Sunday, August 12, 2007

The Godfather 2::::script of the opening scenes::::::::Robert Duvall and the history of Tom Hagen::::::::Tessio gets the Hagen Treatment


Robert Duvall, Al Pacino, Diane Keaton

_____________________________________________



One of my favorite scenes, at Don Corleone's funeral, in Godfather 1


TOM (after Michael sits besides him again)Do you know how they're gonna come at you?

MICHAELThey're arranging a meeting in Brooklyn. Tessio's ground, where I'll be "safe"

TOMI always thought it would've been Clemenza, not Tessio...

MICHAEL It's a smart move -- Tessio was always smarter. But I'm gonna wait -- after the baptism. I've decided to be Godfather to Connie's baby. And then I'll meet with Don Barzini -- and Tattaglia -- all of the heads of the Five Families...



_____________________________________________



The Godfather 2 is just about my favorite movie. Both I and II have much to recommend them, and even III, which I disliked for many years, is not as bad as I initially thought when it came out (you can definitely call that one a sequel, in the worst sense of the word). 2, however, is often recognized as the best movie sequel of all time. Actually, the film is half sequel and half prequel. The internet movie database (IMDB.COM) rates it as the 3rd best movie of all time (with The Godfather being No. 1). It is the only sequel ever to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards (although some consider The Return of The King a sequel--really, 'though, it was the third part of one Big Movie).

The Godather (1) includes this spooky exchange between Tom Hagen and Salvatore Tessio. Michael Corleono and Tom Hagen have discovered that Tessio is a traitor. This dialogue and vid-cap show the moment he knows they know. And that he will be killed.




TESSIO: Tell Mike it was only business. I always liked him.

TOM HAGEN: He understands that.

TESSIO: ...Tom, can you get me off the hook? For old time's sake?

TOM HAGEN: Can't do it, Sally.



Hagen and Corleone at Don Corleone's funeral

One of my favorite characters in I and II is Robert Duvall's Tom Hagen. According to the backstory (which you can only really elicit through the novel), Hagen first encountered the eleven-year-old Sonny Corleone in the winter of 1927, according to the film's timeline.



Sonny and two older boys had wandered into a dangerous alley in the Irish part of Hell’s Kitchen, an alley in which Hagen was hiding. They encountered a man selling switchblades and tried to buy one. The man pulled a knife and dragged Sonny into the alley, while the other two boys ran. Hagen knew that this man was mentally unbalanced and would often drag young boys into the alley, make them perform oral sex on him, and then kill them. Hagen grabbed a board with a nail sticking out of it and brought it down on the back of the man’s head, impaling and killing him. Sonny and Hagen looked at each other and laughed nearly to the point of tears. They introduced themselves to each other, and walked away from the alley together, arms looped around each other’s shoulders.

Sonny asked about the eye infection, and about Hagen’s parents. Hagen just said his mother was dead and his father was gone. Sonny took him home and persuaded his father to take him into the family. Although the Don never formally adopted him, thinking that this would have been an act of disrespect to Hagen's parents, Hagen thought of Vito Corleone as his true father. Hagen, of course, eventually becomes the consiglieri of the Corelone crime family.



The opening scenes in The Godfather Part II:


from THE GODFATHER PART II

FADE FROM BLACK TO: MICHAEL, in profile looking downward. He holds out his hand
and ROCCO kissing it.


DISSOLVE TO: A remote mountainside area of Sicily. We hear a marching band
playing in the background. The introduction is overlaid:


THE GODFATHER WAS BORN VITO ANDOLINI IN THE TOWN OF CORLEONE IN SICILY. IN 1901. HIS FATHER WAS MURDERED FOR AN INSULT TO THE LOCAL MAFIA CHIEFTAIN. HIS OLDER BROTHER PAOLO SWORE REVENGE AND DISAPPEARED INTO THE HILLS, LEAVING VITO, THE ONLY MALE HEIR, TO STAND WITH HIS MOTHER AT THE FUNERAL. HE WAS NINE YEARS OLD.


[The marching band is followed by a procession of mourners including VITO and
his MOTHER. There is a casket, apparently containing the body of VITO's father.
Two gunshots ring out; all run for cover. People are screaming.]


WOMAN (in Sicilian) They've killed the boy! They've killed young PAOLO - they have killed your son
PAOLO! Murders! Murders!


[Young VITO and his mother run over to PAOLO's body, in a prone position on the
rocky ground]


VITO's MOTHER CICCIO (in Sicilian) My son -- My son [more]


[She begins to cry. GAFFE: The actor who plays "dead" PAOLO moves his hand as
he's hugged]


CUT TO: Young VITO and his mother approach the gate to DON CICCIO's villa and it
is opened for them.


CUT TO: VITO and his MOTHER walking down a path.


CUT TO: DON CICCIO sitting drinking wine.


CUT TO: VITO and his mother walk down the path some more.


CUT TO: DON CICCIO puts down his glass and looks at VITO and his MOTHER.


CUT TO: VITO's mother kisses DON CICCIO's hand


VITO's MOTHER (in Sicilian) All my respect DON CICCIO. DON CICCIO you killed my husband because he wouldn't give into you. And his oldest son PAOLO -- because he swore revenge. But VITO is only nine. And dumb-witted, He never speaks.


DON CICCIO (in Sicilian) It's not his words I'm afraid of.


VITO's MOTHER (in Sicilian) He's weak - he can't hurt anyone.


DON CICCIO (in Sicilian) But when he grows, he'll grow strong.


VITO's MOTHER (in Sicilian) Don't worry - this little boy can't do a thing to you.


[DON CICCIO stands up.]


DON CICCIO (in Sicilian) When he is a man he'll come for revenge.


VITO's MOTHER (in Sicilian) I beg you, DON CICCIO, spare my only son. He's all I have left. I swear to God that he'll never do any harm to you. Spare him!


DON CICCIO No.


[She reveals a concealed knife and holds it to DON CICCIO's neck.]


MOTHER (in Sicilian) Move and I'll kill him! (then) Run VITO!


[Young VITO watches as DON CICCIO's guards shoot her down, and he runs away.]


DON CICCIO (in Sicilian) Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!


CUT TO: The streets of Corleone at night.


