take that as evidence that Tom had knowledge of Michael’s whereabouts.
Is that true? And why would that be a worry for Tom? I suppose if the DA wanted to go after Tom to charge him with something like accessory after the fact, he could. But then again, most of the judges in the state were in the Godfather’s pocket like so many piece of silver, so it’s hard to believe Tom would be all that concerned.
Maybe he was only using that as a way of discouraging Kay from waiting for Michael.
I believe you mean “like so many nickels and dimes”.
Didn’t Sonny or Tom try to talk Michael out of the killings by warning him that all the Godfather’s political contacts couldn’t protect him if he shot a New York City police captain?
Kunilou’s right, the Corleone connections wouldn’t protect Michael from a charge of cop killing.
I think it is in earnest. This is a different sort of crime that Michael has committed. After all, if the family had nothing to worry about from law enforcement then Michael would not have had to go to Sicily in the first place. A crime this high profile could have easily surpassed the typical bonds the family had with local judges, and it would have drawn attention from officals higher up in state, and even federal government. The family talks about it as such. Also, Tom is not just a gangster, he is also a lawyer, specifically he is the family lawyer. He is extremely careful to maintain the appearance of being clean so that he can operate within the bounds of the law as an attorney. It is just in his nature to turn her away. He is fully committed to keeping Michael’s secret.
You probably have a point about him giving Kay the cold shoulder too, though. She was a good mate for Michael when he was going the civilian route. But as soon as he killed Sollozzo and McCluskey he became a gangster. Kay was an outsider and a genuinely clean person. She had no business being joined up with Michael from that point forward. Tom instinctively knew that, and would have discouraged her from that point forward.
Apollonia Vitelli-Corleone would have made a great wife for Michael in the US. Plus the book made her sound smoking hot. Too bad Fabrizio killed her. Fabrizio, you bastard!
Maybe Tom was not worried about a trial as much as a search warrant.
<DA> Judge, we have evidence that at the Corleone compound they may be hiding a fugitive.
<Judge> What makes you think that?
<DA> Their attorney and a resident of the compound took a letter to deliver to the fugitive. Clearly he knows where the fugitive is. We want permission to search the compound for him or evidence of his whereabouts.
<Judge> Granted.
Not that the DA actually believe Mike is still in the US, but wouldn’t you use it as an excuse to perform a search of the Corleone estate if you could?
Michael wanted to kill the Turk and McCluskey-he didn’t want to be talked out of it. As far as him hooking up with Kay (after his return)-Kay should have heeded Connie’s (later advice)- “see what kind of man you are married to…read the papers”
You have to be a bit stupid to marry a guy who had committed two murders.:mad:
It’s been a while since I saw the movie, so forgive this question. Does the movie make it clear how Michael Corleone is able to return to the US without being arrested and tried for the murders? I don’t remember this being explained in the story.
The book explained it (a dying man confessed to the murders). I don’t think the movie did so…Michael just returned (after Apollonia got blown to smithereens).
A member of a relatively neutral family was already going to be executed for another murder. The Corleones paid to have him admit to Mike’s crime (along with a few witnesses IIRC) and once he was executed Mike was able to come back. Remember the Corleones painted McCluskey as a dirty cop in their papers so I think it was a convienent lie for everyone to agree to as long as the police could publicly proclaim “they got their man”.
No question of that, but for Tom specifically (not Michael) I thought the connections might still help stifle the relatively minor charge of accessory after the fact, or aiding and abetting, or whatever it is.
But SaintCad and Speak to me Maddie! make sense: wanting to avoid a search warrant, and Tom wanting avoid even the appearance of impropriety.