The Godfather's Darkest Secret: Why Fredo Corleone is Weak?

Have you ever thought about why Fredo is the weak link of the family in the Godfather series, where there are strong characters from each other? Throughout the trilogy, Fredo is shown as stupid, weak-willed, and clumsy compared to his siblings. He also has a soft spot for women. When we look at the 110th minute of the second movie, we can clearly see the reason for this situation. Fredo got pneumonia when he was still a baby. He suffers brain damage, possibly as a result of a prolonged febrile illness. But unlike the movie, he is a lovable character in Mario Puzo's novel of the same name and has never betrayed his brother Michael.

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#shorts #godfather #fredo #corleone #thegodfather #trivia

[miguelporras]

If I remember correctly, in the novel Fredo was very capable in hand to hand combat. He was just spineless

[nickspencer]

All of these are things John Cazale brought to the role due to his sheer genius and willingness to take it places you wouldn't ever expect. One of the greatest of all time in my opinion.

[jonreese]

each son lacked one of their father's qualities
Michael lacked Vitto's love. Vitto knew Carlo was no good since the first scene but he never hurt Carlo because he didnt want to make his daughter a widow even after Sonny the Don did nothing.

Sonny lacked the Don's discipline and he got lured into Ambush. Vitto waited 2 decades before he killed Don Cicio.

Fredo lacked Vitto's will. Fredo allowed himself to be humiliated and he felt he had nothing. Vito had nothing but built his empire.

the saddest part is Vitto had high hopes for his children and he felt he was a failure

[jackvieiraoficial]

"I ordered the death of my brother. He injured me. I killed my mother’s son. I killed my father's son"

[elyastoohey]

John Cazale is a master actor. He made Fredo iconic. Just as iconic as Vito or Michael.

[michaeledwards]

i still find movie fredo very lovable. just as connie says, he’s so sweet and helpless. john cazale played him so sympathetically too

[SharronNeedles]

Fredo, you’re nothing to me now, not a brother, not a friend.

[thylacine]

John Cazale was also great costarring with Al Pacino again in "Dog Day Afternoon". A truly talented actor.

[PunkSlapper]

Fredo didn't know it was gonna be a hit. He heard there was something in it for HIM, on his own. Fredo had built in resentment and jealousy towards Michael. Michael was the kid brother but he was taking care of Fredo. Fredo hated this.

[DivineRedwood]

All 3 brothers lack their father's "wholeness" - Mike (Mind), Sonny (Body), and Fredo (Spirit). Due to this lack of self regulated "balance" each one fails, explicitly because they were unable to replicate their father's inherent nature.

[undercoverbrother]

"I'm smart! Not dumb, not like everybody says!"

Poor Fredo 😔

[RSR]

Oh man, gotta love the Godfather. It will always be timeless and legendary.

[dacrib]

I always loved that scene with DeNiro (as young Vito) looking at the woman do the flame in a glass thing on baby Fredo. Perfectly captures that feeling of helplessness a father feels when their baby boy is very sick or injured. All you can do is pray and try whatever you can to help them. You can tell in that moment he was thinking "I'll become so rich and powerful one day I'll be able to keep all my family away from such pain.."

I've watched The Godfather II too many times to keep count and every time it breaks my heart when Fredo gets on that boat. Then the twist of knife in that last flashback scene where Michael says he's joining the army and Fredo is the only one who supports him. 🙁

[johnmorris]

I guess it was partly down to middle child syndrome. Sonny was the eldest - the tough guy, natural gang leader and the big hope. Michael was the youngest and the brains of the family. He also proved that he was willing to sacrifice for his family, by serving in the army for a while.
He'd always had a place in the family and would have been an invaluable asset to them, in terms of presenting an amiable face to the outside world and having good business sense. He would have had an imprtant role, even if Sonny had lived.
Fredo didn't really fit in and didn't have a niche or role to fit into. He wasn't a tough guy, didn't have a forceful personality and wasn't particularly clever and preferred to enjoy loving the high life. Even though he wanted more responsibility, he was never going to be entrusted with it.

[CrookedSteps]

Wow now that I think about it, every brother died in each movie. Sonny in the 1st, Fredo in the 2nd one, and Michael in the third.

[brinsonharris]

Mike, you don’t come to Las Vegas and talk to a man like Moe Green like THAT!

[lidiabaker]

Meryl Streep was his partner and was with him when he passed. He was her greatest love.

[erwinquiachon]

Coppola changed Fredo for the movies, with Puzo's permission, to reflect how Coppola was treated as a child. Coppola had polio as a child and spent about a year in bed. Like Fredo, people ignorantly assumed that Coppola would grow up to be a weakling and a failure because he was a sickly child. As a child, Coppola claims that his only consistent talent was that he was able to catch fish whenever he prayed the "Hail Mary". Coppola's famous talents did not show until he went to college and he become the most successful and wealthiest member of his family. Coppola uses this in Part 3 as Michael watches Connie's development and is haunted by the consideration of how Fredo might have developed if he was allowed to live.

[maga]

Michael regretted killing Fredo. Michael always says its not personal. it's just business. Having fredo murdered was personal, and he regretted it by godfather 3. I always felt sorry for Fredo. He didn't know there was going to be a hit on Michael. Fredo was betrayed by the ppl who he thought were friends. He was set up.

[ShadowMidnight]

John Cazale was a great actor and performer. I loved him in this. Dog day afternoon, the deer hunter