GUARD (yelling in Sicilian) Any family who hides Vito Andolini will regret it! You understand? Yes or no! (then) Anybody who hides the boy Vito Andolini is in for trouble!


CUT TO: The guards walking down stairs.


CUT TO: A family hiding VITO in a donkey cart.


MAN [Probably ABBANDANDO] (in Sicilian) VITO, we're praying for you.


CUT TO: The man gets on the donkey that's carrying VITO.


GUARD yelling (in Sicilian) If anyone is hiding the boy VITO Andolini -- turn him over to us.

DON CICCIO will thank you for it! It'll be better for the boy, and better for you! Any family who hides the boy Vito Andolini will regret it!


CUT TO: A courtyard. The donkey cart passes by the guards.


CUT TO: The donkey cart walking away.


DISSOLVE TO: "The Moshulu" entering New York Harbor, passing in front of the
Statue of Liberty.


CUT TO: VITO on the ship. He stands up and walks behind everyone.


CUT TO: Everyone getting off the ship.


CUT TO: VITO still walking.


CUT TO: Immigrants looking at the Statue of Liberty.


CUT TO: VITO looking at the Statue of Liberty also.


CUT TO: Inside Ellis.


CUT TO: MAN inspects VITO's eyes and writes an encirled X on him.


INSPECTOR (pointing) NURSE --


CUT TO: All the immigrants waiting. A man playing a violin as everyone is talking in different languages.


CUT TO: Immigrants trying to explain themselves. CAMERA pans left along counter.


INTAKE OFFICER 1 Interpreter


INTAKE OFFICER 2 Where are you from?


INTAKE OFFICER 3 What is your name?


[VITO walks up.]


INTAKE OFFICER 4 What is your name? Come on son, what is your name?


TRANSLATOR ["What is your name?" in Italian] then, looking at the tag on VITO's coat:
VITO Andolini from Corleone.


INTAKE OFFICER 4 Corleone -- VITO Corleone. Okay over there. Next -- your name?


CUT TO: A doctor inspects VITO's chest with a stethoscope.


DOCTOR (to NURSE) Tell him he has small pox quarantine three months.


NURSE (translating for VITO) [In Italian, something like "you have small pox and will be quarantined for three months at Ellis Island"]


CUT TO: Two men walk down the hall looking for VITO


MAN Calling Out Vito Corleone? Vito Corleone?


Other MAN, standing next to Young VITO Here he is; this is him.


[Young VITO is placed in a room, looks out the window at the Statue of Liberty,
places his suitcase on the bunk (#52), sits and then starts to sing]


VITO CORLEONE
ELLIS ISLAND
1907


CUT TO: A Church. ANTHONY is walking down the aisle during his first communion.

HIS GRANDSON

ANTHONY VITO CORLEONE
LAKE TAHOE NEVADA
1958


FATHER CARMELO [in Latin]
[Priest prays while giving out eucharist. Anthony is the third child. He turns
toward the camera.]


CUT TO: Lake Tahoe Resort. Bandstand, music play


CUT TO: VALETs parking cars


VALET Hey! bring the car keys.


WOMAN (OS) Morey! Morey!


CUT TO: MAN takes drink to policeman in the parking lot.


CUT TO: MAN and WOMAN dance.


CUT TO: Watchman on roof lights a cigarette.


CUT TO: GUESTS sitting and talking.


CUT TO: CONNIE and MERLE Johnson walk, dodging guests, making their way to MAMA
CORLEONE.


CONNIE:
MAMA -- whooh MAMA.


MAMA CORLEONE [something in Italian, then] Look who's here --


CONNIE Oh, FATHER CARMELO.


MAMA CORLEONE This is FATHER CARMELO --


MERLE I'm MERLE Johnson --


MAMA CORLEONE -- and the priest


FATHER CARMELO Nice to meet you, how are you.


MAMA CORLEONE -- family Priest.


CONNIE MAMA --
[She kisses MAMA.]
-- here I am.


MAMA CORLEONE Constanzia - finalmente -- after one week? I sent the car out to the airport
last week to pick you up!


CONNIE Oh -- it was chaos. Anyway, here I am, just one week late. And this is for my MAMA.


[She hands MAMA a wrapped jewelry box]


MAMA What's this?


CONNIE You remember MERLE, don't you?


MERLE (to MAMA) Hello MAMA.


MAMA Hello, how are you; thank you.


CONNIE Where's MICHAEL? I gotta to talk to him, and um, get a few things straight, and
I can't wait on line.


MAMA You go see your children first! And then you worry about waiting on line to see
your brother -- like everybody else.


[The band gives a musical introduction to the CONDUCTOR]


CUT TO: A napping FRANK PENTANGELI napping outside. WILLIE CICCI wakes him and
they walk off.


CONDUCTOR Ladies and Gentlemen a most distinguished guest would like to say a few words.
Would you please welcome SENATOR Pat GEARY of the state of Nevada, and there is
Mrs. GEARY.


[SENATOR GEARY walks up onto the stage]


GEARY Thank you very much, Ladies and Gentlemen -- and this is a very very happy day
for me and ugh -- my wife, Mrs. GEARY. We see Nevada far too seldom -- but
particularly today when we can -- we can join with old friends -- we can make
new friends -- and we help celebrate -- a young man's first communion. And also,
to thank that boy's family for a magnificent contribution to the state. I have
here in my hand, a check -- made out to the University, and it is a magnificent
endowment in the name of - uh, ANTHONY VITO Corleone -- and the check is signed
by that young man's parents -- whom I think we should recognize Mike -- Pat --
uh, KAY -- stand up please -- stand up, let the folks see you. Folks, I want you
to join with me in giving a real Nevada -- thank-you to Mr. and Mrs. MICHAEL
Corleone!


[The crowd claps. The conductor whispers something to GEARY.]


We also have as a special added attraction, the Sierra Boys Choir. Who have, uh, chosen a certain special song, in a special arrangement, to honor their host, Mr. MICHAEL Corleone. Boys.


CUT TO: Mike and KAY getting up for a photo.


[The choir begins to sing.]


CUT TO: A long shot of the boys singing.


CUT TO: A close up of the boys singing.


CUT TO: MICHAEL at a photo session accepting a plaque


DIRECTOR Relax.
[MICHAEL holds the plaque.]
Okay fellas we got that one.


