..would Micheal have spared his life?

Some will argue that Micheal was always going to kill the traitor in his family, however, in the case of Fredo, I'm not so sure.

If Fredo had admitted that he was in cahoots with Ola/Roth immediately following the Lake Tahoe shooting, I think it would have gone a long way in convincing Micheal that Fredo 'never knew it was gonna be a hit'.

Also, Fredo had recieved indication that Frank may be killed , but he chose not to share this with Micheal. He even let Micheal continue doing business with Roth/Ola knowing that they had tried to kill him.

Was it Fredo's silence that led Micheal to believe that Fredo deserved to die? If Fredo had come clean, he could have helped Micheal take his revenge and saved Frank's life. This may have convinced Micheal to spare Fredo.

Opinions?

I am repeating myself here, but IMHO Fredo could have never "come clean" because by doing so he would have had to reveal he knew it was going to be a hit, and that it was he who let Manolo in to open the drapes.

I don't know if mike would have let him live because at that point he was so paranoid. I'm not saying Fredo didn't do anything wron but its not like he wanted his brother dead. Fredo was a dumbass but he was a good guy at heart. Now a guy like Carlo on the otherhand deserved to die since he beat women, and basically was an accomplice in murder knowing full well that Sonny would be killed. Fredo didn't know it was gonna be a hit. Stupid? yes Premediatated? No

In a deleted scene, Fredo is seen talking to Manolo and pointing toward the house. It's not clear if it was Fredo or Manolo who was asking about gettingin.

I have thought, at times, that Michael might have been ready to give his brother a pass. But Fredo's outburst in the boat house showed the depths of his resentment of Michael. I think Michael concluded at that point that Fredo would alays be a danger to him.

Keep in mind that Fredo knew the Feds had Pentangeli. And, after the outburst, he tells Michael that "the Senate lawyer, Questadt, belongs to Roth." That was info Michael didn't have. Had Fredo wanted to get back into Michael's good graces, he could have told him that long before Michael perjured himself five times. That tells me (as it must have told Michael) that, even after his perfidy was exponsed in Havana, Fredo was still unrepentant.

You know TB, several of us have also asked why Fredo had to be murdered. Why couldn't he have simply been excluded from the family? Afterall, Michael had already pretty much excluded him prior to their reconsiliation at the funeral. It's obvious that if Fredo wasn't privy to any information, then his value to Michael's enemies would be nil. No, Fredo's murder was simply a functionof Michael's personality.

Agreed, Oli.

Michael's conduct toward Fredo - allowing him to live as long as Mama does, giving him access to the compound, etc. - shows clearly that Michael does not view Fredo as a threat.

Michael killed him out of rage and retribution, not as a calculated self-defense mechanism. This is affirmed in GFIII during the confession to Lamberto, when he explains his murder of Fredo by saying "He injured me."

While Michael may have regretted killing Fredo by the time he confessed to Lamberto, at the time, it was necessary that Michael kill Fredo. Michael was the head of a criminal empire, and when traitors and enemies got in the way it was mandatory they be killed. Anything short of that would be a sign of weakness, at least in Michael's mind. I am sure if he had asked Tom Hagen for advice on this issue Tom would have come up with some kind of arrangement that allowed Fredo to live.

Sums up what I was thinking. When Micheal says "you're still my brother" and when he tells Tom to tell Fredo "not to be scared" makes me think he wasn't decided that he would kill Fredo. Something convinced him, probably the realisation that Fredo knew more than he let on and that he was in a position to help Micheal but didn't.

Was he really? What makes you think this?

I'm not saying he didn't make bad choices but he never killed anyone he cared about his family even Mike says this. Your welcome to your opinion but it seems like u think fredo is the devil lol. I mean on the otherhand there is mike who commits som pretty horrific acts

I don't think Fredo is the devil but I don't have as much sympathy for him as many people do.

He jeapordised his own family, including his niece and nephew, because of jealousy. Thats pretty low in my opinion.

He could have helped Micheal with the senate hearing but chose not to.

He could have, or atleast attempted to, save Frank Pentangelli but chose not to.

This is all before we even consider if he 'knew it was going to be a hit'.

Fact is, most of the reasons used to condemn Micheal, came about because he was Don. He had to make strong decisions. Fredo would also have been guilty of making 'immoral' decisions if he was smart enough to be Don, something we know he craved.

I think just because Fredo is stupid he gets cut a lot of slack that he doesn't neccessarily deserve.

I think what so many of you are missing here is the horror of fratricide. Vito couldn't even conceive of murdering one of his children and would turn over in his grave even at the thought of fratricide. What makes Michael's murder of Fredo so insidious, so odius is his keeping him around, accepting him back into the family, deceiving his sister into believing that he had forgiven Fredo, and then using his sister and Michael's son to facilitate Fredo's murder. Thus, Fredo's murder goes well beyond fratricide.

