Analyzing Evil: Vito Corleone From The Godfather

[Music] hello everyone and welcome to the 171st episode of analyzing evil featuring Don VTO Corleone from The Godfather nearly 130 episodes ago I chose to cover Michael Corleone one of the greatest characters ever conceived in literature and portrayed in film well here I am now to cover another that's equally as great if not more so his father vetto Corone veto Corleone is an interesting character to study as far as evil is concerned on the surface he's an almost Regal figure whose generosity and kindness belies the Insidious nature of his position however when looking deeper at the man VTO corleon became you'll find that as genuine as some of the more noble aspects of his character are they do not cancel out the evil that he's intricately hidden beneath the nobility of his person now in this video the visuals are unfortunately going to be a tad different than other videos I've made on film characters the reason for that is because the film studio that owns The Godfather films Paramount Pictures has proven to be the only company who is displeased enough with how I make my videos to the point that they requested one be taken down the episode on Rosemary 's baby which I will be re-uploading here soon enough so unfortunately rather than the usual film clips you see in these videos this video is largely going to consist of still images as I really don't want to have to risk another video being taken down because they're convinced that what I do somehow endangers any profits they make from their films now one of the greatest things about Francis for cop's films is the significant amount of authenticity he adds to any film he creates whether that be through the use of realistic environments intricate set pieces or even the use of native languages to add that extra layer of realism to his films some times though you'll encounter a scene without those precious subtitles that help to clue you in on what exactly is going on well with the help of our sponsor for this video Babble you can start learning a new language today so you can start getting the full picture when watching your favorite pictures Babel is one of the world's top language learning apps that has helped millions of people all across the world reach their language learning goals developed by over 150 expert linguists Babel gives you access to lessons in over 14 different languages that have been scientifically proven to help you start speaking a new language in as little as 3 weeks I've featured Babble a few different times on this channel and they've helped me to progress in a couple different languages I'm interested in learning however as I mentioned a moment ago I've recently become interested in learning languages that will help me better understand what's happening in some of my favorite films and as all US Film Buffs out there know all too well Italian Cinema or Italian influence Cinema is some of the best there is and being able to understand on a deeper level the many elements of these films has significantly improved my viewing experience which is a dream for any film buff dreams can come true though and with Babble you can make thisam Reality by clicking the link down below where you can get up to 60% off a lifetime subscription to Babel so you can start learning a new language in just 3 weeks thank you Babel for sponsoring this video now without further Ado let's begin veto andolini was born on December 7th 1891 in Corleone Sicily to Antonio andolini and his unnamed wife who will refer to a Senora andolini from here on out the mafia at the time veto was born was a fairly new institution having only been established around 30 years prior as a response to the lack of police enforcement and Trust amongst the populace of Western Sicily following Italian unification and as an organization initially created to provide protection to people and business dealings through the establishment of protection rackets the Sicilian Mafia flourished due to a lack of governmental structure and as PUO puts it in the novel in Sicily at the turn of the century the mafia was the second government far more powerful than the official one in Rome the mafia was able to accomplish such a feat by utilizing violence or the threat of it and while Sicily during this era couldn't necessarily be described as Lawless as the Mafia did keep the peace in many respects Sicily was Rife with violence and murder whether that be from Bandits personal vendettas or the activities of the various Mafia Clans who held sway over the region so needless to say young veto andolini was frequently exposed to violence from numerous different sources though seeing violence or hearing of violent actions taking place around you certainly has an impact on a person's development there is nothing quite like witnessing or confronting the murder of those closest to you and when veto was 9 years old his father was murdered by the local Mafia Chief Don chichio for refusing to pay him tribute veto's older brother Paulo swore revenge against donio for the murder of his father and unfortunately Paulo failed and was also murdered not too long after his father fearing that veto would soon attempt to follow in his late brother's footsteps Don chichio put a bounty on the young boy's life and in the films veto's mother attempted to reason with donio before she resorted to an attempted assassination of the man who had destroyed her family which she much like her eldest son failed in accomplishing in both versions of this story veto is hidden away and smuggled onto a ship headed to America by his relatives and upon landing at Ellis Island in New York City with small pox that he had contracted on the journey over in the film veto is mistakenly given the name veto Corleone by an immigration clerk before he sent to quarantine though in the novel it's explained that veto chose to change his name to Corleone to preserve some ties with his forsaken home which is described as one of the few gestures of sentiment he was ever to make regardless veto Corleone as he was now called was offered a fresh start in the land of opportunity under the care of his new Guardians the abandando a quiet gentle kind and reserved young man who was given a chance to put all the misery and woe he had experienced in his short life behind him and become a Scion of the American dream now one of America's greatest strengths can be found in the willingness to not only accept the cultures of others but in the integration of the various cultures of the people who flock to its Shores into American culture and from such a willingness to embrace the practices and beliefs of others has been birthed an entirely unique culture that has led to some of the most noteworthy and magnificent Innovations and achievements in the history of mankind however this strength can occasionally be a weakness and one of the best examples we have of this is the formation of the American Mafia a criminal organization that Afflicted various major cities all across the United States that was created by Sicilian mafiosi immigrants this carryover of one of the most negative aspects of Sicilian culture had several implications for many American citizens and institutions and for our dear VTO Corleone whose life was changed for better and for worse once he came into contact with the ghosts of his past in his new Homeland this time in the form of another villainous mafia boss but by the name of Don fucci from the time veto was released from Ellis Island until shortly after the birth of his first son Santino veto by all accounts was an upstanding member of American society veto worked for his pseudo father figure at the abandando grocery alongside his childhood friend jenko who had later become his consiliary and at this time life for veto Corleone was good however after first buying the brutish Don fucci threatening a young girl at a theater play alongside jenko veto encountered him once again at his workplace and the novel gives us insight into this encounter and how in this moment it unlocked something that had been hiding beneath the surface of the good-natured veto during World War I when imported olive oil became scarce fui acquired a part interest in the abandando grocery store by supplying it not only with oil but imported Italian salami hams and cheeses he then moved a nephew into the store and veto Corone found himself out of a job by this time the second child freder Rico had arrived and vitto Corleone had four Mouse to feed up to this time he had been a quiet very contained young man who kept his his thoughts to himself the son of the grocery store owner young jenko abandando was his closest friend and to the surprise of both of them veto reproached his friend for his father's deed jenko flushed with shame vowed to veto that he would not have to worry about food that he would steal food from the grocery to supply his friend's needs this offer though was sternly refused by veto as too shameful a son stealing from his father the young veto however felt a cold anger for the dreaded fucci he never showed this anger in any way but bited his time he he worked in the railroad for a few months and then when the war ended work became slow and he could earn only a few days pay a month also most of the foreman were Irish and American and abused the workmen in the foulest language which veto always bore stone-faced as if he did not comprehend though he understood English very well despite his accent in this short excerpt we're given our first account of the three most Central aspects of veto's personality in his reproach me of his boss and guardian's willingness to bow to the will of Don fucci despite it being the wrong thing to do no matter the likely threat of person personal harm that could have come to him or his family veto shows us that he has a strong sense of integrity and honor ideals that he expects those close to him to uphold just as mightly as he would in the face of any adversity no matter the circumstances in the film were given a similar but different display of Integrity from veto in this moment as here Rob andando Senor attempts to offer veto a care package of groceries for his family but veto refuses likely due to a mindset rooted in self-determination a refusal to accept goods or services that he hasn't or cannot return in kind and the idea that a man needs to hold himself up in the world with his own strength seldom relying on the charity of others however veto also shows us here as of concealed the at everpresent Cold rage as well as the patient and logical framework that his mind operates under a Hallmark of the men of the society veto was born into lies