Daily Dialogue — July 26, 2016

As Tessio and Hagen walk to Michael’s house, they are met by a bodyguard, Willi Cicci.

Willi Cicci: Sal… Tom… the boss says he’ll come in a separate car. He says for you two to go on ahead.
Tessio: Hell, he can’t do that; that screws up all my arrangements.
Willi Cicci: Well, that’s what he said.
Tom Hagen: I can’t go with you either, Tessio.

Just then, Michael’s bodyguards materialize around them, Tessio understands everything.

Tessio: [to Hagen] Tell Mike it was only business. I always liked him.
Tom Hagen: He understands that.
Willi Cicci: [removing Tessio’s gun] Excuse me, Sally.
Tessio: Can you get me off the hook, Tom? For old times’ sake?
Tom Hagen: [shakes his head] Can’t do it, Sally.

Hagen watches sadly as Tessio is led by Cicci and the others to a waiting car.

— The Godfather (1972), screenplay by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola, novel by Mario Puzo

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Apprehension suggested by Jon.

Trivia: The presence of oranges in the Godfather trilogy indicates that a death-related event will soon occur (even though production designer Dean Tavoularis claimed the oranges were simply used to brighten up the darkly shot film). In chronological order of such events:

* Hagen and Woltz negotiate Johnny Fontane’s position at a table with a bowl of oranges on it, and later Woltz discovers his horse’s severed head

* Don Corleone buys oranges right before he is shot. He does not die, but his missing driver/bodyguard, Paulie, does die;

* Sonny drives past an advertisement for Florida Oranges before he is assassinated;

* At the Mafioso summit, bowls of oranges are placed on the table (specifically in front of those Dons who will be assassinated);

* Michael eats an orange while discussing his plans with Hagen for assassinating the other dons;

* Before Don Corleone dies, he puts an orange peel in his mouth to playfully scare his grandson;

* Tessio, who is executed for attempting to betray Michael, plays with an orange at Connie’s wedding. In fact, he reaches across the table to grab it, indicating that he will “cross” the Corleones;

* And in a slight twist, there are no real oranges for Carlo Rizzi, but Rizzi does wear an orange suit right before Sonny beats him up, then helps to arrange Sonny’s death, and is himself garroted in retribution for Sonny’s death later.

The only deaths in the film that don’t appear to have oranges foreshadowing them are the assassinations of Sollozzo, McCluskey and Apollonia. It appears as if oranges do not presage Paulie’s death, but they do, when he is ‘out sick’ as the driver/bodyguard for Don Corleone, and the don decides to buy oranges before the attempted, but unsuccessful, assassination, thereby causing Santino to order Paulie’s death. In Paulie’s first scene, he gives Clemenza a pitcher of wine with oranges floating in it. Clemenza, who tells him to “do his job,” also takes him on the drive where he is killed for not doing his job faithfully.

Dialogue On Dialogue: This is a great example of apprehension. It slowly becomes clear to Tessio that he is about to be whacked, but he’s been around long enough to damp down his anxiety to make one last plea for his life. Great moment.