One Of The Godfather's Most Classic Lines Was Completely Improvised
"The Godfather" trilogy is one of the most quotable series of films in cinema history. While the second and third installments of the series have their memorable lines, it's 1972's "The Godfather" which contains the bulk of the trilogy's most indelible dialogue. To illustrate the point: it seems everyone and their father has a Marlon Brando-as-Don Corleone impression in their back pocket (whether that impression is any good or not is another matter), and while the main reason for that is due to Brando's unique take on the character, it wouldn't be half as popular to do at parties and whatnot without the excellent lines from the film to back it up.
Most of this dialogue comes courtesy of "Godfather" author Mario Puzo, with co-screenwriter and director Francis Ford Coppola choosing to include the bulk of Puzo's prose in his screen adaptation. Although some of the dialogue in the "Godfather" films is so good that it's been misattributed to the likes of 6th century Chinese generals, it's all Puzo and Coppola — with at least one notable exception.
For a scene in the first "Godfather," one of the most classic and memorable lines came from neither screenwriter, but from one of the actors: Richard Castellano, who played one of Don Corleone's caporegimes, Peter Clemenza. The line not only makes for a perfect moment in the film, it also references a scene deleted from the movie and, shockingly, led to Castellano not returning for "The Godfather Part II."
Guns, cannoli, and Clemenza's deleted lunch
The line in question occurs during the brief sojourn in which Clemenza and Rocco Lampone (Tom Rosqui) take the traitor, Paulie Gatto (John Martino), around New York City before whacking him as a result of his helping facilitate the attempted assassination of Don Vito Corleone. In the montage as presented in the film, Clemenza and Lampone have Gatto drive them around supposedly looking for things to bolster the war that Sonny Corleone (James Caan) is threatening as retaliation for the attempt on his father's life, only to park near a field as Clemenza needs to relieve himself. While he does so, Lampone shoots Gatto in the back of the head. Before they depart, Clemenza instructs Lampone to "leave the gun," the line that was written in Puzo's novel and the film's script.
After that, the second part of the line is the part Castellano improvised on set: "Take the cannoli."
Like any good improv, the line is rooted in textual materials, which is undoubtedly why Coppola left it in the final cut and allowed the line to become as famous as it has. It refers to Clemenza's established love of Italian food (as seen in the scene where he tells Al Pacino's Michael his special sauce recipe) and continues the general theme of saturating the film and the characters in Italian-American culture. For another, it acts as a payoff to a line spoken by Clemenza's wife (played by Castellano's real-life girlfriend, Ardell Sheridan) just a few moments earlier, in which she instructs Clemenza to pick up a cannoli for her.
Furthermore, the line doubles as a punchline to a moment that was shot but deleted from the final cut of the film. As originally conceived, Clemenza was to take Gatto for a ride both literally and figuratively, letting the traitor sweat it out while throwing him off-balance. As part of this, Clemenza orders Paulie to drive to an Italian restaurant, ostensibly so he can contact Sonny for more information. Instead, Clemenza goes inside and sits down to a luxurious meal, making sure to take a cannoli to go after he's done.
The reason Peter Clemenza died offscreen in 'Part II'
By all accounts, Clemenza was not only due to appear in 1974's "The Godfather Part II," but was to play a major role in Michael's war against the insidious Hyman Roth (Lee Strasberg). As originally written, his part in the film would've been the storyline that was ultimately given to Frank Pentangeli (Michael V. Gazzo). Instead, it's Pentangeli who is given a black armband at Michael's party at Lake Tahoe, mentioning with a few lines of dialogue that Clemenza has recently passed away.
The reason for the last-minute change, at least according to Coppola, is that Castellano asked for too many conditional things before agreeing to return. Strangely, the biggest issue was that allegedly, Castellano was given marching orders by Sheridan that she be allowed to write all of his dialogue for the movie, a demand that is quite obviously ludicrous (and one perhaps born out of hubris given the popularity of the cannoli improvisation). Although both Sheridan and Castellano himself later disputed this claim, there's no question that Castellano and Coppola had massive creative differences with each other.
While Clemenza's appearance in "Part II" would've lent that film a bit more pathos in tying together the past storyline (concerning Robert De Niro's young Vito and a younger Clemenza, played by Bruno Kirby Jr.) with the present, perhaps it's all for the best that Castellano's take on the character remains tethered to the first film, that sauce, that gun, and that cannoli.