Based on the Mario Puzo novels, the Godfather movie series is an iconic piece of American cinema, namely for how it revolutionized the mafia movie genre. Spanning decades and generations, it showcased the rise and fall of an immigrant family while showcasing the brightest lights and darkest shadows of the American dream. Introducing legions of viewers to the Corleone family, the movie featured a cast that even some fans can’t remember the entirety of.
The Corleone family in The Godfather theoretically begins with Vito Corleone and his immigration to America, with his former family killed before he comes over. From there, Vito’s marriage resulted in numerous children and grandchildren, with one of the latter being exclusive to the continuity of the movies. Unfortunately, the family ended up being its own downfall, with Michael Corleone’s efforts to maintain his brood inadvertently destroying it.
Vito's Pre-American Family Dies In Italy
His Brother and Father are Never Seen On-Screen
The parents of Vito in The Godfather are Antonio Andolini and Signora Andolini, the latter of whose name is never given (as signora merely means «Mrs.» in Italian). Headstrong and not wishing to be pushed around (a trait shared, namely, by his son), Antonio refused to pay the mafia boss Don Ciccio. This resulted in his death after he insulted Ciccio further, and this wasn’t the only family member of Vito’s to meet his end at the don’s hands. Vito’s older brother Paolo swore revenge for his father, but he was soon killed at Antonio’s funeral. This saw Signora Andolini and her youngest son fleeing and asking for safety.
Signora Andolini pleaded with Don Ciccio to spare her younger son’s life, but the old man was wary of the boy growing up to take revenge. Holding Ciccio at knifepoint, Signora Andolini allowed him to escape before being blasted away with a shotgun. This is the last that Vito’s Italian family is seen, and in actuality, Signora Andolini is the only other member of his family on-screen. His father is already dead at the beginning of the initial flashback in The Godfather Part II, and his brother Paolo is never seen, either.
Vito Corleone Is Initially the Series' Namesake
Portrayed by: Marlon Brando (Present), Robert de Niro (Past)
Vito Corleone was born Vito Andolini in the town of Corleone, and a racist incident with immigration on Ellis Island sees him «given» the new last name, Corleone. Initially a feeble and supposedly dim-witted boy, he grows to be a quiet but decisive man determined to make a name for himself in America. While he has a strong sense of honor, he also has no qualms about doing whatever it takes to take care of his family, which is easily his highest ideal. Vito also refuses to take guff from anyone, and he does to local hood Don Fanucci what his father had likely wanted to do to Don Ciccio. Likewise, upon returning to Corleone in adulthood, he and his business partner Genco kill the elderly Ciccio and his men, finally avenging Antonio Andolini.
Vito Corleone is usually a fairly serious man, especially when it comes to matters of business. This includes chiding his children, namely the headstrong Santino, when their actions jeopardize business. Still, he is also a very sentimental man, reminding Johnny Fontane to spend time with his family after chastising him. Likewise, he clearly loves his wife and dotes and both his adult children and grandchildren. This does have some limits, however, such as his old-school Italian traditions keeping him from interfering with Connie’s abusive marriage. While he’s revered by his family, Vito is seen as a criminal monster by the outside world, reflecting how he’s seen by his grandson Anthony when he dies in his garden.
Carmela Corleone Is the Matriarch of the Corleone Family
Portrayed by: Morgana King (Present), Francesca De Sapio (Past)
Carmela Corleone was rarely named as such on-screen, but she was still a major part of the family. Vito’s devoted wife, she bore him four children and stood beside him steadfastly, despite his change into a violent criminal mastermind. Her role and dialogue are minimal in The Godfather, but she’s seen a bit more in The Godfather Part II and chastises (in a thick Brooklyn accent) her daughter Connie about seeing her children more. She also gives her son, Michael, advice on leading the family. Carmela is seen in the flashbacks in the second movie, but it’s never shown how she and Vito met each other. A devout Catholic, she prays earnestly for her family and the soul of her criminal husband, a trait passed onto her daughter-in-law Kay in the Mario Puzo Godfather novels.
