# Why did Michael feel he had to kill Fredo? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 17, 2001, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-michael-feel-he-had-to-kill-fredo/76713 "2001-08-17T12:43:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-michael-feel-he-had-to-kill-fredo/76713/121 "2013-10-01T19:49:14Z")
> [@pixiesean](#): > > Michael stood as Godfather for his sister’s child BECAUSE he knew he was going to kill her husband, not in spite of the fact. My problem with the GF1 is that now, every single time I’m present at an infant baptism and the priest is asking the sponsors the questions, I think of the movie!😛 ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-michael-feel-he-had-to-kill-fredo/76713/122 "2013-10-01T22:15:36Z")
> [@JohnW77707](#): > > How dumb is Fredo, even in 2? Let’s see. Not only does he have the “banana daquiri” issue, he suggests a _Cuba Libre_ to the Senator and others. I may be way off but wouldn’t a Cuba Libre be associated with the Rebels, and therefore an incredibly stupid drink suggestion in that situation? If I’m not mistaken, the Cuba Libre dates back to the Spanish-American War (1898). US servicemen stationed there decided to liven up their white rums by mixing them with Coca-Cola (and, I would assume, lime). SFAIK, it has nothing to do with Castro or his rebels. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-michael-feel-he-had-to-kill-fredo/76713/123 "2013-10-01T23:11:15Z")
[QUOTE=Harvey The Heavy] Trying to come up with a Zombie Fredo joke. Coming up short. [/QUOTE] > [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > He’s dead. Fred. You mean [Freddie’s dead?](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0OGoP9GTfY) I know. Different movie. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-michael-feel-he-had-to-kill-fredo/76713/124 "2013-10-01T23:58:40Z")
The Cuba Libre probably dates to a couple years after the Spanish-American War: > **[Rum and Coke](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuba_Libre)** > > Rum and Coke, or the Cuba libre (/ˌkjuːbə ˈliːbreɪ/ KEW-bə LEE-bray, Spanish: \[ˈkuβa ˈliβɾe\]; literally "Free Cuba"), is a highball cocktail consisting of cola, rum, and in many recipes lime juice on ice. Traditionally, the cola ingredient is Coca-Cola ("Coke") and the alcohol is a light rum such as Bacardí; however, the drink may be made with various types of rums and cola brands, and lime juice may or may not be included. > The cocktail originated in the early 20th century in Cuba, after the ... ---
**Author:** ![Alex\_from\_CB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/278dde/32.png) [@Alex\_from\_CB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_from_CB)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2013, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-michael-feel-he-had-to-kill-fredo/76713/125 "2013-10-09T22:06:59Z")
Gosh, you folks have seen this picture show more than Professor Fleeber … I thought the book made clear the reason Michael whacked Fredo was because not doing so would have been unthinkable and shown him as weak to his 2 new Capo’s Neri and Rocco Lampone. And that was the reason for the looked when he hugged Fredo. Richard Castellano was the actor who played Clemenza in GI. He errored, I think when uttering that famous line, “Leave the gun, take the canolis”. He clearly says it with the … S… sound at the end. Yet, The plural for cannolo (or connolu in Sisilian) is cannoli not canolis. Any good Italian would have known that. So like Neil Armstrong, he blows one of the most memorable lines in history. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2013, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-michael-feel-he-had-to-kill-fredo/76713/126 "2013-10-09T22:53:45Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > You mean [Freddie’s dead?](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0OGoP9GTfY) That’s what I said. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2013, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-michael-feel-he-had-to-kill-fredo/76713/127 "2013-10-10T23:11:21Z")
> [@kiffa](#): > > Hamlet - You should have added one more scene: when Kay tells Michael that she is leaving him. He tells her that she must stay and that he was so sorry that she lost the baby. He says he understands her pain and really says “stay” with his expression until BAM she tells him that she had an abortion and not a miscarriage. In that brief moment following her confession, you can see Michael’s expression go from sympathy for Kay, confusion on what he just heard to hatred of her betrayal of him, family, subculture values against abortion. > He physically attacks her. > > This particular scene, for me, was a nutshell description of Michael’s psyche, the theme of the Godfather trilogy and the best piece of acting I have ever seen. Great acting…and, one of the many reasons that I despise GF2. A total deviation from the Kay of the book, and of GF1, with no justification for it. All of a sudden, she’s a strong 70s women’s libber, who is out to make the world a better place, and, in so doing, she aborts her baby for the common good. Shit dialogue. BTW, who on earth would be so insistent, esp. to his Consigliere, on asking if a miscarried baby was a boy or girl? One of the many parts of the movie that show that it was cobbled together out of nowhere. POS movie, IMHO. Don’t get me started. Oh, too late. ---
**Author:** ![Shmendrik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shmendrik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shmendrik)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2013, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-michael-feel-he-had-to-kill-fredo/76713/128 "2013-10-10T23:53:00Z")
> [@Alex\_from\_CB](#): > > I thought the book made clear the reason Michael whacked Fredo was because not doing so would have been unthinkable and shown him as weak to his 2 new Capo’s Neri and Rocco Lampone. And that was the reason for the looked when he hugged Fredo. What book? You mean the sequel to the original novel, published 5 years after Puzo died and 30 years after The Godfather Part II came out? I don’t see why Mark Winegardner has any special authority to interpret the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-michael-feel-he-had-to-kill-fredo/76713/129 "2013-10-11T14:13:19Z")
