Goodfellas

Question: In the voice over planning the Lufthansa heist. It's said that Joe Budda and Frenchy were supposed to tie up the guards and keep them from the alarms. Frenchy worked at the airport. No matter if he wore a mask or not, it would be a gigantic risk of being recognized for Frenchy to be anywhere near the guards who work at the same airport. How could this be?

Question: In the scene where Tommy believes he is being made, right after he walks into the room you hear him say "Oh no!" right before he is shot. Tommy obviously realizes that he was set up. However, what is it that he sees in the room that tips him off?

Answer: He was expecting a crowded room full of friends congratulating him. Also it was common knowledge among the mafia that being walked into an empty room when you were due to be made meant you were about to be executed, so Tommy likely knew he'd met his end just moments before the shot.

William Bergquist

Answer: A man being 'made' is an event shrouded in ceremony. The top people in the family are there, among others to congratulate the new soldier. Tommy walked into an empty room.

Just as others have pointed out, the film implies Tommy realised something was wrong the moment he walked in and saw the place was empty...no other "made men" there for the ceremony. However, I always wondered why he hadn't caught on to what was happening when he saw there were only a couple vehicles parked out in the driveway.

Answer: Either the fact that the room was empty (being made is a big ceremonial event with many people) or he felt the gun pressed against the back of his head right before they shot him.

Answer: There should have been more people waiting for him.

Answer: Wasn't the floor covered with a plastic sheet? That would have given it away.

Or it was a floor with no carpet (tiled, I believe)...easier to mop up.

Question: What is the song being played during the scene when Henry is being chased by the helicopter towards the end? It starts when he puts the bags in the trunk of his car before going to pick up his brother, but it's not on the soundtrack and I can't see it listed in the end credits.

Stacey

Chosen answer: The song is called "Jump Into The Fire" by Harry Nilsson, and is not on the original motion picture soundtrack.

Question: When Jimmy and Henry torture the man into giving them money for a gambling dept he owes to Paulie, we then find out he had a sister who was an FBI informant. Henry says "She gave up everyone. Jimmy, me, even her brother." What did her brother do that was illegal? I thought he was just the victim.

MikeH

Chosen answer: Gambling, especially with a mobster bookie was and is still illegal in the US.

Question: Tommy was executed for killing Billy Batts - but Jimmy and Henry tried to help cover the killing up. How come they'd didn't get punished for that?

Answer: Tommy was the only one who actively participated in Billy Batts' murder, so although Henry and Jimmy were accessories to the murder, they were probably overlooked given Tommy's reputation and because Tommy was "above" them within the hierarchy of their family. It's also implied within Henry's voiceover that Tommy was basically handed over by his family to Batts' family because Batts was a made man, ie. untouchable, and Tommy was not "made" to avoid further violence between the families and possible full-blown gang war; Jimmy and Henry's involvement was either unknown to or overlooked by Batts' people.

zendaddy621

He was killed by a hit man for trying to rape Karen while Henry was in prison. The whole time she was sleeping with Paulie to pay the bills. Paulie was keeping him away from Gotti's crew as long as possible. The attempted rape was the end. Real life.

Chosen answer: Tommy doesn't actually shoot him...he's viciously pistol-whipping him and at the end of the beating does aim the gun at Billy's mouth and say he's going to shoot him, but Jimmy, pulling him off, says "We're done." Tommy then winds up and gives Billy a final whack, so hard the chamber dislodges and the bullets spray out. The noise that sounds like a gunshot is the chamber slamming into the hardwood floor.

Question: Why does Henry ask the taxi driver to take him to jail? Aren't the police supposed to take you immediately after the sentencing hearing? Why could he make his own way to jail when he wanted, and why didn't he just run away?

MikeH

Chosen answer: Convicted criminals aren't always taken immediately to prison upon their sentencing, especially when they're free on bail pending their trial and sentencing hearings. As is often the case in such instances, he was probably given a short time (usually a week) to get his affairs in order before reporting for his incarceration voluntarily; had he not reported on time, police would have been sent to procure him.

zendaddy621

Answer: He didn't mean to take him directly to prison, he meant to be taken to the court house or police station to be taken into official custody.

Chosen answer: Most probably due to mass corruption within the prison. Guards on the mafia payroll would let them wear their own clothes in the same way they didn't eat the prison food but got to have their own superior food brought in.

The_Iceman

Question: When Tommy, Jimmy, and Henry stop at Tommy's Mother's house to pick up a shovel after killing Billy Batts, why does Tommy take the kitchen knife even though at this point they all think Billy Batts is dead?

Answer: Any answer would be speculation, but given that Tommy is a violent psychopath, he may have been thinking of further mutilating Batts' body before they dispose of it.

Answer: TOMMY SAID HE HIT A DEER AND ITS HOOF WAS STUCK IN THE FRONT OF THE CAR.HE WANTED THE KNIFE TO CUT THE LEG AWAY.

You're completely missing the point of the question. Cutting off the deer's hoof was the excuse he was giving. The question is asking why he wanted the knife.

Answer: Because he didn't want his operatives turning into junkies, getting compromised, and putting him in legal trouble...which is exactly what happens with Henry.

Question: If the real Henry Hill wrote a book and co-wrote the screenplay (with Martin Scorsese), how is it that the Mob never found him? Or did they, and we (the viewers/general public) were never told about that?

Answer: He went into the witness protection programme along with his family under assumed names, however was expelled from that programme after being arrested for drugs offences in Seattle in the late 1980s. Since then he apparently lived quite openly, including a number of media appearances, although he continued to have problems with the law, mostly due to a long battle with alcoholism. He lived in Malibu up until his death in 2012. As to why the Mob appeared to be disinterested in pursuing him, you'd have to ask them.

