What was the intention of the anachronism in GF1 at the causeway shooting of Sonny:

The radio in the toll booth was playing Russ Hodges' call of Bobby Thomson's Homerun vs. the Dodgers which occurred on October 3, 1951. I believe the shooting occurred in the summer of 1947. My guess is that Coppola was foreshadowing the killing with the call up until the pitch that Thomson hit. He might have been implying that by having the greatest moment in baseball history on the radio, the audience should understand that the upcoming killing was the key event of the movie. Thoughts?

Hey, BEdad...welcome aboard. Crazy question for your first. I hope its a pattern. I don't know about the dates, but I'm not a subscriber to intentional symbolism. I think FFC tries to create a mood - bright, sunny day, toll takers aren't busy, just a lazy afternoon listening to the ballgame....then WHAM! I think it's more of a mood setter and then the contrast. Makes for good cinema. But I don't even believe the whole orange thing either. Enjoy the board.

As a newbee, please explain the orange thing; regarding the Don's death scene?

As far as the tool booth, I would have to think Coppola knew the significance of the recording. He could have used a random baseball game to provide the mood. But, even the recording is famous; they didn't have recorders at the radio station, so some kid in Brooklyn taped the ending of what he hoped would be the pennant for the Dodgers and that has survived as the most famous sports recording in America. I also read somewhere the clock on the toll booth said 7:30, and the game was played in the afternoon.

Maybe Coppola was a Dodgers fan and he figured he'd kill off two of his favorites on the same day. Hell, their big year ('55) was the same year in which Mike beat all the other Families, too.

FFC is usually a fanatic when it comes to small details, and I agree that Sonny was killed a few years before Bobby Thompson's big homer, but I don't think there's any significance to this anachronism.

Welcome to the boards!

If you search the site for questions on oranges you'll come across dozens of topic/threads. In short, many folks believed that the oranges in many of the scenes were an omen of death. According to Harlan Lebo in the "The Godfather Legacy", they were just set decoration. They blended well with the muted colors. If you look at every scence you will see orange dresses, orange wall paper, orange taxi cabs, orange sheet music at the wedding, etc.

I believe there's no significance to the anachronism. As SC said, FFC was a fanatic about details, but he probably slipped up here because Sonny's killing had to have occurred earlier--I think no later than 1947. Reason: No way the "Five Families War of 1946" could have gone on for five years until Sonny's death forced Vito off his sickbed. For that matter, no way Vito could have been in his sick bed for more than five years, no way Michael could have been in Sicily for more than five years, etc. And BTW: Sonny's driving a 1941 Lincoln Continental. Sonny driving a 10-year-old car?? No way!
In the scene before Vito is shot, when he's buying fruit (pre-Xmas 1945), look for a Jake LaMotta fight poster upcoming for January 1946. That's more like FFC's attention to detail.

As we've said many times before.....Little did he know that some 30+ years later there would be a bunch of fanatics like us running around loose.

That wouldn't last long Plaw, they'll come and gechya!