Cool, V.

Are those prices listed on the first menu form previous page actually in cents? 35 cents for a plate of spaghetti! Bet it was good too.

FFC's fanatical attention to period detail is one of the main reasons I keep watching GF and II--always find something new and delightful. Re. posters: note the LaMotta/Bell fight poster next to the fruit pushcart just before Vito gets shot. Also notice the "Dewey for President" poster when Sonny beats up Carlo. Also notice the Layanda Line and Arincino Cinzano posters outside Sr. Vitelli's cafe.

Yep - those were the prices. But we have to remember that 35 cents went a lot further than it does today. Here are some statistics I found here specifically dealing with 1923:

Dollars & Cents
Median price of new home - $5,000
Average yearly salary - $1,393
Cooking range - $84.95
Kodak camera - $50
Waffle iron - $4
Man's polo shirt - $2.50
Eggs - $.44/dozen
Bacon - $.41/pound
Cheese - $.37/pound
Pall Mall cigarettes - $.30/pack
Colgate dental ribbon - $.25/tube
First class stamp - $.02

As far as the menu prices, I posted something a little easier to read in a thread I started on the Food & Drink forum. I copied some of the items from the Louis menu, just as they were, with a bit of emphasis on the listed veal dishes.


Signor V.

After much searching I was able to locate the better scan of the wine list I mentioned in an earlier post. I can't seem to post just the image from the webpage, so here's the entire page.

Maybe I can post it from my files if I download it...


Signor V.

[Edit: I just checked this post and there's no difference in the size of the scan compared with the earlier version, except for better resolution. Looks like the GBB sets a default size on picture files of this type. Anyway, check out the link above. It's a much better image.]

SV - You can always use a free hosting service for posting images also.

Hey V, the average 1923 annual salary from the source cited below was about $1,300. So, even those 1923 wine prices might have been a challenge for most Americans to pay.

https://www.gilderlehrman.org/content/statistics-american-economy-during-1920s

True - and I see you used TinyPic to host the wine list photo.

I hadn't had occasion to use a photo hosting service in a long time. I used to use TinyPic, but when I tried their site just the other day it was so cluttered with ads and other crap that my laptop froze more than once. I finally gave up and resolved to find a better hosting site in the future - and from the look of my calendar I might get around to it by New Year's... maybe.

But obviously you had better luck with the site than I did. Thanks for posting the pic!


Signor V.
(a Luddite to the end...)

To put it all in perspective (sort of), the great silent film actor Lon Chaney received $2500 per week when he made The Hunchback of Notre Dame for Universal Pictures in 1923. Chaney made almost $60,000 plus contract bonuses from the six-month shoot. He made almost twice as much in a week as most people made in a year.


Signor V.

A big thanks to Signor Vitelli for those links and pics. I love looking at those old prices. It seems cameras and a few other items were priced higher than most items of those times.

NY Public Library has a huge collection of old menus, by decade, going back to the early 19th century. You can Google it.

I will, I plan to get download a few and pass them around to coworkers ( I work in a restaurant) I may ask my manager to put one up on the wall, but s a few customers already complain about prices, if they see the old ones they may complain more.

Well, this brings up a possibly delicate subject:

It does seem that, when one looks over all the evidence presented, that this site's Filming Locations page has incorrect information. But, what must be remembered is that back when this site was first launched, this was the information that was available from multiple sources. As a matter of fact, I just noticed that in an article posted December 2017, the Luna misinformation was repeated and a link to the Filming Locations page was given.

Perhaps, when time permits, relevant sections of this website could be updated with both new text and pictures.


Signor V.

2021 update:

According to Property Shark, the building was built in 1928 - so the notation of "1923" on the menu previously mentioned may be erroneous.

But what caught my eye was the info that the building was sold in late 2019 for...

Ten dollars.

You read that right - $10.00 USD.

I've seen recent photos (not on the Property Shark site) that seem to indicate that the property may now be abandoned. It seems nobody rented the downstairs space after the fabric store vacated. I might be wrong, as I haven't visited the spot since my earlier post a while ago.

I can't find out any info on who the current property owner is because you have to have an account on that site, and I don't care to do all that. Just my laziness.

Perhaps someone else can fill in the blanks?


Signor V.

Just a little off the subject, but why was it that Tessio knew about Louie's restaurant in the Bronx and not Clemenza? Afterall, the Bronx was Clemenza's territory with Tessio in Brooklyn.

I'm not sure if Clemenza has a base in the Bronx in the movie: "Carmine Cuneo from the Bronx -- and ah -- Brooklyn -- Philip Tattaglia. And from Staten Island, we have with us Victor Strachi." Very different from the book.

Tessio does, of course, possess the same knowledge in the book. It could just be that Puzo wanted to give him some things to do, because he's an elusive character most of the time.

I disagree Pete. Afterall, it was Tessio who got to dance with little girls at the wedding, who was the only one to eat an orange (or at least pick up one) in the entire movie, and to pick up packages at the gate. Those are high profile and important things to do.

Since some photos posted much earlier in this thread are no longer available due to the demise of TinyPic, I am reposting this picture of a period post card (circa 1934-35) straight from my files. Got it from the Net.


Signor V.

Latest photo, taken this month, shows scaffolding erected in front of the building. Building looks abandoned to me, but I'm not sure.

Google Maps Image


Signor V.

Something that always piqued my curiosity, but I never investigated:

We're all familiar (or we should be) with the establishing shot of Louis' Restaurant seen in GF1.



But, what was that store directly to the right? Well, it was Vavolizza's Travel Service. A travel agency, and a close examination of the (unlit) neon sign in the window reveals it handled airline tickets as well as steamship bookings. Probably rail tickets, too.

It appears to still exist in the Bronx, but Vavolizza Travel is now on E. Tremont Ave. rather than on White Plains Rd. (the location at the time GF1 was filmed).

Interesting.

Makes me wonder if the Corleone family availed themselves of Vavolizza's services to arrange Michael's passage to Sicily after the Sollozzo/McCluskey hit?


Signor V.

Could be Lou was over there - he may have felt a need to get out of town for a while.

Way off topic: Does anyone know how travel agencies worked then? They didn't have any links to computer systems, so would they just call a railroad/cruise line to make the reservation, and then write out the ticket on a standard form?

You could book directly with the airline, steamship company, railroad or hotel. But most people preferred to use a travel agency, which would handle all details of your trip or vacation and deliver the tickets directly to you.

Some people, particularly fugitives from the law, would go to the docks and try to book passage on a cargo ship or other commercial vessel--cash on the barrelhead, no questions asked. If I remember correctly, that's how the novel says Michael got to Sicily after killing Sol and Mac.

Thanks, TB.

It was curious that Tessio described it instead of Clemenza since The Bronx was Clemenza's fife.

Something I had never noticed before:

On the Scouting NY website, there is a post from "Walter" on January 7, 2014 that says:

The Luna restaurant you refer to was at 112 Mulberry Street. I ate there many times as a kid. Some of the deleted scenes from the movie you can see on the DVD show the exterior clearly. This was the place was where Peter Clemenza had lunch. It was also the place where Clemenza bought the cannoli that was in his famous line of Leave the gun, take the cannoli.

Very interesting. This is the only reference I can find (so far) that names the location of the Luna Restaurant by someone who actually claims to have eaten there and knew the specific location. And remember, we're talking about where Clemenza ate in the deleted scene, not Louis' Italian-American Restaurant in the Bronx.


Signor V.