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"I want no inquiries made"
#695108
02/07/13 06:01 PM
02/07/13 06:01 PM
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Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 19,696 AZ
Turnbull
OP
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OP

Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 19,696
AZ
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The shock of Sonny’s murder exemplified Vito’s leadership strengths. The pain that he experienced (and that Brando portrayed so superbly) instantly made him see that the number-one, all-consuming priority for the family was to bring Michael back safely from Sicily, at almost any cost.
The first thing he said, “I want no inquiries made,” was his most important strategic move, because it supported his immediate objective: “This war stops now.” Any inquiries on Sonny’s murder swiftly would have led to Carlo. If Carlo had been whacked, it would have signaled Tattaglia and Barzini that the war wasn’t over, because the inquiry would have next led to them. Vito was pretty certain that Carlo was the traitor, anyway. Better to head off a formal inquiry and take the position that what he didn’t know or care who did it. And, his and Michael’s seeming favorable treatment of Carlo made their enemies relax and think they were weak and irresolute, setting them up for the inevitable surprise and trap. It was Vito at his most brilliant.
Ntra la porta tua lu sangu � sparsu, E nun me mporta si ce muoru accisu... E s'iddu muoru e vaju mparadisu Si nun ce truovo a ttia, mancu ce trasu.
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Re: "I want no inquiries made"
[Re: Sicilian Babe]
#695563
02/10/13 12:34 AM
02/10/13 12:34 AM
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Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 15,030 Texas
olivant
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Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 15,030
Texas
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Do you think it was also because he didn't have the heart to murder his daughter's husband, the father of his grandchildren? Well, as Vito tells Michael in the novel, "I haven't got the heart anymore. And there are some duties the best of men can't assume." So, yes.
"Generosity. That was my first mistake." "Experience must be our only guide; reason may mislead us." "Instagram is Twitter for people who can't read."
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Re: "I want no inquiries made"
[Re: olivant]
#695614
02/10/13 10:27 AM
02/10/13 10:27 AM
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Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 11,468 With Geary in Fredo's Brothel
dontomasso
Consigliere to the Stars
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Consigliere to the Stars

Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 11,468
With Geary in Fredo's Brothel
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Great analysis, TB, but it got me to wondering. Clearly Vito wanted to create a safe path for Michael to return safely. He had to have known about Michael's marriage and his wife's murder as well, so he put all that on the shelf too. My question is whether at that point Vito knew he had to groom Michael to succeed him. By then he had no one els... I think the answer is "yes," and that is why it took Michael more than a year to get around to seeing Kay, and it explains the deleted scene in which Michael tells Vito that he (Michael) never said he would not start another war. It also makes more poignant the "I never wanted this for you." It is as close as a Corleone gets to remorse. Surely in Vito's mind at some point he never wanted it for Michael, but when the circumstances changed he most certainly wanted it for Michael or else the family would fall apart.
"Io sono stanco, sono imbigliato, and I wan't everyone here to know, there ain't gonna be no trouble from me..Don Corleone..Cicc' a port!"
"I stood in the courtroom like a fool."
"I am Constanza: Lord of the idiots."
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Re: "I want no inquiries made"
[Re: Trilogy]
#696335
02/13/13 02:12 PM
02/13/13 02:12 PM
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Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 11,468 With Geary in Fredo's Brothel
dontomasso
Consigliere to the Stars
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Consigliere to the Stars

Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 11,468
With Geary in Fredo's Brothel
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With Sonny dead and Vito sick there's no question he had to cave. The "no inquiries" issue was, as has been posted in this thread, a signal to the other families that the Corleones were not going to seek vengence for Sonny.
In fact at that time the Corleone family probably didn't have the muscle, let alone the leadership to carry on the war (not to mention the money they were losing).
There are some foreshadowings of things to come, however. At the meeting of all the Dons from New York and the "other territories," Tattaglia asks what will happen when the Corleones regain their strength. Vito's answer is carefully worded. He says on the souls of his grandchildren HE will not be the one too break the peace "WE'VE made here today."
Clearly he wants Michael back home, and even carves out an exception to his promise, namely that nothing happens to Michael. Period. This is really thew first act of the next war. In the car on the way home, Vito informs Tom that the real enemy has shown his face. "It was Barzini all along."
Then Michael comes home and spends more than a year under Vito's tutelage, and with Vito's help builds a secret regime which keeps everyone, most notably Moe Green, that the Corleone are wanting for muscle. Even Tessio's betrayal is born of his belief that there is no muscle, that his territory will be chiseled away and that he has no choice to align himself with Barzini (it was business not personal). Tessio liked Mike but he really didn't think he had the smarts to succeed Vito. The consensus was that Michael remained a "civilian" and that Fredo was an idiot. On the one hand Michael and Vito wanted everyone to underestimate him and Fredo was --- an idiot. This ruse is classic Sicilian cunning, and obviously it was pulled off brilliantly.
"Io sono stanco, sono imbigliato, and I wan't everyone here to know, there ain't gonna be no trouble from me..Don Corleone..Cicc' a port!"
"I stood in the courtroom like a fool."
"I am Constanza: Lord of the idiots."
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Re: "I want no inquiries made"
[Re: Trilogy]
#696871
02/15/13 02:13 PM
02/15/13 02:13 PM
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Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 177 Westchester
Frankie_Five_Angels
Made Member
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Made Member
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 177
Westchester
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What do you think Vito would do if after the peace meeting, the other families still decided to kill Michael?
Would he still have the heart to strike back? "My youngest son was forced to leave this country... because of this Sollozzo business! Now I have to make arrangements to bring him home safely. But, if some unfortunate accident might befall him. Or if he gets shot in the head by a police officer... Or if he gets struck by a bolt of lightning, I'm going to blame some of the people in this room! And that I do not forgive."
"I'll give you undignified. Go fuck yourself. You, Phil... whoever. He's my fuckin' cousin."
"My name is George. I'm unemployed and live with my parents"..
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Re: "I want no inquiries made"
[Re: Trilogy]
#772904
04/13/14 06:15 PM
04/13/14 06:15 PM
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Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 98 New York, NY
Questadt
Button
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Button
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 98
New York, NY
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What do you think Vito would do if after the peace meeting, the other families still decided to kill Michael?
Would he still have the heart to strike back? If they made an actual attempt on Michael's life? Even if not successful? You better believe he would! Especially if such an attempt had been successful. It would have been World War III - gangster style! ~ Q
Last edited by Questadt; 04/13/14 06:17 PM.
"A lawyer with his briefcase can steal more than a hundred men with guns."
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Re: "I want no inquiries made"
[Re: RedSeal]
#772989
04/14/14 11:34 AM
04/14/14 11:34 AM
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Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 24
RedSeal
Wiseguy
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Wiseguy
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 24
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It's too bad Brando's line reading sounds much more like "I want all inquiries made". Funny, Google hits for "I want all inquiries made" are about 5 times that of "I want no inquiries made". I always thought he said "all" and so did pretty much everybody else who doesn't know the script and hadn't read the books. I really think Brando flubbed this line.
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Re: "I want no inquiries made"
[Re: RedSeal]
#774894
04/30/14 08:51 AM
04/30/14 08:51 AM
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Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 7
Capo_Clemenza
Associate
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Associate
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 7
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He said "I want NO inquiries made" I saw the film at least 1000 or so times and know the script by heart.
Last edited by Capo_Clemenza; 04/30/14 08:53 AM.
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