Clemenza Quotes in The Godfather (1972)

[last lines]

Michael: All right. This one time I'll let you ask me about my affairs.

Kay Adams: Is it true? Is it?

Michael: No.

[Kay smiles and walks into his arms]

Kay Adams: I guess we both need a drink, huh?

[Kay goes to the kitchen to fix a drink, but sees Peter Clemenza, Rocco Lampone and Al Neri enter Michael's office]

Clemenza: Don Corleone.

[Clemenza kisses Michael's hand, and Neri shuts the door in her face... ]

[Tessio brings in Luca Brasi's bulletproof vest, delivered with a fish inside]

Sonny: What the hell is this?

Clemenza: It's a Sicilian message. It means Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes.

[Clemenza prepares Michael for his meeting with Sollozzo]

Clemenza: [holding up a .22] It's as cold as they come, impossible to trace. So you don't have to worry about prints, Mike. I put a special tape on the trigger and the butt. Here, try it...

[Michael takes the gun, but can't seem to fire it]

Clemenza: What's the matter, trigger too tight?

[With a loud bang, Michael finally discharges the gun]

Michael: Ow! My ears.

Clemenza: Yeah, I left it noisy. That way it scares any pain-in-the-ass innocent bystanders away. All right, you shot them both, now what do you do?

Michael: Sit down and finish my dinner.

Clemenza: Come on, kid, don't fool around. Just let your hand drop to your side and the gun slip out. Everyone will still think you've got it. They're gonna be staring at your face, Mike. So walk out of the place real fast, but you don't run. Don't look nobody directly in the eye, hut don't look away either. They're gonna be scared of you, believe me, so don't worry about nothing.

[while talking, Clemenza takes the gun and begins working on it to fix the trigger]

Clemenza: You know, Mike, you're gonna turn out all right. You take a long vacation, nobody knows where, and we'll catch the hell.

Michael: How bad do you think it's gonna be?

Clemenza: Pretty goddam bad. Probably all the other Families will line up against us. That's all right. These things gotta happen every five years or so, ten years. Helps to get rid of the bad blood. Been ten years since the last one. You know, you gotta stop them at the beginning. Like they should have stopped Hitler at Munich, they should never let him get away with that, they was just asking for trouble.

[Clemenza now finishes working on the gun]

Clemenza: You know, Mike, we was all proud of you being a hero and all. Your father too.

[Clemenza hands the gun back to Michael]

Sonny: Hey, listen, I want somebody good - and I mean very good - to plant that gun. I don't want my brother coming out of that toilet with just his dick in his hands, alright?

Clemenza: The gun'll be there.

Tessio: Barzini's people chisle my territory and we do nothing about it. Pretty soon there won't be anyplace in Brooklyn that I can hang my hat.

Michael: Try and be patient.

Clemenza: I'm not asking for help, Mike, just take off the handcuffs.

Michael: Be patient.

Clemenza: We gotta protect ourselves. At least give me the chance to recruit some new men.

Michael: No. I don't want to give Barzini any excuse to start fighting.

Tessio: Mike, you're wrong.

Clemenza: Don Corleone, you once said the day would come when me and Tessio could form our own families. Until today I would never think of such a thing but now I must ask your permission.

Don Corleone: Well, Michael's head of the family now and if give his permission then you have my blessing.

Michael: After we make the move to Nevada you can break off from the Corleone Family and go off on your own. After we make the move to Nevada.

Clemenza: How long will that take?

Michael: Six months.

Tessio: Forgive me, Godfather, but with you gone me and Pete will come under Barzini's thumb sooner or later.

Clemenza: And I hate that Goddamn Barzini. In six months time there won't be nothin' left to build on.

Don Corleone: Do you have faith in my judgement?

Clemenza: Yes.

Don Corleone: Do I have your loyalty?

Clemenza: Yes, always Godfather.

Don Corleone: Then be a friend to Michael. Do as he says.

Michael: There are negotiations being made that are going to answer all of your questions and solve all of your problems. That's all I can tell you right now. Carlo, you grew up in Nevada. When we make our move there you're going to be my right hand man. Tom Hagen is no longer Consigliari. He's going to be our lawyer in Vegas. That's no reflection on Tom it's just the way I want it. Besides, if I ever help who's a better Consigliari than my father. That's it.

[Everyone except Hagen leaves]

Tom Hagen: Mike, why am I out?

Michael: You're not a wartime Consigliari, Tom. Things could get rough with the move we're making.

Don Corleone: Tom, I advised Michael. I never thought you were a bad Consigliari. I thought Santino was a bad Don, rest in peace. Michael has all my confidence as do you. But there are reasons why you must have nothing to do with what's going to happen.

Tom Hagen: Maybe I could help.

Michael: You're out, Tom.

[after Michael gets off the phone with Kay, clearly too embarrassed to tell her he loves her]

Clemenza: Mikey, why don't you tell that nice girl you love her? I love you with all-a my heart, if I don't see-a you again soon, I'm-a gonna die.

Sonny: How's Paulie?

Clemenza: Oh, Paulie... won't see him no more.

[Michael gets ready to leave the house]

Sonny: Where're you going?

Michael: To the City.

Sonny: [to Clemenza] Yeah? Well, send somebody with him.

Michael: No, I'm just gonna go see Pop.

