Tom! Tom Hagen! Merry Christmas! He, I'm glad I run into you.
Well, I haven't got time.
Aw, make time, consiglieri. Get in the car. What are you worried about? If I want to kill you, you'd be dead already. Get in.
Michael Corleone
Al Pacino · 29 quotes
Don Vito Corleone
Marlon Brando · 25 quotes
Santino "Sonny" Corleone
James Caan · 24 quotes
Tom Hagen
Robert Duvall · 21 quotes
Clemenza
Richard S. Castellano · 11 quotes
Fredo
John Cazale · 6 quotes
Kay
Diane Keaton · 5 quotes
Sollozzo
Al Lettieri · 4 quotes
Tessio
Abe Vigoda · 4 quotes
Bonasera
Salvatore Corsitto · 3 quotes
Jack Woltz
John Marley · 3 quotes
Most scenes together: Michael Corleone & Tom Hagen (5), Michael Corleone & Kay (5), Santino "Sonny" Corleone & Tom Hagen (4)
The Godfather quotes
Page 3 of 7Your boss is dead. I know you're not in the muscle-end of the family, Tom, so I don't want you to be scared. I want you to help the Corleones, and I want you to help me. Yeah, we got him outside his office just about an hour after we picked you up. Drink it. So now it's up to you to make the peace between me and Sonny. Sonny was hot for my deal, wasn't he? And you knew it was the right thing to do.
Sonny'll come after you with everything's he got.
That'll be his first reaction, sure. That's why you gotta talk some sense into him. The Tattaglia family is behind me with all their people. The other New York Families will go along with anything that will prevent a full-scale war. Let's face it, Tom, and all due respect, the Don, rest in peace, was -- slippin'. Ten years ago, could I have gotten to him? Well now, he's dead. He's dead, Tom, and nothing can bring him back. So you gotta talk to Sonny, you gotta talk to the caporegimes, that Tessio and that Fat Clemenza. It's good business, Tom.
I'll try, but even Sonny won't be able to call Luca Brasi off.
Yeah, well, let me worry about Luca. You just talk to Sonny and the other two kids.
I'll try my best.
Good. Now, you can go. I don't like violence, Tom. I'm a business man. Blood is a big expense.
And I'm sending Fredo to, uh, Las Vegas, under the protection of, uh, Don Francesco of L.A.
I'm going to learn the casino business.
How's Paulie?
Oh, Paulie... won't see him no more.
I want you to find out where that ol' pimp Tattaglia is hiding - I want his ass now, right now.
Things are starting to loosen up a bit. If you go after Tattaglia, all hell's gonna break...
Oh, Tom.
...loose. Let, let the smoke clear. Pop can negotiate.
No, Pop can't do nothin' till he's better. I'm going to decide what's going to be done.
All right, but your war is costing us a lot of money, nothing's coming in...We can't do business...
Well, neither can they! Don't worry about it.
They don't have our overhead...We can't afford a stalemate.
Well, then, there ain't no more stalemate - I'm gonna end it by killin' that ol' bastard! I'm gonna...kill...
Yeah, well, you're getting a great reputation. I hope you're enjoying it.
Well, you just do what I tell you to do. Goddamn it. If I had a wartime consigliere, a Sicilian, I wouldn't be in this shape! Pop had Genco, look what I got. I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. Ma made me a little dinner. It's Sunday.
It's alright.
Barzini wants to arrange a meeting, straighten any of our problems out.
...
Tessio. I always thought it would be Clemenza.
It's the smart move. Tessio was always smarter.
Can you get me off the hook, Tom? You know, for old times' sake?
Can't do it, Sally.
Tell Michael it was strictly business. I always liked him.
He understands that.
[to Don Corleone, about Virgil Sollozzo]
He's known as 'The Turk.' He's supposed to be very good with a knife, but only in matters of business or some sort of reasonable complaint. His business is narcotics. He has fields in Turkey where they grow the poppies. And in Sicily, he has the plants to process them into heroin. Now, he needs cash and he needs protection from the police, for which he gives a piece of the action. I couldn't find out how much. The Tattaglia family is behind him here in New York.
There's a lot of money in that white powder.
Well, I say yes. There's more money potential in narcotics than anything else we're looking at. Now if we don't get into it, somebody else will. Maybe one of the Five Families, maybe all of them. Now, with the money they earn, they can buy more police and political power - then they come after us. Now we have the unions, we have the gambling, and they're the best things to have. But narcotics is a thing of the future. And if we don't get a piece of that action, we risk everything we have - I mean not now, but ten years from now.
I was sent by a friend of Johnny Fontane's - his friend is my client, who'd give his undying friendship to Mr. Woltz, if Mr. Woltz would grant us a small favor.