[MICHAEL and GEARY shake hands.]


Okay, that's good. Alright. Now SENATOR, this is you and Mrs. Corleone.
[The director comes over and gives GEARY the check and places him next to KAY.
They also shake hands.]


Okay that's enough, Senator --


[MICHAEL an GEARY shake hands for one more picture, holding the check]
CUT TO: EVERYONE listening to the choir.


CUT TO: The interior of MICHAEL's office.


MICHAEL
This is my lawyer, TOM HAGEN; SENATOR GEARY. He's the one who arranged this
whole thing through your man Turnbull.
GEARY Yes -- Yes.
MICHAEL Sit down.
GEARY Well I was under the impression that you and I would talk alone.
MICHAEL I trust these men with my life, SENATOR. If I were to ask them to leave, it would be an insult.
GEARY Well uh, it's perfectly all right with me, but I should tell you that I am a blunt man and I intend to speak very frankly to you -- maybe -- more frankly than anyone in my position's ever spoke to you before.


[MICHAEL lights a cigarette]


The Corleone family has done very well here in Nevada. You own, or, you control, two major hotels in Vegas -- one in Reno. The licenses were grandfathered in, so there is no problem with the gaming commission. Now, my sources tell me that -- you plan to make a move against the Tropicalla. They tell me within a week -- you're gonna move Klingman out. That's quite an expansion. However it will leave with one little technical problem. Ahh -- The license will still be in Klingman's name.


MICHAEL Turnbull is a good man.


GEARY Yeah, well let's cut out the bullshit. I don't want to spend any more time here than I have to. You can have the license, the price is 250,000 dollars. Plus a monthly payment of 5% of the gross -- of all four hotels. Mister -- Corleone.


MICHAEL
Now the price of the license is less than 20,000 dollars, am I right?

GEARY
That's right.

MICHAEL
Now why would I ever consider paying more than that?

GEARY
Because I intend to squeeze you. I don't like your kind of people. I don't like
to see you come out to this clean country in your oily hair -- dressed up in
those silk suits - and try to pass yourselves off as decent Americans. I'll do
business with you, but the fact is, I despise your masquerade -- the dishonest
way you pose yourself. Yourself, and your whole fucking family.

MICHAEL SENATOR - we're both part of the same hypocrisy. But never think it applies to
my family.


GEARY
All right, all right -- some people have to play little games. You play yours.
So lets just say that you'll pay me because it is in your interest to pay me.
But I want your answer and the money by noon tomorrow. And one more thing: don't
you contact me again -- ever. From now on you deal with Turnbull.
(then, to Al)
Open that door son.
[He starts to leave]


MICHAEL
Uh, senator -- you can have my answer now if you like. My offer is this --
nothing. Not even the fee for the gaming license, which I would appreciate if
you would put up personally.


GEARY (laughing)
Good afternoon, gentlemen.
[He opens the door and walks out]


KAY, I didn't know you were out here. Honey, we have to go -- we're 30 minutes
late.


KAY Oh really? I'm sorry.


GEARY
Mrs. Corleone, I've been delighted.


KAY
Oh, no --


GEARY
Thank you.


KAY
It was our pleasure. Thank you so much; it was wonderful talking with you.

CUT TO: People dancing. Music plays outside.

CUT TO: FREDO's boat pulls up to the dock.

