How getting murdered in The Godfather immortalized actor Johnny Martino
The actor whose death scene produced the line “leave the gun, take the cannoli” looks back at the legacy of Francis Ford Coppola’s classic
Film Features Godfather
Johnny Martino’s name isn’t as well known as some of his co-stars in The Godfather, but his role in Francis Ford Coppola’s Oscar-winning 1972 crime film was pivotal: As Paulie Gatto, it’s his absence that gets Vito Corleone shot; not long after, Paulie gets himself murdered in return. In fact, his death inspired one of the most famous lines of dialogue in the entire Godfather universe. “Leave the gun. Take the cannoli” became synonymous with the franchise overnight, and rightly or not encapsulated an Italian mobster’s priorities for generations to come.
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of The Godfather, Martino spoke with The A.V. Club about his small but unforgettable part in the film, revealing key details about his process as an actor and the personal insights he brought to the perspective of a foot soldier in a criminal organization. He also discussed his relationship with the other actors and the advice they traded while helping Coppola get through a famously troubled production to create what has become an enduring cinematic classic.
The A.V. Club: This movie has so many big stories surrounding it, about Coppola and Robert Evans and the making of the movie. From your perspective a little outside of the core cast, did you have the sense while you were making it that this film would endure, that it would make the impression that it did?
Johnny Martino: I don’t know. Everybody was a little bit unsure because Francis was young. He wasn’t sure himself what was going on. I mean, the poor guy had so much pressure on him. He’s been fired several times and he fought back and [producer] Albert Ruddy stuck up for him. He said, “No, you gotta give him a chance. It’s gonna happen.” He fought to get it done the right way and sure enough, scene by scene, that’s how I believe life is, you do things one step at a time. “Let’s do this scene. Let’s see how that works out. Check it out tomorrow,” the dailies or whatever. And it started getting a little better each time.
Each actor started getting into their character, which was really interesting. I thought Paulie was a guy who was a crook. He liked money. He’d do some bad stuff. He was a stickup guy, too. So I developed my character, and when I got into Paulie, I stayed with him through the whole movie. I never changed character. I became Paulie.
I noticed Pacino started developing his character too. There was one scene when he came into the house, when they told him come home, Sonny says come home. And he does, he comes home. I’m sitting in the living room with Clemenza and Theresa, Bobby Duvall’s wife. And I’m sitting on the chair.
Now Pacino’s gonna become the boss someday, right? So I’m sitting there and he’s walking over to shake my hand. So now I turned around, I said to Al, “On the rehearsal, don’t come over and shake my hand. Look at me. Because at this point, now, think Al, you are gonna become the boss one day. You have to be sharp already at this point in your life. You’re starting to think, ‘Hey, wait a minute. I gotta help my family out here.’ Don’t trust Paulie right now. Go over to Clemenza, shake his hand.”
So Al said, “Wow, I didn’t even think of that, John.” Yes, think of that. Him and I, in the book, [the characters of] Al and I went to school together. That’s how I got in the family. But I gave him a couple of tips here and there, because I knew the mob world very close in my life. And I said, Al, do this, do that. And he would listen. And Al says, “Okay, Johnny, I’ll do that.” Anyway, him and I became the best of friends. We talk all the time. Al is such a nice person. I love Al Pacino. We see each other occasionally. He knows a couple of friends that I know out in California.
AVC: I’m always so fascinated with what’s going on in the actor’s head, particularly in a death scene. Throughout that whole sequence, does Paulie know that he is gonna die when he takes Clemenza for a drive?
JM: No, because let me tell you something. Even in real life, you don’t know. Your best friend’s talking to you. You trusted that person. You and I, we don’t even know each other. If we met a little bit longer [ago], we’d become friends. I’m gonna trust you. You trust your best friend. I don’t know what they’re gonna do. But I did take a look when the guy got in the back. I haven’t seen him in a while and I say, “Rocco, sit on the other side. You’re blocking the rear view mirror.” I’m tipping him, letting him know, “Don’t mess around with Paulie.”
Now Clemenza is easing the situation by saying, “Sonny’s thinking of going to the mattresses already, this and that,” bim boom, getting my confidence back so I’m not worrying about the guy in the back seat. And he did that perfectly. Now we’re going for the ride. Now, in the second movie, when they showed that cut, that he goes into the restaurant, I’m sitting in the parking lot. Rocco should have whacked me already at that time, but he didn’t. So when Clemenza comes back, we went to the mattresses and everything in the takes that were taken outta the film. But anyway, I was confident now. I wasn’t worried anymore. So when he says, “Pull over, I gotta take a leak,” I say okay. I pull over, trusting Clemenza. He gets out of the car. And that’s when they decided to do the job and kill Paulie.
AVC: Since Paramount Home Video remastered this film, it looks better than ever. Was there anything that watching the new version, maybe rekindled memories or showed you something that you felt like you had never seen on screen before?
