March 14, 1972: "The Godfather" Premieres

Al Pacino (left) and Marlon Brando

March 14, 1972: The film The Godfather premieres at Loew's State Theatre in New York, based on the 1969 novel by Mario Puzo, directed by Francis Ford Coppola. It follows the Corleone family and its organized crime business in New York City from 1945 to 1955.

Marlon Brando was already a legend, but his legend grew by leaps and bounds with his portrayal of Vito Corleone, a crime boss but a dedicated family man. James Caan had become a star the year before, by playing dying football player Brian Piccolo in Brian's Song. But his role as Vito's son, Santino, a.k.a. Sonny, lifted him into the stratosphere. Robert Duvall had played Major Frank Burns in the film version of M*A*S*H, but became a star by playing Tom Hagen, consigliere (counselor) to the Corleone family.

Launched to stardom were Al Pacino as Vito's son and successor Michael Corleone; Talia Shire (Coppola's sister) as the Don's daughter Connie, whose wedding begins the film; Diane Keaton as Michael's girlfriend and eventual wife Kay Adams; Richard Castellano and Abe Vigoda as longtime Corleone caporegimes Peter Clemenza and Salvatore Tessio, respectively; and Alex Rocco as Las Vegas casino boss Moe Greene, whose status within the film as the man who made Las Vegas made him a thinly-veiled version of real-life Los Angeles gangster Bugsy Siegel.

The film was nominated for 9 Academy Awards. It won 3: For Best Picture, Best Actor (Brando), and Best Adapted Screenplay. It is regarded by many as the greatest film of all time, or one of the greatest. Of course, it's a very masculine film, with the women little more than plot points. I often joke that men have The Godfather, while women have The Way We Were.

The performances were iconic, the scenes legendary, the music (scored by Nino Rota) unforgettable. It's also one of the most-quoted movies ever:

* Vito: "Someday, and that day may never come, I will call upon you to do a service for me."

** "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse."

** "Revenge is a dish best served cold." (This was already an old saying.)

** "Women and children can be careless, but not men."

** "Look how they massacred my boy."

** "I refused to be a fool, dancing on the strings held by all of those big shots."

* Clemenza: "He wants to go to the mattresses already."

** "It's a Sicilian message: It means 'Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes.'"

** "Leave the gun. Take the cannoli." (The 2nd half was an ad-lib by Castellano.)

** "Oh, Paulie? You won't see him no more."

* Jack Woltz (a film studio boss, played by John Marley): "A man in my position can't afford to look ridiculous."

* Calò (Michael's bodyguard in Sicily, played by Franco Citti): "In Sicily, women are more dangerous than guns."

* Tessio: "Tom, can you get me off the hook, for old times' sake?"

* Michael: "It's not personal, Sonny. It's strictly business."

** "Fredo, you're my older brother, and I love you. But don't ever take sides against the family again."

** "Don't ever ask me about my business, Kay."

And while Michael was a U.S. Marine Corps officer in World War II, he'd only killed men from far away, never up close like a "made man." It was Sonny, the originally-intended heir to the Don, who told him that, in order to kill a man their way, you had to get up close and fire. The sound effect he used also entered the American lexicon: "Ba-da-bing!"

It's also worth noting that, while the film is about organized crime in New York's Italian community, the words "Mafia," "mob" and "Cosa Nostra" are never spoken. In the Spring of 1971, as preparations for filming were underway, one of the producers, Albert Ruddy, met with Joseph Colombo, boss of the New York crime family that bears his name and (in 1964) the 1st American-born boss of a crime family. Colombo agreed to drop all opposition to the film, and to allow the labor unions that New York's real "Five Families" controlled to work on the film, if those words were not used in the film. Ruddy took the deal to Coppola, who agreed. The words did not appear in the film -- although they were used in the sequels.

(In real life, the Five Families are named, in alphabetical order -- that's the only way to show proper respect -- Bonanno, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese and Lucchese. In the film, in order of most mentions, they are Corleone, Barzini, Tattaglia, Cuneo and Stracchi.)

Sequels weren't really a thing at the time. But there was enough material in the original novel that they could make The Godfather Part II in 1974, going back and forth between Vito's youth from 1901 to 1925, showing how he went from a boy targeted by a Sicilian boss to an American boss who could go back home and get his revenge; and 1958 to 1960, as Michael struggled to find a way to "go straight," but, unlike his father, lost his family in the process.

John Cazale played the middle Corleone son, Fredo, whose physical and mental shortcomings led to his overreach in the 2nd film. Cazale made 5 films over 7 years, before dying of cancer in 1978: The Godfather, The Conversation, The Godfather Part II, Dog Day Afternoon (also with Pacino), and The Deer Hunter (with Robert De Niro, who played the younger Vito in The Godfather Part II). All 5 were nominated for Best Picture. The Godfather and The Deer Hunter won it.

Since the 1st 2 Godfather films, Pacino has become a self-caricature: He has had many iconic performances, usually showing him yelling and out of control: Dog Day Afternoon, ...And Justice for All, Scarface, Scent of a Woman, The Devil's Advocate, Any Given Sunday. He's also become one of the easy choices for impressionists. The genius of his portrayal of Michael is that, once he becomes the new Don, he is calm, cool, collected, and totally in control. On those occasions where events fall out of his control, he quickly figures out how to regain it.

