Was the Don a cheap bastard ?

Except for the wedding the Don always dressed as a habituate of New York's soup kitchens.The day he was shot he purchased just a couple of pieces of fruit for a family of seven.Did he have the wedding in his backyard to save on the caterer ? Any thoughts ?

Leaving the orange symbolism aside...

Fruit used to mean more than it does today. Even in my memory, back to the mid-sixties, out-of-season fruit wasn't taken for granted. If people went to Florida during the winter, they would bring a box of oranges or grapefruit. People who moved there would mail a box back home. Fruits arrived in a very seasonal progression, and then we wouldn't see them again for a year. There were no grapes from Chile or citrus from Brazil. In the Eastern US, we'd nearly always see the spherical Carolina melons instead of the oblong ones from California.

Keep in kind the little scene in GF2 where Vito takes the pear to his wife. A nice piece of fruit was a gift, more welcome than most candy.

Unlike his son, Vito wasn't interested in flashing his money by spending lavishly. His "mall" in Long Beach was intended to provide him with security, not to parade his wealth. His humble appearance and modest lifestyle were part of his strategy to make his enemies underestimate him, and probably to keep the IRS off his back.

To be fair to Michael: his lavish lifestyle, showy estate and giant party for Anthony were part of his strategy to pretend to be a wealthy "legitimate" businessman. The flashy stuff fit right in with the Nevada gaming culture.

You're right TB. However, it was more than a couple of oranges and only his wife and Fredo lived with him. His clothes looked to be those of a 40s businessman and his mall was a small city (How about his car TB?).

I'm sorry fellows but I don't buy it. Fruit was rare back then ? The fruit stand had plenty of fruit he just didn't buy it.He was trying to keep his wealth secret? How by not buying enough fruit. What secret? Another gangster asked him for a million $ so his wealth was no secret. The Don was a creep pure and simple.

I don't even think it was as thought out as all that. I think dressing simply and not being flashy came naturally to Vito. He was, at heart, a poor kid from a small Sicilian town who just happened to make it big. I don't think his humble appearance was a strategy; more likely it was closer to who he really was as a person, more what he felt comfortable with, what felt natural to him.