Even before The Godfather was released there was an air of anticipation surrounding Francis Ford Coppola’s adaptation of the Mario Puzo novel — largely due to the casting of Marlon Brando.
At the time, it had been a while since Brando’s last successful film and rumours of his short temper had long been circulating Hollywood. So when news of his casting as Vito Corleone landed, photographers did all they could to catch a glimpse of him in character.
Such was the excitement that, when members of the press caught wind of a crucial scene’s filming location; they descended upon the film’s shoot. The scene in question was the one where Corleone is shot by a rival band of gangsters. Its filming location was the centre of New York’s Little Italy district — more specifically, 128 Mott Street.
Most of the photographers were fended off, but others — namely those from the New York Daily News — caught an unpermitted peek of Brando on set.
Jacob Stolworthy