in their strong sense of personal honor and Justice which in the past had resulted in a heightened level of vendettas being pursued whenever an individual was wronged by another to the point that when veto's son Michael is hiding out in his native Village of Corleone in Sicily he remarks that there's a distinct absence of men in Corleone to which his body guard responds by stating that most of them had been killed in vendettas as we've already discussed veto is a man of honor and integrity and he too as a man very much ingrained in the culture beliefs and practices of his people also has a desire to deal with any wrongs committed against him or those closest to him with vengeful Justice however while such behavior is often fueled by Passion and anger unlike some of his more fiery tempered Sicilian Brethren the quiet and Reserve veto rarely ever outwardly displays the immense rage he feels in any given situation in fact only shown veto expressing his anger once in the film when his godson Johnny Fontaine is breaking down in front of him shouting at his godson to act like a man and once more in the novel after he was informed that Sunny had taken part in an armed robbery by clemenza when he was younger perhaps the only reason that these are the only times we see veto unleashing his anger is because he's amongst his family members when he does so a vulnerability that he wouldn't allow himself to express amongst others but regardless on every other occasion veto is a man who was able to temper any feelings he might have in the moment with logic and reason and that then allows him to think clearly and make plans for the actualization of his revenge later on without ever suffering the ramifications of spur of the- moment actions that are liable to get one in more trouble than they were already in his innate personality goes a long way in furthering his success in this area as not only is veto monstrously intelligent to the point of Genius but his reserved manner of speaking and moving hides the deadliness of his person deadliness that's expertly masked by his outward appearance of a genial and amiable man as Francis Fort Copa put it in his forward for the novel Young was gentle and kind yet also had a cold rage inside that expressed itself as deadly cunning and indeed this would be the defining traits of Don VTO Corone for the duration of his life now a remarkable thing about VTO Corone is that due to his AFF forementioned personality traits he's a man who automatically commands respect from those he encounters just by the force of his person alone and if a mere look at this almost aristocratic figure in action isn't enough to inspire awe in someone the kind and poignant words of understanding and reason he offers when someone is speaking to him serve to dis arm even the most brutish and full hearty individuals and veto Corleone's intelligence strong sense of duty honor and Justice and use of cold calculating logic essentially guaranteed that he was destined for some sort of greatness in whatever path he chose to take in life but for a man who had already experienced so much that the dark underbelly of Sicilian Society had to offer and who would have to contend with those forces still it seems that veto Corleone's fate was tied to this Insidious institution but fate is a poor word to use here as every one of us ultimately makes choices that decide who will become no matter whether or not it may seem like it at the time you make those choices and as far as veto Corleone is concerned this notion is exemplified for us in the novel's portrayal of his first encounter with two of his most valued friends and subordinates Peter clemenza and Salvatore tessio one evening as veto was having supper with his family there was a knock on the window that led to the open air shaft that separated them from the next building when veto pulled aside the curtains he saw to his astonishment one of the young men in the neighborhood Peter clemenza leaning out from a window on the other side of the air shaft hey Paisan clemenza said hold these for me until I ask for them hurry up automatically veto reached over the empty space of the air shaft and took the bundle clemenza's face was strained and Urgent he was in some sort of trouble and veto's helping action was instinctive but when he untied the bundle in his kitchen there were five oily guns staining the white cloth he put them in his bedroom closet and waited he learned that clemenza had been taken away by the police they must have been knocking on his door when he handed the guns over the air shaft veto never said a word to anyone and of course his terrified wife dared not open her lips even in Gossip for fear her own husband would be sent to prison 2 Days Later Peter clemenza reappeared in the neighborhood and asked veto casually do you have my goods still veto nodded he was in the habit of talking little clemenza came up to his tenement flat and was given a glass of wine while veto dug the bundle out of his bedroom closet clemenza drank his wine his heavy good-natured face alertly watching veto did you look inside veto his face impassive shook his head I'm not interested in things that don't concern me he said they drank wine together the rest of the evening they found each other congenial clemenza was a Storyteller VTO Corleone was a listener to storytellers they became casual friends a few days later clemenza asked the wife of veto Corleone if she would like a fine rug for her living room floor he took veto with him to help carry the rug clemenza LED veto to an apartment house with two marble pillars and a white marble stoop he used a key to open the door and they were inside a plush apartment clemenza grunted go on the other side of the room and help me roll it up the rug was a rich red wool V Corleone was astonished by clemenza's generosity together they rolled the rug into a pile and clemenza took one end while veto took the other they lifted it and started carrying it toward the door at that moment the apartment bell rang clemenza immediately dropped the rug and stroe to the window he pulled the drape aside slightly and what he saw made him draw a gun from inside his jacket it was only at that moment that the astonished veto Corleone realized that they were stealing the rug from some stranger apartment the apartment bell rang again veto went up alongside clemenza so that he too could see what was happening at the door was a uniform policeman the policeman gave the doorbell a final push then Shrugged and walked away down the marble steps and down the street clemenza grunted in a satisfied way and said come on let's go he picked up his end of the rug and veto picked up the other end the policemen had barely turned the corner before they were edging out the heavy oen door and into the street with the rug between them 30 minutes later they were cutting the rug to fit the living room of V Corleone's apartment they had enough left over for the bedroom clemenza was an expert work and from the pockets of his wide ill-fitting jacket even then he liked to wear loose clothes though he was not so fat he took the necessary carpet cutting tools time went on things did not improve the Corleone family could not eat the beautiful rug very well there was no work his wife and children must starve veto took some parcels of food from his friend jenko while he thought things out finally he was approached by clemenza and tessio another young tough of the neighborhood they were men who thought well of him the way he carried himself and they knew he was desperate they proposed osed to him that he become one of their gang which specialized in hijacking trucks of silk dresses after those trucks were loaded up at the factory on 31st Street there was no risk the truck drivers were sensible hardworking men who at the sight of a gun flopped on the sidewalk like Angels while the hijackers drove the truck away to be unloaded at a friend's Warehouse some of the merchandise would be sold to an Italian wholesaler part of the loot would be sold door too in the Italian neighborhoods Arthur Avenue in the Bronx mberry Street and the Chelsea District in Manhattan all the poor Italian working fames looking for a bargain whose daughter could never be able to afford such fine apparel clemenza and tessio needed veto to drive since they knew he chauffeured the abandando grocery store delivery truck in 1919 skilled automobile drivers were at a premium against his better judgment veto Corleone accepted their offer the clinching argument was that he would clear at least $1,000 for his share of the job and there in that one moment when against his better judgment he made the decision to enter into the world of violence and crime that he escaped from as a child is where the enormous evil of veto corleon began as a slow acting poison that would go on to harm or destroy an Untold number of lives veto at this point in time was a man who had experienced and witnessed immense tragedy as a child and he had become a man who despite his attempts at making a living through legitimate means and hard work had come in contact with an echo of the forces that had scarred his childhood and had once again felt the pain members of the mafia often inflict upon their victims in so many ways so veto decided that he would now take matters into his own hands that he would carve his own path in the world and he would do whatever it took to ensure that he and his family were granted access to all the luxuries in life that had been denied to them by lawful and unlawful forces alike so one day they might be the ones to pull the strings in this world however though veto did in fact choose to start down this path if we continue exploring this chapter in the novel you'll find that a belief and fate helped to guide veto towards his eventual position as dawn after the success of their hijacking veto is approached by Don fucci to pay him protection money whom he successfully Charmed into delaying the Deliverance of a share of their Loot and as he's discussing this matter with clemenza and tessio were given the following insight into veto's thoughts in later years veto Corleone understood that what had made him act in such a perfect tactical way with fucci was the death of his own hot-tempered father who had been killed by the mafia in Sicily but at that time all he felt was an icy rage that this man planned to Rob him of the money he had risked his life and freedom to earn he had not been afraid indeed he thought at that moment that fucci was a crazy fool from what he had seen of clemenza that Burly Sicilian would sooner give up his life than a penny of his loot after all clemenza had been ready