Making strong decisions because he was the Don? A strong decision must be based on necessity. What was the necessity? There was none. What was Michael's percentage? You know what it was? He satisfied his own need, not that of his crime family. In doing so, he showed that he was willing to involve his sister and son in a murder scenario. Madonne! I wish I could think of a stronger adjective to state about him other than insidious.

I agree. I think it was Fredo's outburst that got him killed.

When the revolution is about to set in and Michael yells to Fredo "Come with me, you're still my brother", I think he was sincere.

Michael killed Fredo nevertheless out of principle. He already gave Neri the signal that Fredo was a dead man walking. If he did change his mind it could have been interpretated as a sign of weakness. Or maybe Michael thought he had to make an example to others in his organisation; "it doesn't matter who you are, if you betray me, you get killed".

RE: olivant

Micheal ordered the killing of his own brother. Fredo betrayed the family which almost led to the death of his own brother/brothers family. He then continued to allow Micheal to remain in danger instead of helping. Yes Micheal was 'insidious' but Fredo was not much better.

Most of Micheal's 'immoral' decisions were strong business decisions, ones that Vito had to make and ones that Fredo/Sonny would have had to make if they were Don. Perhaps, the murder of Fredo doesn't fall into this category but it's debateable. If you conclude that Fredo 'knew it was going to be a hit' then most people agree that killing Fredo was a 'neccessity'.

I can't really accept the notion that Micheal was innately worse moralistically than any of the other males in the family .

I think it was more frustration than stupidity on Fredo's behalf.

Good point.

Fredo is stupid so no one trusts him with any major aspects of the business. Thus, he is never asked to behave as immorally as others. This doesn't make him a 'good guy at heart' is my point.

Yes, fraticide is horrible (and, as Lamberto said, "Those are terrible crimes and it is just(ice) that you suffer." And I'm sure that anger and revenge entered into Michael's decision. But, as a matter of business, Michael was dealing with a brother whose betrayal almost resulted in fraticide of his own. Plus, he could have saved Michael from the perjury rap he was facing. Sure, he could have made arrangements to see to it that Fredo never was in a position to learn anything of use to a strong foe. But, he'd still have the memory that his dumb, incompetent brother nearly had him killed. Not a big incentive to let him live.

How this seems to escape people is beyond me!

I agree olivant. Yes the Godfather is fiction but i'm surprised some people say that even though Fredo is his brother just to kill him. I hope they dont feel that way about real life stuff lol

In the end of the novel, Kay leaves Michael and returns to New Hampshire. Tom Hagen goes up to talk to her. She asks him about Carlo's death, about the fact that Carlo had turned it around, was a good husband and father now, never beat Connie any more, was a good worker, etc. She asked why he couldn't be forgiven, and Tom says, "In this world, he could be."

Fredo would always be a danger, especially after his rampage in the boathouse revealed the depth of his resentment toward Michael. Michael couldn't let Fredo live, because he would always be a threat to the Family and the family.

Sure, it bothered Michael. Yes, it was the one murder that plagued him, but I still think that if he had the opportunity to turn back time, he would have done it again.

Many posts about this controversy are replete with statements such as yours. However, noone ever states what the danger is that Fredo would always be?

His potential for future treachery was the danger. If Fredo was truly penitent for his transgression, then why was he still so angry and resentful? His rant in the boathouse proved to Michael that Fredo was not simply duped, he went outside the family for his own interests, spurred on by his envy of his younger brother. That meant that he would always be capable of betraying the Family in the future.

All you've done is restate Fredo's state of mind. Again, how would he physically betray the Family?

Because an enemy of the family could approach him again in the future, just as Roth did. Because he was so jealous of Michael, he might betray his brother again, especially if someone promised Fredo that it would be something good for him and good for the Family.

I keep asking, how? Michael exiled him from the Family. He was only allowed cursory contact with his mother. He was banned from the Corleone hotels. It took Connie's entreaty to get Michael to give Fredo even a brief respite bewteen their mother's death and Fredo's murder. So, what is it that someone expected to obtain from Fredo in exchange for a promise of something good?

Fredo possibly remaining a threat is uncertain which is why I think Michael killed him out of principle, and perhaps also out of anger and revenge.

Everyone please keep in mind Fredo's attitude when Michael found out about his treachery. Fredo wasn't the least bit contrite. Instead he went off on a rant about how he was passed over, how he had to run mickey mouse night clubs and take people to the airport. So even after the attempted hit, and with the knowledge Micael was facing a perjury rap, Fredo was still angry and resentful. IMHO the only reason he gave
Michael the information that they had Pentangeli (which Michael already knew) and that Roth owned Questadt was a lame attempt to keep Michael from killing him.