Santino Corleone Was the Hotheaded Oldest Son
Portrayed by: James Caan
The eldest child of Vito Corleone, Santino «Sonny» Corleone, was an arrogant braggart who reveled in the excess and flash that his criminal family provided. Quick to engage in a fight, he’s just as quick to engage with the ladies, with his sexual appetite and prowess resulting in several extramarital affairs. Vito notes this at one point and also criticizes his penchant for speaking out of turn, especially in business settings. When Vito is nearly assassinated by a rival in the criminal underworld, Santino takes over as the don of the Corleone family. This results in an all-out war against Solozzo, not to mention a public beating given to Carlo Rizzi, the husband of Sonny’s sister Connie (whom Sonny had actually set up with). Sonny’s temper even saw him feud with his own brothers, snapping at Tom Hagen and Michael during disagreements with them. Unfortunately, his tendency to leap before he looked saw him gunned down at a station, with his body riddled with bullets.
Sandra Corleone Barely Put Up With Her Husband's Infidelity
Portrayed by: Julie Gregg
Sandra Corleone was the wife of Santino and the mother of his four legitimate children, with the two meeting when they were teenagers. Sandra was actually born in Sicily due to her American-born parents having gone back there to have her, but she also grew up speaking flawless English. Despite being faithful to Sonny, she knew about his many affairs and even slyly criticized him for these dalliances at his sister’s wedding. She’s not seen much after Sonny’s death, though she remains a firm part of the family and is briefly seen at Carmela’s funeral. One dropped plotline would have seen her become the mistress of Sonny’s adoptive brother, Tom Hagen. Her children with Sonny were Francesca, Frank, Santino Jr., and Kathryn, though they’re mainly seen as children in the movies, with the girls having slightly larger roles in the Godfather books.
Vincenzo Mancini Was the Illegitimate Heir to the Corleone Throne
Portrayed by: Andy Garcia
One character who only exists in the Godfather movies and not the books is Vincenzo «Vincent» Mancini, a.k.a. Vincent Corleone. He was the illegitimate son of James Caan’s Santino Corleone and Lucy Mancini, whom Sonny was shown as having an affair with in The Godfather. Having many of the worst traits of his father, he’s meant to represent different aspects of his father, uncles, and grandfather. Most notably, however, he has Sonny’s temper and taste for women, and he yearns to pick fights and be ingratiated with the criminal underworld. This put him at odds with his uncle, Michael Corleone, who by that point had attempted to become a legitimate businessman.
Despite his tendency to cause trouble and not listen, Vincent is eventually molded by Michael into a true successor. The irony is that, by embracing his own legacy with the criminal underworld, Michael becomes closer to his dead brother’s bastard child than he is to his own son. Unfortunately, their relationship is strained due to Vincent romancing Michael’s daughter (and his own first cousin), Mary Corleone. Upon going with the family to Italy, Michael bequeaths Vincent the Corleone name and makes him the leader of the family’s more insidious dealings. Sadly, this means that he’s forced to cut things off with Mary, who’s soon killed by a bullet meant for her father. An unmade The Godfather Part IV would have showcased Vincent running the Corleone family into the ground once and for all, ironically recreating his father’s bad leadership.
Tom Hagen Wasn't Actually a Corleone
Portrayed by: Robert Duvall
Tom Hagen was a friend of Sonny Corleone’s who met him in the streets, with the lad being a destitute orphan following the death of his German-Irish parents. Vito Corleone brought Tom in and raised him as one of his own sons, making him the consigliere (or mafia advisor) as an adult. Despite his affection for Tom and treating him like his own son, he implored him to keep his true name and to never forget his actual parents. Tom was usually the voice of reason for the hot-headed Sonny, and given his status as a lawyer and someone who wasn’t actually Sicilian, Tom was able to do many things that other members of the family could only dream of, namely in terms of «legitimacy.»
Following Michael’s ascendance in the family, Vito essentially replaces him as consigliere, though Tom becomes Michael’s right-hand man years later. Tom Hagen died of an unspecified cause by the time of The Godfather Part III, though this wasn’t supposed to originally be the case. A dispute over pay saw Robert Duvall removed from the movie, with the original plan involving a falling out between Tom and Michael. Tom’s wife is Theresa, though he apparently had a mistress at one point, as well. His children are Frank, Andrew (who becomes a priest in The Godfather Part III), Gianna, and Christina, though Andrew is the only one who’s really ever given any relevance in the movies.
