I admit that I haven't posted much here in quite awhile (except for the Dead Pool), but I'm always interested in a good, informative discussion. I have little patience for the contentious stuff and choose not to get involved.

Here's something that may (or may not) be of interest:

Out of curiosity I decided to do a little (and I do mean little) bit of digging to see where the Luna/Louis misinformation began. While I uncovered no concrete answers, I did uncover my old paperback copy of The Godfather Journal by Ira Zuckerman. My copy is the second printing, dated November, 1972.

For me, this book is important because it may have been among the first (if not the first) books dealing with the filming. And yet, while Zuckerman said he worked as an assistant to Francis Ford Coppola on GF1 and was there during the filming (the book comes from Zuckerman’s journal), there is this from page 50:

2nd DAY OF SHOOTING MONDAY MARCH 29

First day of filming in the studio. It is an interior night car scene in which Michael is taken to the Luna Restaurant for the Sollozzo meeting, with Police Captain McClusky in attendance.

And this from page 51:

4th DAY OF SHOOTING WEDNESDAY MARCH 31

On location at the Luna Restaurant in the Bronx. The scene of Michael’s murder of Sollozzo and McClusky, and his getaway.

Every time this guy mentions the restaurant in his book, he refers to it as Luna. And he was there, on the set? Hmmm….

Thirty-five years later, The Annotated Godfather by Jenny M. Jones (2007) perpetuates the error on page 124:

Louis’ Restaurant was actually Old Luna Restaurant on White Plains Road near Gun Hill Road, the Bronx.

Zuckerman also gets details wrong about the filming of Sonny's assassination. Anyway, I think I'll leave this tangled web of confusion for now. It's late and I'm tired!


Signor V.