Why Frank Sinatra hated ‘The Godfather’
Taking issue with a character who may or may not have been inspired by real-life connections that may or may not have existed is certainly an interesting way of handling a situation, with Frank Sinatra proving so incensed by The Godfather that he actively tried to prevent the movie from happening.
The rights to Mario Puzo’s novel were secured by Paramount shortly after it hit shelves and became a bestseller, with Francis Ford Coppola’s adaptation released just three years later. Between those two points, Sinatra found himself involved in several heated discussions and altercations after becoming convinced he was the main inspiration behind mob-connected entertainer Johnny Fontane.
Of course, the singer and actor’s connections to organised crime had been rumoured throughout his stint in the celebrity spotlight, even if he’d made a point of repeatedly denying them. That didn’t prevent ‘Ol’ Blue Eyes’ from trying to derail The Godfather in both of its forms, though, with Puzo revealing in a 1972 essay that he’d received a letter from Sinatra’s legal team “demanding to see the manuscript” for the book.
Puzo recalled that when they happened to be in the same restaurant at the same time during production of the film, things boiled over. Despite the author referring to Sinatra as “an idol” ahead of their face-to-face confrontation, he revealed that he “started to shout abuse” and threatened him with violence.
What stung Puzo the most was their shared background, after he compared the notion of a Northern Italian threatening a Southern Italian as “roughly equivalent to Einstein pulling a knife on Al Capone”. His dissatisfaction continued even when casting began, with the actor who would eventually play The Godfather‘s alleged Sinatra substitute being offered a warning.
According to Al Martino, he was told that “Sinatra will bar you from Las Vegas” if he accepted the part of Fontane, which clearly didn’t dissuade him from signing on. Coppola wasn’t entirely clued in on the simmering tension, but he did acknowledge that his interaction with Sinatra hinted at how displeased he was with the way The Godfather was coming together behind the scenes.
Speaking to USA Today, the filmmaker said his recollection was the Rat Pack legend “jokingly” suggesting that they partner up to buy the rights from Paramount and have Sinatra play Vito Corleone, a role which would famously win Marlon Brando an Academy Award for ‘Best Actor’ and go down in history as one of cinema’s most iconic performances.
It was a strange scenario considering that Puzo had denied Sinatra was the influence behind Fontane, the Oscar winner denounced his own widely-publicised links to underworld figures, and the former was a noted fan of the latter’s work and career, but feathers were evidently ruffled to enough of an extent that Sinatra enlisted lawyers and threats to try and convince Puzo a rewrite would be in the best interests of both.
