[quote=Capo de La Cosa Nostra]Is Michael's 'show' of emotion in this scene also down to how immediately and visibly narked he is at being outdone by the resourceful Turnbull? The look he throws Hagen is priceless. My article above had to cater in some way to the un-initiated, and wordcount prevented me from going into such details, but that line -- "Turnbull is a good man" -- is so revealing. Michael's furious that someone is able to get the upper hand on him, to say nothing of being in a position to flaunt it. It's kind of like, when later in the film Kay tells him about the abortion, his outward rationality disappears in an instant and simmering complexes, paranoia and seething self-hatred come out in an explosion of anger; here, we see a glimpse of that: when his opponent (naively, dumbly) shows how cunning he is so early on, Michael's response is to just juggernaut him with take-it-or-leave-it threats.
This raises another question: what deal did Michael work out with Turnbull? Clearly, Turnbull is connected with Geary ("From now on you deal with Turnbull"). And, whatever it was, it fell somewhere between Michael simply applying to the Gaming Commission for a license, and paying Geary $250k plus 5% of the gross of all four hotels. Perhaps Turnbull told Michael he'd get the license if he made a "magnificent" contribution to the state university, and allowed Geary to accept the donation?
Compare that scene to the scene in Vito's office where Vito letts Sol know that he is aware of the participation of the Tattaglia family in the drug business. Sol doesn't pause and tell Vito "Hagen's a good man," he merely casts a quick glance at Tom but then says, "Te salute Don Corleone," and moves on.
That little exchange reeked of flattery. Sol had to have told Hagen he was being sponsored by the Tattaglias in order for Vito to consider him a serious player. Had Sol really hidden his Tattaglia connection until Tom outed it, Vito would have had good reason to have Sonny escort him to the door.
