‘The Godfather’ scene in which life imitated art
One of the most memorable sequences in Francis Ford Coppola’s masterpiece The Godfather comes right at the top of the film. Johnny Fontane, Don Vito’s godson, wishes to procure a film role. Vito sends consigliere Tom Hagen to persuade studio head Jack Woltz, but is rebuffed. Woltz only reconsiders once he wakes up and finds the bloody head of his horse sitting next to him in bed.
It’s one of the more shocking sequences in the movie, one that confirms Vito’s comfort with using violent tactics to get what he wants. The sequence was a part of Maria Puzo’s original Godfather novel, but strangely enough, the behind-the-scenes drama in casting the part of Fontane wound up being a case of life imitating art.
In the film, Fontane is played by traditional pop singer Al Martino. Martino had a number of hits in the pre-rock and roll era, including landing the first-ever number one on the UK Singles Chart with ‘Here In My Heart’. He was the perfect choice for the 1940s setting of The Godfather, even if he had visibly aged out of the role of an up-and-coming music/film star by 1972.
Martino’s similarities to the character of Johnny Fontane landed him the role when producer Albert S. Ruddy was temporarily in charge of casting. Once Coppola agreed to direct, he decided that he didn’t want Martino in the part, giving the role to singer Vic Damone instead. When Martino found out that he had been replaced, he took a note from Fontane and approached his own godfather, mob boss Russell Bufalino.
Bufalino was the head of the Bufalino crime family, which operated out of the Pennsylvania region. Bufalino decided to orchestrate the publication of a number of newspaper articles that claimed Coppola didn’t know that Ruddy had already cast Martino in the role. Whether it was true or not was irrelevant: Coppola and Damone now had mob heat on them.
Damone decided to step down from the role, contending that he wasn’t getting paid enough. The reality probably had more to do with the fact that he didn’t want to provoke the mob. In any case, Coppola read the writing on the wall and re-cast Martino in the role. It was one of the weirdest cases blurring the lines between life and art, but it’s just one of many improbable stories that surrounded the making of The Godfather.