to kill a policeman merely to steal a rug and the Slender tessio had the deadly air of a viper but later that night in clemenza's tenement Department Across The airshaft veto Corleone received another lesson in the education he had just begun clemenza cursed tessio scow but then both men started talking about whether fucci would be satisfied with $200 tessio thought he might cenzo was positive no that Scarface bastard must have found out what we made from the wholesaler who bought the dresses fucci won't take a dime less than 300 $ we'll have to pay veto was astonished but was careful not to show his astonishment why do we have to pay him what can he do to the three of us we're stronger than him we have guns why do we have to hand over the money we earned clemenza explained patiently fucci has friends real brutes he has connections with the police he'd like us to tell him our plans because he could set us up for the cops and earn their gratitude then they would owe him a favor that's how he operates and he has a license from marala himself to work this neighborhood marzal was a gangster often in the newspapers reputed to be the leader of a criminal ring specializing in extortion gambling and armed robbery clemenza served wine that he had made himself VTO Corone sat with his two friends and drank wine he had never used his intelligence before as he was using it now he was surprised at how clearly he could think he recalled everything he knew about fucci he remembered the day the man had had his throat cut and had run down the street holding his Fedora under his chin to catch the dripping blood he remembered the murder of the man who had wielded the knife and the other two having their sentences is removed by paying an Indemnity and suddenly he was sure that fucci had no great connections could not possibly have not a man who informed to the police not a man who allowed his Vengeance to be bought off a real mafioso Chief would have had the other two men killed also no fucci had got lucky and killed one man but had known he could not kill the other two after they were alerted and so he had allowed himself to be paid it was the personal brutal force of the man that allowed him to Levy tribute on the shopkeepers the gambling games that ran in the tenement Apartments but veto Cor knew of at least one gambling game that had never paid fucci tributes and nothing had ever happened to the man running it and so it was fucci alone or fui with some gunmen who were hired for special jobs on a strictly Cash basis which left veto Corleone with another decision the course that his own life must take it was from this experience came his offer repated belief that every man has but one Destiny on that night he could have paid fucci the tribute and have become again a grocery clerk with perhaps his own grocery store in the years to come but Destiny had decided Ed that he was to become a Don and had brought fucci to him to set him on his destined path as many of you will know veto goes on to murder Don fucci in a feat of supreme cunning where and he first spends a few moments with fui disarming him with his kind manners and sensible arguments against paying him and then afterwards murdering fucci by traversing the rooftops of the many buildings Landing his neighborhood so he can get the jump on him and divert any suspicion of the murder away from him and because of everything that led veto to committing this murder namely his loss of a job due to fci's influence his involvement in criminal activity with clemenza anesio and fci's attempted extortion of him it might very well seem like veto was fated to be the man to end on fucci still veto chose to take out Don fucci and not only that but he chose to essentially take his place after the fact and it was not some pre-ordained fate that forced veto to take these actions but his own will and furthermore it was his decision to become a part of clemenza and tessio's criminal operation that forced him to even have his confrontation with fucci in the first place was fucci a reprehensible fellow who deserved what he had coming to him sure he was and if it wasn't veto who did the deed doubtless someone else would have come along to end his Reign for a man who deals in underhanded tactics like fucci who is more feared and reviled than he is loved such an end was guaranteed for him but it did not have to be veto Corone who carried out this sentence and it did not have to be veto Corone who became the new face of the criminal underworld in his neighborhood but to his credit veto was a far better person than fuci ever could have hoped to be and when given the opportunity to capitalize on vui's business he instead chose to forge his own way in this new life of his and were given great insight into this in the novel Pete clemenza and tessio avoided him for the next week for the next two weeks then they came to call on him one evening they came with obvious respect veto corleon greeted them with impassive courtesy and served them wine clemenza spoke first he said softly nobody is collecting from the store owners on 9th Avenue nobody is collecting from the card games and gambling in the neighborhood vetto Corone gazed at both men steadily but did not reply tessio spoke we could take over fci's customers they would pay us veto Corleone Shrugged why come to me I have no interest in such things clemenza laughed even in his youth before growing his enormous belly he had a fat man's laugh he said now to vetto Corone how about that gun I gave you for the truck job since you won't need it anymore you can give it back to me very slowly and deliberately veto Corleone took a wat of bills out of his side pocket and peeled off 510 here I'll pay you I threw the gun away after the truck job he smiled at the two men at that time V coron did not know the effect of this smile it was chilling because it attempted no Menace he smiled as if it was some private joke only he himself could appreciate but since he smiled in that fashion only in Affairs that were lethal and since the joke was not really private and since his eyes did not smile and since his outward character was usually so reasonable and quiet the sudden unmasking of his true self was frightening clemenza shook his head I don't want the money he said veto pocketed the bills he waited they all understood each other they knew he had killed fenucci and though they never spoke about it to anyone the whole neighborhood within a few weeks also knew vetto Corleone was treated as a man of respect by everyone but he made no attempt to take over the fucci rackets and tributes now at this point we've gotten a pretty good idea of what kind of man veto is but we can get an even better idea by exploring veto's backstory further and we're going to do so by using information that was left out of both Godfather part one and part two which is found in the last 20 or so pages of this chapter that I've been reading from and start starting in just a moment I'm going to read for you these pages in their entirety as if you've only seen the film I feel you'll gain some very important insight into the formation of veto Corleone's power and his organization and if you have read the book and it's been a while a refresher on the particulars of veto's rise to power might be helpful however though I believe the information I'm about to relay to you is important to know when examining veto's character if you'd like to skip ahead here you're more than welcome to do so using the Tim stamp below veto Corone was now a man of respect in the neighborhood he was reputed to be a member of the mafia of Sicily one day a man who ran card games in a furnished room came to him and voluntarily paid him $20 each week for his friendship he had only to visit the game once or twice a week to let the players understand they were under his protection store owners who had problems with young hoodlums asked him dinner seed he did so and was properly rewarded soon he had the enormous income for that time and place of $100 a week since clemenza and tessio were his friends his allies he had to give them each part of the money but this he did without being asked finally he decided to go into the olive oil importing business with his Boyhood Chum jenko abandando jenko would handle the business the importing of the olive oil from Italy the buying at the proper price the storing in his father's Warehouse jenko had the experience for this part of the business clemenza and tessio would be the salesmen they would go to Every Italian grocery store in Manhattan then Brooklyn then the Bronx to persuade store owners to stock jenko Pura olive oil with typical modesty veto Corone refused to name the brand after himself veto of course would be the head of the firm since he was supplying buying most of the capital he also would be called in on special cases where store owners resisted the sales talks of clemenza and tessio then veto Corleone would use his own formidable powers of persuasion for the next few years veto Corleone lived that completely satisfying life of a small businessman who was wholly devoted to building up his commercial Enterprise in a dynamic expanding economy he was a devoted father and husband but so busy he could spare his family little of his time as jenko Pura olive oil grew to become the bestselling imported Italian oil in America his organization mushroom like any good businessman he aimed at holding a monopoly by forcing his Rivals to abandon the field or by merging with his own company however since he had started off relatively helpless economically since he did not believe in advertising relying on Word of Mouth and since if truth be told his olive oil was no better than his competitors he could not use the common strangle holds of legitimate businessmen he had to rely on the force of his own personality and his reputation as a man of respect even as a Young Man veto Corleone became known as a man of reasonableness he never uttered a threat he always used logic that proved to be irresistible he always made certain that the other fellow got his share of profit nobody lost he did this of course by obvious means like many businessmen of Genius he learned that free competition was wasteful Monopoly efficient and so he simply set about achieving that efficient Monopoly there were some oil wholesalers in Brooklyn men of fiery temper headstrong not amenable to reason who refused to see the vision of VTO Corone even after he had explained everything to them with the utmost patience and detail with these and veto Corleone threw up his hands in Despair and sent tessio to Brooklyn to set up a headquarters and solve the problem warehouses were