THE GODFATHER Souvenir Book Copyright (C)1972 Paramount Pictures Corp. (edited slightly) all rights reserved When Mario Puzo's novel, THE GODFATHER, made its initial appearance on the literary scene, it drew respectable attention from the critics but few predicted that it would become one of the best-sellers of all time. THE GODFATHER went on to become one of the most widely-read novels with 500,000 of the hardcover edition and 10,000,000 of the paperback edition printed. Plans for filming THE GODFATHER began early in the Spring of 1970. Paramount Pictures had purchased the motion picture rights and producer Albert S. Ruddy was engaged, with associate producer Gray Frederickson, to create the film version of Puzo's novel. Both had collaborated on the successful "Little Fauss and Big Halsy" for Paramount. Francis Ford Coppola, whose directorial credits include "You're A Big Boy Now," and "The Rain People," was signed to direct THE GODFATHER and work with Mario Puzo on the screenplay. His writing accomplishments already consisted of such screenplays as "Reflections In A Golden Eye," "The Disenchanted" and "Patton," for which he and his collaborator, Edmond H. North, received Academy Awards. Although actual production did not begin until March 29, 1971, the reading public had begun speculating on who would portray the role of the venerable Don Corleone. Because Coppola wanted the Godfather portrayed by a distinguished and versatile actor, his first choice for the role was Marlon Brando. Some were skeptical about the suggestion considering that the Don was a man in his sixties, short, stocky, tending to fat with greying hair and Brando, in his mid-forties, retained a youthful demeanor. The decision was finalized one afternoon when Coppola invited several executives to see a screen test. After a few moments, there were murmurs of approval in the room and various persons questioned the identity of the anonymous but familiar actor in the test scene. It was Brando in full makeup. Soon after, he was signed to portray the Godfather. Speculation did not begin and end with the title role. Each and every member of the Corleone "family" was thoroughly researched. Coppola selected Gianni Russo for the role of Carlo Rizzi after Russo submitted his own mini-production of THE GODFATHER as a screen test. Tere Livrano, an assistant music editor at Paramount's Television Music Department, was chosen for the part of Theresa Hagen after a friend submitted her photograph to Coppola. [See below for Pacino, Caan, Hayden, Duvall, Castellano, Marley, Conte, Keaton, Ruddy, Coppola, and makeup artist Dick Smith] Filming THE GODFATHER was no easy task since some 90% of the scenes were shot in the busy thoroughfares of New York City and its suburbs. So that Brando's unique makeup would not be revealed prematurely to the press and public, producer Ruddy maintained a veil of secrecy around the filming of THE GODFATHER. For three months of location filming, daily crowds of onlookers, many with still or movie cameras, were disappointed because they could not get close enough to Brando and the other cast members. To meet the commitments of Brando, all of his scenes were scheduled within a concentrated period of 35 shooting days. The first scene was shot on March 24 although the actual start-date was scheduled for March 30. The one-day setup was moved up because it was a scene in front of Best & Company on Fifth Avenue the day before Christmas, 1945. When producer Ruddy heard a weather forecast promising snow flurries for the following day, he summoned cast, crew and staff to report to work the next morning. Unfortunately, the forecaster ran true to form. There was no sign of a snowflake, so enormous snow blowers were brought in creating artificial snow. Best & Company -- which officially went out of business a year before -- was suddenly reactivated. Its windows were cleaned and dressed with mannequins wearing clothes of the 40s, the decorations were Christmas-like in flavor and many a passerby was startled by the Yuletide atmosphere in the middle of the Easter Season. This kind of confusion was compounded later that night when the front of Radio City Music Hall glided a quarter of a century backwards. Its marquee read "Ingrid Bergman and Bing Crosby in 'The Bells of St. Mary's.'" Crowds gathered to stare at the old-time automobiles and ancient taxis with the legend "15 Cents for