In the film The Godfather, Connie, born in 1925, is the youngest child and only daughter of MafiadonVito Corleone and his wife Carmela. She is the sister of Sonny, Fredo, and Michael Corleone and the adopted sister of Tom. In 1945, she marries Sonny's friend Carlo Rizzi.[2] Vito disapproves of the match, as Carlo's mother is from Northern Italy rather than Sicily, and only agrees to the marriage on the condition that they have a traditional Sicilian wedding.
Puzo characterizes Carlo as "a punk sore at the world", and his angry behavior is exacerbated by the Corleone family shunting him aside after the marriage. He physically abuses and cheats on Connie; on their wedding night, he blackens her eye when she refuses to give up the bridal purse containing thousands of dollars in cash wedding gifts.
Connie complains to her family about Carlo's abuse. Her brothers despise Carlo for mistreating their sister; Sonny is particularly enraged. Vito refuses to intervene and he strictly forbids anyone in the family from retaliating against Carlo. Connie is hurt and confused by this seeming indifference. Vito, however, is concerned, but feels powerless: Italian tradition forbids interfering in anyone else's marriage, and Vito worries his son-in-law will be unable to discharge his "duties as a husband" if he fears the family. Vito instead has Carlo secretly watched. This perceived inaction only emboldens Carlo to become more abusive. Sonny obeys his father's command not to interfere until he visits Connie and finds her sobbing and battered. Sonny severely beats Carlo in the street, threatening to kill him if he hurts Connie again.
Rival mob boss Emilio Barzini recruits Carlo in a plot to murder Sonny. Carlo arranges for his mistress to call the apartment to provoke a fight with the pregnant Connie. After Carlo severely beats Connie, she hysterically phones the Corleone compound. An enraged Sonny drives off alone to Connie's apartment, his bodyguards following in a separate car. At the causeway toll booth, Sonny is ambushed and killed by Barzini's Tommy gun-wielding men.
Michael returns from Sicily and assumes Sonny's place as Vito's heir apparent. Connie and Carlo's relationship seems to improve and they have a second child. Following Vito's death, Michael becomes the new Don and avenges Sonny's murder by having Carlo garroted by caporegimePeter Clemenza, one part of a wave of murders orchestrated by Vito and Michael to eliminate their enemies. Connie (who was unaware of her husband's role in Sonny's murder), hysterical after Carlo's death, blames Michael, denouncing him in front of his wife, Kay. In the novel, Connie quickly recovers from Carlo's demise, apparently relieved to be rid of an abusive, philandering husband. Days later, she apologizes to Michael for her outburst and assures Kay that Michael is blameless. Kay initially believes both Connie and Michael, but later learns her husband did have Carlo killed, along with the other Mafia heads.
The Godfather Part II
In the film The Godfather Part II, set three years after the first movie, Connie is still angry at Michael, and has several meaningless affairs in order to spite him. Michael, to his dismay, is often the caretaker of Connie's children during her frequent absences. On the day of Michael's son Anthony's First Communion, she comes to Michael's house and asks for money so that she can marry Merle Johnson, a man Michael disapproves of. Michael refuses, and Connie storms off. At the end of the film, Connie returns for her mother's funeral and makes peace with Michael. She intercedes on Fredo's behalf after Michael disowns him for conspiring with Corleone rival Hyman Roth, pleading with Michael to forgive him. Michael publicly appears to forgive Fredo, but later has him killed after Connie organizes a visit for Kay behind Michael's back which breaks the agreement. Connie later says that Fredo had drowned, feigning ignorance of the truth. After Michael and Kay's divorce, Connie helps care for Michael's children. In a flashback at the end of the film, it is revealed that Sonny introduced her to Carlo in 1941 during Vito's birthday party.
The Godfather Part III
In the movie The Godfather Part III, set 20 years after the second film, Connie has become one of Michael's closest advisors, gradually assuming an active role in Corleone Family operations. She encourages Michael to bring Sonny's illegitimate son Vincent Mancini into the Corleone family and support him in his feud with Joey Zasa.
When Michael suffers a diabetic stroke following an attempt on his life, Connie and Michael's bodyguard Al Neri give Vincent the approval to kill Zasa, who was an accomplice in the attack. Michael is furious that Connie gave an order behind his back, but maintains that it was necessary to strike fear into his enemies and prevent further hit attempts upon himself. In a hospital room meeting with Vincent, Neri, and Connie, rather than simply ordering Connie to stay out of illegal Corleone Family activities, Michael demands — and gets — her agreement to abide by his decisions, essentially granting her authority in family operations subject only to his own.
Connie travels with the Corleone family to Palermo, Sicily to watch Anthony's operatic debut. Now acting with full authority, Connie tells Vincent to prepare a counterattack if Michael is killed. She then stands at Michael's side when he retires and names Vincent his successor. She attends the opera, along with the entire Corleone family. Upon discovering that her godfather Don Altobello is the mastermind of the plot against their family, she kills him by giving him a gift of poisoned cannoli.
Connie is distraught when her niece Mary is killed by an assassin who intended to kill Michael.[3]
The Italian-language version of The Godfather Part III changes Connie's name's spelling to the far more standard and common "Costanza" rather than keeping the original "Constanzia", which is rare and archaic in Italy.
Character
Connie is Vito's only daughter and has been described as his favorite child, next to Michael. Connie attempts to have her family accept Carlo in the first film, and is, at least initially, devastated by his murder, despite the abuse she suffered at his hands.[4] Talia Shire described her character as "'a pain-in-the-ass, whiny person' in the shadow of all-powerful men."[5]
In The Godfather Part II, Connie has become an irresponsible social climber, paying scant attention to her sons while speeding through two superficial marriages, much to the disapproval of Michael.
