What I always thought was a screw up was when Michael asks Fredo to show his visitors a good time in Havana you presume Fredo knew lots about Havana.

He even talked about how Johnny Ola brought him to some joints that old man Roth would never go to. When he first gets to Michaels hotel with the money he tells Michael what a great town Havana.

But the screw up to me is when Michael and Fredo go for drinks and Fredo asks Michael how to order (what to say) a banana daquiri. Why wouldn't Fredo know that? Better than Michael by far you would think!

I think francis wanted to show how weak and naive fredo could be, i thought it was a touching moment rather then the nail in the coffin, Fredo was about to give his position but realised later on the conversation.

By the way welcome to the boards hope you enjoy your stay.

Fredo says Havana is "my knd of town." Probablyh a lot of cocktail waitresses in those casinos.

Fredo didn't say that he'd never been to Havana before--he just denied knowing Ola and Roth. Havana before Castro was one of the most-visited venues for American tourists. It'd be natural for Fredo to have visted Havana before that last visit with Michael.

Turnbull, I'm agreeing. That's my point. I''m saying Fredo has indeed been to Havana many times before. The part where he says Johnny Ola brought him to the 'Superman' club where Michael heard him and confirmed his treachery.
That was one clear indicator he'd been there before.

With Fredo having gone to Havana many times before I found it odd he didn't know how to order a banana daiquiri and had to ask Michael how to do so.

Well, Fredo wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer. But, since you raised that interesting point, it just occurred to me that, maybe, Fredo was feigning ignorance of how to order a banana daquiri to make Michael think he hadn't been there before under any circumstances--which makes the Superman gaffe all the more impactful for Michael.

At the hotel Michael tells Fredo that the family is making an investment in Havana, and Fredo says thats great "Havana's my kind of town," indicating he had been there before. Then the subject comes up as to whether there is anyone Fredo kows in Havana, and Mike says Johnny Ola, to which Fredo says No I never met him. So the issue of Fredo's having been in Havana and the issue of Fredo knowing Ola are two different things.

BTW, TB you are correct about Havana being a hot tourist destination in the pre Castro days. It was not uncommon in the 50's for people to baord a plane in Miami, go to Havana for the night....do clubbing etc., and return at dawn the following morning.

A guy I worked with year ago, who was a bit older than I, grew up in Miami. He played in his high school band. As a graduation present, the school took all the band members to Havana for a weekend in the pre-Castro days. My co-worker said that, at every street corner, some tout accosted them to go to see a show that was "jooost like Superman..."

Hey Turnbull.... you must be elder.... you're repeating yourself (see over your avatar).

The mind goes...the signature doesn't make sense...getting old is hell...

I agree with that.Take note of Michaels face when Fredo acts naive.Michael starts to smile,as he probably reconfirmed trust in his brother for the time being.

Exactly right Turnbull. I've always felt that Fredo was, as you put it, feigning ignorance in that scene.

Haha, you're soing a GREAT job, TB!

And I don't mind IF your sig doesn't make sense. I probably wouldn't bother translating it for at least 2,000 yrs!

Besides... Italian/Latin/Spanish rarely translates well into English.