Fredo Corleone Was the Weakest of the Four Brothers
Portrayed by: John Cazale
Frederico «Fredo» Corleone was the second-born of Vito and Carmela, and of the boys, he was the biggest disappointment. Somewhat awkward and lanky, Fredo is largely ineffective, as seen when he fails to protect his father from being almost shot to death. He was later sent to Las Vegas to learn the casino trade, but his penchant for womanizing (a trait he shared with Sonny) and general lack of ambition saw him become a nuisance even there. Vito Corleone was well aware of his son’s inadequacies, noting that he would never have been a candidate to replace him (even compared to the non-Sicilian Tom Hagen). Fredo somewhat resents his younger brother Michael being chosen as Vito’s successor, but this choice is proven to be more than logical when it’s revealed that Vegas mob boss Moe Greene had publicly humiliated Fredo without repercussion.
In The Godfather Part II, Fredo is married to a ditzy starlet named Deanna Dunn, with his wife being shown as extremely unruly at a family event. Carmela Corleone obviously doesn’t approve of the woman, and if anything, she shows how ineffectual and shallow Fredo was. In many ways, she represented a parody of the sort of all-American image that Michael tried to achieve with his wife Kay. Unlike his siblings, Fredo never had any children, and when Michael confirmed that Fredo had betrayed the family, he had him killed and disguised it as a «fishing accident». Fredo’s death haunts Michael in The Godfather Part III, with Michael even confessing his role in his death to a priest.
Michael Corleone Is the Protagonist of The Godfather
Portrayed by: Al Pacino
First seen at his sister’s wedding, Michael Corleone is initially the favored son of Vito Corleone and destined for great things. Eschewing his family’s «business» in exchange for legitimacy, he goes to college and the military, hoping to avoid his father’s way of doing things. Unfortunately, he soon becomes embroiled in the Corleones’ criminal dealings when he assassinates two enemies of Vito’s, and he’s forced to go on the run and hide out in Italy for years as his father recovers from his own injuries. Now, he was more cunning than ever and clearly embodied much of the silent wisdom that his father had. While there, he marries a local woman named Apollonia, though the two never have children due to Apollonia being inadvertently killed by a car bomb. Upon returning to America, Michael took over as head of the Corleone family, treating things (including his renewed relationship with Kay) in a business-like manner while also trying to steer the family into legitimacy.
Increasing political scandals and betrayals keep this from happening, however, and by the end of The Godfather Part II, Michael has killed his brother and divorced his wife, Kay. Michael Corleone is very much a changed man in The Godfather Part III, being remorseful and guilt-ridden over what happened to Fredo in particular. By this point, he has truly transitioned into a legitimate businessman, but his dealings with the Catholic Church are in many ways a bid to buy his own salvation. Kay (who’s since remarried) even notes that he’s more dangerous now than when he was a common mafia hood, dreading his very presence even as he attempts to make amends. In the end, his bid to protect his family and the enemies he makes along the way ends up destroying his family, and, as seen in the final scene of the theatrical version of The Godfather: Part III, he ends up dying alone as an old man in Italy.
Kay Adams Largely Regrets Joining the Corleone Family
Portrayed by: Diane Keaton
When the couple is first seen together, Michael Corleone and Kay Adams are two college students who are happily in love with each other. Michael was still insistent on not joining his family’s criminal endeavors. As time passed and Vito was nearly assassinated, the two grew somewhat distant, though even after Michael was spirited away to Italy for his own protection, Kay still worried about and yearned for him. Years later, a much less naive Michael reunited with her, with the two eventually getting married. Nevertheless, she grows increasingly weary of the supposed criminality that her new husband engages in, and even when he pleads with her that he wasn’t responsible for the death of his brother-in-law, she quickly has reason to doubt this. As time goes on, she continues to doubt that Michael will ever make good on the promises to legitimize the family, and even her pregnancy isn’t enough to keep her involved.
A bitter argument reveals that Kay’s supposed miscarriage with Michael’s second son was actually an abortion, prompting Michael to slap her in response. The two soon divorced and grew incredibly distant, with their children being the only real link between them. Despite this, she does still have some level of love for Michael, though she’s since moved on and married a prosecutor named Douglas Michelson. Ironically, he’s only shown in one scene, with much of the movie showing her and Michael attempting to foster some level of tolerance for each other. Even then, his moral ambiguity is too much for her, and she notes how she dreads him. The death of their daughter Mary in The Godfather Part III caused the final split between them, and for her own safety, Kay never saw Michael Corleone again.
