A great deal of “The Godfather” is set during or just after World War II. This means several things had to be done to make fashions, details, and even cars look right for the era. In particular, the cars in the film all featured wooden bumpers.
To help the war effort, most cars during World War II donated their chrome to the military and replaced them with wood – it didn’t do as much to protect the car in the event of crashes, but with a little bit of paint they look pretty much the same.
The Start of a Trope
Since "The Godfather" came out, it's become standard practice to see a powerful character stroking a cat on his or her lap while dishing out orders, threats, or punishments.
A fluffy purring cat has been seen time and time again in the film, and it's all thanks to Marlon Brando. The cat he's petting in the scene near the beginning of the movie was just a stray that jumped into Brando's lap, who rolled with it and gave the kitty a little bit of love.
The Cat Almost Needed a Credit
The cat that ended up in Brando's lap really seemed to be enjoying itself. It started purring so loud thanks to the affection Brando was giving the microphones pick it up. It even made some of Brando's lines inaudible!
Brando had to go in later and redub them, and it's possible to still hear the cat purring during the scene. The cat ended up working in the movie's favor since while the Don is dishing out hard statements and intimidating people, he's also proving he has a softer side.
Animal Rights Hypocrisy
First, there were the Italian-American groups, but then came the animal rights activists. They had a big problem with the horse head scene, which anybody should have been able to guess.
Coppola thought it was somewhat hypocritical since lots and lots and lots of people were killed during the movie. Coppola even said outright: “When the head arrived, it upset many animal-loving crew members, who liked little doggies. What they don't know is that we got the head from a pet food manufacturer who slaughters two hundred horses a day just to feed those little doggies.”
Say My Name
As time goes on in the film, Michael Corleone gets married and has a son. The son's name is Anthony, and so is the young actor who played Anthony. This is because the young man didn't have the wherewithal to respond to a fake name, and the other actors with him, including Al Pacino, could only get his attention by calling him by his real name.
It's really no surprise – when any of us were three years old it would probably be impossible to do anything like acting and even respond to a name we didn't recognize.