Part II is considered one of the few sequels to a great film that is as good as, or perhaps even better than, the original. That would not be the case with The Godfather Part III, released in 1990. Set in 1979 and 1980, it brings Michael's story to a shocking close, but it's long, it drags, and the acting isn't as sharp as in the 2 previous films. Duvall did not reprise his role as Tom Hagen, saying he didn't mind making half as much money as Pacino, but didn't want to make only a fraction of it. And a criticism I have of the 3rd film is that, aging and sick, Michael does lose control, bit by bit, both of his power and his emotions, until the shocking close.

And, after Winona Ryder had to back out of the role, Coppola cast his own daughter Sofia as Michael's now-grown daughter Mary, and her acting was horribly ripped by the critics, and by original Godfather fans. She has since become a director herself, and gotten considerably better reviews. Maybe she followed the advice Michael quoted from his father in Part II: "Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer." Or maybe she proved what Fredo was unable to prove in Part II: "I can handle things! I'm smart! Not like everybody says, like dumb! I'm smart, and I want respect!" She now has it.

The 1st film was 2 hours, 57 minutes long; the 2nd, 3 hours, 20 minutes; the 3rd, 2 hours, 42 minutes. All tolled, just under 9 hours. At that rate, they could have made 5 separate films, averaging 1 hour and 48 minutes each:

* 1901-25: The rise of Vito.

* 1945-48: Vito's decline, Sonny's murder, and Michael's exile.

* 1948-55: Michael's return, Vito's death, and "The Baptism of Fire" that puts Michael firmly on top.

* 1958-60: Michael's death struggle with Hyman Roth, and his life struggles with Kay and Fredo.

* 1979-80: Michael's coda.

Would that have worked better? Someday, and that day may never come, we may get an answer -- if not in this life, then in the next. Until then, accept this post, on the 50th Anniversary of the original film's release.

As I said, John Cazale died in 1978. Richard Conte (opposing boss Emilio Barzini) and Al Lettieri (opposing boss Virgil "The Turk" Sollozo) both died in 1975, Lee Strasberg (Hyman Roth in Part II) in 1982, John Marley in 1984, Sterling Hayden (Captain Mark McCluskey) in 1986, Richard Castellano in 1988, Lenny Montana (Luca Brasi) in 1992, Michael Gazzo (Frank Pentangeli in Part II) in 1995, Marlon Brando in 2004, Richard Bright (Al Neri) in 2006, Al Martino (singer Johnny Fontane) in 2009, Alex Rocco in 2015, Abe Vigoda in 2016, and Morgana King (Carmela Corleone, too young to be the mother of the Corleone children) in 2018.

As of March 14, 2022, Francis Ford Coppola, Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, James Caan, Talia Shire, Diane Keaton, Gianni Russo (Connie's husband Carlo Rizzi), John Martino (Paulie Gatto) and Simonetta Stefanelli (Apollonia Vitelli, Michael's ill-fated 1st wife in Sicily) are still alive.

UPDATE: James Caan died later in 2022. Diane Keaton died in 2025. Robert Duvall died in 2026.

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March 14, 1972 was a Tuesday. Baseball was in Spring Training. Football was out of season. There were 7 games played in the NBA that night:

* The New York Knicks beat the Atlanta Hawks, 115-107 at Madison Square Garden.

* The Boston Celtics beat the Golden State Warriors, 124-110 at the Boston Garden. John Havlicek scored 38 points.

* The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Baltimore Bullets, 127-118 in overtime at the Baltimore Civic Center (which is now named the CFG Bank Arena).

* The Buffalo Braves beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 108-105 at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium. Elmore Smith had 33 points and 24 rebounds for the Braves.

* The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Detroit Pistons, 129-116 at Cobo Hall (which is now named Huntington Place) in Detroit. Bob Lanier scored 35 for the Pistons, but Jim McMillian had 30, Wilt Chamberlain had 28, Jerry West had 23 and Gail Goodrich had 21.

* The Seattle SuperSonics beat the Chicago Bulls, 115-111 at the Chicago Stadium. Lee Winfield scored 38 for the Sonics.

* And the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 109-98 at the Portland Memorial Coliseum. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had 36 points and 17 rebounds.

There were 3 games in the American Basketball Association:

* The Virginia Squires beat the Pittsburgh Condors, 156-133 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh. No, there was no overtime. Julius "Dr. J" Erving scored 33 for the Squires. 

* The Dallas Chaparrals beat the Carolina Cougars, 113-105 at the Moody Coliseum in Dallas.

* And the Denver Rockets beat the Indiana Pacers, 123-106 at the Auditorium Arena in Denver. The Rockets became the Denver Nuggets in 1974.

There were 2 games played in the NHL that day. The Buffalo Sabres beat the Minnesota North Stars, 4-3 at the Metropolitan Sports Center in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. And the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Vancouver Canucks, 7-4 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver.