Originally posted by SC:
You wrote that it was Clemenza'a car. Shouldn't it have been Tessio's??

Geoff:

That's a good question about Clemenza's car. I know there was a reason why I specified that it was Clemenza's car, but I'll have to check in my original notes for why I specified a car. More to come on that.

H

Geoff:

Thanks so much for your help, and for posting my question about the shooting of Sonny. I did a survey of all of the photos I have of the shooting scene, plus 60 years of aerial photos, and you and your users are right: it was Mitchel Field that was used for this scene.

I haven't had a chance to talk with Gray Frederickson about it yet, but I can only assume that the reason that Al Ruddy was quoted saying in 1972 (and when I interviewed him in 1996) that they used Floyd Bennett Field was because they had originally planned to use it, but the plans fell through. I'm sorry I included this detail in my first addition.

So, I was able to produce the revisions I need for the book on very short notice. I'm adding more than 7,000 words of new material, especially extra details about the production and writing the script, along with many new quotes. I'm also adding a new afterword that brings the story up to date.

I've also reviewed every detail of the the primary source material (including such things as the site of Sonny's shooting) to "sanitize" the book. And, we're getting a new cover -- an extra-nice shot of Brando.

It was great fun to relive this project, and to flesh out the quotes and details that I had always wanted to include, but the timing of the oriignal writing schedule (and Coppola's non-availability for interviews because he was directing "Jack.") got in the way. Now, the book has that added dimension I always wanted.

So, more to come. We should see the new addition in late October, and we can talk more about it online with everyone, if you like.

Again -- thanks so much for your help. The next time I'm in New York, I owe you an anisette.

Cheers,

Harlan

Geoff:

One more thing: I was just reading the board and I may have given you the wrong impression on one point: for the Woltz estate, it was the EXTERIORS that were shot at the Harold Lloyd Estate in Beverly Hills. All of the Woltz interiors were indeed shot on location at the Guggenehim place on Long Island, as originally reported.

I include some extra material about this in the revisions of my Godfather book that will be published in October.

The Lloyd Estate is in the heart of the actual hills of Beverly Hills (north of Sunset Boulevard). The address is no secret -- either 1040 Angelo Drive, or 1740 Green Acres Place, depending on how you look at it. (Drive by, but of course, don't bother the occupants.) Here is a nice photo of the main house, taken in 1984.

The grounds were huge -- originally 22 acres of some of the most valuable property on Earth -- and included a nine-hole golf course and a canoe stream! You can see the drive up to the house from the street at the beginning of the movie "Harper," when Paul Newman goes up a narrow drive to the mansion of a client. Most of the grounds have been subdivided into large lots for other homes, but I believe (although I'm not sure) that the main house looks pretty much as it did in 1971.

One of your BB correspondents asked if this was the only scene from the Godfather shot in California. No -- the other shot in the film done in California was the re-uniting of Michael and Kaye at her school. This scene was shot in Ross -- a suburb in Marin County, California. But hey -- if your writer read my book, she would know this!

FYI -- when Coppola talks about shooting some scenes with Michael and Enzo in front of the hospital, he mentions that some inserts were shot in Los Angeles. I don't think he is remembering that correctly. I talked with Al Ruddy about this point, and also checked the scenes very carefully -- I think this is Coppola simply misremembering some of the shots handled in post-production.

H

OK, here's the deal on Clemenza's car picking up Michael: I went back to my notes, and remembered that I had done a review of all of the cars in the movie, to see who belonged with what car. I was wondering, at one point, if given the rarity of big vintage automobiles in 1971, if some cars were used more than once in the movie when they shouldn't have been -- like if the car Paulie gets killed in suddenly reappeared later in a prominent role being driven by someone else (it didn't -- unless it was used in a background scene or at the funeral).

Anyway, it turns out that the car that picked up Michael after the shooting is seen earlier parked in front of the Clemenza house when he leaves with Rocco and Paulie. That's why I called it as Clemenza's car.

Of course, we know from a scene in the Godfather Trilogy that Clemenza's personal and beloved car is the one in his garage -- he complains about it to Rocco because "stupid Dee-troit" shipped it without bumpers because of war shortages. However, this could have been only his "personal" car, and the car in front of the house was his "business" car.

Any other questions coming up? I'm glad to answer them.

Harlan

You're probably right. Of course, it could indeed have been Tessio's car, and identical to Clemenza's -- maybe FFC had a view that all capos used the same model car! Seriously, I think I chould eliminate the reference to "Clemenza's car"; Given that Sonny made it explicit in the film that Tessio should pick up Michael.

I'm always glad to answer questions that come in -- feel free to send me the puzzlers. I'll try to keep track of the board, too, but if there are ever any festering factual questions that come in and I haven't checked in for a while, go ahead and send them. It's perfectly fine to pass along my e-mail address; the only type of question I can't answer fall into the category of "why didn't FFC do this or that....." I can't read his mind!

Cheers,

H

Originally posted by SC:
I think I'll have to check out one of your other books - "Casablanca - Behind the Scenes".

Originally posted by Don Cardi:
Pretty good stuff there Goeff! Maybe he'll make honorable mention in his updated book of you and the boards!

It would be great if he joined us for a discussion.

Hey, maybe you can ask him who the old man was that was singing at Connie's wedding! Still say it's Nazorine's father.


Don Cardi

Originally posted by J Geoff:
The Ellis Island scenes were actually shot in Italy. The Statue of Liberty was superimposed on the window. [see p. 239 ]

Originally posted by plawrence:
Maybe we can finally answer the age old question:

"Who's that eating the Chinese food with Michael, Sonny, Tom, Tessio, and Clemenza?" in the scene where they are waiting to find out where the Sollozzo meeting will take place.

Some here say it's Rocco, but others think it looks nothing like him.

Originally posted by Harlan via J Geoff:
I think I chould eliminate the reference to "Clemenza's car"; Given that Sonny made it explicit in the film that Tessio should pick up Michael.

Originally posted by J Geoff:

Originally posted by SC:
Has anyone considered the possibility that it was SUPPOSED to be Rocco but they filmed the scene with a "double"? Maybe Rocco wasn't available that day of filming (i.e. he was taking acting lessons).