As many times as I have seen "The Godfather" I am always mesmirized by Brando's performance. He is just so overpowering and commanding. My question is "Would the Godfather have been so succesful with him"? Im not suggesting that he was the whole film. FFC did a fantastic job of bringing the novel to the screen with his attention to detail. I just feel that it was important to have a "super" star in the title role. Most of the supporting roles were basically "unknowns", especially Pacino. Ironically two recognizable names, Richard Conte and Al Martino had minor roles.

Any thoughts?

Though I can't imagine the film without Brando, I do think it would've been just as successful...let's remember that Vito is not even seen in roughly two thirds of the film!!

I think FFC had once mentioned he'd also wanted Laurence Olivier for the part...I've always thought that was an EXCELLENT choice and wondered what he would've done with it.

We'll never know....


Apple

Just gotta say that this made me smile. Last night I was watching 'The Goodbye Girl' and near the end of the film Richard Dreyfuss has a GREAT line as a stage actor who's just been offered his first film role:

"Who ever heard of Al Pacino before 'The Godfather'????"

Apple

I agree it would have been successful, but I really don't think it would have stood the test of time like it has without Brando. While it is true that his screen presence wasn't all that long, having him in the opening scene set the pace for the rest of the film. I compare it to a degree with Jack Nickolson's appearance in "A Few Good Men" as Colonel Jessup. Granted the film was loaded with stars, Cruise and Moore, but Nickolsons performance was icing on the cake. His court room testimony rivaled that of Humphrey Bogart in "The Caine Mutiny"

Olivier as Don Corleone? As great an actor as he was, I just can't picture him. Of course to be honest, when it was announced that Brando got the tittle role, I said "you got to be kidding". Shows my aptitude for casting

I dont think it would have been AS good, but like Apple said, Brando wasnt in most of the movie.There were al ot of other great preformances that helped make the movie what it is today.

Brando was great in his role in the Godfather I can not see any other persons at the the time play his role as vito. give me the order command me in all things.

For me, it's impossible to imagine GF without Brando. As you probably know, Puzo said that he approached Brando about doing the film after he'd heard that Danny Thomas (!!!) planned to buy Paramount in order to play Don Corleone.

NO.. ..I didn't know that!!!

Now THAT gives me the chills

AppleOnYa

Danny Thomas???? Wow thats really a stretch, I think Pee Wee Herman would be better

Mario Puzo (writing)
"So I was not interested at all in what Hollywood did to the book as a movie just so long as I didn't help them do it. But one day I picked up the paper and it said that Danny Thomas wanted to play the role of the Godfather. That threw me into a panic. I had always thought that Marlon Brando would be great. So through a mutual friend, Jeff Brown, I contacted Brando, wrote him a letter, and he was nice enough to call me. We had a talk on the phone. He had not read the book but he told me that the studio would never hire him unless a strong director insisted on it. He was nice over the phone but didn't sound too interested. And that was that. "

Obviously, Brando was perfect in the role, but I could almost see Anthony Quinn as Vito Corleone.

From what I remember his name was always brought up for the lead role. Personally myself, I couldn't get the image of "Zorba the Greek" out of my mind.

Danny Thomas as Vito Corleone??? If that was mentioned in the DVD I missed it. OMG, that's unthinkable. I can't even imagine it.

I agree Anthony Quinn may have done well, but our Vito will always be Brando.


TIS

Anyone ever seen The Godfather Part II? There was another actor who played Vito. And he did a pretty good job.

Was there really a Godfather II, when did that come out? Is it available on tape or DVD?

Ah yes Freddie C. !! You got me there. I always distinguish the two as Young Vito and old Vito (two different characters in my mind). Yes, DeNiro was perfecto!!!!


TIS

Before we get too far off track with the threads, my orginal post started off with:

As many times as I have seen "The Godfather" I am always mesmirized by Brando's performance. He is just so overpowering and commanding. My question is "Would the Godfather have been so succesful with him"?

Keep in mind when "The Godfather" first came out it was without the "1" The question I posed was basically to get other comments concerning Brando's contribution to the success of the orginal. It could be argued, that without him, the orginal, while being successful, might not have created enough interest to have sequels.

There have been threads comparing the "young" and "old" Vito. I think that DeNiro might have had a tougher job bringing the character to life, due to the fact, not only did he have to capture the essence of Vito, but he had to intermingle, the groundwork already laid by Brando.

The Godfather is a classic but it only would have been a really good movie without Brando.
Yes, the acting among the others are spectacular. the story is just wonderful. And the direction-c'mon its Francis Ford Coppala-need I say anymore?
But Brando really tied it all together. Who else could play Vito Corleone? Who? I can't think of anyone who would have come near Bando's greatness. It would have better without Vito if Brando was not going to play it.
However, it still could be a really gould movie without him-just not a classic.

I echo the sentiment that the preformance was so strong by Marlon Brando that he literally embodied MP's character and maybe even made a few improvements along the way.

But, it's funny we sit here discussing this, but I'm sure if Danny Thomas or Anthony Quinn were picked for the role and they did a great job and someone commented "Hey, what happened to Marlon Brando, I wonder how he would do in that role, I heard FFC was interviewing him in pre-production". The ineveitable response would have been "Ya, right Marlon Brando. Give me a break. 'Stella! Stella!', I guess he would have been alright but he would be no Anthony Quinn".

I heard Robert Deniro read for GF I, what role did he read for? Does anybody know?

I think it should be noted that at the time "The Godfather" novel was a runaway best seller, and the film adaption was a much anticipated event. When it was announced that Brando was getting the lead, the general response was "Say what, you got to be kidding?" This was a time when Brando's career was in the doldrums, having made a couple of flops. Of course when it was released it was a blockbuster, with newspapers reporting daily how long the lines were to view the film. The success of the novel got the film to the launching pad, but once word got out about how great it was and Brando's performance, the film took off.

Anthony Quinn yes, but no way could I accept Danny Thomas as Don Vito. First of all, Thomas wasn't really considered an actor, as much as he was a TV star in his own sitcom, "Make Room For Daddy" and top night club act.

The item I quoted was a statement by Puzo that was on the very beginning of the 25th Anniversary Edition of the Trilogy in VHS. Johnny Ola: I'd be interested to know where you read the version that you posted.
As for Quinn: He did a brilliant job as Neil Dellacroce in HBO's "Gotti."

Turnbull...Heres another version I got from:

http://www.sicilianculture.com/people/puzo.htm

"The Godfather" and "The Godfather Part II" both won the best picture Academy Award. The first film also won a best actor Oscar for Marlon Brando, whose portrayal of Don Corleone became one of his trademark roles. It was a casting decision for which Puzo took partial credit. "That was my suggestion," he told Larry King on CNN in an interview to promote "The Last Don." "I had read somewhere that, and it may be true, that Danny Thomas wanted to play it, and no reflection on Danny Thomas but I got so scared that I wrote Brando a letter and he called me up and he told me that no studio would take him. "I went back to Paramount and I said, 'Brando's the guy,' and they all said no. And then when (director) Francis (Ford Coppola) came on the film, he finessed them into accepting his decision."


I dont know exactly where I got the first one. I put "Danny Thomas Godfather" into my search engine and found quite a few links.

Marlon Brando is the Godfather. Pacino: terrific. Caan: terrific. Duvall: terrfic. Brando: classic, mesmerizing, terrific. There are other's that could have pulled off the role of Don Vito Corleone, but none as flawlessly, or as effortlessly, as Marlon Brando.