JM: I like what they’ve done with it. It was a big difference from the beginning, original film, how much clearer and better the sound. Actually, they made a lot of corrections, but it’s still the same people, the same story flowing all the way through, just beautifully. So, yeah, I think they made it very interesting with the high definition and all the Blu-ray, whatever they did with the film. And it’s been released all over everywhere. It’s just so popular now because of the hot new [version] that just came out. It’s amazing.
AVC: You said at the beginning of this that you had a relationship with the mob. Did this movie give you street cred overnight, or did it hurt your reputation because you sold out Vito Corleone?
JM: Well, a lot of people that I met, even real mob people that I met, and they would say to me, you know… Paulie Castellano and I went to a funeral once and he looked at me and said, “Johnny, it’s just a movie, right?” Who was to think that this man in the future was going to be set up to be killed just like the Godfather? But do you know, when my father found out that I’m playing this character that set up the Godfather, he said, “Charlie, you can’t do something like that!” I said “Pop, it’s a movie. It’s not the real thing. It’s just a film.”
Of course, I’m not happy about playing that kind of role. Especially in real life, I’m not that kind of person. But Paulie’s character, stick-up artist, liked money, he got conned by Sollozzo to stay home. When Brando turned around and says, “Tell Paulie to get the car,” Fredo says, “Eh, I’ll get the car myself. Paulie called in sick. I don’t mind.” But it happens. In real life, that happens. People get set up. Somebody, your best friend, is gonna set you up. And the movie pulled it off just the way it’s supposed to be in real life. And that’s what’s so realistic, that I died that way, because that’s a real thing in real life. And that’s what made it so really powerful, my death scene.
AVC: For you as someone who was in the movie and is part of that legacy, is there one experience that has lingered around this film over its 50-year legacy that you always hold onto or come back to, whether it was a moment in filming or just the experience in the subsequent decades?
JM: The Godfather is my life. From the Day One, when it came out, I’ve lived the Godfather movie. Anywhere I went, “You’re Paulie!” It’s history. And it’s part of my history, the Godfather movie, not just another movie. Even Pacino, whatever movies he did, it always relates back to the Godfather movie.
Yes, 50 years have gone by and it’s changed my life drastically. I mean, anywhere I went, parties, whatever, “Johnny Martino’s coming!” And by the way, I sing too. A lot of people didn’t know I sang, and I did the Godfather theme recently, in English and Italian; Al Martino and Andy Williams never did that, but I did it. It’s a nice version. I put a record out called Speak Softly, Love Johnny Martino.
But it’s part of my life. It’ll always be part of my life. I don’t know how much longer am I gonna live, but I’m here, God wanted me to be around all this time, and I’ve been blessed, being in a movie like The Godfather.
32 Comments
All this Godfather coverage has me wondering if Godfather super fans are maybe one of the first instances of a group being really into a movie but seemingly not getting the point of it. Wanting to be in the Mafia after seeing The Godfather is the 70s equivalent of all those people who wanted to start a Fight Club after seeing that movie.
I’m sure plenty of people miss the point, but most just probably see it and think “it’d probably be cool to be in the Mafia.”It’s like how I see Point Break and kind of go, “you know, surfing and robbing banks all day doesn’t look half bad. Bet it’d be fun.” But I’m under no illusion that it’s some lifestyle to lust after, or that robbing banks is actually cool. It’s just letting your imagination roam a bit.It’s probably the people that miss the point of American History X that you need to watch out for.
It’s also a period piece so it’s almost a fantasy land. They don’t just think ““it’d probably be cool to be in the Mafia” but “it’d be cool to be in the Mafia in the 30s-50s.” Instead of what they probably would be back then which is some schlub clerk filing reports in an insurance company or something.
It’s why I love Donnie Brasco so much. THAT’S the reality of most gangsters – breaking open parking meters for the change to pay that week’s tribute.
I think that it would be fun to pretend to be in the mafia for a couple of hours, but that was all. “Everybody wants to live like a gangster, but nobody wants to die like one.”
How about mob-adjacent but technically legit? Like Del Webb. He worked with mobsters like Bugsy Siegel to build 1st-gen Las Vegas in the 1940s, but went on to pioneer the concept of retirement communities that even to this day often sport his name — like “Del Webb’s Sun City”.
Maybe you get the best of both worlds, I do not know. I do fantasize about being someone who invents a different kind of suburb.
Tthey’re building Del Webb stuff all over Central Florida right now.
And the guy’s been dead nearly 50 years! That’s lasting fame as a real estate developer that his name still has value to retirees who were teenagers when he died.
Well, that and all the anti-war movies that (as Truffaut said) couldn’t help but make war look exciting even if the point was it was supposed to be awful.
Yeah I remember back in college having friends who wanted to watch Saving Private Ryan again because it was “cool”.
Goddammit, I really need to start reading the comments before replying the same thing someone else said. Enjoy your star and the unintentional homage.
