History Fridge / TheGodfather

* In Part 1, when Clemenza gives Mike the gun to kill Solozzo, he mentions he left it noisy to scare off bystanders. That's probably true, but we also see that Mike is picked up very quickly after the hit by men who were presumably waiting a block or so off and listening for a gunshot.

* It can seem a little odd in ''Part III''/''Coda'' how Connie seemed to buy into his cover story regarding Fredo's death, despite her becoming wiser and more ruthless with age. Yet as much as it could be passed off as vestigial naiveté or even willful ignorance, there's another possibility. While Connie's love for Michael as a brother is ultimately genuine, it's likely that she'd known all along of what really happened and was biding her time until someone else could succeed him as Godfather, in one final act of revenge. This could also explain why she's so keen on supporting and goading Vincent, having found someone who seemed to embody the Corleones' legacy better than her brother.

** In ''Part III''/''Coda''', the climatic killings are more akin to the first film, with the family's enemies taken out in shocking fashion, all while Michael is enjoying an opera, seemingly relieved for the first time in years. After all, it's no longer ''his'' business but Vincent's, and he's just enjoying the show.

* The opening scene of ''Film/TheGodfather'' gives us Amerigo Bonasera asking Don Vito to kill (implied) the men who ravaged his daughter as vengeance, describing how "she will never be beautiful again." This scene is mirrored later in the film after Sonny's death, where we find Don Vito asking Bonasera not for vengeance, but simply for him to use his skills as an undertaker ''to make Vito's son beautiful again.''

* Both assassination attempts on Michael in Sicily? They worked. Captain Michael Corleone, USMC, died in that car with his wife. Don Michael Corleone of the Five Families is what remained when the smoke cleared. Don Michael Corleone died on the steps of the opera house with his daughter Mary. All that remained was a man-shaped lump of meat that continued breathing for another decade and a half.

* The five Children (including Tom) are each a part of Vito’s personality and character arc Sonny is his aggressive side, Tom is pragmatic side, Fredo is his sweet and caring side, Michael is his cunning side, and Connie went from meek nobody to respected leader.

!!The Movies

* Fredo turns out to be the traitor in ''Part II'' and Michael intends to have him killed when he finds out. When the deed is done, the traitor is saying a "Hail Mary" while fishing. Some believe that those who die while praying automatically get into Heaven (this is why Theatre/{{Hamlet}} didn't kill his uncle while he was praying) and that may have been Michael's intention. The traitor may have been a traitor, but he was still Michael's brother.]

* Vito refusing to kill the two men who brutalized Amerigo's daughter seems, at first, to be a PetTheDog moment for Vito. He says he's doing it because it wouldn't be justice. Instead, he's just going to have them badly beaten. It allows us to see Vito as a FriendlyNeighborhoodGangster. However, if you take a step back, there's numerous practical reasons why Vito would do it this way. Murder is a very serious crime which runs the risk of endangering his family and soldiers on behalf of someone who is of very little social and economic importance. Two dead civilians would also draw police attention more than dead mobsters.

** Except that actor {{John Cazale}} set up a definite rhythm for Fredo's prayer: "Hail Mary ... full of Grace ... The Lord is with thee..." Members of the audience who know the prayer are pulled into repeating it along with Fredo, in the same sing-song rhythm Fredo (and presumably, the audience) learned in Sunday School. Even though we no longer hear Fredo's voice, the audience is mentally finishing the prayer: "Now... and at the hour of our death... Amen" And then: BLAM! The gunshot clearly comes ''after'' Fredo finishes praying.

* The assassination attempt on Michael in Sicily? It worked. Captain Michael Corleone, USMC, died in that car with his wife. Don Michael Corleone of the Five Families is what remained when the smoke cleared.