As much as I love “The Godfather” Part 1, it is inherently ahistorical and frankly, silly. For starters, basically nothing of note in the book or movie ever happened. There was no 1946 gang war of the Five Families or anything like the mob assassination of a police captain, etc.
Some basic things are just plain wrong. I get fiction’s demands–but when a movie is taken as gospel, and it makes beginner mistakes, I feel it necessary to step in.
For starters: A Mafia consiglieri has no executive authority–as the name implies, he advises and offers opinions and what is supposed to be impartial guidance. Usually, the role went to elderly mobsters who acted as elder statesmen. In Boston, the consigliere of note was Joe Lombardo, who had stepped down as the underboss of the New England Famiglia.
Compare that to Godfather’s Tom Hagen: The German Irishman was not a consigliere. In reality, he would have been an underboss, not a consigliere. He would not be passing orders to capos or controlling the don’s social calendar. Flunkies and drivers would have handled such things. Also, it’s fairly inconceivable a non-Sicilian would ever be eligible for such a slot.
There’s a start.
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