With Vito and Sonny dead, and Fredo proving incapable of serving as any family authority figure, Connie must beg Michael for money to support her party-girl lifestyle. Following the death of matriarch Carmela Corleone, Connie apparently abandons her promiscuous ways, and returns to the now-divorced Michael to assume a supportive role in his household.
By the events of The Godfather Part III, Connie has become more decisive and self-sufficient, apparently having accepted the need for Michael to have eliminated Carlo.
Although still feigning ignorance of the true circumstances of Fredo's death, she rationalizes it with Michael as "God's will."
The Godfather is a crime novel by American author Mario Puzo. Originally published on 10 March 1969 by G. P. Putnam's Sons, the novel details the story of a fictional Mafia family in New York City and Long Island, headed by Vito Corleone, the Godfather. The novel covers the years 1945 to 1955 and includes the back story of Vito Corleone from early childhood to adulthood.
The Godfather Part III is a 1990 American epic crime film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola from the screenplay co-written with Mario Puzo. The film stars Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Andy García, Eli Wallach, Joe Mantegna, Bridget Fonda, George Hamilton and Sofia Coppola. It is the third and final installment in The Godfather trilogy. A sequel to The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather Part II (1974), it concludes the fictional story of Michael Corleone, the patriarch of the Corleone family who attempts to legitimize his criminal empire. The film also includes fictionalized accounts of two real-life events: the 1978 death of Pope John Paul I and the Papal banking scandal of 1981–1982, both linked to Michael Corleone's business affairs.
Michael Corleone is a fictional character and the protagonist of Mario Puzo's 1969 novel The Godfather. In the three Godfather films, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, Michael was portrayed by Al Pacino, for which he was twice-nominated for Academy Awards. Michael is the youngest son of Vito Corleone, a Sicilian immigrant who builds a Mafia empire. Upon his father's death, Michael succeeds him as the don of the Corleone crime family.
Vito Corleone is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel The Godfather and in the first two of Francis Ford Coppola's film trilogy. Vito is originally portrayed by Marlon Brando in the 1972 film The Godfather, and later by Oreste Baldini as a boy and by Robert De Niro as a young man in The Godfather Part II (1974). He is an orphaned Italian (Sicilian) immigrant who builds a Mafia empire.
Frederico "Fredo" Corleone is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel The Godfather. Fredo is portrayed by American actor John Cazale in the Francis Ford Coppola 1972 film adaptation and in the 1974 sequel, The Godfather Part II.
Santino "Sonny" Corleone is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel The Godfather and its 1972 film adaptation.
Vincenzo Santino Corleone is a fictional character in the 1990 feature film The Godfather Part III. He is portrayed by Andy García, who was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance.
Mary Corleone is a fictional character in The Godfather Part III, portrayed by Sofia Coppola. She is the daughter of Michael Corleone and Kay Adams and sister of Anthony Vito Corleone.
The Corleone family are fictional characters in both the novels and the films created by Mario Puzo, first appearing in his 1969 novel, The Godfather. They are an organized crime family originating from the Sicilian town of Corleone, and based in New York City.
Thomas Hagen is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel The Godfather and Francis Ford Coppola's films The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather Part II (1974). He is portrayed by Robert Duvall in the films. He also appears in the Mark Winegardner sequel novels The Godfather Returns and The Godfather's Revenge, as well as Ed Falco's novel The Family Corleone. Duvall was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and a BAFTA for his performance in the first film.
Peter Clemenza is a fictional character who first appeared in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel The Godfather. He is played by Academy Award-nominee Richard Castellano in Francis Ford Coppola's 1972 film adaptation of the novel, and by Bruno Kirby in The Godfather Part II (1974).
Carmela Corleone (1897–1959) is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel The Godfather. Carmela is portrayed by Italian-American Morgana King in Francis Ford Coppola's 1972 film adaptation of the novel, and in The Godfather Part II (1974). King also played Carmela Corleone in the 1977 television mini-series, The Godfather Saga.
Anthony Vito "Tony" Corleone is a fictional character in The Godfather film trilogy directed by Francis Ford Coppola. He is the son of Michael Corleone and Kay Adams, and the older brother of Mary Corleone. While Tony was not a major character in the first two films, major events in his life were the backdrop of key parts of the second film, and his relationship with his father is a plot point in the third film.
Albert "Al" Neri is a fictional character appearing in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel The Godfather and Francis Ford Coppola's trilogy of films based on it. In all three motion pictures, he is portrayed by actor Richard Bright. He functions as Michael Corleone's personal enforcer, bodyguard and assassin.
Emilio "The Wolf" Barzini is a fictional character and the main antagonist in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel The Godfather and in its 1972 film adaptation, in which he is portrayed by Richard Conte. The Barzini crime family was inspired by the Genovese crime family.
The Godfather's Revenge, a 2006 novel written by author Mark Winegardner, is the sequel to his 2004 novel The Godfather Returns. It is the fourth book in The Godfather novel series and is chronologically set last.
Carlo Rizzi is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel The Godfather. In the 1972 film adaptation, he was portrayed by Gianni Russo.
Corleone is a Sicilian town.
Katherine "Kay" Corleone is a fictional character originating in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel The Godfather. She was portrayed by Diane Keaton in Francis Ford Coppola's trilogy of films based on the novel.
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