Fanucci and Maranzano

Another puzzler on the Fanucci front....

I know the book alludes to Marazano (Fanucci's boss/Don/head of family) being taken out in years to come, but that is never discussed in the film.

Part II has Fanucci, who was only a collector for that neighbourhood, being taken out of the equation. Why did Maranzano not simply put someone else in his place? Why was Vito allowed to suddenly rule the roost in the neighbourhood?

It strikes me as odd that a man as powerful as Maranzano would simply give up control of a money making Italian neighbourhood without so much as a whimper.

Well... the guy's name is Maranzalla. Maranzano is another guy. Also, the book explains that Fanucci was a fraud, and didn't have any connections with Maranzalla. He just claimed he did and had hired goons (as opposed to real thugs who followed him out of loyalty) to help him extort money from the neightborhood.

So that's why Maranzalla never sent anyone to take over Fanucci's neighborhood, or seek vengeance against Vito for killing him.

It was common, in immigrant neighborhoods. for local individuals and small gangs to adopt dreaded names of organizations from the Old Country, like "the Black Hand," "the Comorra," or "Der Bruderbund," to scare the locals into thinking they had big-time connections. Fanucci was one of the fakers. He may have paid off "Maranzalla" to work the neighborhood--or, more likely, simply invoked Maranzalla's name to reinforce his image as a bad guy. The fact that Vito just stepped right in proves that, even if Fanucci had a connection with Maranzalla, it didn't amount to much. And neither the book nor the movie says that Vito had to pay tribute to Maranzalla or anyone else.

Cheers chaps, makes perfect sense certainly.

Strange that someone in a higher position did not fancy a piece of the action though, but maybe the run down area was "small potatoes" for them.

Was Vito aware that Fannucci was a faker?

The reason I ask is that if Fanucci had NOT been a fake, Vito's act of murder would would have been both ignorant and foolhardy, as he would have been avenged himself

That suggests that Vito was messing with forces he didn't know/understand, which goes against Vito's character. The vito we know would never commit an act if he did not have a good idea of what the reaction/outcome would be.

According to the book, Vito knew.

There is a passage where, after Fanucci's throat is slashed by three neighborhood toughs, Fanucci has one killed, and then allows his vengeance to be "bought off" by the "paying of an indemnity" by the families of the other two.

Vito knew that no real gangster would ever do that.

As most of you know, that was a deleted scene included in the box set. I agree that it should have been taken out - the nuance plaw described is better explained in the book and doesn't translate well on the big screen.

In the film and novel, Vito told Tessio and Clemenza that he knew of two people in the neighborhood who didn't pay off Fanucci and got away with it.

Don Sicilia, that is exactly why the deleted scene should NOT have been taken out. When Vito sees Fannuci get his throat slit by those two kids, Vito realizes that Fanuucci is not all that connected and powerful after all, and can be taken out. Yes I agree that the book does a much better job translating this to the veiwer, but at least if that scene was left in the original movie, it would have given some creedance as to why Vito realized that he could take Fanucci out of the picture.


Don Cardi

The movie dealt with it by letting Vito reason Clemenza and Tessio -- They were 3 as opposed to a lone Fanucci and they too possessed a gun!

To me, this one realization alone was sufficient to highlight that Vito was unlike the rest -- he was aware of the big picture

Does the book Mention 'joe the Greek' any further? was it common for greek and italians immigrants to have friendships, in the old neighbourhoods?

The book talks about "Joe the Greek" quite a bit.

Puzo writes, in part:

"Although Joseph Costapopoulopolous, known to his friends and associates as Joe "The Greek" was one of the Don's oldest friends, he was regarded within the family as a man of little account as the years went by.

It was finally decided by the great Don himself that Joe the Greek would have more of a future in the restaurant business, where he could make use of the surplus olive oil produced by Genco Pura, and so the Don, in his infinite wisom, loaned the Greek the money to start his first restaurant in the suburbs of New York City.

Vito Corleone, a man with great vision, saw that other families, like his, would seek to move outside of the city so that their children could attend better schools and mix with better companions. And he knew, too, that these families would need places to dine on those nights when the mother was to tired to prepare a meal for her family or the father wished to enjoy the simple pleasure of an inexpensive evening out.

So Joe the Greek, in silent partnership with Don Corleone, opened his first restaurant on the south shore of New York's Long Island, not far from the home in Long Beach of the Don himself.