First Half Mile" fare rates painted on the doors. Meanwhile, ushers ran up and down the street informing the public that the film playing was Elaine May and Walter Matthau in Paramount Pictures' "A New Leaf" and the stage show was the 1971 Easter Show. The most troublesome scenes of all were those which were shot on Mott Street where Little Italy borders on Chinatown. Mott is a narrow street, unchanged from the turn of the century when it was designed for horse-and-wagon transportation, and its narrow sidewalks are cluttered with stands displaying the wares of local merchants. Windows and fire escapes in the neighborhood were jammed with spectators elbowing each other for a better view. It is there that Don Corleone emerges from his olive oil factory and is gunned down by a rival Family. It was a scene repeated endlessly during a three-day period. More than 120 locations around Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn and Richmond were used, including a quiet side street in a residential area on Staten Island which represented the Corleone Family Mall. The street itself was secluded, but it was further isolated by the construction of an 8' high simulated stone wall which blocked the area from view. It was on the sprawling lawn, behind the stone wall, that the wedding scene was staged, a sequence which took a week of shooting and employed almost 750 extras, some of them local residents and their children. The musicians kept things lively with a tarantella and a selection of Sicilian folk songs written for the movie by Carmine Coppola, father of the director and a professional musician, who had played in the NBC Orchestra under the direction of Arturo Toscanini. For the wedding feast, several thousand cookies, yard-wide trays of lasagna, great baskets of fruit, barrels of beer, gallons of wine and a four-tiered wedding cake standing 6' high garnished the tables. For each of the four days of filming, the cuisine was replenished. Quieter and more controlled were the interior scenes of the film which were made at the old Filmways Studio in the Bronx. In this studio was built the interior of the Don's home. It consisted of two stories including a downstairs living room, a dining room, a full kitchen, a paneled study and a foyer with stairs leading to the bedrooms. Some 10% of the filming was done on this sound stage. For the scene in which Hollywood producer Jack Woltz meets Tom Hagen i his palatial home, an internationally-famous figure [the Guggenheim Estate] granted permission to use his home in an elegant suburb outside of New York [Sands Point, Long Island]. Coppola ordered a closed set at the request of the distinguished family, and Pinkerton men were employed to protect the property and its priceless objects d'art. Only a skeleton crew was retained. One of the most important sites was an Italian funeral parlor for the scene in which the Don brings the bullet-riddled body of his son to the undertaker, Bonasera. A small ante-room in the morgue at the Bellevue Hospital was adapted to the technical and artistic requirements of the scene. Bellevue Hospital, New York Eye & Ear Clinic and Fordham Hospital cooperated with the production team and closed off actual wards whenever possible. Other locations included an abandoned diner on Christopher Street near the waterfront, an ancient church on Mulberry Street, seedy tenement house lobbies, a deserted air-strip in Mineola, and Italian Restaurant in the Bronx, under the shadows of the "El" trestles of White Plains Road and finally a small village in Sicily where the scenes between Michael and Apollonia were filmed in 10 days. AL PACINO For the role of Michael, Al Pacino, an aspiring New York theatre actor, was signed. Born and raised in New York City [East Harlem/Bronx], he received his theatre experience with the Children's Theatre, experimental workshops and appearances in numerous off-Broadway shows including "The Indian Wants The Bronx," for which he won an Obie Award for "Best Actor of the Year." The youthful Pacino was also the recipient of a Tony Award for his role in "Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie?" A newcomer to the screen, Pacino won great acclaim for his debut performances as a junkie in the distinguished film, "Panic In Needle Park" which was a Cannes Film Festival entry. JAMES CAAN The role of Sonny is played by James Caan, a young man who began an acting