CUT TO: BUTTONMAN looks around.
CUT TO: More BUTTONMEN look around at the party.
CUT TO: FREDO and JOHNNY OLA and others get off the boat and onto the dock
CUT TO: PENTANGELI drinking out of the hose held by WILLIE CICCI.
PENTANGELI
FREDO! FREDO, you son of a bitch, you look great!
[PENTANGELI runs toward him.]
FREDO
FRANK PENTANGELI, I thought you was never coming out west you big bum!
[They give each other a hug.]
PENTANGELI
I gotta check on my boys, uh? Hey, FREDO what's with the food around here?
FREDO
What's the matter.
PENTANGELI
A kid comes up to me in a white jacket, gives me a Ritz cracker, and uh, chopped
liver, he says Canapés. I say uh, uh, can o' peas my ass, that's a Ritz cracker
and chopped liver!
[FREDO laughs]
PENTANGELI
[Something in Italian, then] Bring out the peppers and sausage.
FREDO
Ah, seeing you reminds me of New York -- the old days, huh!
PENTANGELI
Hey, FREDO -- you remember, uh, WILLIE CICCI, he was with old man CLEMENZA in
Brooklyn. Yeah, look here --
FREDO
Look, we were all upset about that, Frankie. Heart attack, huh?
WILLIE CICCI
No - No, that was no heart attack.
PENTANGELI
Tha's -- Tha'sa -- That's what I'm here to see your brother Mike about. But wha'
-- what's with him?
FREDO
What do you mean?
PENTANGELI
I mean, what do I hafta do, get a letter of introduction to get a sit-down?
FREDO
You, you can't get in to see Mike?
PENTANGELI
He's got me waiting in a lobby!
CUT TO: MICHAEL's office. JOHNNY OLA enters.
JOHNNY OLA (shaking hands with AL)
JOHNNY OLA.
AL NERI
AL NERI .
MICHAEL
Sit down. You know my lawyer, TOM HAGEN -- JOHNNY OLA.
JOHNNY OLA
Sure, I remember TOM from the old days.
MICHAEL
ROCCO -
(then)
What's this?
JOHNNY OLA
It's an orange -- from Miami.
MICHAEL
Why don't you take care of JOHNNY's men -- they look like they might be hungry.
JOHNNY -- sit down. TOM isn't gonna sit in with us -- he only handles specific
areas of the family business. TOM --
TOM
Sure, Mike.
MICHAEL
What are you drinking, JOHNNY?
JOHNNY OLA
Anisette.
MICHAEL
Anisette.
TOM
If you need anything, Mike, I'll be outside, alright?
[TOM walks out the door.]
MICHAEL
Just tell ROCCO we're waiting, TOM
JOHNNY OLA
I just left, uh, Mr. ROTH in Miami.
MICHAEL
How's his health?
JOHNNY OLA
Ahh -- it's not good.
MICHAEL
Is there anything I can do -- anything I can send?
JOHNNY OLA
He appreciates your concern, MICHAEL -- and your respect. The casino you're
interested in -- the registered owners are Jacob Lawrence, Allen Barclay -
they're both Beverly Hills Attorneys. The real owners are the old Lakeville Road
group from Cleveland, and our friend in Miami. Meyer Klingman runs the store --
he runs a piece of it, too -- he does alright. But I've been instructed to tell
you that if you move Klingman out, our friend in Miami will go along.
MICHAEL
That is very kind of him. You tell him, that's greatly appreciated.
JOHNNY OLA
HYMAN ROTH always makes money for his partners. One by one, our old friends are
gone. Death -- natural or not - prison -- deported. HYMAN ROTH is the only one
left -- because he always made money for his partners.
CUT TO: Outside, PENTANGELI runs up to the stage.
PENTANGELI
Wha'? Wha'? I can't believe, out of thirty professional musicians, there isn't
one Italian in, in the group here. Come, let's have a tarantella. Come on --
[PENTANGELI begins to hum the tune, piano joins in]
You! Up! Clarinet up , up, up!
[He hums some more]
What's da matta? What's da matta?
[ He is still humming when the clarinet begins to play "Pop Goes The Weasel."
PENTANGELI gets mad as the whole group joins in]
CUT TO: MICHAEL's boathouse. CONNIE and MERLE walk in.
MICHAEL (to MERLE)
I'll see my sister alone.
MERLE
It concerns me, too. Is it okay, Mike, if I stay?
CONNIE
How are you, honey? You met MERLE -- he was with me in Vegas.
MICHAEL
I saw him with you
MERLE
Could I have a drink or something?
MICHAEL
Que voi?
CONNIE (to AL NERI)
Al, would you please get him a drink!
(then, to MICHAEL)
We're going to Europe next week. I'd like to book passage on The Queen
MICHAEL
So what do you come to me for -- why don't you go to a travel agent?
MERLE
We're getting married first.
MICHAEL
The ink on your divorce isn't dry yet and your getting married? You see your
children on weekends -- You know your oldest boy, Victor, was picked up in Reno
for some petty theft that you don't even know about--
CONNIE
MICHAEL!
MICHAEL
-- You fly around the world with men who don't even care about you, and use you
like a whore!
CONNIE
MICHAEL, you're not my father!
MICHAEL
Then what do you come to me for?
CONNIE
'Cause I need money.
MICHAEL
CONNIE - CONNI, CONNIE, CONNIE, CONNIE, CONNIE -- I wanna be reasonable with
you. Now, why don't you stay with us - with the family. You can live here on the
estate with your kids. You won't be deprived of anything and you can have
everything you want. Now -- I don't know this MERLE -- I don't know what he does
-- I don't know what he lives on. Now why don't you tell him that marriage is
out of the question, and you don't want to see him anymore. Now he'll
understand, believe me.
[CONNIE and MERLE reach out to hold hands]
CONNIE -- if you don't listen to me -- and marry this man -- you'll disappoint
me.
CUT TO: Outside, nighttime. A bonfire is burning and a man throws a log down.
CUT TO: A boat passes by.
CUT TO: People walk along the boardwalk
CUT TO: Band playing on the stage.
CUT TO: Outside the family sits at a table.
MAMA Corleone
Avive.
MICHAEL
Cent' anni
Everyone
Cent' anni
DEANNA
What's "Chen dandy"?
FREDO
Cent' anni -- It means a hundred years.
CONNIE
It means we should all live happily for a hundred years -- the family. That'd be
true if my father were still alive.
MAMA CORLEONE
CONNIE --
CONNIE
MERLE, you've met my sister-in-law, DEANNA.
[They shake hands]
FREDO's wife.
DEANNA
Pleasure
MERLE
How do you do.
MAMA CORLEONE [to Tom, in Italian]
[A reference to DEANNA and MERLE]
TOM HAGEN [in Italian]
[Responds]
MERLE (to CONNIE)
What did she mean by that?
PENTANGELI (in Sicilian)
Hey, Michael - excuse me. [laughs] With all respect I didn't come here to eat
dinner!
MICHAEL
I know, I know.
[PENTANGELI knocks over a glass of wine, everyone looks at him.]
Bene!
CUT TO: DEANNA and another man dance. She is obviously drunk.
CUT TO: FREDO looking on.
CUT TO: DEANNA falls onto the dance floor.
CUT TO: MICHAEL looking on.
CUT TO: FREDO jogging to take her away.
CUT TO: MICHAEL whispering something to ROCCO.
CUT TO: FREDO grabbing her.
DEANNA
What's the matter? I just, I just want to dance!
FREDO
Dancing is one thing -- you're fallin' all over the floor.
DEANNA
I know what's the matter with you - you're just jealous because he's a real man.
FREDO
I swear to God, DEANNA, I'm gonna belt you right in the cheek.
DEANNA
Ah, you couldn't belt your MAMA. You know something, those daigos are crazy when
it comes to their wives.
[ROCCO walks up to FREDO]
ROCCO (to FREDO)
MICHAEL says that if you can't take care of this -- I have to.
FREDO
Maybe you better.
DEANNA
Never marry a WOP! they treat their wives like shit!
[ROCCO runs over and gabs he]
I didn't mean to say WOP. Ahh, Ahh woo! ROCCO! Oh! What are you doing to me --
help -- FREDO!
FREDO (to MICHAEL)
I can't control her, Mikey.
MICHAEL
You're my brother, FREDO, you don't have to apologize to me.
CUT TO: MICHAEL's boathouse.
MICHAEL
CLEMENZA promised the Rosato brothers three territories in the Bronx after he
died. You took over, and you didn't give it to them.
PENTANGELI
I weltched?
MICHAEL
You weltched.
PENTANGELI
Yeah, CLEMENZA promised them [something in Italian] CLEMENZA promised them
nothing. He hated those son of a bitches more than I do.
MICHAEL
Frankie, they feel cheated.
PENTANGELI
MICHAEL, your sitting high up in the Sierra mountains. And your drinkin' - uh,
what's he drinkin'?
WILLIE CICCI
Champaign
PENTANGELI
Champaign, Uh, Champaign Cocktails -- and you're passing judgment on how I run
my Family.
MICHAEL (in Sicilian)
Your Family -- Your Family's still called Corleone. And you'll run it like a
Corleone.
PENTANGELI (in Sicilian)
My family doesn't eat here; doesn't eat in Las Vegas -- and doesn't eat in Miami
-- with HYMAN ROTH.
MICHAEL
Frankie -- you're a good old man -- and I like you. And you were loyal to my
father for years.
PENTANGELI
The Rosato brothers - they're taking hostages. Hey, Mike, they spit right in my
face. All because they're backed up by that Jew in Miami.
MICHAEL
I know -- that's why I don't want them touched.
PENTANGELI
You don't want 'em touched.
MICHAEL
No, I want you to be fair with them
PENTANGELI
You want me to be fair with them? TOM -- how can you be fair to animals? TOM --
for Crissakes, listen -- They recruit spics -- they recruit niggers -- and they
do violence in their, in their Grandmother's neighborhoods. And everything with
them is whores -- whores! [something in Italian] junk dope! And they leave the
gambling to last. Now I want to run my family without you on my back, and I want
those Rosato brothers dead!
MICHAEL
No!
PENTANGELI
Mort'
MICHAEL
Now I have business that's important with HYMAN ROTH -- I don't want it
disturbed.
PENTANGELI
And you give your loyalty to a Jew before your own blood.
MICHAEL
Come on, Frankie, you know my father did business with HYMAN ROTH -- he
respected him.
PENTANGELI
Your father did business with HYMAN ROTH, your father respected HYMAN ROTH. But
your father never trusted HYMAN ROTH -- or his Sicilian messenger boy, JOHNNY OLA!
(then, in Sicilian)
You'll have to excuse me -- I'm tired, and I'm a little drunk!
(then, in English)
And I want everyone here to know -- there's not gonna be no trouble from me! Don
Corleone. Cicc', a porta!
NERI
You want him to leave now?
MICHAEL
Let him go back to New York -- I've already made my plans. That old man had too much wine.



