We know that the beating that Carlo put on Connie was part of the plot to set up Sonny. But how would Carlo have known EXACTLY when Sonny left the Corelone compound? Carlo and Connie were still living off the Corleone compound at the time. The timing of the hit on Sonny was just too perfect. Is it possible that someone inside the compound could have been in on the setup and tipped off Barzini's people when Sonny left?


Don Cardi

Good question DC. I've wondered about this myself.

Maybe Carlo was home when Connie called the house that day to let them know he beat her again so Carlo called Barzini's men cuz he knew that Sonny would come over and beat the crap out of him again. just my theory

I think that they simply anticipated Sonny's actions.

Remember, he told Carlo "If you ever touch my sister again, I'll kill 'ya."

All of these types of plots depend on timing and luck, at least to some degree.

How did they know that Connie would call Sonny immediately after the beating?

Yes, they did anticipate Sonny's actions. But the timing from Sonny's leaving the compound to the man in the toll booth and the hitmen getting there when they did was just too perfect to simply have been based on anticipation alone.


Don Cardi

Timing and luck.

If they figured correctly that Sonny would leave the mall immediately after Connie's call, it would have been an easy matter to set up the timing for the rest of it.

The hitmen are lying in wait already. If Sonny shows up, fine. If not, back to the drawing board with nothing lost but time.

The toll collector bothers me a bit, though.

Was he a real toll collector who was simply in on it? Or was he one of Barzini's men replacing an actual toll collector?

And since the tollbooth is riddled with bullets, it would appear that he was not the only one killed.

And that validates my question even more. If he was a Barzini man, then they would have had to have been sure that Sonny had left the house and was on his way. If he was NOT a Barzini man, then they would have taken a huge chance in buying the guy off in advance in sheer anticipation that Sonny would be leaving the compound when he did.

Everything had to have been ready to be put into place, including the toll collector. So it's very possible that someone from within the compound was in on it and tipped them off once Sonny stormed out of the house.


Don Cardi

That may be, but they still would have had to have everything exactly in place prior to Sonny's leaving.

Probably as much in place as they would have without being tipped off as to Sonny's departure.

After all, the drive from Long Beach to the toll on the causeway couldn't have been more than about fifteen minutes.

Filmic license again, DC. It would have taken a lot of time and complication to tie up that loose end. But:
For an all-important hit like the one on Sonny, Barzini/Tattaglia would have worked out in advance with Carlo the timing of his beating of Connie. Then they would have stationed men at and near the causeway, betting that Connie would call the Mall, and Sonny would immediately see red and take off.
Yes, the most important thing would be for them to know when Sonny took off. But they didn't necessarily need an inside guy for that. They knew Sonny was holed up in the Mall, and they knew where the Mall was. They could easily have had a guy in a car parked within sight of the Mall's gate--he would have seen Sonny's '41 Lincoln Connie (a very distinctive car) leave, and he'd tip the shooters.

I told you that he should have had EZ PASS!


All that both you and Plaw say is true. However how could they anticipate that Sonny would have left the compound without protection? Before that, when he went after Carlo to give him a beating, he had his bodyguards all around him.

Too mnay loose ends. Perhaps it was Rocco, setting up Sonny from the inside in GFI and then Michael in GFII. j/k


Don Cardi

Well, how many shooters were there?

At least four if I remember correctly.

Plenty of help if Sonny had his bodyguards with him. Four shooters plus the element of surprise would've been enough.

BTW, I think we're overANALyzing here.

Well they did have enough firepower waiting that if Sonny showed up with his body guards - all of them would have got it.

I happen to agree with Plawrence on this one. It was just anticipation. I don't think that there was another rat inside the family.


DS

They were playing the odds. They knew Sonny was a hot head, and they anticipated that once he found out he would rush out of the compound. What we do not see offscreen is the beating of Connie, which no doubt left Carlo screaming to her something like "Call your brother....he cant touch me now that your father is half dead." This would have given her the impetus to do it. Soon as she picked up the phone Carlo would have left the apartment to signal his cohorts that things were in the works.