career after studying various non-theatrical courses at the University of Michigan. After appearing in productions of "La Ronde" off-Broadway and understudying five roles in "Blood, Sweat and Stanley People" on Broadway, Caan migrated to the west coast to appear in such television shows as "The Untouchables," "The Naked City," "Alcoa Theatre," "Dr. Kildare," "Route 66," and others. In 1966 he made his feature film debut as a sadistic heavy in "Lady In A Cage." Caan also starred in, among many other films, "The Rain People," a motion picture written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. STERLING HAYDEN Hayden makes one of his infrequent appearances as the corrupt McCluskey. Since the successful publication of his book, "Wanderer," Hayden preferred to spend most of his time writing. His film credits include "Virginia," "Bahama Passage," "Dr. Strangelove," and others. A native of New Jersey, Hayden studied at Brown University. A born adventurer, he spent many years at sea and considered boating his first love. He was living in Belendere, California. ROBERT DUVALL A native of California, Duvall's first acting experience was at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York. He then joined the St. Mark's Playhouse appearing in Arthur Miller's "A View From The Bridge" and in William Faulkner's "Tomorrow." Duvall has numerous television roles to his credit including "The FBI," "Mod Squad," "The Naked City," "The Twilight Zone," "Route 66," and others. His screen appearances include "The Chase," "M.A.S.H.," "The Rain People," (with James Caan) and others. RICHARD CASTELLANO Castellano left a flourishing construction business to become an actor. He enrolled in Brett Warren's acting school, toured with The Actor's Mobile Theatre and appeared in numerous off-Broadway plays. He acted in the play "Lovers And Other Strangers" on Broadway and was nominated for a Tony Award as Best Actor. He was also nominated for an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor for the film version of the play. Castellano has been featured on television in "The Naked City," "The Defenders," "The Nurses," and "N.Y.P.D." JOHN MARLEY Marley, who played Woltz, was a veteran of stage, television, and films. He was a 1971 Academy Award nominee for "Best Supporting Actor" in "Love Story." A native of New York City, Marley started his career quite by accident when a drama group needed an actor on short notice to portray the sheriff in Owen Davis' "Ice Bound." Marley was drafted from the audience. RICHARD CONTE A native of New Jersey, Conte came to New York to take advantage of a scholarship at the Neighborhood Playhouse. A contract with a leading film company started a successful career in films. Through 1972, he has appeared in more than 70 motion pictures, including "Purple Heart." DIANE KEATON After early training in her native California at Santa Anna College, Keaton appeared in summer stock productions. She made her Broadway debut in "Hair" and later co-starred with Woody Allen in the Broadway play, "Play It Again, Sam." Her screen debut was made in "Lovers And Other Strangers" (with Castellano). Keaton has made frequent appearances on The Johnny Carson and Merv Griffin Shows, as well as the screen version of "Play It Again, Sam" with Woody Allen. ALBERT S. RUDDY - THE PRODUCER THE GODFATHER marked the third film produced by Ruddy under his own banner, Alfran Productions. Ruddy, a native of Montreal, also produced "Making It" for 20th Century-Fox and Paramount's "Little Fauss and Big Halsy." The producer, whose show business career has spanned a short but successful eight years, created the CBS television series "Hogan's Heroes." "The Wild Seed," a Universal film now in the film library of the Museum of Modern Art as an American film classic, was his first assignment as film producer. Growing up in New York, Ruddy attended Brooklyn Tech, earned a scholarship to City College of New York where he majored in chemical engineering. he graduated from the School of Architecture at the University of Southern California, and returned to the East to pursue a career in construction. A chance meeting with Jack L. Warner brought Ruddy back to Hollywood as a member of Warner Brothers where he was trained for an executive position. Ruddy then joined the Rand Corporation as a programmer trainee, becoming Rand's representative with the air Force on the design