Sonny: I don't care, send some bodyguards with him.

Clemenza: He'll be all right. Sollozzo knows he's a civilian.

Sonny: Yeah? Well take care, all right?

Michael: Yes, sir.

[Michael leaves]

Sonny: Send someone with him anyway...

Sonny: Tom-anuch! Hey, a hundred button men on the street twenty-four hours a day. That Turk shows one hair on his ass, he's dead. Believe me.

Sonny: [to Michael, whose face is bruised] Hey Michael, c'mere. Let me look at you. You look beautiful, just beautiful, you're gorgeous. Hey, listen to this. The Turk, he wants to talk. You imagine the nerve on this son of a bitch, hey? Craps out last night he wants a meetin' today.

Tom Hagen: What did he say?

Sonny: What did he say? Badda-beep, badda-bap, badda-boop, badda-beep, he wants us to send Michael to hear the proposition, and the promise is the deal is so good we can't refuse. Hey.

Tom Hagen: What about Bruno Tattaglia?

Sonny: That's part of the deal. Bruno cancels out what they did to my father.

Tom Hagen: Sonny, we ought to hear what they have to say.

Sonny: No, no, no! No more! Not this time, Consigliere! No more meetin's! No more discussions! No more Sollozzo tricks! You give 'em one message - I want Solozzo. If not, it's all-out war, we go to the mattresses.

Tom Hagen: Some of the other families won't sit still for all-out war!

Sonny: Then they hand me Sollozzo!

Tom Hagen: Your father would want to hear this. This is business, not personal.

Sonny: They shot my father? It's business, your ass.

Tom Hagen: Even the shooting of your father was business, not personal, Sonny!

Sonny: Well then, business will have to suffer, all right? And listen, do me a favor, Tom. No more advice on how to patch things up, just help me win, please. All right?

Tom Hagen: I found out about this Captain McClusky who broke Mike's jaw.

Sonny: What about him?

Tom Hagen: Now, he's definitely on Sollozzo's payroll and for big money. McClusky has agreed to be the Turk's bodyguard. What you have to understand, Sonny, is that while Sollozzo's being guarded like this he is invulnerable. Now, nobody has ever gunned down a New York police captain. Never. It would be disastrous. All the five families would come after you, Sonny. The Corleone Family would be outcast. Even the old man's political protection would run for cover. So, do me a favor, take this into consideration.

Sonny: All right, we wait.

Michael: It can't wait.

Sonny: Huh?

Michael: It can't wait. I don't care what Sollozzo says about a deal, he's gonna kill Pop. That's it. That's a key for him. Gotta get Sollozzo.

Clemenza: Mikey's right.

Sonny: Let me ask you something, Professor. I mean, what about this McClusky, huh? What do we do with this cop here?

Michael: They want to have a meeting with me, right? It will be me, McClusky and Sollozzo. Let's set the meeting. Get our informants to find out where it's going to be held. Now we insist it's a public place - a bar or a restaurant, some place where there's people there so I'll feel safe. They're going to search me when I first meet them, right? So I can't have a weapon on me then. But if Clemenza can figure a way to have a weapon planted there for me, then I'll kill them both.

Sonny: [Clemenza, Tessio and Sonny laugh] Hey. What are you gonna do? Nice college boy, huh? Didn't want to get mixed up in the family business? Now you want to gun down a police captain, what, 'cause he slapped you in the face a little bit, huh? What do you think, this the Army where you shoot 'em a mile away? No, you gotta get up close like this - badda-bing! - you blow their brains all over your nice Ivy League suit. C'mere.

[Kisses Michael on the head]

Sonny: You're taking this very personal. Tom, this is business and this man is taking it very, very personal.

[Paulie enters the Corleones' study]

Sonny: What is it?

Clemenza: Hey, Paulie, I thought I told you to stay put.

Paulie Gatto: The guy at the gate says there's a package.

Sonny: Yeah? Hey, Tessio, go see what it is.

Paulie Gatto: You want me to hang around?

Sonny: Yeah, hang around. You all right?

Paulie Gatto: [coughing] Yeah, yeah...

Sonny: You hungry? There's a little food in the ice box.

Paulie Gatto: Nah, nah.

Sonny: Well, how about a drink? Some brandy, it'll sweat it out of ya. Alright, babe...

[Paulie leaves]

Sonny: [to Clemenza] I want you to take care of that sonofabitch right away. Paulie sold out the old man, that stronz. I don't want to see him no more. I want you to make that first thing on your list, understand?

Clemenza: Understood.

Clemenza: Damn it, Sonny's running scared. He's thinking of going to the matresses already. We got to go pick up some stuff at this address. You know any good spots on the west side?

Paulie Gatto: Yeah, I'll think about it.

Clemenza: Well, think about it while you're driving, will ya? I wanna hit New York sometime this month. And watch out for the kids when you're backing out!

[Clemenza and Michael arrive to find extra guards posted outside the house]

Clemenza: What's with all the new faces?

Tessio: We'll need 'em now. After the hospital thing, Sonny got mad. We hit Bruno Tattaglia at four o'clock this morning.

Clemenza: ...Jesus Christ.

Clemenza: The negotiator's at my house playing pinochle with some of my men, he's happy. They're letting him win.

Clemenza: Paulie, pull over, I gotta take a leak.