Originally posted by Turnbull:
DC, in the deleted scene, Michael didn't say he got the medals for killing--he said they were "for bravery." Of course, we can infer that killing was part of the bravery.
It's clear that Vito never wanted Michael to run the family. He said so in the famous garden scene: "I never wanted this for you, Michael...Senator Corleone, Governor Corleone." I think that when he said (in the deleted scene) that he "approved" of Michael finishing college, he probably figured that Michael would be a lawyer, which would lead to a career in politics. (In the novel, Vito wanted Sonny to be a lawyer because "a lawyer with his briefcase can steal more than a thousand men with guns.")
We should keep that quote in mind if we speculate on what Vito would have wanted from Michael if he had become a Senator or Governor. It's hard to imagine that Vito would simply have let the Corleone empire fold, and have been content simply to see his son in the Senate or or Governor's mansion.
Well put my friend. But for some strange reason, I could have sworn that part of Michael's answer about his Medal was, along with bravery, for killing a man. COuld it have been in the book, or maybe the script? Now I have to go look for it. But your overall veiw on this topic is right on the money. You are both a mob historian in the real mob, and the movies!
Don Cardi
