Trivia: The Godfather was roundly criticized by the Italian-American Civil Rights League for its stereotypical portrayal of Italians.
Trivia: Although Coppola was advised not to talk to real Mafioso because they would never stop bugging him and it might change how he filmed the movie, James Caan did spend time with various Mafia heads, and got much of his character quirks, expressions and gestures from them.
Trivia: The term "godfather" was never actually used by the actual mob, author Mario Puzo just made it up. Yet after the book and film came out people started assuming it was, so it started appearing in news reports. And it is now actually used by the mob.
Suggested correction: This is incorrect, Joe Valachi - The First Rat used the term "Godfather" when describing the mafia's initiation of a crew member to a made man during the subcommittee hearings on organized crime held between 25 September 1963 and 16 October 1963.
Trivia: In the scene where Sonny is killed by the men with the Tommy Guns, James Caan was very apprehensive about how many squibs he was wearing (147, a record number at that time, and therefore very dangerous). He only did that scene because he didn't want to lose face in front of the female crew members.
Trivia: Francis Ford Coppola's original choice to play gangster Hyman Roth was James Cagney. He begged Cagney to take the role, even visiting him at his home, but Cagney turned him down.
Trivia: In order to get the part as Vito Corleone, Marlon Brando had to put up a $1 million dollar bond due to his reputation as being a difficult actor to deal with.
Trivia: The house Jack Woltz lives in, where he discovers the horse's head in his bed, is also where JFK spent his honeymoon. Called the "Beverly House", William Randolph Hearst lived there until 1951, and it's been used in The Bodyguard and Fletch.
Trivia: In the scene where Michael is rolling Don Corleone on the hospital gurney he accidentally mashes the Don's hand between the gurney and the doorway. Marlon Brando snatches his hand away, Al Pacino briefly pauses, then continues with the shot.
Trivia: Although Marlon Brando is first billed, he is only in the film for less than an hour.
Trivia: Al Pacino refused to go to the Academy Awards after the film's release because he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor, even though he had more screen time than Marlon Brando, who had been nominated for Best Actor.
Trivia: Woltz's reaction to seeing a horses head on his pillow was real. The actor was unaware of what was to unfold in the scene, making it genuinely shocking.