---o0o---

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Bob Dylan's Lily, Rosemary, and The Jack of Hearts: Song and Lyrcs

Click on the YouTube player to hear Bob Dylan's Lily, Rosemary, and The Jack of Hearts. I've always liked this shambling, long winded fable of Bob's from his great Blood On The Tracks album.





Lily, Rosemary, and The Jack of Hearts
by Bob Dylan

The festival was over, the boys were all plannin' for a fall,
The cabaret was quiet except for the drillin' in the wall.
The curfew had been lifted and the gamblin' wheel shut down,
Anyone with any sense had already left town.
He was standin' in the doorway lookin' like the Jack of Hearts.

He moved across the mirrored room, "Set it up for everyone," he said,
Then everyone commenced to do what they were doin' before he turned their heads.
Then he walked up to a stranger and he asked him with a grin,
"Could you kindly tell me, friend, what time the show begins?"
Then he moved into the corner, face down like the Jack of Hearts.

Backstage the girls were playin' five-card stud by the stairs,
Lily had two queens, she was hopin' for a third to match her pair.
Outside the streets were fillin' up, the window was open wide,
A gentle breeze was blowin', you could feel it from inside.
Lily called another bet and drew up the Jack of Hearts.

Big Jim was no one's fool, he owned the town's only diamond mine,
He made his usual entrance lookin' so dandy and so fine.
With his bodyguards and silver cane and every hair in place,
He took whatever he wanted to and he laid it all to waste.
But his bodyguards and silver cane were no match for the Jack of Hearts.

Rosemary combed her hair and took a carriage into town,
She slipped in through the side door lookin' like a queen without a crown.
She fluttered her false eyelashes and whispered in his ear,
"Sorry, darlin', that I'm late," but he didn't seem to hear.
He was starin' into space over at the Jack of Hearts.

"I know I've seen that face before," Big Jim was thinkin' to himself,
"Maybe down in Mexico or a picture up on somebody's shelf."
But then the crowd began to stamp their feet and the house lights did dim
And in the darkness of the room there was only Jim and him,
Starin' at the butterfly who just drew the Jack of Hearts.

Lily was a princess, she was fair-skinned and precious as a child,
She did whatever she had to do, she had that certain flash every time she smiled.
She'd come away from a broken home, had lots of strange affairs
With men in every walk of life which took her everywhere.
But she'd never met anyone quite like the Jack of Hearts.

The hangin' judge came in unnoticed and was being wined and dined,
The drillin' in the wall kept up but no one seemed to pay it any mind.
It was known all around that Lily had Jim's ring
And nothing would ever come between Lily and the king.
No, nothin' ever would except maybe the Jack of Hearts.

Rosemary started drinkin' hard and seein' her reflection in the knife,
She was tired of the attention, tired of playin' the role of Big Jim's wife.
She had done a lot of bad things, even once tried suicide,
Was lookin' to do just one good deed before she died.
She was gazin' to the future, riding on the Jack of Hearts.

Lily washed her face, took her dress off and buried it away.
"Has your luck run out?" she laughed at him, "Well, I guess you must
have known it would someday.
Be careful not to touch the wall, there's a brand-new coat of paint,
I'm glad to see you're still alive, you're lookin' like a saint."
Down the hallway footsteps were comin' for the Jack of Hearts.

The backstage manager was pacing all around by his chair.
"There's something funny going on," he said, "I can just feel it in the air."
He went to get the hangin' judge, but the hangin' judge was drunk,
As the leading actor hurried by in the costume of a monk.
There was no actor anywhere better than the Jack of Hearts.

Lily's arms were locked around the man that she dearly loved to touch,
She forgot all about the man she couldn't stand who hounded her so much.
"I've missed you so," she said to him, and he felt she was sincere,
But just beyond the door he felt jealousy and fear.
Just another night in the life of the Jack of Hearts.

No one knew the circumstance but they say that it happened pretty quick,
The door to the dressing room burst open and a cold revolver clicked.
And Big Jim was standin' there, ya couldn't say surprised,
Rosemary right beside him, steady in her eyes.
She was with Big Jim but she was leanin' to the Jack of Hearts.

Two doors down the boys finally made it through the wall
And cleaned out the bank safe, it's said that they got off with quite a haul.
In the darkness by the riverbed they waited on the ground
For one more member who had business back in town.
But they couldn't go no further without the Jack of Hearts.