It was all the people who went to see Wall Street and forgot at the end Gordon Gecko was the bad guy that was the real problem.
That’s because it’s a great speech. There’s truth buried in it about efficient utilization of assets. The “greed works” part is edgelord stuff to be sure, and then of course he’s also committing securities fraud.
The same with “The Sopranos” and “Breaking Bad”. These were not good people, yet audiences were rooting for them.
Both did a great job of helping viewers understand the characters. You’re pulling for them in the sense that you want to see them get through their various tribulations. I haven’t seen the full Sopranos run (I know, I know) but Todd shooting the kid in BB was the undeniable turning point that Walt and Co. weren’t just scrappy underdogs trying to make a buck. They were in a shitty, ugly business surrounded by the worst kinds of people, and there was no avoiding the consequences.
For me it happened when Walter killed Emilio and Krazy-8 in the van with the chemical explosion, only to find Krazy-8 wasn’t dead, he had escaped and he was wandering down the Albuquerque suburban streets. His terror when they recaptured him was heartbreaking. Krazy-8 was then imprisoned in Jesse’s basement where Walter later horrifically choked him to death.You are right the characters are fully fleshed out and I kept watching to see what would happen to them. But especially Tony Soprano and Walter White, I wanted to see them get their come-uppance.
Maggie Mae Fish (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChBD4NpITiW2CzIz5GwppDA ) is in the middle of a two-parter on TWIN PEAKS — the original show, the movie TP: Fire, Walk With Me and TP: THE RETURN. She makes the point that in each case what seemed to be just weirdness for weirdness’s sake was in fact Lynch very deliberately deconstructing specific genres and their reliance on the Dominant Male as the arbiter of morality and rightness.I was going to go into detail about that, but it’s better you watch her first episode and look for her second.
You know how Truffaut discussed how hard it is to make an anti-war film? I’ve got a feeling that it’s similarly difficult to make an anti-crime film. I mean, hell, people wanted to emulate Edward Robinson and James Cagney.
You are not wrong! But the pull to belong is so strong as to be a compulsion – hell, I read S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders in 8th grade and was ready to start packing a swtichblade in my lunchbox. But I don’t think it is even the mob angle that does it – it’s the family.Who wouldn’t want to be in a family with a dad as wise as Vito, a brother as tough as Sonny and another as smart as Tom Holland? The loyalty and love displayed in this film is what makes it so compelling a half-century later.
The mob movies today are what westerns were in the mid 20th century. The mobsters appear to be in control amid a chaotic society. Americans look to this as a source of comfort. It’s a fantasy. But part of the American dream…is fantasy.
It’s not just Godfather superfans. I’ve read reviewers, even today, who miss the point. Points. The squeaky-clean war hero dragged into the family “business” against his father’s plans, a Greek (OK, Italian) tragedy in the making. Bad things done by good people, and vice versa. Sibling rivalry. The hypocrisy of “upstanding” people. Watching the movie and marveling at how you’ve started viscerally rooting for people doing terrible things. And many miss Coppola’s deft light touch, exemplified in Michael explaining his plan to kill McCluskey and Sollozzo: slowly, almost imperceptibly the camera tightens, tightens onto Pacino. How its possible to believe it’s “glorifying” the underworld, a mere “shoot-em-up” is beyond me.
“We’ll have the meeting, in a public place, so he’s comfortable. The Oscars, for example. Then, he makes a joke about my wife. I get up, shoot him in the face.”- Will Smith
“It’s not personal, Uncle Phil. Just business. No wait…wait…it’s personal. I was right the first time.”
I wish you would have asked him about what he remembers of the long-lost deleted scenes from just after the wedding, in which Paulie and another enforcer go and exact revenge on the WASP teens that raped Bonasera’s daughter, as Vito had promised.
Cutting that was of itself a masterclass in filmmaking. Vito’s agreed to it, it’s going to happen, but the ugly street-level stuff always happens out of sight.
It was cut for budget reasons, while FFC was very under the gun, as they needed to film more on a second day – not cut at the script level. Neither of us has seen a second of the footage. And plenty of “ugly street-level stuff” is portrayed in the film. But your comment is an object lesson in Film Class Theorizing: draw a “lesson” from mistaken hindsight, turning a decision of convenience or desperation into a creative flourish. It’s cliched at this stage.
It is staggering the amount of times I’ve seen people go up to directors or actors or designers asking whether their choices were because of one of two compelling and complex artistic philosophies that they had in mind, and the artists politely avoiding answering “We were crunched for time, I pulled something out of my ass and I probably unconsciously stole it from an episode of Spongebob, but glad you liked it”.
Everybody steals from Spongebob. He’s so trusting!
Absolutely true. I’d just never before seen it happen before either 1) in real time, or 2) critiquing *literally* unseen footage!!
I was in h.s. when TG came out. Saw it 3 times that month. I was thinking as I read the article that they would’ve definitely be establishing a Godfather Universe and a con-Con in every city nowadays.