She was a member of la famiglia. So hewing to the family code, she was tight-lipped. Like Michael. (And unlike the blowhard, Sonny). But the code had fine print. Apparently, if and when THE GODFATHER (1972) were to reach its fiftieth anniversary, Constanzia “Connie” Corleone had clearance to spill the beans. You know — where the bodies are hidden, that sort of thing. And that’s exactly what we’re hoping for this Friday night at the wonderful and fun Hollywood Legion Theater, whose tagline should read, “not a bad seat in the house.” It’s all going down when film historian and author Alan K. Rode will interview Oscar-nominated actress Talia Shire — she portrays the neurasthenic Connie Corleone in THE GODFATHER trilogy — prior to a rare big-screen projection of a glorious 35-mm print of the movie.
Fifty years — isn’t that half a century? THE GODFATHER went into wide release March 24, 1972. Two months later, in June 1972, I graduated high school. That means two things: THE GODFATHER is an excellent movie that has lasted; and, I am heinously old. Child of suburban Pittsburgh that I was, I believe I saw THE GODFATHER at the Warner’s Theater, a grand-scaled converted vaudeville house in downtown Pittsburgh. The movie’s buzz was all about Brando. But there were young actors in it, unknowns more or less, and their performances knocked your socks off. Shire was among them, and she would go on to stand out, particularly, in her weirdly incestuous “You need me, Michael. I want to take care of you now” ring-kissing scene with Al Pacino.
Let’s hear what Connie has to say!
THE GODFATHER (1972) Talia Shire interviewed by Alan K. Rode | Hollywood Legion Theater | Sept 16