...and a ruthless mobster? Couldn't Michael have easily have been killed by Solozzo had he failed?
shareBecause Sonny and Tom realized it might actually work. I guess it was a "family bonding moment" for all of them, as well... LOL
shareSolozzo asked for Michael. Which means at that point he was the only person in the Corleone Family that could get close enough to kill him. Of course it was risky, and their father would have never approved of it, but Michael won them over with the way he presented it to them. Toss in that they could get rid of McCluskey too, who would have been a major problem for them had they just gotten Solozzo, and they decided it was worth the risk.
shareWhy would Sonny and Tom in even consider putting Michael in a position where he would have to kill a police captain
I think Sonny wanted Michael to be invoked in family business. And he hated that Michael joined the army. Also Sonny thought it was a good plan to kill those two scumbags.
shareAll of the above, but yes...given how pained Don Vito looked when he learned that Michael had committed the killings...Sonny(for one) could realize, with some jealous satisfaction, "good...now Michael never escapes the family business."
But also, the power of the scene where Michael lays out his plan ("We have some bought reporters....its a crooked cop getting killed, he was involved with drugs") is the scene where Michael reveals to HIMSELF that he is the smartest possible leader for this Clan with Vito out of action.
First time i watched it I didn’t know about this unwritten rule that cops are off limits. So when Michael says “where does it say you can’t kill a cop” i’m thinking ahem..the law?!
So I now appreciate how glorious Michael’s speech is here –by getting so actively involved with Solozzo’s business, McCluskey lost his right to the usual protection from the mafia, that bumping him off wouldn’t have the stigma of a cop killing. If they can use their newspaper connections to make it public knowledge that McCluskey was effectively a “gangster” too, and not some innocent cop who was just doing his job, then they could get him and Solozzo out of the way without losing too much face.
Nothing to do with the main thread I know. Sorry!
Michael made them an offer they couldn't refuse.
shareWasn't his disappearing to Sicily asking g for trouble? Couldn't he have stayed in New York with an alibi?
shareIs "g" the government?
Was Michael charged with the killing, or was a suspect? If not, he wasn't doing anything illegal by leaving the country.
Besides, the Corleone family's concern was revenge by the other families, and they figured he would be safer in Sicily.
G was a slip of the keyboard on my part.
share