Michael Corleone's Children Have Vastly Different Relationships With Him
Portrayed by: (Anthony) Anthony Gounaris, (The Godfather), James Gounaris (The Godfather Part II), Franc D'Ambrosio (The Godfather Part III); (Mary) Sofia Coppola
Anthony Vito Corleone is the firstborn of Michael and Kay, with the boy briefly seen playing with his grandfather Vito before the latter’s death. His first name also seems to be a reference to his paternal great-grandfather, Antonio Andolini. As a child in the first two movies, he isn’t shown much, though scenes involving him usually have some sort of relationship with major events in the story. This includes his planned fishing excursion with his uncle Fredo before being taken away, with this preceding Fredo’s own death. His role is expanded in The Godfather Part III, where he has a far more strained relationship with his father. Having grown much closer to his mother, he seeks to end his law school education and become an opera singer, much to Michael’s chagrin. According to Kay, Tony is aware that Michael had Fredo killed, further explaining why he wants nothing to do with his dad.
At the opposite end of this spectrum is Mary Corleone, who’s the apple of Michael’s eye. Mary is devoted to her father, Michael Corleone, and regularly aids him in his legitimate business and philanthropic ventures, though she’s somewhat naive of his darker dealings and the true history of the family. Her one example of going against her father’s wishes is when she begins a romance with Vincent Mancini, who’s actually her illegitimate cousin by way of her deceased uncle, Santino. Soon after Vincent breaks things off with the innocent young woman, she’s felled by an assassin’s bullet that was meant for Michael. Her death signals the death of the Corleone family as a whole, with Michael’s final line being an anguished scream as he cradles the body of his dead daughter.
Connie Corleone Changes Dramatically Throughout the Series
Portrayed by: Talia Shire
The only daughter of Vito and Carmela, Constanzia «Connie» Corleone was her father’s favorite child besides Michael. Somewhat spoiled and a bit of a «princess», she’s given a lavish wedding by her father when she marries the roguish Carlo Rizzi, a friend of her older brother Sonny. Unfortunately, things soon take a turn for the worse when Carlo becomes abusive to his new bride, and her marriage is far different from the upbringing she had at the behest of her indulgent father. Part of his behavior is caused by the Corleone family already not accepting him into their fold, with Carlo taking this out on his pregnant wife. Sonny retaliates to this twice, initially beating Carlo to a pulp on the sidewalk. When he storms off to do it again following Connie’s continued abuse at his hands, he only ends up ambushed and shot to death. Ironically, this actually cools things off in their marriage, with Carlo and Connie having another child. Once Michael assumes full control of the family following his father’s death, however, he avenges Sonny by having Carlo killed.
Connie is initially resentful over Michael killing her husband, despite her tumultuous marriage to him beforehand. This is much different by the time of The Godfather Part II, however, with Connie having taken to a flashy lifestyle and engaging in various frivolous affairs and marriages simply to spite Michael. Ironically, she has to come and beg him for money for support, having already run through her finances. This even sees her abandoning her own children, with her hedonistic lifestyle resembling the path that her brother Fredo took. The death of their mother and Michael’s split with Kay causes Connie to come back to the family; however, with her and Michael being the only surviving children of Vito and Carmela after Fredo’s assassination.
By The Godfather Part III, Connie had morphed into a much darker person who was in many ways the closest reflection of her father’s cunning. With Michael trying harder than ever to go legitimate, she takes on control of the more criminal parts of the Corleone family. Much like her brother, she becomes far closer to her illegitimate nephew, Vincent Mancini, than to her own children. She’s even the one to kill Don Altobello, an enemy of the family, by way of a poisoned cannoli. Connie’s two sons are Victor Rizzi and Michael Francis Rizzi, the latter of whom was named after his uncle. These two were never a major part of the story, but Michael Francis (using the name Frankie Rizzi) was meant to be a key part of the Corleone crime family in an unused script for The Godfather Part III.
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The Godfather Part II
r Crime Drama 1
Cast
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Al Pacino
Robert De Niro
The early life and career of Vito Corleone in 1920s New York City is portrayed, while his son, Michael, expands and tightens his grip on the family crime syndicate.
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The Godfather Part III
r Crime Drama 1
Cast
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Al Pacino
Andy Garcia
Follows Michael Corleone, now in his 60s, as he seeks to free his family from crime and find a suitable successor to his empire.
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