In GF II Michael tells Frankie that he is glad that the house never went to strangers....first to Clemenza and then to Frankie. He goes on to say that when he was a boy they had to be quiet when they played outside their father's study. In GFI we see Clemenza's house, which is nice enoiugh, but nothing compared to the Mall. Also at the end of GF I we see a for sale sign on the property. So my question is did the Corleones move to the Mall and give Clemenza their old house which we see in GF I and which then was passed to Frankie, or did Frankie get the house at the mall? And if so why the For Sale sign?

It was originally planned that the Corleones would wrap up their enterprises in NYC and move to Nevada.

The novel and Part I ended without foresight of a sequel. Part II had to change the storyline a little for the sake of continuity.

So is this just one of those holes in the story or is there something more to it, like "Who opened the drapes?"

'Who opened the drapes...' IS a hole in the story.

A black hole, like the ones in outer space...that we on the BB insist on trying to fill.

Anyway, I don't feel the sale of the house is necessarily a 'hole'...especially the way it is explained above by Turnbull.

I vaguely recall a thread on this topic or something closely related, I guess a few years ago. It was suggested that the 'for sale' sign was a front of some sort, and the house was to be purchased by a family or company already associated with the Corleones, and would therefore still be under their control and ready for Clemenza, his bride, and the cannoli's to move right in.

Or did I dream all that....

Apple

Either way it sounds like smart thinking, Apple.

Does that mean that Zsa Zsa got the house after Pentangeli?


Seriously, Apple is correct. There was a post about this a while back and I believe that most of us came to the conclusion that the for sale sign was just a front, a dummy company set up, to make it look as though Genco Olice Oil and The Corleones no longer held any interests in New York. Clemenza probably 'purchased' the Corleone Mall through and from that dummy corporation, enabling him to start his own family while in reality becoming an extended arm of the Corleones. It was Michael's way of keeping his thumb on things in New York and at the same time severing all ties, on the surface, with any and all New York interests.


Don Cardi

of course, inthe novel it states that the Mall was sold at an enormous profit, another sign of hte Don's genius. Yes, Mafia families seem to have a glandular need to do things illegally and to deceive their enemies, so the Mall's sale was probably some sort of obfuscation.

Yes, and he redecorated it because after all he likes to make a "bella figura."

The bottom line is what SC said: no sequel was envisioned at the end of GF, so the mall actually would have been sold (probably to a developer). Having Clemenza and then Frankie occupy the Don's former home was a creation of GFII. To "justify" it, we speculated (in the thread Apple remembers) that the sale was a front for perpetuating Corleone ownership of the mall.

One could probably assume Frankie was the last owner of the house, wouldn't the Federal Government sieze it?

I suppose one could assume anything one wants, although let's keep in mind Frankie's final conversation with Tom...where it was assured his family would be taken care of.

We don't really know that Frankie was ever the actual 'owner' of the house...only that he & his family were the occupants at the time. Even so...I'm not sure why the U.S. Gov't would confiscate it.

Apple

One of the original purposes of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, commonly reffered to as The RICO Act, was to seize all of the assets of criminal organizations and basically cripple the economic strength of these groups.

But the RICO act was not passed until 1970. So obviously it was NOT in effect back during the time period that GFII is taking place. Therefore the government would not have the legal authority to sieze Frankie's assets.


Don Cardi

Maybe the Mall will become an ideal place for drug deals.

Tell us why you think that this could have happened.

Imagination leaves alot of room for possibilities. A couple come to mind:

A) Clemenza is originally not interested but is asked by the family if he would be interested in taking over the compound as
they couldn't find a suitable buyer.
B) Clemenza is originally not very interested, but eventually has second thoughts and decides to get the house.

Redux