burned truckloads of all of Green oil were dumped to form lakes in the cobbled Waterfront streets one rash man an arrogant millanes with more faith in the police than a saint has in Christ actually went to the authorities with a complaint against his fellow Italians breaking the 10th Century Old Law of amera but before the matter could progress any further the wholesaler disappeared never to be seen again leaving behind deserted his devoted wife and three children who God be thanked were fully grown and capable of taking over his business and coming to terms with the jenoa olive oil company but great men are not born great they grow great and so it was with veto Corleone when prohibition came to pass and alcohol forbidden to be sold veto Corleone made the final step from a quite ordinary somewhat ruthless businessmen from a great Dawn in the world of criminal Enterprise it did not happen in a day it did not happen in a year but by the end of the prohibition period and the start of the Great Depression veto Corone had become The Godfather the dawn Don Corleone it started casually Enough by this time the jkoa olive oil company had a fleet of six delivery trucks through clemenza veto Corone was approached by a group of Italian Bootleggers who smuggled alcohol and whiskey in from Canada they needed trucks and delivery men to distribute their produce over New York City they needed delivery men who were reliable discreet and of a certain determination and force they were willing to pay veto Corleone for his trucks and for his men the fee was so enormous that veto Corleone cut back drastically on his Oil Business to use the trucks almost exclusively for the service of The Bootlegger Smugglers this despite the fact that these gentlemen had accompanied their offer with a silky threat but even then veto Corleone was so mature a man that he did not take insult at a threat or become angry and refuse a profitable offer because of it he evaluated the threat found it lacking in conviction and lowered his opinion of his new partners because they had been so stupid to use threats where none were needed this was useful information to be pondered at its proper time again he prospered but more important he acquired knowledge and Conta ta and experience and He piled up Good Deeds as a banker piles up Securities for in the following years it became clear that veto Corleone was not only a man of talent but in his way A Genius he made himself the protector of the Italian families who set themselves up as small speak EES in their homes selling whiskey at 15 cents a glass to Bachelor laborers he became Godfather to Mrs Columbo's youngest son when the lad made his confirmation and gave a handome present of a $20 gold piece meanwhile since it was inevitable that some of his trucks be stopped by the police jenko abandando hired a fine lawyer with many contacts in the police department and the Judiciary a system of payoffs was set up and soon the Corleone organization had a sizable sheet the list of officials entitled to a monthly sum when the lawyer tried to keep this list down apologizing for the expense veto Corleone reassured him no no he said get everyone on it even if they can't help us right now I believe in friendship and I am willing to show my friendship first as time went by the Corleone Empire became larger more trucks were added the sheet grew longer also the men working directly for tessio and clemenza grew in Number the whole thing was becoming unwieldy finally veto Corleone worked out a system of organization he gave clemenza and tessio each the title of Kappa regime or Captain and the man who worked beneath them the rank of soldier he named jenko abandando his counselor or ciliary he put layers of insulation between himself and any operational act when he gave an order it was to jenko or to one of the Capal regimes alone rarely did he have a witness to any order he gave any particular one of them then he split tessio's group and made it responsible for Brooklyn he also split tessio off from clemenza and made it clear over the years that he did not want the two men to associate even socially except when absolutely necessary he explained this to the more intelligent tessio who caught his drift immediately though veto explained it as a security measure against the law tessio understood that veto did not want his two kappo regimes to have any opportunity to conspire against him and he also understood there was no ill will involved merely a tactical precaution in return veto gave tessio a freehand in Brooklyn while he kept clemenza's Bronx feet very much under his thumb clemenza was the braver more Reckless the cruler man despite his outward jolity and needed a tighter Reign the Great Depression increased the power of VTO Corleone and indeed it was about that time he came to be called Don Corleone everywhere in the city honest men beged for honest work in vain proud men demean themselves and their families to accept official charity from a contemptuous officialdom but the men of Don Corleone walked the streets with their heads held high their pockets stuff with silver and paper money with with no fear of losing their jobs and even Don Corleone that most modest of men could not help feeling a sense of Pride he was taking care of his world his people he had not failed those who depended on him and gave him the sweat of their brows risked their freedom in their lives in his service and when an employee of his was arrested and sent to prison by some mischance that unfortunate Man's family received a living allowance and not a miserly beggarly begrudging pittance but the same amount the man earned when free this of course was not pure Christian charity not his best friends would have called Don Corleone a saint from Heaven there was some self-interest in this generosity an employee sent to prison knew he had only to keep his mouth shut and his wife and children would be cared for he knew that if he did not inform to the police a warm welcome would be his when he left prison there would be a party waiting in his home the best of food homemade ravioli wine pastries with all his friends and relatives gathered to rejoice in his freedom and sometime during the night the consiliary jenko abandando or perhaps even the dawn himself would drop by to pay his respects to such a stalwart take a glass of wine and in his honor and leave a handsome present of money so that he could enjoy a week or two of leisure before returning to his daily toil such was the infinite sympathy and understanding of Don Corone it was at this time that the dawn got the idea that he ran his world far better than his enemies ran the greater World which continually obstructed his path and this feeling was nurtured by the poor people of the neighborhood Who constantly came to him for help to get on the home relief to get a young boy a job or out of jail to borrow a small sum of money desperately needed to intervene with landlords who against all reason demanded rent from jobless tenants John VTO Corleone helped them all not only that he helped them with Goodwill with encouraging words to take the bitter sting out of the charity he gave them it was only natural then that when these Italians were puzzled and confused on who to vote for to represent them in the state legislature in the city offices in the Congress they should ask the advice of their friend Don Corleone their Godfather and so he became a political power to be consulted by practical party Chiefs he Consolidated this power with a farseeing statesmanlike intelligence by helping brilliant boys from poor Italian families through college boys who would later become lawyers assistant District Attorneys and even judges he planned for the future of his Empire with all the foresight of a great national leader the repeal of prohibition dealt this Empire crippling blow but again he had taken his precautions in 1933 he sent emissaries to the man who controlled all the gambling activities of Manhattan the crap games on the docks the shylocking that went with it as hot dogs go with baseball games the bookmaking on Sports and horses the elicit gambling houses that ran poker games the policy or numbers racket of Harlem this man's name was salvator Marzano and he was one of the acknowledged pezon nante 90 calibers or big shots of the New York Underworld the Corleone emissaries proposed to Marzano an equal partnership that was beneficial to both parties veto Corleone with his organization his police and political contacts could give the Marzano operations a stout umbrella and the new strength to expand into Brooklyn and the Bronx but marono was a short-sighted man and he spurned the Corleone offer with contempt the great Al Capone was Marano's friend and he had his own organization his own men plus a huge War chest he would not broke this upstart whose reputation was more that of a parliamentary debater than a true mafioso Marino's refusal touched off the Great War of 1933 which was to change the whole structure of the underworld in New York City at first glance it seemed an uneven match salvator maranzano had a powerful organization with strong enforcers he had a friendship with Capone in Chicago and could call on help in that quarter he also had a good relationship with a tatalia family which controlled prostitution in the city and what there was of the thin drug traffic at that time he also had political contacts with powerful Business Leaders who used his enforcers to terrorize the Jewish unionists in the Garment Center and the Italian Anarchist syndicates in the Building Trades against this Don Corleone could throw two small but superbly organized regimes led by clemenza and tessio his political and police contacts were negated by The Business Leaders who would support Marin Zano but in his favor was the enemy's lack of intelligence about his organization the underworld did not know the true strength of his soldiers and even were deceived that tessio and Brooklyn was a separate and independent operation and yet despite all this it was an unequal battle until veto Corleone evened out the odds with one master stroke Marzano sent a call to Capone for his two best gunmen to come to New York to eliminate the upstart the Corleone family had friends and intelligence in Chicago who relayed the news that the two gunmen were arriving by train veto corleon dispatched Luca brzi to take care of them with instructions that would Liberate the strange man's most Savage instincts brzi and his people four of them received the Chicago hoods at the railroad station one of br's men procured and drove a taxi cab for the purpose and the station Porter Carri caring the bags led the Capone