Being a vain man, Joe the Greek wished to call his new establishment "Costapopoulopolous's Restaurant", but the Don, convinced that such a name could never fit on a sign, reasoned with Joe, finally convincing him instead to simply call it "Joe's Diner".

The "diner", housed in a free-standing structure (a concept unheard of in this time and place), along one of Long Island's major autombile routes, immediately became a sensation.

In addition to it's huge menu with prices that even the working man could afford, the diner had it's own parking lot, as the Don, realizing that the growth of automobile use in America would have a far reaching effect, said, simply, "People are going out to eat. They have to have a place to park their cars."

And it was Joe the Greek who was responsible for an idea so beautiful in its simplicity that even today it is taken for granted: The serving of coffee in cardboard containers -- coffee "to go" -- that could be consumed while people drove to work in the morning in their automobiles, even though the cup holder had yet to be invented.

But as time went on, and Joe the Greek, in partnership with Vito Corleone, began to open more and more diners in the growing suburbs of the city, he began to encounter difficulties.

Joe the Greek was a greedy man, and often refused to pay the cooks, cashiers, and waiters and waitresses the weekly wages they had earned through their toil and sweat. This, of course, led to a vast turnover among these workers, with many insisting on being paid each day, at the completion of their work, to protect themselves should Joe try and not pay them what they had earned.

The Don, upon learning of this problem, was furious, and demanded that his partner, Joe Costapopoulopolous, act in the manner in which he, Vito Corleone, would himself act.

It was Vito Corleone himself, in fact, who coined a phrase that was to become as famous in its own way as the phrase Sonna costra nostra became more than thirty years later:

Never work for a Greek by the week. Work by the day for more pay. "

Thanks plaw! I will have to continue reading now to find the greek-italian co-operation!

cheers

My pleasure. Cheers to you, too.

Joseph Costapopoulopolous though? was that really his name? any other details on him?

thanks

That was his name. Why do you think they called him "Joe the Greek"?

I cant find the Joe the Greek reference

You were the one who mentioned Joe the Greek. I figured you knew where it was.

Seriously? There is almost a whole chapter dedicated to The Don's relationship with Joe The Greek after he kills Fanucci! Hmmm. Have you read the book in it's entirety? What version do you have?


Don Cardi

where is it in your version?

It is right after Vito kills Fanucci and opens up Genco Olive Oil. In that time it talks about Vito's relationship with Joe The Greek. What version of the book do you have?


Don Cardi

It's right before the chapters about the Don's relationships with Constantine the Argentine, Hugh the Jew, and Herc the Turk.

Can't find it lads

I've been meaning to ask you, Turnbull..... is it true that Herc the Turk was supposed to be Sollozzo's brother?

Nah, Sollozzo's brother worked for the Postal Service: he was a lettieri-carrier.

Not funny mate, where is it?

D'Oh!!! I let my guard down for that one.... I should've been more virgilant.

Don't be offended. Pay no attention to Turnbull. He's nothing but a jokester.

No one here takes anything he says seriously, anyway.

Don't listen to that Don Cardi guy, either. he's just a big old windbag.

Keep posting. You're doing just fine.

Im not offended my friend I just cannot find the novel reference yet

I'm quoting from the "1994 Limited Un-Abridged Un-Edited and Un-Published 25th Anniversary Special Edition."

Might be hard to find, though, as it's been out of print for more than ten years. Occasionally you see a copy become available on e-bay, but it's usually very expensive.

But it's worth looking for because it contains many passages that were left out of the regular version that you probably have.

Its very hard to come by in England....but he should still keep looking for it.

Turnbull, Doesn't the Corleone's relationship with Constentine have something to do with Vito and Mama naming thier daughter Constantine aka Connie?


Don Cardi

My only hesitation is that from an average viewer's point of view (seeing it for the first time without having read the book), that is a pretty difficult connection to make - seeing Fanucci's weakness in dealing with those thugs and Vito's ultimate decision to take him out. Remember, how Fanucci was bribed not to take his revenge was NOT filmed. In the book, it was Vito's reaction to this act, not the actual act of getting his throat slashed, that led him to believe that Fanucci was a weak man.

The throat-slashing scene, in my opinion, would have felt out of place had it been left in. Of course, we, who appreciate it so much, have made the jump, but I don't think the average viewer would have.