> [@Alex\_from\_CB](#): > > Richard Castellano was the actor who played Clemenza in GI. He errored, I think when uttering that famous line, “Leave the gun, take the canolis”. He clearly says it with the … S… sound at the end. Yet, The plural for cannolo (or connolu in Sisilian) is cannoli not canolis. Any good Italian would have known that. Ah, but he was speaking English, so he mindlessly applied the English pluralization rule–not realizing that English speakers still follow the Italian rules for that particular word. (Or do they? How do most English speakers say it? I haven’t heard it come up in conversation very often. My family never ate much Italian food. One cannoli, two cannoli? One cannolo, two cannoli? One cannoli, two cannolis? Beats me.) ---
**Author:** ![fjs1fs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9e8a1a/32.png) [@fjs1fs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fjs1fs)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-michael-feel-he-had-to-kill-fredo/76713/130 "2013-10-11T17:41:15Z")
> [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > Ah, but he was speaking English, so he mindlessly applied the English pluralization rule–not realizing that English speakers still follow the Italian rules for that particular word. > > (Or do they? How do most English speakers say it? I haven’t heard it come up in conversation very often. My family never ate much Italian food. One cannoli, two cannoli? One cannolo, two cannoli? One cannoli, two cannolis? Beats me.) I think most NY-Italian Americans (of which I am “half” of one, and I grew up around tons of them) would pluralize this pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-michael-feel-he-had-to-kill-fredo/76713/131 "2013-10-11T22:10:52Z")
> [@handsomeharry](#): > > Great acting…and, one of the many reasons that I despise GF2. A total deviation from the Kay of the book, and of GF1, with no justification for it. All of a sudden, she’s a strong 70s women’s libber, who is out to make the world a better place, and, in so doing, she aborts her baby for the common good. Shit dialogue. BTW, who on earth would be so insistent, esp. to his Consigliere, on asking if a miscarried baby was a boy or girl? > One of the many parts of the movie that show that it was cobbled together out of nowhere. POS movie, IMHO. Don’t get me started. Oh, too late. I haven’t read the book, but I don’t think Kay’s behavior comes out of nowhere. At the beginning she’s clearly frustrated with Michael’s overdue promise about the family going legitimate. Then there’s the assassination attempt in her own bedroom, which would scare the bejeezus out of anyone. Throughout the movie we see that Michael is becoming estranged from his family. I also don’t think she’s trying to “make the world a better place,” she’s justifiably concerned about her children growing up in a place where there are literally bullets coming through the windows. I also don’t get why it’s so strange that Michael wanted to know if the miscarriage was a boy or a girl, since he obviously had his heart set on having a boy. ---
**Author:** ![Old\_Coach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e68b1a/32.png) [@Old\_Coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Old_Coach)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-michael-feel-he-had-to-kill-fredo/76713/132 "2016-01-28T06:41:00Z")
It’s not quite accurate to say Tom was fired. In fact, he continues serving as the legal counsel for Michael and the family. Under the recommendation of his father, Michael relieves him from his role as consigliere to protect Tom from being in any way connected to the murders of the head of the other five families as well as Moe Green and Carlo’s execution. Great 16 year old thread! ---
**Author:** ![Cumberdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@Cumberdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cumberdale)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-michael-feel-he-had-to-kill-fredo/76713/133 "2016-01-28T22:21:06Z")
The should have just ended the series with the Godfather walking off with Ferris Bueler and a Komodo dragon. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_John\_Marcej](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Richard\_John\_Marcej](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_John_Marcej)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-michael-feel-he-had-to-kill-fredo/76713/134 "2016-01-28T22:30:53Z")
While I agree with just about everyone, how Godfather III is a mediocre to bad film and probably never should have been made, it does make me laugh that it has one of the most memorable lines that gets quoted a lot. “Just when I thought I was out… they pull me back in.” ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-michael-feel-he-had-to-kill-fredo/76713/135 "2016-01-28T23:20:37Z")
“Ho ly Ma ry mo ther of God pray for us sin ners \_\_ \_\_ \_\_ \_\_ \_\_ \_\_ \_\_ \_\_ [Amen.] " BANG!” You have to admire Al Nery’s timing. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-michael-feel-he-had-to-kill-fredo/76713/136 "2016-01-28T23:22:04Z")
> [@Old\_Coach](#): > > Great 16 year old thread! This thread is old enough to be used to set up Senator Geary! And after, it’ll be like it never existed. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-michael-feel-he-had-to-kill-fredo/76713/137 "2016-01-28T23:25:23Z")
Appropriate in a way this thread popped back up as Tessio (Abe Vigoda) just passed away at age 94. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-michael-feel-he-had-to-kill-fredo/76713/138 "2016-01-28T23:40:51Z")
On some talk show, probably Johnny Carson, Vigoda told the story of the time he got stopped by a cop for a minor traffic thing and the cop thought he looked suspicious and detained him for a bit. This occurred after GF1 and before Barney Miller. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-michael-feel-he-had-to-kill-fredo/76713/139 "2016-01-28T23:42:39Z")
That must have screwed up his arrangements. ---
**Author:** ![DeptfordX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DeptfordX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeptfordX)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2016, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-michael-feel-he-had-to-kill-fredo/76713/140 "2016-01-31T19:37:11Z")
Having actually watched it again about a year ago GF3 isn’t _that_ bad. The lead weight around the film is Sofia Coppola who really is as bad as the legend depicts. I’m sure she’s a nice human being, and apparently a decent director behind the camera, but man don’t put her in front of one. Apparently it was originally supposed to be Winona Ryder. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-michael-feel-he-had-to-kill-fredo/76713.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-michael-feel-he-had-to-kill-fredo/76713.md?page=8)