men to this cab when they got in brzi and another of his men crowded in after them guns ready and made the two Chicago boys lie on the floor the cab drove to a warehouse near the docks that brzi had prepared for them the two Capone men were bound hand and foot and small bath towels were stuffed into their mouths to keep them from crying out then bronzi took an axe from its place against the wall and started hacking at one of the Capone Men He chopped the man's feet off then the legs of the knees then the thighs where they joined the Torso brzi was an extremely powerful man but it took him many swings to accomplish his purpose by that time of course the victim had given up The Ghost and the floor of the warehouse was slippery with the Hacked fragments of his flesh and the gting of his blood when brzy turned to his second victim he found further effort unnecessary the second Capone gunman out of sheer Terror had impossibly swallowed the bath towel in his mouth and suffocated the bath towel was found in the man's stomach when the police performed their autopsy to determine the cause of death a few days later in Chicago the Capon received a message from vetto Corleone it was to this effect you know now how I deal with enemies why why does a naon interfere in a quarrel between two Sicilians if you wish me to consider you as a friend I owe you a service which I will pay on demand a man like yourself must know how much more profitable it is to have a friend who instead of calling on you for help takes care of his own Affairs and stands ever ready to help you in some future time of trouble if you do not wish my friendship so be it but then I must tell you that the climate in the city is damp unhealthy for na Don and you are advised never to visit it the arrogance of this letter was a calculated one the dawn held the Capones in small esteem as stupid obvious his Cutthroats his intelligence informed him that Capone had forfeited all political influence because of his public arrogance and the flaunting of his criminal wealth the dawn knew in fact was positive that without political influence without the camouflage of society Capone's world and others like it could be easily destroyed he knew Capone was on the path to destruction he also knew that Capone's influence did not extend beyond the boundaries of Chicago terrible and all pervading as that influence there might be the tactic was successful not so much because of its ferocity but because of the chilling Swift the quickness of the dawn's reaction if his intelligence was so good any further moves would be fraught with danger it was better far wiser to accept the offer of Friendship with its implied payoff the Capone sent back word that they would not interfere the odds were now equal and veto Corleone had earned an enormous amount of respect throughout the United States underworld with his humiliation of the Capones for 6 months he outgeneraled Marano he raided the crap games under that man's protection located his biggest policy Banker in Harlem and had him relieved of a day's play Not only in money but in records he engaged his enemies on all fronts even in the Garment centers he sent clemenza and his men to fight on the side of the unionists against the enforcers on the payroll of Marano and the owners of the dress firms and on all fronts his Superior intelligence and organization made him the Victor clemenza Jolly ferocity which Corleone employed judiciously also helped turn the tide of battle and then Don Corleone sent the held back reserve of the tessio regime after Marano himself by this time Marzano had dispatched emissaries suing for a piece veto coron refused to see them put them off on one pretext or another the Marzano soldiers were deserting their leader not wishing to die in a losing cause bookmakers and were paying the corleon organization their protection money the war was all but over and then finally on New Year's Eve of 1933 tessio got inside the defenses of Marzano himself the Marzano lieutenants were anxious for a deal and agreed to lead their Chief to the slaughter they told him that a meeting had been arranged in a Brooklyn restaurant with Corleone and they accompanied Marano as his bodyguards they left him sitting at a checker table morosely munching a piece of bread and they fled the restaurant as tessio and four of his men entered the execution was Swift and sure Marzano his mouthful of half chewed bread was riddled with bullets the war was over the Marano Empire was incorporated into the Corleone operation Don Corleone set up a system of tribute allowing all incumbents to remain in their bookmaking and policy number spots as a bonus he had a foothold in the unions of the Garmin Center which in later years was to prove extremely important and now that he had settled his business Affairs the dawn found trouble at home Santino Corone Sunny was 16 years old and grown to an astonishing six feet with broad shoulders and a heavy face that was sensual but by no means effeminate but where Fredo was a quiet boy and Michael of course a toddler Santino was constantly in trouble he got into fights did badly in school and finally clemenza who was the boy's Godfather came to Don Corleone one evening and informed him that his son had taken part in an armed robbery a stupid Affair which could have gone very badly Sunny was obviously the ring leader the two other boys in the robbery his followers it was one of the very few times that veto Corleone lost his temper Tom Hagen had been living in his home for 3 years and he asked clemenza if the orphan boy had been involved clemenza shook his head Don Corleone had a car sent to bring Santino to his offices in the jenko olive oil company for the first time the dawn met defeat alone with his son he gave full vent to his rage cursing the hulking sunny and Sicilian dialect a language so much more satisfying than any other for expressing rage he ended up with a question what gave you the right to commit such an act what made you wish to commit such an act Sunny stood there angry refusing to answer the dawn said with contempt and so stupid what did you earn for that night's work $50 each $20 you risked your life for $20 as if he had not heard these last words Sunny said defiantly I saw you kill fucci the Don said ah and sank back in his chair he waited Sunny said when fucci left the building mama said I could go up to the house I saw you go up the roof and I followed you I saw every everything you did I stayed up there and I saw you throw away the wallet and the gun the dawn sighed well then I can't talk to you about how you should behave don't you want to finish school don't you want to be a lawyer lawyers can steal more money with a briefcase than a thousand men with guns and masks sunny grinned at him and said slightly I want to enter the family business when he saw that the dawn's face remained impassive that he did not laugh at the joke he added hastily I can learn how to sell olive oil still the dawn did not answer finally he Shrugged every man has one destiny he said he did not add that the witnessing of fci's murder had decided that of his son he merely turned away and added quietly come in tomorrow morning at 9:00 jenko will show you what to do but jenko abandando with that shrewd Insight that a consoer must have realized the true wish of the Dawn and use Sunny mostly as a bodyguard for his father a position in which he could also learn the subtleties of being a Dawn and it brought out a professional Instinct in the dawn himself who often gave lectures on how to succeed for the benefit of his eldest son besides his of repeated theory that a man has but one destiny the dawn constantly reproved Sunny for that young man's Outburst of temper the dawn considered a use of threats the most foolish kind of exposure the unleashing of anger without forethought as the most dangerous Indulgence no one had ever heard the dawn utter a naked threat in an uncontrollable rage it was Unthinkable and so he tried to teach Sunny his own disciplines he claimed that there was no greater natural advantage in life than having an enemy overestimate your faults unless it was to have a friend underestimate your virtues the Capal regime clemenza took Sunny in hand and taught him how to shoot and to wield a garat Sunny had no taste for the Italian rope he was too Americanized he preferred the simple direct impersonal Anglo-Saxon gun but Sunny became a constant and welcome companion to his father driving his car helping him in little details for the next 2 years he seemed like the usual son entering his father's business not too bright not too eager content to hold down a soft job meanwhile his Boyhood Chum and semi- adopted brother Tom Hagen was going to college Fredo was still in high school Michael the youngest brother was in grammar school and baby sister Connie was a toddling girl of four the family had long since moved to an apartment house in the Bronx Don Corleone was considering buying a house on Long Island but he wanted to fit this in with other plans he was formulating veto Corleone was a man with vision all the great cities of America were being torn by Underworld Strife Guerilla Wars by the Dozen flared up ambitious hoodlums trying to carve themselves a bit of Empire men like Corleone himself were trying to keep their borders and rackets secure Don Corleone saw that the newspapers and government agencies were using these killings to get stricter and stricter laws to use tser police methods he foresaw that public indignation might even lead to a suspension of democratic procedures which could be fatal to him and his people his own Empire internally was Secure he decided to bring peace to all the Waring factions in New York City and then in the nation he had no Illusions about the dangerousness of his mission he spent the first year meeting with different Chiefs of gangs in New York laying the groundwork sounding them out proposing spheres of influence that would be honored by a Loosely bound confederated Council but there were too many factions too many special interests that conflicted agreement was impossible like other great rulers and lawgivers in history Don corleon decided that order and peace were impossible until the number of reigning States had been reduced to a manageable number there were five or six families too powerful to eliminate but the rest the neighborhood Blackhand terrorists the freelance shocks the strong armed bookmakers operating without the proper that is to say paid protection of the legal authorities would have to go and so he mounted what was in effect a colonial war against these people and through all the resources of the Corleone