Originally posted by AppleOnYa:
I do think part of the reason the plan worked was that Sollozzo DID trust Michael. They frisked Michael in the car, took that famous abrupt turn on the bridge...and he had McCluskey with him. A fact that even Tom had surmized earlier made him virtually invulnerable. And Michael up to that point was considered 'a civilian'. Considering those circumstances I think Sollozzo took all the precautions he thought he would need to take. I believe he & McClusky thought they were perfectly safe.
In the novel, Puzo made a point of Michael experiencing a "strange delicious chill" during the dinner because "Sollozzo was underestimating him as a punk kid."
Underestimations lead to errors in judgment, and much of the action in the entire Trilogy pivots on underestimations. The Don underestimated Sollozzo...Sollozzo underestimated Michael...Sonny underestimated Carlo...Barzini and Tessio underestimated Michael...Michael underestimated Roth...Roth underestimated Michael...and so on.
