I was watching Part 1 last night and I can't remember if this is shown in a deleted scene or not, but what is up with that demolished car sitting in the background when Kay comes to the house to try to find out aout Michael and talked with Hagen, who mentions the line above.

Anyone know what that is about? It's a funny scene in the movie becomes it comes out of nowhere, but I sense there was something about it that was deleted.

Anyone know?

Well, we have to remember that there's been a war going on ever since Michael killed Sollozzo and fled to Sicily. This car...and whomever was in it...could've been one of the casualties.

Tom is not about to go into detail with Kay everything that's been going on, so the simplest, most logical reply would be just the one he gave her and then quickly get her off the subject.

Also, it could very well have been an accident where nobody got hurt. Maybe Sandra was again demonstrating her husband's size to a friend and took her hands off the wheel for a second too many. Could be anything we want to imagine. Personally, I always found it a nice side touch but not really relevant to the overall story.

Maybe someone who's read the book can add whether there's an actual incident involved with the car.

Apple

I always thought the car was a kind of barrier, put there deliberately to prevent an enemy from ramming through the gate (or chain) and proceeding further. If you look closely at that wrecked car, I believe you'll see that the doors appear to have been removed cleanly and deliberately, not as a result of a real accident.

I remember reading in the book that one night, while this whole war was going on between the Corleones and the other families, a car pulled up to the mall and threw a bomb or a grenade over the wall. Maybe that car had something to do with that incident.

I would go with this one, since the car appeared to have fire damage.

If I'm not mistaken, that part took place right after Mike left America. I was under the impression Kay visited after Mike had been gone several months. I figured the car was a result of mob business.

Those of you who read the book know the backround, but what did Coppola intend for the movie audience to get from that line/scene? To me it was just a way of letting us/Kay know that serious a serious mob war was ongoing, and that Tom didn't want Kay to know about it.

Theres alot of small stuff adapted from the book that we can't understand completely without reading the book...

For example a very nice touch was when Appolonia tripped and fell in Michaels arms while walking in Sicily. This was the only way they could touch each other before marriage, and the old ladies knew this. Hence the laugh of the old ladies following Michael and Appolonia.

You're kidding me Apple...

That's surprising. You ever going to read it?

Actually the wreaked car did not come from nowhere. That scene was also in the book as well. For me, the closed up mall, the outside guards and the wreaked car gives Kay a more realistic evidence that a real war is actually going on.

A bomb was tossed into the Corleone compound, according to the book - as others have stated here. I could understand the confusion if you haven't read the book.

However, I do think these few seconds when Kay asks Tom about the car should have been edited out of the movie. Maybe this was an oversight during the editing? After all, FFC was forced by Paramount to cut the movie length a few times. Otherwise, I don't see what it adds to the film.

I'm glad they left it in... it just shows Kay's innocence to the whole family. This is what happens in mob wars... plus Tom's response is priceless. He's almost laughing when he says "That was an accident. No one was hurt."

To be quite honest...I don't really know. Since being a member of this list it's always been on the back of my mind but just not yet a priority.

So many here have touched upon things the film (thankfully) doesn't cover in detail...the Lucy/Johnny/Dr. Whatshisname stories, as well as the obsession w/ Santino's 'size'...that frankly I dread reading those parts out of sheer boredom.
Right now I still prefer enjoying the film(s) without benefit of insights from the novel.

But, I'll never say never....could happen!!

Apple

There should be no confusion if you watched the movie without reading the book, especially most here who have viewed it several times. The screenplay is written as a complete story for audiences who have not read the book.

I agree w/ sonof70s.

Little tidbits like this only add to the depth of the movie, and no one who knows how to enjoy a film should need a detailed, background explanation to every single piece of dialogue that is spoken or gesture that is made.

Apple