Woltz is listening.
Give Johnny the part in that new war film you're starting next week.
You're gonna have some union problems; my client could make them disappear. Also, one of your top stars has just moved from marijuana to heroin...
Are you trying to muscle me?
Absolutely not.
Now listen here, you smooth-talking sonofabitch! Let me lay it on the line for you and your boss, whoever he is. Johnny Fontane will never get that movie. I don't care how many d**o, w*p, g**nea, gre**eball g***bas come out of the woodwork.
I'm German-Irish.
Well, let me tell you something, my kr**t-m**k friend. I'm gonna make so much trouble for you you won't know what hit you!
Mr. Woltz, I'm a lawyer. I am not threatened.
I know almost every big lawyer in New York. Who the hell are you?
I have a special practice. I handle one client. Now, you have my number. I'll await your call. By the way, I admire your pictures very much.
Michael, why am I out?
You're not a wartime consigliere, Tom. Things may get rough with the move we're trying.
You know how they're going to come at you?
They want to arrange a meeting between me and Barzini. On Tessio's ground. Where I'll be safe.
This is business, not personal!
They shot my father. It's business, your ass!
Even shooting your father was business, not personal, Sonny!
Don Corleone. I need a man who has powerful friends. I need a million dollars in cash. I need those politicians that you carry in your pocket, like nickels and dimes.
What is the interest for my family?
30%. In the first year your end should be three, four million dollars. And then it would go up.
And what is the interest for the Tattaglia family?
...My compliments. I’ll take care of them, out of my share.
So I receive 30% for finance, political influence and legal protection?
That’s right.
Why do you come to me? Why do I deserve this generosity?
If you consider a million dollars in cash just finance... te salud, Don Corleone.
[gets up]
I said that I would see you, because I heard you were a serious man, to be treated with respect. [sits next to Sollozzo] But, uh, I must say no to you, and I'll give you my reasons. It's true, I have a lot of friends in politics, but they wouldn't be friendly very long if they knew my business was drugs instead of gambling, which they regard as a – a harmless vice. But drugs is a dirty business. It makes, it doesn't make any difference to me what a man does for a living, understand. But your business is, uh, a little dangerous.
If you're worried about security for your million, the Tattaglias will guarantee it.
Oh, you're telling me that the Tattaglias guarantee our investment?
Wait a minute. I have a sentimental weakness for my children, and I spoil them, as you can see. They talk when they should listen. But anyway, Signor Sollozzo, my "no" is final and I wish to congratulate you on your new business. I know you'll do very well, and good luck to you, especially since your interests don't conflict with mine. Thank you. [Sollozzo leaves] Santino, come here. What's the matter with you? I think your brain's going soft from all that comedy you're playing with that young girl. Never tell anybody outside the family what you're thinking again.
I knew that Santino was gonna have to go through all this, and Fredo, well, Fredo was...but I never - I never wanted this for you. I worked my whole life - I don't apologize - to take care of my family. And I refused to be a fool dancing on a string held by all of those big shots. I don't apologize. That's my life, but I thought that when it was your time, that you would be the one to hold the strings. Senator Corleone. Governor Corleone. Something.
Another pezzonovante.
Well, there wasn't enough time, Michael. Wasn't enough time.
We'll get there, Pop. We'll get there.
[Committing to kill Captain McCluskey and Sollozzo, Michael seeks help from Peter Clemenza] [shows Michael a revolver]
This is as cold as they come, impossible to trace, so you don't worry about prints, Mike. I put a special tape on the trigger and the butt. Here, try it. [Michael takes the revolver] What'sa matter? The trigger too tight?
No. [fires] Ah, my ears.
Yeah, I left it noisy. That way, it scares any pain-in-the-ass innocent bystanders away. All right, you shot 'em both. Now what do you do?
Sit down, finish my dinner.
Come on, kid. Don't fool around. Just let your hand drop to your side, and let the gun slip out. Everybody'll still think you got it. They're gonna be staring at your face, Mike, so walk out of the place real fast, but don't run. Don't look nobody directly in the eye, but you don't look away either. Eh, they're gonna be scared stiff of you, believe me, so don't worry about nothing. You know, you gonna turn out all right. You take a long vacation, nobody knows where, and we gonna catch the hell.
How bad do you think it's gonna be?
Pretty god-damn bad. Probably, all the other families will line up against us. That's all right. These things gotta happen every five years or so, ten years. Helps to get rid of the bad blood. Been ten years since the last one. You know, you gotta stop 'em at the beginning, like they shoulda stopped Hitler at Munich. They should never have let him get away with that. They was just asking for big trouble. You know, Mike, we was all proud of you, being a hero and all. Your father, too.