The next day was hangin' day, the sky was overcast and black,
Big Jim lay covered up, killed by a penknife in the back.
And Rosemary on the gallows, she didn't even blink,
The hangin' judge was sober, he hadn't had a drink.
The only person on the scene missin' was the Jack of Hearts.

The cabaret was empty now, a sign said, "Closed for repair,"
Lily had already taken all of the dye out of her hair.
She was thinkin' 'bout her father, who she very rarely saw,
Thinkin' 'bout Rosemary and thinkin' about the law.
But, most of all she was thinkin' 'bout the Jack of Hearts.
---o0o---

Three additional photos of Mrs. Fred Thompson a/k/a Jeri Kehn

Ok, let's pander to the masses. A few hundred netizens seem to be scouring the internet/blogosphere every day for Jeri Kehn Thompson photos. A fair number of you seem to be looking for something a bit more tittilating. Many Google and Yahoo, Dogpile, Metacrawler, and other users show up looking for "Jeri Kehn naked," "Jeri Thompson honeymoon photos," and "Jeri Thompson nude" images. All This Is That has three new (to us) photographs of Mrs. Fred Thompson. Unfortnately for many of you, she is clothed in every single one, with not evenm the usual hint of cleavage. . .


click to enlarge Jeri Kehn's side-shot


click to enlarge - Is that a subpoena in his hand? They DO look rather grim



click to enlarge Fred and Jeri in brunette/trenchcoat mode

To see the orignal batches of Jeri Kehn Thompson images, go here:

Meet the Thompson Twins: Fred Thompson's wife, Jeri Kehn (with photos)
One More Jeri Kehn Thompson photo
Jeri Kehn Photos, Part 3: Three more photos of Mrs. Fred Thompson
More Jeri Kehn photos--> A follow-up to "Meet the Thompson Twins: Fred Thompson's wife, Jeri Kehn (with photos) "
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The Mayor of 9/11, Rudy Giuliani, admits he exaggerated how much time he spent at ground zero

Rudolph Giuliani, former mayor, new multimillionaire, and Presidential wannabe, admitted yesterday that he is fundamentally a worthless sack of s***. This was not news to the hard-working firefighters or police officers of New York City who have watched him milk glory from his photo ops for the last seven years.

The Mayor of 9/11's hopes of support from the firemen and cops of NYC were on the rocks as the ex-Mayor inserted his foot into his mouth once again.

Giuliani admitted Friday on Mike Gallagher's syndicated radio show that he misspoke when he said he spent more time at ground zero— exposed to the same health risks—than the clean-up workers after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

"I think I could have said it better," he told the radio host . "You know, what I was saying was, 'I'm there with you.'"

The former New York mayor struck a very raw nerve with firefighters and police officers when he told reporters at a baseball game in Cincinnati this week "I was there working with them. I was exposed to exactly the same things they were exposed to. So in that sense, I'm one of them." Fire and police officials responded angrily, saying Giuliani did not do the same work as those involved in the rescue and cleanup from the 2001 terrorist attacks, which left ever-rising numbers of those workers sick and injured.

Unless I misjudge what I saw at ground zero last month, it appears those workers actually did more than put on hard hats and stern faces, pose for photographers, and issue pithy sound bytes.

This latest Giuliani imbroglio makes you wonder about the Republican Presidential field's prospects. The first tier of Thompson, McCain, Giuliani, and Romney all appear to be faltering, in either fund-raising, support, or both. How long can it be before Newton Gingrich holds his nose and wades into the fray?
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Friday, August 10, 2007

Jerry Melin, Master Forger and Craftsman


ckick Mel to zoom him up

Two days ago, I wrote a brief piece detailing the summer of 1973, and my friend Scooter's couch surfing and imbibing at the Sundowner. Now Scooter wrote back (See italicized text below), and brought up a fact I had forgotten. I am usually the victor in these memory wars, over Scooter and Keelin Curran. Scooter trumped me this time, with a memory that is now crystal clear, but never would have bubbled to the surface without this cue. However, in retaliation, I challenge him once again to remember his friends, the painter, Fred Birchman, and his lovely wife Paula!

Jerry Melin developed an almost foolproof system for forging Washington State ID's. I think the reason this slipped my mind is that I never actually had Mel make one for me. In his comments, Scooter pegs this to my having a girlfriend and being on a diet. However, it was something deeper than that I think. In those days I was never a particularly meticulous law-abider, but for some reason I don't ever remember going to a bar until I was 21. And I never attended a day at the Sundowner, as far as I remember. I don't know why, but it worked out OK in the end. I was able to spend plenty of nights in bars after I turned 21. However, to this day, I very rarely go to bars, and when I do, it almost always involves music. I always preferred a party at someone's crib to a bar. On the other hand, some of the craziest times I had in NYC were, naturally, in bars. Like the time we bumped into Allen Ginsberg at the Grass roots Bar on St. Mark's Place. We listened to a recitation of his latest poem and chatted, and he gave Mel a big, wet kiss on the forehead.

I remember Mel, sitting for literally, hours, working as Scooter details below, to alter a license. He was changing one digit in the birthyear, and it took hours to get the perfect letter and get the registration just perfect. Even cops would miss the alteration. So, Phil, "schubert," Spurge, Kevin, Mike Thies, et al, would have these nearly foolproof licenses. After I turned 21, I joined them in the bar wars. Still, we were college students, trying to live on $200 a month, so there were limits to how much we could even go out to bars at all, except for jazz night at Pete's, where you could bottles of wine for $4.99 and listen to jazz,

Mel would labor the same way to produce these fantastic Blake-ean drawings of ethereal winged, adrogynous angels. . .none of which I still have. We wrote a lot of poetry together in much the same fashion, taking hours to build up poems, usually focused on America, the police state, art, drugs, philosophy, sex, jazz, and rock and roll. And when he was serious about school it was the same thing: he would study for 12 hours straight, and whenever he decided he wanted to apply himself, he would pull straight A's. Jerry/Mel was the smartest person I ever knew who was constantly on academic probation. There was nothing like seeing him utterly engrossed in whatever project was at hand: art, poetry, forgery, calculus, economics. We would sometimes spend an entire night reading one of Blake's work's like America or Jerusalem, aloud, with endless bowls, digressions, and sidebars.