organization against them the pacification of the New York area took 3 years and had some unexpected rewards at first it took the form of bad luck a group of Mad Dog Irish stickup artist the daunted Mark for extermination almost carried the day with sheer Emerald Ian by chance and with suicidal bravery one of these Irish gunmen pierced the DA's protective cordon and put a shot into his chest the Assassin was immediately riddled with bullets but the damage was done however this gave Santino Corone his chance with his father out of action Sunny took command of a troop his own regime with the rank of Kappa regime and like a young un trumpeted Napoleon showed a genius for City Warfare he also showed a merciless ruthlessness the lack of which had been Don Corleone's only fault as a conqueror from 1935 to 1937 Sunny Corleone made a reputation as the most cunning and Relentless executioner the underworld had yet known yet for sheer Terror even he was eclipsed by the awesome man named Luca brzi it was brzi who went after the rest of the Irish gunmen and single-handedly wipe them out it was brzi operating alone when one of the six powerful families tried to interfere and become the protector of the independence who assassinated the head of the family as a warning shortly after the dawn recovered from his wound and made peace with that particular family by 1937 peace and Harmony reigned in New York City except for minor incidents minor misunderstanding which were of course sometimes fatal as the rulers of ancient cities always kept an anxious eye on the Barbarian tribes roving around their walls so don Corone kept an eye on the Affairs of the world outside his world he noted the coming of Hitler the fall of Spain Germany's strong arming of Britain at Munich unlinked by that outside world he saw clearly the coming global war and he understood the implications his own world would be more impregnable than before not only that fortunes could be made in time of War by alert foursided folk but to do so peace must reign in his domain while War raged in the world outside Don Corleone carried his message through the United States He conferred with compatriots in Los Angeles San Francisco Cleveland Chicago Philadelphia Miami and Boston he was the underworld Apostle of peace and by 1939 more successful than any Pope he had achieved a working agreement amongst the most powerful underworld organizations in the country like the Constitution of the United States this agreement respected fully the internal authority of each member in his state or city the agreement covered only spheres of influence and an agreement to enforce peace in the Underworld and so when World War II broke out in 1939 when the United States joined the conflict in 1941 the world of Don VTO Corleone was at peace in order fully prepared to reap the Golden Harvest on equal terms with all the other industries of a booming America the corleon family had a hand in supplying Black Market Opa food stamps gasoline stamps even travel priorities it could help get War contracts and then help get black market materials for those garment Center clothing firms who were not given enough raw material because they did not have government contracts he could even get all the young men in his organization those eligible for Army draft excused from fighting in the foreign war he did this with the aid of doctors who advised what drugs had to be taken before physical examination or by placing the men in draft exam positions in the War Industries and so the dawn could take in his rule his world was safe for those who had sworn loyalty to him other men who believed in Law and Order Were Dying by the millions the only fly in the ointment was that his own son Michael Corone refused to be helped insisted on volunteering to serve his own country and to the dawn's astonishment so did a few of his other young men in the organization one of the men trying to explain this to his Kaa regime said this country has been good to me upon this story being related to the dawn he said angrily to the Kappa regime I have been good to him it might have gone badly for the these people but as he had excused his son Michael so must he excuse other young men who so misunderstood their duty to their Dawn and to themselves at the end of World War II Don Corleone knew that again his world would have to change its ways that it would have to fit itself more snugly into the ways of the other larger world he believed he could do this with no loss of profit there was reason for this belief in his own experience what put him on the right track were two personal affairs early in his career the then young Nazarene only a Baker's helper planning to get married had come to him for assistance he and his future bride a good Italian girl had saved their money and had paid the enormous sum of $300 to a wholesaler of furniture that was recommended to them this wholesaler had let them pick out everything they wanted to furnish their tenement Apartment A Fine sturdy bedroom set with two bureaus and lamps also the living room set of heavy stuffed sofa and stuffed armchairs all covered with Rich gold threaded fabric Nazarene and his fiance had spent a happy day picking out what they wanted from the huge Warehouse crowded with Furniture the wholesaler took their money their $300 rung from the sweat of their blood and pocketed it and and promised the furniture to be delivered within the week to the already rented flat the very next week however the firm had gone into bankruptcy the great Warehouse stocked with Furniture had been sealed shut and attached for payment of creditors the wholesaler had disappeared to give other creditors time to unleash their anger on the empty air Nazarene one of these went to his lawyer who told him nothing could be done until the case was settled in court and all creditors satisfied this might take 3 years and nazarine would be lucky to get back 10 cents on the dollar Vito Corleone listened to the story with amused disbelief it was not possible that the law could allow such thievery the wholesaler owned his own palatial home and estate on Long Island a luxurious automobile and was sending his children to college how could he keep the $300 of the poor Baker Nazarene and not give him the furniture he had paid for but to make sure veto Corone had jenko abandando check it out with the lawyers who represented the jenko company they verified the story of Nazarene the wholesaler had all his personal wealth in his wife's name his furniture business was incorporated and he was not personally liable true he had shown bad faith by taking the money of Nazarene when he knew he was going to file bankruptcy but this was a common practice under law there was nothing to be done of course the matter was easily adjusted Don Corleone sent his consiler jenko abandando to speak to the wholesaler and as was to be expected that Wide Awake businessman caught the drift immediately and arranged for Nazarene to get his furniture but it was an interesting lesson for the young veto Corleone the second incident had more far-reaching repercussions in 1939 Don Corleone had decided to move his family out of the city like any other parent he wanted his children to go to better schools and mix with better companions for his own personal reasons he wanted the anonymity of suburban life where his reputation was not known he bought the mall property in Long Beach which at that time had only four newly built houses but with plenty of room for more Sunny was formerly engaged to Sandra and would soon marry one of the houses would be for him one of the houses was for the dawn another was for jenko abandando and his family the other was kept vacant at the time a week after the mall was occupied a group of three workmen came in all innocence with their truck they claimed to be furnace inspectors for the town of Long Beach one of the Don's young bodyguards let the men in and led them to the furnace in the basement the dawn his wife and sunny were in the garden taking their ease and enjoying the Salty Sea Air much to the dawn's annoyance he was summoned into the house by his bodyguard the three workmen all big Burly fellows were grouped around the furnace they had taken it apart it was strewn around the cement basement floor their leader an authoritative man said to the dawn in a Gruff voice your furnace is in lousy shape if you want us to fix it and put it together again it'll cost you $150 for labor and parts and then we'll pass you for County inspection he took out a red paper label we stamped this seal on it see then nobody from the county bothers you again the Dawn was amused it had been a boring quiet week in which he had had to neglect his business to take care of such family details moving to a new house entailed in more broken English than his usual slight accent he asked if I don't pay you what happens to my furnace the leader of the men Shrugged we just leave the furnace the way it is now he he gestured at the metal Parts strewn over the floor the dawn said meekly wait I'll get you your money then he went out into the garden and said to Sunny listen there's some men working on the furnace I don't understand what they want go in and take care of the matter it was not simply a joke he was considering making his son his underboss this was one of the tests a business executive had to pass Sunny solution did not altogether please his father it was too direct too lacking in Sicilian subtleness he was the club not the Rapier for as soon as Sunny heard the leader demand he held the three men gunpoint and had them thoroughly Baston autoed by the bodyguards then he made them put the furnace together again and tidy up the basement he searched them and found they were actually employed by a house Improvement firm with headquarters in suffk County he learned the name of the man who owned the firm then he kicked the three men to their truck don't let me see you in Long Beach again he told them I'll have your balls hanging from your ears it was typical of the young Santino before he became older and cooler that he extended his protection to the community he lived in Sunny made a personal call to the home improvement firm owner and told him not to send any of his men into into the Long Beach area ever again as soon as the corleon family set up their usual business Laya on with the local police force they were informed of all such complaints and all crimes by professional criminals in less than a year Long Beach became the most crime-free town of its size in the United States professional stickup artist and strong arms received one warning not to play their trade in the town they were allowed