Why did Clemenza and Michael leave the guns?
Especially Michael … holding it up dramatically before dropping it?
It enhanced Michael’s reputation, without leaving fingerprints or traceable property. People saw him in that restaurant and knew better than to share with the cops on the record, but they talked. Michael’s succession as the Godfather was not a done deal at that point; Sonny had been the first choice, after all, and Fredo was older. This cemented his reputation as a capable man.
Clemenza’s gun was similarly untraceable. Keeping it with him would just be asking for trouble. And it was really awesome canoli.
Ditching an incriminating gun was standard practice in Don Corleone’s organization, going back to his very first hit. Remember him pulling the gun apart and droppping it down various pipes and chimneys?
To ensure there would be no chance of them being caught with the murder weapon on their person. That would take some Matlock level lawyering to get out of and they didn’t really do crossovers back then.
I can’t remember if they mentioned it in the movie, but in the book there was mention that the family wrapped the guns in some kind of special tape that wouldn’t show fingerprints.
Also, when the Don’s bodyguards finally showed up at the hospital, Tom Hagen made it a point to tell McCluskey that they all had permits to carry.
They weren’t his bodyguards they were private detectives hired for the occasion because his normal bodyguards (Tessio’s men) were run off by McCluskey’s men.
This was also my understanding. The gun had some magic tape on it that didn’t retain fingerprints, so if the shooter left the gun at the scene, he couldn’t be caught with it later.
I’ve seen that trope in other movies, too (no idea if it bears any resemblance to actual professional murders). In Grosse Point Blank, for example, Dan Aykroyd blasts some guy then dramatically drops his guns. He was wearing latex gloves, so I guess the idea was there were no prints on the gun, so it was less risky just to leave it there. (Although he also pulls off the gloves and leaves them there as well. I would think the cops could get prints from the gloves, but I dunno.)
Something I always wondered: What could Hagen have been carrying in that big briefcase he took on the California trip?
I always got the feeling that Michael held up the gun somewhat in shock that he actually did what did. It was, after all, the point of no turning back. He was lost after that.
Remember – “Leave the gun, take the cannoli” is an improv by the actor, that Coppola kept. Remember also, that actor, wanted a writing credit for Godfather II, so they replaced him with the character Franki Pentangeli.
This has come up before, if you need more exposition, you could have the subordinate ask, “You want I should wash the blood and brains and prints offa it first?” ANd have Clemenza say:
“Wha? No. Whatta I care? We are the fuckin Mafia? Police? Detectives? Vindictive buddies? Fuck 'em all. We kill who we want, when we want, and we leave the evidence. We own the people who will investigate. I’m not afraid …”
“So why you taking the cannoli?”
“OK fine. I’m afraid of my wife. OK. Maybe I’m so food driven I can’t leave a snack behind, even as I abandon a car. So what, that’s who I am. That’s who WE are.”
You see, this unwritten dialog is behind the rest of the film, the next Godfather films, Goodfellas, The Sopranos, countless others. The fugget about the gun, take the canoli trope was essentially created by actor Richard S. Castellano.
Look at it all, later when he makes sauce when they go to the mattresses, tweeked out Ray Liotta obsessing over sauce, peppers and a little veal just as an appetizer.
I’ve told people, you wanna cook Italian, watch the Godfather and Goodfellas.
“Urm, those aren’t really detailed instructions …”
Its not details, you can get recipes online. Its attitude.
My family is under strict orders, should I die suddenly, make a pot of ragu, and be ready to serve it to those who come. Tell them its what I wanted. Tell them its what I believe we are culturally. Ragu. Not hard liquor. Insulting stereotypes be damned.
I think in the book he has a whole dossier on Woltz that he is reviewing to figure out the best way to make him an offer he can’t refuse. Which makes me wonder if the family just happens to have information on a film mogul 3,000 miles away or if Tom got that various law enforcement agencies
Tom threatens Woltz with union troubles. The mob historically had good relations with some unions. The Hollywood unions would have been a very good source for information on Woltz. They could also provide muscle for various horse-related activities.
The book says Tom went over all the information given to that day. Johnny Fontaine and Vito are mentioned. It also says he opened the briefcase and tried to get paperwork done but was too tired. Woltz was originally from New York who had helped his father sweat garment workers, moved to California at age 30 to invest in movies, remade himself at age 50 with speech lessons but at age 60 was still powerfully built.
The union wasn’t too good at threatening Woltz. All he could get Tom was a 10 AM appointment, the first of the day, which meant Tom wouldn’t have lunch with Woltz. Later during the Five Families War the union boss Goff tried threatening Fontane and was killed for it.
This. Sonny’s instructions were to hold his hand down at his side and let the gun drop to the floor. Most people wouldn’t notice, think he was still armed, and leave him alone as he leaves the restaurant.
That was the plan, but Michael was too much in shock to carry out, or probably even remember, the instructions.
You’re misremembering it. I just re-watched the scene. Michael never “holds the gun up dramatically.” After shooting Solozzo and McCluskey, he briefly threatens the other patrons and the waiter with it to intimidate them, then turns holding the gun down at his side as Sonny told him to. When he reaches the front of the restaurant, he tosses the gun away when it’s at hip-height, then raises his hand to shoulder height briefly as a follow-through to the toss. The fact that he tosses the gun rather than lets it drop casually is probably due to his emotional state.
A very sharp saw.
IMHO, I don’t think Michael is in any shock after the hit because we’ve already seen what a cool cucumber he is under pressure when he shows no fear at the hospital (and as if to reinforce this characteristic, we see that he even notices it himself). Then his cold soliloquy describing so matter-of-factly how he’ll kill McCluskey and Sollozzo shows us he really is a trained solider on a mission.
The most shocking thing about the scene is that Coppola used a take where Al Pacino bumps into the camera as he’s walking out of the restaurant.
Uh, papers. Um, just papers, uh, you know, uh, my papers. Business papers.
…Man.
I’m not so sure, Even watching it back now he is rather hesitant and stumbling in the aftermath of the shooting and I don’t think Pacino would have done that by accident.
The exaggerated dropping of the gun suggests a degree of almost disgust at getting his hands dirty. Now I come to think of it…Is that the only time we see Michael actually kill someone?
And what do you do, sir?