Needless to say, I miss Mel, still. A few stories about Mel:

Photograph: Jerry Melin At Mud Bay, Bainbridge Island, Washington
Jerry Melin, still missing, still missed
Mel, Part 1
Audioblogger Post::::Kevin Curran And Jerry Melin Meet The Poet Allen Ginsberg At The Grass Roots Tavern On NYC's Lower East Side
Senator Jerry Melin Speaks Out About 1979

Scooter references on all this is that:

Mario Cuomo's 1984 Democratic National Convention Keynote Address
The Brummets, Currans, Kruses, and Sanchezes in NYC
Interview with a Manhattan bartender: varnishing coffins and 86ing the rubes
Manhattan Nightmare - The Transit Strike Is A Go/Remembering The 1980 Strike
Scooter and $2 all you can drink beer day at the Sundowner circa 1973
Audioblogger Post::::Kevin Curran And Jerry Melin Meet The Poet Allen Ginsberg At The Grass Roots Tavern On NYC's Lower East Side
Rolling Stones dodge Depends [tm] barrage at Superbowl
My Worst Jobs: Fifty Tons Of Sand

____________________________________

Scooter here, usually I am happy just to sit back and enjoy the show at All This is That but Jack, we called him Johnny in 73, got me thinking. He says that I may have been depressed, maybe/maybe not, but I did have a lot of time to kill that summer and, as he points out, very few dólores to fund any meaningful diversions.

I had gone from tending dogs to the dogs in two summers and had nearly depleted my savings account after paying for freshman year at WWSC and my share of body work to repair Mel’s parent’s Pontiac Le Mans after Phil K, Kev & I put it into a ditch during a night of carousing while Mel prudently elected to ride shotgun.

Mel misdesignated drivers to his advantage on more than a few occasions in those years and when he didn’t the cops usually learned about it.

I remember that Kev played softball for a local men’s team in Kent that summer but he always joined me at the Downer on Thursdays. Mel and Phil K would come by regularly too but Johnny less frequently because he had a job and a girl friend and I believe adhered to a fitness regimen then that frowned on 12 hours of brews guzzling. Anyway, all of us, with the exception of David Fuller (RIP) were still underage in 1973 but we never, I mean never, had a problem gaining entrance to drinking establishments.

In the early 70’s WA had begun to roll out a new state photo ID that replaced the bifurcated WSDL and State Liquor Photo ID cards that folks had to carry previously. The new ID/DL used a process that impregnated a dense fibrous paper backing with the licensee’s vitals and photo and then sealed the face with a fine but durable laminate overlay. This new photo DL quickly made the State Liquor Card obsolete. While some youngsters purchased faked up generic out-of-state IDs from shops along Seattle’s 2nd Avenue they would only pass muster at skid row dives, so we relied on Mel’s obsessive compulsivity to create nearly perfect WA State issued DL’s with modified birth years.

For a few years Mel would periodically cook up some tea and then patiently scour magazines, novels, textbooks, trade and professional journals, telephone directories, and newspapers in search of the perfect pica/font to match the DOB stat on the WADL. He had assembled an impressive file of matches by 1973.

His strategy was simple. He instructed us to make a claim to the DMV that we had lost our license so that if we had a real run in with the heat we could always present a valid DL. Once the replacement DL was in hand he would set up shop. He worked at a brightly lit table fitted with a square of picture frame matting. He always used medical implements instead of paste up tools. I had had access to scalpels and hemostats from my year at the veterinary clinic and Mel had built a fairly extensive kit of medical supplies for this and other endeavors.

He affixed the license to the matting with two hemostats and set about altering the last figure in the birth year. He was a master in this procedure by the summer of the Downer. He would cut a tiny square around tiny figure, taking exquisite care not to pierce the backing of the card. He extracted the character and a slight layer of backing leaving a void that read 195 . He then embedded a perfectly matched “”0”, “1” or “2” into the void. Once the card was relaminated even we had trouble detecting the alteration. By the time we reached majority age most bartenders had learned that shining a flashlight through the back of the card would highlight the incision around the altered birth year so the jig was up by 74 or 75 but I don’t remember the cards failing any of us, ever. How about you, Jack?

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

scooter said...


Oh, it's important to note that none of us could grow a respectable moustache until our thirties and most of us could have passed for high school students until our mid 20's. That's a fact and it proves the mettle of these IDs. To watch a bartender or bouncer go from scowling disbelief to incredulous befuddlement whenever we presented the ID for the first few times was priceless. No body believed to see us that we were of age but the cards didn't lie. And after we were established in the bar Downer or otherwise they never asked again.
---o0o---

Thursday, August 09, 2007

Woman blows away panhandler who asked her for a quarter - more ammo for repealing the 2nd amendment


Geraldine Beasley has been charged with murder after blowing away a homeless man who asked her for a quarter. Donald Francis, who police think was homeless, stood outside the Marathon station at Eighth and Linn streets in Cincinnati Monday night, panhandling.

Chief Tom Streicher said "he asked her for a quarter," and that annoyed Geraldine Beasley so much, she shot and killed Francis.

Beasley, 62, of Walnut Hills, complained to someone else at the scene about the panhandling, Streicher said. Then, according to Chief Streicher, when Francis asked Beasley for money, she pulled out a gun and fired. "That's apparently all there was to it," the chief said.

click to enlarge
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Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Scooter and $2 all you can drink beer day at the Sundowner circa 1973

1973 stands out in my mind among many of the years I have stomped through. Life was very good. I was in my second year working as a full time volunteer at a community center, for $40 a week, mostly doing draft counseling, writing some grants, working on the crisis/help hotline of The Sixth Chamber, handholding people on bad acid trips, referring people to doctors, and talking people out of committing suicide until they could actually talk to someone who knew what theywere doing.

I was living at a new apartment complex east of Kent, Wash., with another fellow worker at The Sixth Chamber. He was on public assistance, and had a welfare aparment--two floor, two bedroom. We split the subsidized rent of $37.50 a month. Although I did kick in my $18.75 a month, along with me came my dearest friend, Scooter. Scooter was broke, jobless, probably depressed, and parked himself on our couch for the three months between college terms.