one offense when they committed a second they simply disappeared the flimflam Home Improvement Gip artists the doorto door conmen were politely warned that they were not welcome in Long Beach those confident conmen who disregarded the warning were beaten within an inch of their lives resident young punks who had no respect for Law and proper Authority were advised in the most fatherly fashion to run away from home Long Beach became a model City what impressed the Dawn was the legal validity of these sail swindles clearly there was a place for a man of his talents in that other world which had been close to him as an honest youth he took appropriate steps to enter that world and so he lived happily on the mall in Long Beach consolidating and enlarging his Empire until after the war was over the Turks zazo broke the peace and plunged the dawn's world into its own war and brought him to his hospital bed now if you skipped ahead what we just went through was an account of veto's slow consolidation of a monopoly in the olive oil business using either his own persuasive charm or if it came to it violence his struggle with the forces of salvator Marzano a wouldbe business partner turned rival whom veto fought a war with after prohibition ended whose organization he eventually assimilated into his own which then enabled his family to become the most powerful in the New York City underworld and how sunny came to be his father's understudy through the revelation of his witnessing of nui's murder but above all veto's use of a mixture of Honor nobility and violence to become a man that many admired but many more still rightfully reviled for beneath the affability of Don Vito Corleone lay the will of a man who would resort to the use of violence when his formidable powers of Reason failed him and there are a few things in particular that I'd like to examine that highlight why despite veto's magnanimous personality and admirable qualities that he is a villain like any other first is how veto manages to maintain an image of respectability in any situation even if upon looking into it further that isn't really the case take one of his first acts as Dawn as an example his resolving of the situation with Senora Columbo Senora Columbo had been told by her landlord Senor Roberto to get rid of a dog that had garnered several complaints and after he warned her to get rid of the dog she attempted to keep it despite promising to do so and when Senor Roberto found out he terminated her lease and forced her to vacate her apartment now no matter how you view the offra wilded landlord profession it's hard to find fault with rea actions here he received complaints from his other tenants regarding the noise Senora Columbo's dog was making warned her to get rid of it and when she went behind his back and kept it anyway he kicked her out which seems like a slightly harsh reaction here but one that he was well within his rights to take when you consider he had already warned her prior so when Senora Colombo goes to Don Corone for help and he persuades Senor Roberto to not only let Senora Columbo stay but keep her dog and lower her rent by $10 which would have been equivalent to around $175 today how can we say that what veto managed to accomplish here was justified and fair similarly when you examine the famous band leader story you'll find that there's a similar level of Injustice exercised by veto here as well the film tells it a bit differently but the novel tells this story in the following way 8 years ago Johnny Fontaine had made an extraordinary success singing with a popular dance band he had become a top radio attraction unfortunately the band leader a well-known Show Business personality named lesal had signed Johnny to a 5-year personal services contract it was a common Show Business practice Les could now loan Johnny out and pocket most of the money Don Corleone entered the negotiations personally he offered lesal $220,000 to release Johnny Fontaine from the personal services contract hi offered to take only 50% of Johnny's earnings Don gone was amused he dropped his offer from $220,000 to $10,000 the band leader obviously not a man of the world outside his beloved Show Business completely missed the significance of this lower offer he refused the next day Don Corleone went to see the band leader personally he brought brought with him his two best friends jenko abandando who was his consilier and Luca brzi with no other Witnesses Don Corleone persuaded lesal to sign a document giving up all rights to all services from Johnny Fontaine upon payment of a certified check to the amount of $110,000 Don Corone did this by putting a pistol to the forehead of the band leader and assuring him with the utmost seriousness that either his signature or his brains would rest on that document in exactly 1 minute Les hiy signed Don Corone pocketed his pistol and handed over with a certified check now as Michael tells this story the band leader had Johnny under a contract that was more beneficial to the band leader than it was to Johnny especially since it was holding his career back as true as that might be Johnny was a grown man who signed a contract of his own valtion and was bound by his decision to do so and while he certainly had a right to change his mind and try to renegotiate s contract so he could get out of it his Godfather did not have the right to reduce those negotiations to a do as I wish or lose your life scenario as if a man you've signed a contract with wants to to hold you to that contract well that's his right to do so and he shouldn't have to suffer the threat of death because he chose to exercise that right however the trick of the mistake surrounding Don Corleone's character lies in what light any of the situations he's involved in are framed in both of these scenarios the men whose rights are being violated here or painted as villains a callous man who would kick out a poor Widow and a greedy band leader holding a young promising singer hostage under his contract but both of these men are nothing more than two average citizens conducting business and though it could be argued that they're doing so in an un scrupulous manner their are offenses here essentially amount to them conducting business in a way you might expect them to while these two situations seem relatively harmless in the grand scheme of things when compared to the activities of your typical criminals it speaks to the tactics veto Corleone employs when conducting business and for those of you who skipped over it an example of these tactics on a larger scale can be found in veto gaining a monopoly for his Olive Oil Business veto wanted to make his product the dominant one in every Market in New York City and in his efforts to do so he undercut his competition by offering lower prices and attempt to spread his product through word of mouth and this is an example of veto Corleone attempting to advance his business interests through legitimate means using his signature brand of reason and his own forceful personality to accomplish the job however when a few of the Wholesale Distributors refused to back down or merge with veto's business and his reasoning didn't manage to cow these men he resorted to sending his minions to burn down their warehouses and spill their goods in the street and when one of these men went to the police veto had him killed and none of these things could or should ever be considered remotely fair and business practices so yes VTO Corleone might appear to be a man of reason but in reality he isn't as his reason is only present so far as he can get what he wants as a man who uses his own reasons for pursuing any given objective with little regard for any reason his opposition might offer is not a true man of Reason especially when he resorts to using violence whenever who he happens to be targeting refuses to see his version of reason I think a more apt word to describe VTO Corleone would be to call him agreeable a man who appears benevolent and kind who will make every effort to make you like and respect him and persuade you to see his side of things and in these moments he appears to be quite reasonable but in fact he's manipulating you with every word he speaks pushing you towards what he wants while giving you the illusion that you're getting what you want as well all of which is backed up by the Fearsome reputation of a man who will force you to come to terms with his design should you refuse to listen to his version of reason but unlike others who adopt a similar MyWay or the highway attitude veto Corleone knew the value of loyalty and friendship and it was his innate understanding of these Concepts that more than his personality and his cunning ensured the longevity and enormity of his success in every scenario you'll find that veto is attempting to further his own interests as any man in his position would and while he often does so at the expense of others in the same breath he furthers the interests of another as well when veto took the sight of Senora Columbo against Senor Roberto he might have harmed a man's business and soured his reputation in his mind but he gained the Eternal friendship of another in the process when he threatened the band leader he sent a shiver of Terror through that man that like lik left quite the mark on him ever after painting veto as a ruthless villain in his mind but in the process he ensured the success and continued admiration of his godson that would prove invaluable in the coming years in any given situation veto Corleone will solely His reputation with some while simultaneously boosting it with many others and The Honorable reputation of Don gone man of respect and friend to all who seek his friendship was the most powerful tool in his Arsenal the following descriptions were given of this aspect of veto during the wedding sequence in the novel Don veto corleon never forgot his old friends and neighbors though he himself now lived in a huge house on Long Island Don Corleone received everyone rich and poor powerful and humble with an equal show of love he slided no one that was his character and indeed it was his friendship with all around him that insulated him from the effects of broader society and secured for him a base of thousands of supporters who would come at the beck and call of the great Godfather a label that was given to him as a sign of respect but one that also furthers the image of VTO Corleone as this generous and kind-hearted fatherly figure looking out for even the smallest members of his family though the Dawn was kind and he had a good heart in many respects his friendship did come at a price the devil's price as all veto