Tailkinker

By his own loud admission on Howard Stern, he had no idea why he was able to live such an incredibly long time for his circumstances.

dizzyd

Also, Henry Hill, in the last years of his life wasn't so worried anymore about getting whacked. All the people that were a threat to him were either in prison or dead by that time.

Question: Would Karen have died if she went into the store?

MikeH

Answer: The film leaves it ambiguous...it can be interpreted either way. She may have simply been being paranoid, but the circumstances, and Jimmy's behavior, were very suspicious.

Question: Why did Jimmy tell Henry he wasn't going to kill Morrie, only to then have him killed?

MikeH

Answer: Well, for starters, I think Jimmy, despite being a complete sociopath cared a bit about Henry's mental state and well-being and just wanted him to calm down, enjoy his night and we can see it worked. Second, Jimmy might, just might at that moment feel like it wasn't the right night to kill Maurie since he was more of an annoying nuisance than a real threat, he was without being asked given the Chance to just forget the money and let it go, symbolizing Jimmy's murderous greed. Third...WHY should he tell Henry Hill that he will kill him? He benefits nothing, it puts him in a vulnerable position and Jimmy, more than likely has noticed Henry's tics, excessive sweat and bug eyes, pretty sure the guy is hooked on coke, meaning as Tommy jokingly but in nice foreshadow says "You may fold under questioning." Telling Henry he will spare Morrie becomes his Teflon armor at this point cause Henry at this point would never even suspect a good fella like Jimmy to lie to him "of all people" about something like that...That is my take on it anyway.

Answer: It wasn't so much that Jimmy decided to kill Morrie after all. Tommy was annoyed by Morrie and decided on the spot to kill him himself. It was Tommy who wanted Morrie dead at that moment.

Question: I read that Jimmy was arrested and jailed for the murder of a man called Richard Eaton. Why not for the murder of Billy Batts, Morrie, any of the Lufthansa murders or any of his other many serious crimes? If it's because there wasn't enough evidence, how was there enough evidence to write a book and movie on it?

Answer: The level of evidence needed for a court of law is much higher than an author requires.

Question: When Tommy was shot, Henry said they shot him in the face so his mother couldn't give him an open casket. Why would they care about that?

MikeH

Answer: Family, and respect for the family, is deeply ingrained in Mafia culture (and in Sicilian culture). Denying Tommy a funeral wherein his family can pay their last respects (the purpose of the open casket) shows the extent to which Tommy angered and alienated his bosses and cohorts.

Question: Why were the names of Paul Vario and Jimmy Burke changed for the movie to Paul Cicero and Jimmy Conway when no other names were changed? It's not as if someone's identity was being protected. I never understood that.

Answer: Not sure why they changed Paul's, but Jimmy's was changed to Conway because his sister refused to allow it, Conway being his mother's maiden name.

Answer: Tommy's name was changed as well. In the movie it is Tommy DeVito, in real life it was Tommy DeSimone.

ctown28

Answer: There are a bunch of tough looking men in it which gave Karen the impression she would probably be killed.

Chosen answer: Nothing. But she knew Jimmy and Henry were on the outs and Henry was unpopular with the bosses due to his involvement in narcotics, so her paranoia meant she panicked when Jimmy sent her down an alleyway.

The_Iceman

Question: I don't understand what Henry is hiding from Paulie when gets out of jail? And also, why is Henry cheating, and does Karen know? (01:00:00 - 02:00:00)

gabbott163

Answer: Henry is hiding because he's become addicted to cocaine, which he knows will cause Paulie to consider him to be too great of a liability to the mob. Henry cheated on his wife simply because he was afforded the opportunity, and Karen was indeed aware of Henry's infidelity throughout most of their marriage, but she mostly overlooked it because she'd become too accustomed to the cushy lifestyle of a mob wife to risk giving it up by divorcing Henry; it's possible she also didn't want their kids to suffer through their parents' breakup.

zendaddy621

Question: Trying to find the name of the actress who played Tommy's date in the scene where she and Henry's mistress were talking about Sammy Davis Jr, and she (Tommy's date) says "You can see how a white girl could fall for him", and Tommy of course, overreacts.

Answer: Elizabeth Whitcraft. She's credited as "Tommy's Girlfriend at the Copa."

Continuity mistake: When Paulie and Jimmy go to visit Henry at his girlfriend Janice's apartment to talk to him, after Paulie sits down and begins the conversation with Henry, both a Star of David pendant and a crucifix pendant can be seen hanging from the necklace around Henry's neck. At first the Star of David is hanging over the crucifix, then it has switched to the crucifix hanging over the Star of David. (01:16:15)

More mistakes in Goodfellas

Tommy DeVito: You know Spider, you're a fuckin' mumbling stuttering little fuck. You know that?

More quotes from Goodfellas
Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: False. Joe Pesci told the anecdote to Scorsese in the earliest stages of the movie. Scorsese asked him to add it during previous script readings and further rehearsals while notes were being taken by crew members. Then it was finally shot following those rehearsals and notes. In this video all the actors involved tell how Scorsese works and even he himself says he rewrote that scene 4 times. Minute 13:04: https://youtu.be/_bbzUZuxEB8.

Sacha

I have actually seen interviews where they admitted it was improvised. The reactions from the other actors was genuine.

lartaker1975

Just submitted a link to a video where they tell how they improvised during rehearsals and then scripted it.

Sacha

More trivia for Goodfellas

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