Originally posted by stavka:
yet Neri doesn't appear until after Michael is the Don - and Neri is involved in the murder of Barzini - the principle enemy of the Corleone family - and one would assume the most powerful of their non-Jewish rivals
Nice point, Stavka! And, to add to it:
In order to kill Tattaglia, we get Rocco and a cohort, who bust in on him in bed with a whore--and they use a pair of M3A1 "Grease Gun" submachine guns to do their work. Two guys, and two submachine guns, to whack one elderly Don in bed. But Neri, using a measly six-shot Smith and Wesson .38 revolver, dispatches Barzini, a bodyguard and a chauffeur--singlehandedly.
FFC chose the weapons and the circumstances of the murder primarily to provide variety and drama. Still, you can't help but conclude that Michael saved Neri for the most important hit of the afternoon--and he did it all by himself, with relatively minimal armament.