Corleone asked in return for any favor he granted you was your undying loyalty and friendship to him and though we aren't given any examples of this friendship coming back to bite anyone in either the novel or the films it's implied that should Don Corleone need your services in any way be it Sinister or not you must answer his call no matter the implications of such a call and holding people accountable to you through personal friendship is a system that serves as an example of one of the most diabolically genius things that Don Corleone ever brought into existence How could a waiter at your daughter's wedding betray you if he was a friend of one of your sons who would have the opportunity to poison the wedding cake if the baker was a dear friend what lawyer wouldn't do his best to represent all your interests if he was your adopted son whom you'd save from certain death on the streets what obstacles would you be incapable of overcoming should you acquire a legion of friends who are ready to do your bidding at a moment's notice Don Corone gave everyone who saw B him out an audience and he earned their friendship by going above and beyond to solve whatever problems they had come to him with no matter whether they were the ones in the right in their respective situations only asking that they do the same for him in return when the time comes and his willingness to do anything for his friends no matter the cost is what gave veto his power base however claiming that veto would do anything for his friends actually isn't true as it should be noted that despite his use of violence to further his business interests VTO Corone was in many respects an honorable and Noble man who refused to meet Injustice with further Injustice as when bonasera requests that the great Dawn have two boys who assaulted his daughter killed to bring his family Justice veto replies that killing them wouldn't be Justice because his daughter is still alive and he instead agrees to make them suffer as she suffered which coming from a gangster who as people murdered frequently is a surprising display of moral Integrity that you'll seldom find in other character similar to veto the bonacera situation also highlights something unfortunate about society and why the mafia was often accepted as a necessary evil as it's sometimes the case that courts will rule in favor of the offender rather than the victims like when they suspended the sentence of two college boys who beat a young girl within an inch of her life and so the members of the mafia people that ensured Justice was exacted at the most rudimentary level no matter what often became quasi heroic figures that helped the innocent in their time of need and who veto was as da embodied these ideals of the mafia in the purest sense now several times throughout this video I've mentioned the many admirable qualities of Don Vito Corleone namely his amiability generosity agreeableness kind Ness compassion and honor and I've only incidentally mentioned one of the kindest things that Don Corleone ever did taking in Tom Hagen who at the time he adopted him was an orphaned and homeless boy close to death but all of the good things that Don Corleone accomplished and all of these admirable traits don't really matter all too much when they're used as a cover for malicious actions that help to build a criminal Empire that then seeks to take advantage of others and a reprehensible way in order to advance its interests and despite all the magnomy of veto Corleone everything he had done and everything he had made himself into finally came back to bite him during the solazo affair standing on his principles in the face of change in the Underworld VTO Corleone was made to suffer the consequences that are associated with the refusal to adapt to the times and to our knowledge this was the first time that veto suffered personal injury due to the ramifications associated with his business and the ensuing War pretended that there was more misery to come in so many other ways because of his choices in life like any great leader who gained the admiration of their people the Corleone family wasn't so much held together by its vast business interests and business connections than it was by Don cor's personal connections to others as when he was taken out of commission his family quickly began to fall apart as uncertainty took hold of his allies in the wake of their respected Godfather's absence and that's because veto was personally involved to some degree with every minutia of his organization and while this afforded him immense and unprecedented power without his hands on the strings all the puppets fell to the ground with a bang and in the process his first child as well as many other members of his organization would lose their lives it was only after he recovered and was able to arrange an end to hostilities and tutor his youngest son to become his successor that he was able to stabilize his family and shortly after Don Corone perished as well as one in his position could hope for but the consequences of his actions for his family don't only lie within the untimely death of his eldest son rather Sunny's death was the first sign that all the evil veto Corleone had entertained over the course of his life was about to come full circle to corrupt and destroy everything he had tried to build which is fully embodied in the story of his youngest son Michael Corleone Michael an incredibly intelligent young man who held every admirable trait of his father within his person felt compelled to abandon his pursu of a legitimate life in order to save his family from imminent destruction though Michael much like his father when he decided to entertain a life of crime had a choice in involving himself in his family's Affairs it was everything that his father had done up to this point that led him to having to consider this Choice as an option and like so many of us who are faced with a choice that seems to be the only way Michael caved and became a man much like his father in order to protect his family now despite the fact that both sunny and Michael were respectively murdered and forced into a criminal Lifestyle by their father's choices I'm sure veto believed that just as his Destiny was decided for him so too were his children's and the unfortunate circumstances that led to the death of his eldest and the recruitment of his youngest into a CD organization were out of his hands but they weren't there was no Destiny involved in the murder of Sunny nor in the Ascension of Michael to Don of the Corleone crime family it was veto's choice to take criminal jobs with clemenza and IO that led him to murdering Don fucci which then led him to becoming a dawn far greater than fucci could have ever imagined then it was his continued pursu of this profession and the fact that his eldest son witnessed his murder of fui that caused him to get involved in the family business which due to his fiery disposition and brutality that was only encouraged by his involvement in his father's operations eventually led to his untimely death at the hands of the many enemies his father had cultivated over the many years that he spent as a criminal Overlord you could even say that Connie who went through a brutal marriage to Carlo ritzy and then then became a self-destructive and promiscuous alcoholic all only occurred because of who Don Corone had become another life that was scarred in so many ways by her father's actions then worst of all the need to protect their family drove his youngest son to become a man like his father and while veto Corleone wouldn't live to see the fruits of his diabolical labors in this regard Michael would go on to create a family of his own that would become strained under the weight of all he felt forced to become ruining his marriage and estranging his son from him but the horror of who Michael became can of course be found in the many crimes he committed in service to the Corleone family but even more so in his betrayal of Fredo his subsequent murder on Michael's orders The Accidental murder of his daughter at the hands of an assassin who was sent to kill Michael all of which only occurred because of the conditions veto Corleone created and Michael's subsequent inability to escape his father's Legacy in the end becoming a man utterly destroyed by everything he felt forced to become on his father's behalf and the slow drain of Michael soul and the murder of Mary is a testament to the fact that even 24 years after the death of Don VTO Corleone his family was still suffering the ramifications of his choices and actions so yes VTO Corleone was a mighty king who ruled with more honor dignity and respect than any other in his position ever had or ever would a man who wanted to make a better life for his children so they might not have to suffer through the injustices of the world and who could then Rise Above the Rest to become the privileged few pulling the strings of the many not the other way around but beneath all the Grandeur of this Regal man lay the corruption of so many innocent lives the deaths of who knows how many more who opposed him or decided to follow Don Vito Coro into hell two sons taken before their time a daughter whose life was warped and corrupted another son whose life was destroyed by embodying the villainy of his father and a granddaughter dead on the steps of an opera house and all of this death and misery is the lasting Legacy of the great Don Corleone The Godfather a man who sold his soul to buy his family power Prestige and prosperity and for a time they had just that but only for a time as all men like Don Corleone seem to really accomplish is securing the most opulent Mausoleum for their families to dwell in once they've suum to the very evil that was used to build it thank you all for tuning in to this episode of analyzing evil and I hope you've enjoyed what are your thoughts on veto let me know down below and leave a suggestion for a villain you'd like to see featured while you're at it if you like this video hit that thumbs up button and make sure to subscribe if you haven't already a big thank you to all of my subscribers my patrons and anyone who's decided to honor me with a super than and a most vile thank you to those whose names you're seeing on screen now join the Channel's Discord server and subreddit to interact with myself and the community and follow me on the social media platforms listed below to keep up with the channel as always thanks for watching and I'll be seeing you soon

Channel: The Vile Eye

Views: 189,359

Keywords: horror, evil, villain

Id: 2C7IRmQmKd8

Length: 70min 59sec (4259 seconds)

Published: Thu Feb 29 2024