Jeremy Sare

There’s a deleted scene from The Godfather Part II that takes place during Anthony Corleone’s First Communion. Sonny’s widow brings her daughter Francesca and her boyfriend Gardner Shaw to Michael so they can ask for his blessing to marry. What’s interesting about the scene is that it shows a warmer, more affable side of Michael that is mostly absent from the finished film. He jokes with the couple, takes an interest in their future and behaves more like the family patriarch Vito once was. The scene also reveals how Michael views the Corleone family’s place within elite American society. His niece’s suitor comes from a wealthy, established background and owns a substantial stake in the family business. After the couple leaves, Michael tells Tom Hagen: “Make her dowry impressive. He comes from a family who still thinks an Italian bride goes barefoot.” Michael understands that, despite the Corleones’ wealth and power, old-money America can still regard them as Italian outsiders. The enormous dowry is a deliberate display of status, with Michael using wealth to ensure Francesca enters the marriage from a position of strength rather than social inferiority. More importantly, the scene suggests Michael’s transformation in Part II was more gradual than the theatrical cut makes it appear. At this point, there is still something of Vito’s protective and loving nature in him. By removing moments like this, the finished film presents Michael as colder much earlier, making it feel as though we are already watching a man deep into his moral and emotional decline.