Either way, Paramount obviously should have paid Duvall what he wanted. In my opinion he was certainly deserving.
That's for sure. Whether Tom Hagen ended up betraying Michael or not, it certainly would have been a more satisfying conclusion (or continuation) of the saga to have his storyline resolved in a more significant manner than just to say, "oh, he died."
I agree about Connie. According to the Harlan Lebo's 'Godfather Legacy' a script that was written in the mid 80s, and was ultimately scrapped, had Neri admit to Connie that he betrayed Michael and left the drapes open at the communion.
She blackmails him into poioining Michael as payback for Carlo and is ultimately killed himself.
Personally, I'm glad that neither Neri nor Tom ever betrayed Michael.
Ehhhhhhh, I wouldn't buy that Connie would still be bent on revenge for Carlo, 25-30 years after he was killed.
By GF II Connie had clearly come to grips with the fact Carlo had to be killed. Connie always saw herself as a Corleone, not a Rizzi -- I would never have bought for a minute that Connie would have wanted Michael dead in revenge over Carlo.
Connie idolized Sonny, her oldest brother; Carlo had led directly to his death, and also brutally beat Connie. By having Carlo killed, Michael did Connie a big favor, in addition to getting revenge for Sonny and eliminating a security risk for the family.
Fast-forward Connie from the simple-minded teenager of GF I to the mouthy, brassy, bed-hopping floozy of GF II, she would have understood why Carlo had to go. Fast-forward her to the ruthless black-widow of GF III, she'd have pulled the garotte herself.
