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The production of The Godfather was almost as dramatic as the film itself. From Marlon Brando’s unconventional audition to real-life mob interference, the journey to the big screen was filled with legendary "offers" and lucky accidents.

Lenny Montana, who played the assassin Luca Brasi, was a professional wrestler who was so genuinely nervous about acting opposite Brando that he fumbled his lines. Coppola liked the authentic anxiety so much that he added a scene of Brasi rehearsing his speech to make the nervousness part of the character. Pauline Kael Reviews “The Godfather” - The New Yorker the-godfather-1

The gruesome horse head found in the producer's bed was not a prop . The production obtained a real one from a local dog food company. The production of The Godfather was almost as

Paramount executives were originally dead set against casting Brando, considering him "box office poison". To win them over, Coppola filmed a secret screen test at Brando’s home. Brando used shoe polish to darken his hair and to give the Don a drooping "bulldog" look. This physical transformation, combined with his quiet, raspy voice, so impressed the studio that they finally agreed to cast him. The Real-Life Mob "Ban" Coppola liked the authentic anxiety so much that