While Michael tells Neri "Not while mothers Alive", does he say so within earshot of Fredo? I.e. does Fredo know for certain what awaits him after his mothers death (prior to his 'forgiving')?

He whispered it to Neri. Fredo didnt hear it, and Fredo didnt know.

What could Fredo have done even if he did know? If he would have run, who would have taken him in and incur the wrath of the Corleone Family? Michael would have had him hunted down and found him eventually. How long did it take to find Fabrizzo? It just would have been postponing the inevitable.

The reason I ask is that Fredo is so frightened at the funeral, and choses that occasion to try and approach his brother. Look at the glance exchanged with Neri. I suppose he knew his brother well enough to know it was inevitable.

I don't believe Fredo was 'frightened' at his mother's wake at all. He is clearly upset at the loss of mama which shows when we first see him at her casket and then in that emotional embrace with Connie. He may also have been somewhat nervous as this must've been the first time he was allowed home and with the family since being virtually shut out by Michael.

If he were afraid for his life and had any idea of his brother's plans, he would not only not have asked to see Michael, but probably wouldn't have shown up at all. Apple

Oh I see. I didn't realise it was grief. I always assumed that he was reduced to a shivering wreck by fear of Michael and Neri as he embraced connie, and finally Connie pleads to Micheal on his behalf.

Actually the scene proves Fredo did not overhear Michael because he asks Tom where Michael is, and Tom says in the boathouse "waiting for you to leave." Then we see Connie pleading with Michael to see Fredo. Clearly Fredo thought that the grieving over Mama would give him a chance to reconcile with Michael. And in fact what it did was brinig Fredo back into the compound where Michael could keep yet another enemy closer.

We all know Michael had no intention of seeing Fredo before their sister intervened. I think that even without the pleading from Connie, embrace of the brothers and Fredo finally living within the compound...Michael would have easily had him hunted down and killed. As we saw with the fate of Fabrizio...geographical location was of little importance.

Apple

Yes, but by giving Fredo a false sense of security and by basically keeping him in the compound he could do what he had to do whenever he wanted. Don't forget it took a while to hunt down Fabrizio, who in one version was runnning a Pizza place in Buffalo New York

I'm inclined to agree with you, DT.

Always the opportunist, Michael may have said to himself "This is a perfect set-up."

"With Mama gone, instead of worrying about hunting the bastard down, I can just keep him here and dispose of him at my own convenience. And best of all, to Connie and everyone else, it's gonna look like a 'reconciliation', so when Fredo turns up dead, no one will think that I had anything to do with it."

chilling, isn't it? How can I like someone like him????

True, I'm not arguing with that at all...what I'm saying is that even without the 'reconcilliation', with Mama now gone Fredo was a dead man. And as with Fabrizio, Michael wouldn't have really cared how long it took.

Actually, Fredo would've been much easier to track down even had he not been living at the compound...for unlike Fabrizio he had no clue of the fate in store (although he was clearly suffering enough from the shutout).

Apple

Oh, absolutely. Fredo wouldnt know how to hide. Reminds me of a great line in Get Shorty when the character Leo asks Travolta how he located him and Travolta says "I'll give you a tip. When you send a letter don't use hotel stationery."

I searched for the forum this and couldn't find anything, so since its sort of close to this I thought I may as well ask here.
In GF3 , Kay says ''Anthony knows you killed Fredo''. My question is how did Anthony know? Did everyone just guess? I can understand Connie knowing as being raised in the family I'm sure it wouldn't of taken her long to work out the most logical reason, but since Kay is so out of touch with mafia rules etc, how could she have known for sure?
And as Anthony was a little boy how could he work it out? Just by the fact Fredo couldn't go fishing with him?

Maybe I'm not thinking it through properly, I'd just like to know if anyone knows how 'Anthony Knew'

Pippi

Perhaps not immediately at the time of Fredo's death, but over time and as he grew older, knowing the business his father was in, and possibly learning of Fredo's betrayal...it makes sense that Anthony might just eventually put 2 & 2 together. As a youngster I would guess he'd also be haunted by the fact that Fredo died AFTER he was taken away from the fishing boat by his Aunt Connie.

As for Kay, it's believable that Anthony, having figured out what happened to his uncle, lamented to his mother of this realization. Kay, knowing who her ex-husband was and what he was capable of, would most certainly have accepted Anthony's story as the truth.

Apple