At the end of Godfather I we see for sale signs posted outside the Corleone compound. Yet in GFII when Mike visits Pentangelli, he goes back to the compound as this is now where Pentangelli lives. While they are talking Mike tells Frank in so many words that he was always glad that the compound never went to strangers and that first Clemenza, and now Pentangelli had taken over the house. Mike promised Clemenza that when the Corleones made the move to Nevada, he would then allow Clemenza to form his own family. Well at the end of GFI, everyone that needed to be taken out was, and Mike and family were obvioulsy moving to Nevada, so again, why the FOR SALE sign on the compound/house?


Don Cardi

Yo Don C.,
I raised this question about 6 months ago. I forget the answer. Let's see what comes up.

Maybe they did it for appearance sake. Make it look like someone bought it, or for tax purposes. More likely, FFC did not have GF2 screenplay complete and didn't realize that a character by the name of Frankie Pentangelli was going to be in the sequel.

Perhaps Clemenza purchased the compound when he noticed it was for sale. I'm sure he had an emotional attachment to it and this may have caused him to want to form his own Family there.

That's possible.

But then like MaryCas said maybe it was for appearence's sake.

I'm sure Turnbull would know this, where is he when you need him?

Well, as MC said, FFC hadn't envisioned GFII at the time that scene was filmed in GF. But, it's a fact that "the house never went to strangers...first Clemenza, then you [Frankie]." I agree that the for-sale sign went up for appearance's sake. If the Corleones had simply given the house or the Mall to Clemenza, he'd have been identified as the "heir" and successor to Vito Corleone, and thus would have been tarred with Vito's public notoriety (think of the headlines when he was shot). This is not to say that Clemenza wasn't a known Mob bigwig, but careful Mob guys never willingly embrace public recognition (think of Barzini ordering the picture of him at Connie's wedding to be destroyed, even though it never would have gotten out of Connie's possession). Then, too, Clemenza would have had to pay inheritance taxes. I'm guessing he bought it through intermediaries who weren't named "Clemenza," and that Frankie got it the same way.

I wonder what they paid for it, and what type of financing they got????????

Johnny, if you listen real carefully while Clemenza is garotting Carlo, you can hear Clemenza singing, "At Beneficial (doot-doot), you're good for more..."