Change Acceptance Committee. He returned to show business as a writer for Universal's television department, and left this post when Marlon Brando hired him for his Pennebaker Productions as producer of "The Wild Seed." Ruddy then formed Alfran. FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA - THE DIRECTOR Shortly after his 28th birthday, having received his Master's degree at UCLA, Coppola started the direction of "Finian's Rainbow" for Warner Brothers-Seven Arts. Previously, Coppola had written and directed "You're A Big Boy Now," a film that received an Academy Award nomination for Geraldine Page. A native of Detroit, Michigan, Coppola attended Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York from 1956 to 1960, majoring in theatre arts and directing "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "Inertia," an original musical comedy for which he wrote the lyrics. He directed a program of Eugene O'Neill's one-act plays, wrote the book and lyrics to "The Delicate Touch," an original musical play, and was awarded three D.H. Lawrence Awards for theatrical direction and production, as well as the Beckerman Award for outstanding contributions to the Theatre Arts Division. He enrolled at UCLA in 1960 with a film specialization, then wrote and directed a production of "Aymonn the Terrible," as well as a full-length screenplay called "Pilma, Pilma," which won first prize in the 1962 Samuel Goldwyn writing competition. While still working toward his Master's degree, Coppola joined Roger Corman Productions and worked as associate producer on "The Terror." That summer, he went to Ireland to direct "Dementia 13," starring Patrick McGee. In 1962, Coppola joined Seven Arts as a writer and worked on the many screenplays, including "The Disenchanted," "My Last Duchess," and "Is Paris Burning?" He won an Academy Award for co-writing the story and screenplay for "Patton." MARIO PUZO - THE AUTHOR A native of New York City, Puzo served WWII, and studied writing at Columbia University and at the New School for Social Research. Puzo, writer of numerous magazine articles, short stories and book reviews, published his first novel, "The Dark Arena," in 1955. It was considered, by many literary critics, the best novel written about postwar occupied Germany. "The Fortunate Pilgrim," his second novel, published in 1965, also received outstanding critical attention. "The Godfather," published by G.P. Putnam's Sons in 1969, is Puzo's third novel. This was adapted for the screen by Puzo in collaboration with Coppola, the director of Paramount's THE GODFATHER. DICK SMITH - MAKEUP ARTIST/"GERIATRIC GENIUS" It was Dick Smith who "aged" actor Dustin Hoffman from the young man he was to the hundred-year-old protagonist of "Little Big Man" and it is Smith who was called upon to transform Marlon Brando into a stout 60-year-old for the title role of THE GODFATHER. Smith is, of course, a makeup artist and aging is not his only skill. He has worked with top stars, and has a list of notable television credits including Emmy Award work on "Mark Twain Tonight." Smith, who is/was the only makeup artist in "Who's Who in America" and who founded and directed the NBC Television makeup department, required an hour and a half of preparation with Brando each day in advance of filming. So authentic was the makeup that during filming no locations in New York's Little Italy, Brando was able to lunch in public restaurants without being recognized. OTHER CAST: Al Lettieri - Sollozzo Abe Vigoda - Sal Tessio Talia Shire - Connie Rizzi Gianni Russo - Carlo Rizzi Rudy Bond - Cuneo Al Martino - Johnny Fontane Morgana King - Mama Corleone Lenny Montana - Luca Brasi John Martino - Paulie Gatto Salvatore Corsitto - Bonasera Richard Bright - Al Neri Alex Rocco - Moe Greene Tony Giorgio - Bruno Tattaglia Vito Scotti - Nazorine the baker Tere Livrano - Theresa Hagen Victor Rendina - Phillip Tattaglia Jeannie Linero - Lucy Mancini Julie Gregg - Sandra Corleone Ardell Sheridan - Mrs. Clemenza Simonetta Stefanelli - Apollonia Angelo Infanti - Fabrizio Franco Citti - Calo Saro Urzi - Vitelli -- THE GODFATHER Souvenir Book Copyright (C) 1972 Paramount Pictures Corp. all rights reserved Original book design by MARV SAUNDERS Original book published by Souvenir Book Publishers, Inc (now defunct) -- Transcribed by J Geoff Malta for THE GODFATHER TRILOGY website http://www.TheGodfatherTrilogy.com/