Completely Legitimate

When Michael came back to see Kay in Part I after he returned from Sicily and told her: "Kay, in five years, the Corleone family is going to be completely legitimate", do you think he really believed this (even if it was wishful thinking on his part)? Or was he just saying it so Kay would agree to marry him?

I think that, in his mind, he believed it. But the thing is, Michael's idea of legitimate was quite different than that of, say, Kay's minister father, or even you or I for that matter. He wanted to be legitimate on his own terms.

It's worth mentioning that in the novel, it was Kay who sought Michael out. He gave her a laundry list of things that she could never ask him, and her response was something to the effect of, "I'll take you any way I can get you." A far cry from what happened in the film.

This was a radical change, and I've always wondered why FFC felt compelled to make Michael the more aggressive suitor in the film.

By "completely legitimate," I think he meant "appear to be completely legitimate." When he made his pitch to Kay he also said that his father's way of doing things was over, and that even Vito knew that. What he was referring to is what we have come to call "The Olive Oil Business."

What Michael intended was to kill the heads of the five families and move his interests to Nevada where he would appear to be a legitimate casino owner who also had stock in ITT.

He sub-contracted the Olive Oil Business to Frankie, so in his mind he was no longer runnning the day to day operations.

By bribing a dictator in Cuba, Michael did not think he was doing anything illegitimate as evidenced by the businessmen who sat around Batista's conference table. If Ma Bell could
give him a solid gold telephone, Michael could certainly give
$2 million in bribes for a piece of a hotel & casino. Also,
Roth dealt with these same "legitimate" businessmen, so dealing him "appeared" legitimate.

The only basis Kay had that Mike had not changed were the staff he kept around (Roco and Neri) and the fact of the failed bedroom hit. Had Roth not acted so stupidly, Michael would not have had the "need" to whack him as well as the traitor in the family.

Like that sort of bribery doesn't happen? Check out just about any government office, and you're sure to find some bribery charges somewhere.

I think Michael meant it. I think he had a completely romanticized view of his life. He would kill Sollozzo, get rid of the heads of the five families, men like Moe Greene who were in his way, and move on to Nevada where he could play it straight. However, men like Senator Geary who needed his palm greased, were constantly tripping him up in his journey to legitimacy.

Probably because it brought them back together much more quickly than the novel scenario, therefore allowing the film to move along without alot of unnecessary detail.

Once that scene is overwith the story is able to jump several years into the future, Mike & Kay already married and with a child.

As for the original question...I agree w/ those who feel that Michael really did intend for the 5yr legitimacy. It was very idealistic and unrealistic as he would soon come to accept.

Apple

You just can't go from a mob boss to a legitimate businessman in only five years. He still had to built up a reputation which would take longer than that.

I'm not so sure about that. Kay went to NY to see her girlfriends and called Mrs. Corleone who told her that Michael was home and to come out tot he house and surprise him.

Re-read that chapter and let me know, Oli. I'll dig out my copy, too.

I think you're right about what brought Kay to New York, but she still said something like "I'll take you any way I can get you," and then went with Michael to an apartment on Mulberry Street and slept with him.

Either way, in the novel Michael did not go to New Hampshire .

I think he meant it in the same way a politician who gets in office thinks that he can tackle one or several issues in one term.

THEN he gets into office and sees just how bad the budget situation REALLY is, and just how petty other elected officials are over seemingly small matters.


In terms of FFC depicting Mike aggressively tracking down Kay,etc....I think it was to appeal to women viewers. I also think that FFC correctly interpreted from the book that All American blonde WASP Kay represented the American dream and assimilation that Mike and other second generation immigrants strove for.

Which reminds me of a supreme court decision earlier this year...

Michael had already been involved for "a year, longer than that" before he sees Kay, so I think he already had a pretty good idea of the situation when he made the promise to Kay.

But I think you make an excellent point about Kay's WASPiness fitting into Michael's goals of assimilation. In that context, making Michael chase down Kay makes perfect sense.

That's really it. In that same scene, Michael laid down the basis for his "legitimacy" when he told Kay that governors and senators have men killed. "My father is no different than any other man with responsibilities" for others, he empohasized. I think that he was saying, "If they can get away with it in their endeavors--and be considered legitimate--why shouldn't I?"

In both the novel and the film, whether or not Michael pursued Kay when he returned from Sicily, he looked upon Kay as a component of a far reaching plan (despite Puzo's assurance that kay was th eonly one who could bend his will) to reclaim the Corloene legacy.

The Don didn't see a big difference between the men at the top of his realm and the other pezzos. of the world...businessmen, politicians, etc...manipulating people and systems, sending kids off to war to protect THEIR interests.

Michael seems to have viewed the world the same way.

Yeah, the story is stronger than its author!