You guys remember this little part of the book? I thought it was cool. If you forgot, Felix Bocchicchio was a member of the Bocchicchio clan and turned out to be a murderer, after a while. Then, Vito Corleone said that he wanted everyone to admit that Felix was the one who was guilty for the murder of Sollozzo and Captain McClusky. I liked how he killed those guys coming out of the restaurant and just hanging around, getting a coffee, until the police came and caught him. I thought that part was awesome! What do you guys think?

What?

In the novel. There was one chapter about him. He wasn't really important, though. Don't you remember Felix Bocchicchio?

I don't remember him killing people and waiting for the cops to arrive

Well, he did. They were coming out of the restaurant and he shot them right when they were coming out. Then, he went inside and had a coffee and waited until the police came to take him away. How could you guys forget? Read that part of the book, again.

He's right. Felix executed the two men as they walked out of a luncheonette and then he went in the luncheonette, ordered a cup of coffee, and waited for the police to arrive.

It was how Don Vito was able to get Michael cleared of any suspicions or charges for the murder of McClusky and Sollozo. Felix was facing the death penatly anyway, so he confessed to
killing McClucsky and Sollozo and in return the Corleone's rewarded his family with a nice monetary settlement.


To me it is one of the stories that I've always felt should have been included in the movie.

Thank you, man! Finally, somebody who knows what I'm talking about lol. Yeah, I agree with you. It should've been in the movie. Although it was a small portion of the book, it was a cool story.

"The Godfather" isn't a polished work. But Puzo was a great storyteller in the Italian tradition, and the Bocchiccio story was the best "backstory" in the novel. Other excellent "backstories" were: how Neri came into the family; Sonny and the "boiler inspectors"; Luca and the Capone gunmen; Dr. Taza and his stories; Vito's rise after killing Fanucci. He could have dumped all of Johnny Fontaine after Connie's wedding; everything about Nino and all that Hollywood BS, and everything about Jules and Lucy.

I totally agree with you. I loved how Puzo just had to add in a story about Al Capone. It was funny how when Luca chopped off one of the gunmen's legs, the other one swallowed the bath towel and died. That part was awesome!

True. But he also had to add all that Hollywood BS and the incredibly boring crap about Lucy and her operation. Puzo was one of those authors (like Ian Fleming of James Bond fame) who couldn't resist adding every fun-filled fact that they ever picked up into all of their novels. Fleming wrote with enough panache that he got away with it. But Puzo spent a lot of time in Hollywood before he wrote GF, and all that completely unnecessary garbage about movie production, parties, Nino in California, etc., was there just so he could show off what he learned. As for Jules and Lucy: Evidently some female relative or acquaintance of his had had the condition he ascribed to Lucy, and had had the operation. Puzo must have interested himself in all of this, and couldn't resist adding it to the novel, even though it had nothing to do with the plot. What really pisses me off about it is realizing that every bit of the Jules/Lucy stuff was put in for one purpose: to allow Puzo to describe the operation.

I thought the inclusion of the Capone letter was completely lame! It's one thing to work in stuff based on real-life characters or make characters an extension of a real-life person, but I thought the part with Capone was ludicrous and insulting to the intelligence of the reader. In my opinion, it took away from the credibility of the story.

Well, I'll have to agree with Turnbull. I also hated the whole Hollywood part. It was so boring! I was reading these chapters, and I'm like, "Get to the Godfather, already!" I saw the movie before I read the book, so I was pretty pissed off at the fact that Puzo had to add all these unnecessary parts.

I don't mind the Johnny Fontane parts as much as Lucy and the Doc

I agree. In fact, Puzo's timetable was off since Capone went to prison in 1932. I also agree with TB about Lucy and Jules and her plumbing problems. Madonne! Have you no shame Puzo?

The whole part about the Bocchicchio family being professional "hostages" because they were too stupid to do anything else, was hilarious. In the movie there is the quote "The negotiator is playing pinochle with my men" from Clemenza.

The game theory behind this whole thing is that if the "hostage/negotiator" was killed by Clemenza, it would be Barzini's fault and the whole stupid but vengeful clan would attack him.

I always assumed they changed the word "hostage" since it would be very confusing.

You're right--it would have been confusing. In the novel, Puzo had plenty of time to deveop the history of the Bocchicchio family and how they came into the "professional hostage" business. In fact, the idea of a voluntary hostage and how the retaliation would play out made that the best backstory in the novel. But since they didn't figure into the movie except for one mention in one scene, calling the guy a hostage instead of a negotiator would have confused everyone.

I couldn't agree more. What a great story. I think it's a shame that Puzo didn't insist with FFC that this backstory be included in the movie. Not only for the watcher to understand how Don Vito engineered Michael's safe return to the US, but also to educate the watcher as to how the Bocchiccio Family operated and their role in being professional hostages. I feel that it would have answered a lot of questions for those that didn't read the novel.

I agree, TB. You and I have discussed it before, but for the benefit of Lucchese and the other new members, I'll state it again. The other great "backstory" in the novel was Neri's. You could practically film an entire movie around it. I loved it! Especially the "Italian-ess" of it all----Al having lunch, al fresco---Italian style, with Michael and Vito in Vito's yard. I've read that chapter a hundred times, yet I never tire of it.

Damn good movie, too!


One of the reasons that the TV film of "The Last Don" is so much better than the novel is that the producers had the good sense to eliminate most of the incredibly boring Hollywood BS that sank the novel. (The other reason for the film's success is Danny Aiello, always good.)

Yeah, but didn't you find their covering the room in plastic a bit too much. And what about the names he used? They were really, really Italian.

In the novel, Kay came to believe, at least temporarily, that Felix was indeed Sollozzo and Mac's killer.

I always found it interesting, that in the novel, it was Kay who came to the mall at the suggestion of Mama Corleone. Then, after "surprising" Michael, she went to his apartment in the city with him, where they had their "in five years the Corleone family will be legitimate" conversation.

I wonder what made FFC change the storyline to Michael going up to New Hampshire to find Kay?

Perhaps to show how manipulative Michael had become? How he had changed since killing Sollozzo?

Quite possibly, Babe. Because in the novel, Michael's position with Kay was, "I didn't do it, but it doesn't matter if I did it or not, understand?" Kind of straight forward.

In the movie, he's much more deceitful, where Kay is concerned.

Definitely ridiculous. Not a great movie, but compared with the novel...

I love the whole Bocchicchio storyline! Especially with Felix getting screwed over and killing the two guys(who were lawyers, I believe) who did it.
The Capone storyline was great as well. The Corleones absolutely PUNISHED Capone. It increased my respect for the family that doesn't exist and decreased my respect for the family that existed. It was that great.