Scooter didn't work that summer, but somehow scraped by. Once a week, however, there was an escape. The Sundowner Tavern, virtually located within our apartment complex, ran a special on Thursday: all the draft beer you can drink for $2. The doors opened at around noon, and the special continued until closing time (2 A.M.). You can imagine the potent forces that coalesced sometime around midnight. A gigantic welfare complex where no one worked, and a fair number of the denizens were on "mental disability." Endless beer, virtually free, and wackjobs with time on their hands, and a grudge against the world. Considering how bad it could have been, I don't remember that many fights or arrests, and the ones I do remember usually involved another friend of ours, Mel. Somehow Scooter survived the couch, the lack of mon and food, and still succeeded in having at least a couple of girlfriends on the line. He would serve one more term surfing my couch in utter poverty--in the fall of 1978, when he joined us in New York City, a city where he still rests his bootheels.

I am hoping Scooter is lurking here and can amplify this story. I know it has to be better than I am telling it. There must be some juicy anecdotes that have slipped my mind...

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

OK, I may complain about aviophobia and being in Newport Beach. . .




. . .but this afternoon, is not so bad. I was in the pool fifteen minutes after landing. I swam for a while hit the hot tub, and then worked for a couple of hours, and now I am off to walk to a great Mexican grill a mile and a half from here (the dreaded NB Radisson). They grill snapper, squid, and these incredible fat, juicy shrimp marinated in lime and herbs and serve them with a fantastic jicama-radish-mesclun salad, perfect chipotle beans, a stack of fresh, warm corn tortillas, and salsa that is on a par with those at La Carta de Oaxaca. Oh, and ice cold Pacifico on tap. The last time I was there, dessert was grilled pineapple sprinkled with lime and a sort of turbinado sugar that carmelizes with the lime. When I come back I can work on some poetry. Life could be worse. If my family was with me, it might even be living.
---o0o---

Sex In The News: Lesbian Bigamist Off The Hook; Shepherd Exonerated Over Sheep Sex


Suzanne Mitchell

A mother of five who married another woman while still married to her husband was given a suspended prison sentence today. Suzanne Mitchell, of Shrewsbury, pleaded guilty earlier to breaching a British Act, which allows same-sex couples to “marry”. She admitted lying about being single to enter a civil union with Caroline Beddows last year. At Shrewsbury Crown Court, Judge Robin Onions said Mitchell repeatedly lied in pursuit of the partnership, and her offence was one of “cruelty and deception”. Handing Mitchell an eight-month prison sentence suspended for two years, Judge Onions said jailing the 30-year-old would have had a damaging effect on her children.




A Dutch man accused of having sex with a sheep got off the hook yesterday because the animal was unable to testify. The Dutchman, from Haaksbergen, in Holland, was arrested after a farmer caught him having sex with one of his sheep. The case, however, was thrown out of court as the sheep could not testify about consent or that it had suffered emotionally.



Under Dutch law, bestiality is not a crime unless it can be proved the animal didn't want to have sex.

Other recent beastiality stories appearing on All This Is That:


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Monday, August 06, 2007

Poem: Bible stories 5/On The Plain: just a song of Gomorrah


click gomorrah to enlarge


Abram came to a place later known as Bethel
Where, as usual, he built an altar and prayed to the Lord
Lot, Abram's nephew was with him on the range

Abram's shepherds quarreled with Lot's shepherds
There was not enough grass for both their flocks
There was not room for them all in that place

Abram said to Lot: "Let there be no quarrel
Between you and me or your men and my men
We are like brothers to each other

You take the land on the right hand
And I will take the left or if you choose
The left hand, I will take the right."

Abram, was the older and could claim the first choice
And God had promised all the land to Abram
So he might have said to Lot "Go away, this is all mine"

But Abram showed a kind heart
And gave Lot his choice of the land
Lot looked over the land from the mountain

Where they were standing
And saw down in the valley the river Jordan
Flowing between the rich soil of the green fields

He saw Sodom and Gomorrah out on the plain
Near the mouth of the Jordan
Where it flows into Dead Sea

And Lot said "I will go down yonder to the plain"
He took his tents and his men and flocks of sheep and cattle
Leaving the land on the mountains to Uncle Abram

Lot may not have known that Sodom
Held the wickedest people in the land
But he went to live near them

And gradually moved his tent closer and closer
To Sodom until he was living in that wicked city
After Lot separated from Abram, God said to Abram:

"Lift up your eyes from this place, and look
East and west north and south
All the land that you can see


All the mountains and valleys and plains
I give to you and your children
And their children and those who come after them


Rise up, and walk through the land--it is all yours"
Abram moved his tent from Bethel and went to live
Near the city of Hebron in the south

Under an oak tree
Where he once again
Built an altar to the Lord.
---o0o---

Presidential Candidate-Mayor Of 9/11 Giuliani In A Snit Over Jeri Kehn Photos Garnering Too Much Attention


Rudolph Giuliani is reportedly in a snit over the fact that Jeri Kehn Thompson's photos have been appearing all over the internet and blog world. Until those photos began appearing, Giuliani's photos in a gown had been far more prevalent. "OK," Giuliani said on the phone to an All This Is That stringer, "yeah, people in the south and the flyover states didn't like my pictures in drag, but let's face it, they weren't going to vote for me anyhow. " Giuliani then characterized Fred Thompson as a person who has relations with barnyard animals.





The ex-mayor continued: "I look at it like they say, all publicity is good publicity. But these Jeri Kehn photos, man, they're chiseling away at me. And in my favorite picture, I have a Vera Wang on!"


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One More Jeri Kehn Thompson photo


Click to enlarge The Senator and Mrs. Thompson

Since over 100 of you come here daily looking for Jeri Kehn Thompson photos, we try to accomodate you. Other recent photos of Jeri Kehn Thompson on All This Is That:

Meet the Thompson Twins: Fred Thompson's wife, Jeri Kehn (with photos)
More Jeri Kehn photos--> A follow-up to "Meet the Thompson Twins: Fred Thompson's wife, Jeri Kehn (with photos)
Jeri Kehn Photos, Part 3: Three more photos of Mrs. Fred Thompson
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