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Originally posted by EnzoBaker:
The final test comes at the Nevada house where Michael is trying to get info out of Fredo for the Senate hearing.

Michael could forgive Fredo for being stupid, that's just the way he was. He could put up with Fredo being easily manipulated by simply keeping him out of important family business.

But when Fredo went into his rant about "that's not the way I wanted it!!!", Michael knew that Fredo would always be dissatisfied with the pecking order within the family and always be looking to "get something for himself."

(That's also why, IMO, he put Tom Hagen 'to the test' several times in GF II -- to see if Tom had any ambitions himself to assume the leading role in the family, because if he did, then he would be a threat to Michael and would have to be gotten rid of. To me, this was one of the crucial issues that SHOULD have been covered in GF III -- whether Hagen had ambitions to replace Michael -- but Duvall refusing to sign on and the decision to write out Hagen made that impossible.)

Anyway, in the Nevada house scene, when Michael asks Fredo if there's anything more he can tell him, Fredo tells him the inconsequential piece of information that Questadt the Senate lawyer is on Roth's payroll -- something that Michael was undoubtedly already perfectly aware of.

He had already made up his mind that Fredo had to go - the scene at the Havana sex club and then the Judas kiss at the New Year's party were clear indications of that - but this was Michael giving Fredo one last chance to save himself if he came clean.

Fredo of course knew what had happened with Carlo and probably figured he was a goner anyway, but I really think, had he come clean and told Michael everything, Michael would have let him off. Carlo was an in-law, and a scuzzy one at that; Fredo was blood.

But instead, Fredo just tried to feed him a baloney sandwich while still protecting his contacts with Roth.

At that moment, Michael knew Fredo was still holding out on him and would always be a danger to him. That's the moment Fredo's fate was sealed.
Damn good post Enzo, hard to believe you are just a recent addition to our little board. Looking forward to seeing more of your posts. wink

I love my Chrysler and tuna fish sandwiches.