It seems like everyone likes mob movies. Maybe it's the glamourous life the guys seemingly lead, with money, power and more. Maybe it's the dark, seedy deals that go down, who knows. But when it comes to those ever famous mob movies, sometimes there are details you may or may not know
1. The actor who portrayed Luca Brasi in The Godfather was, in real life, a Mafia bodyguard
-Lenny Montana, who played the ill-fated bodyguard Luca Brasi in the film adaptation of Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather was a real life Mafia bodyguard. Actual mob members were on set to help make it accurate and oversee filming. When Francis Ford Coppola hired him, Montana was so nervous and kept forgetting his lines because he was acting with Marlon Brando. The director made Montana's forgetting of lines a part of his character
2. The cat Vito Corleone has was a stray off the street
-Francis Ford Coppola brought in a cat off the street to improvise with Marlon Brando. The cat loved Brando so much it would sit on his lap for the entire day
3. In the film Goodfellas, director Martin Scorsese's mother Catherine plays Joe Pesci's mother
-It's true. In the film Goodfellas, Catherine Scorsese plays the mother of Tommy De Vito, Joe Pesci's character. She also appears in Casino, playing the mother of character Artie Piscano
4. In the film Goodfellas, real life mobster Henry Hill's real federal prosecutor appears
-Famed New York mobster-turned-federal informant Henry Hill's federal prosecutor appears in this movie. Edward McDonald is the prosecutor who worked on the case of getting Henry Hill in to witness protection after he was arrested for drug trafficking
5. The Departed predicts a character's death with an X
-In any scene where a character dies, there is an X somewhere that is visible
6. To accurately portray Al Capone in The Untouchables, Robert De Niro tracked down Al Capone's tailor
-Robert De Niro is known for accurately portraying historical characters. And Chicago mob boss Al Capone is no different. He put on the weight himself and even tracked down Al Capone's tailor to make suits for him. New York tailor Henry Stewart mentioned around the time of the film's release that he was angered by all the fuss Giorgio Armani was getting for his role in production while it was Stewart who had more to do with De Niro's wardrobe.
7. Real-life Mafia hit man Frank Cullotta appears in Casino as, surprise surprise, a hitman
-In the 1995 film Casino, the older gentleman wearing a hat and glasses is a real life, former mob hit man named Frank Cullotta. He was a close friend of Tony Spilotro, the person Joe Pesci's character Nicky Santoro is based on
8. The horse head used in The Godfather is real
-The horse head used in the iconic scene was taken from a dog food factory because the mockup looked too fake
9. Tony Montana eats a lemon from a hand-washing bowl in Scarface
-In the iconic 1983 film, Al Pacino plays a Cuban refugee-turned-drug lord Tony Montana. In one scene, he can be seen eating a lemon from a bowl of water normally used to clean your hands. This indicates he had no exposure to upper class society
10. Marlon Brando hid weights on his stretcher as a prank in The Godfather
-In The Godfather, when Don Vito Corleone returns home from the hospital, he is carried upstairs on a stretcher. As a prank, he placed weights underneath
11. In The Godfather, Pt. II, young Vito Corleone is marked as "mentally deficient"
-When young Vito arrives at Ellis Island, an X is placed on his jacket. When immigrants would arrive at Ellis Island, those marked with X's were believed by the inspectors to suffer from mental deficiencies
12. At least 27 actors who appeared in Goodfellas also appeared in The Sopranos
-Out of the entire cast of Goodfellas, at least 27 of the actors or actresses who appear in this movie appeared in one capacity or another as a character on The Sopranos, whether it be full time roles or guest roles. A few examples include: Michael Imperioli. He played Spider in Goodfellas and Christopher Moltisanti on The Sopranos. Frank Vincent, who played Billy Batts in Goodfellas but Phil Leotardo on The Sopranos. Lorraine Bracco, who played Karen Hill in Goodfellas but Dr. Jennifer Melfi on The Sopranos. Tony Sirico, who played flashy mobster Tony Stacks in Goodfellas but old-school mobster Paule "Walnuts" Gualtieri on The Sopranos
13. In the film Goodfellas, no one dies at the hands of Henry Hill
-Henry Hill insists he was not a murderer, so that's why no one is seen dying at Henry's hands in the film
14. In the film The Irishman, Frank Sheeran's rumored Kangaroo Fight is referenced
-In the background of Frank Sheeran's (Robert De Niro) office, there is a photograph showing him with a kangaroo. Regina Graves, who was the set decorator, heard that real life legend Frank Sheeran boxed a kangaroo when he got out of the army so she made a reference to it
15. In The Irishman, Robert De Niro wore lifts
-In this film, Robert De Niro wore lifts to appear taller as his character Frank Sheeran was much taller than Jimmy Hoffa
16. In Goodfellas, real money was used
-Robert De Niro didn't like the way the fake money looked, so he insisted on real money. The prop director withdrew money from his own bank account for the film and forced everyone to count the money after each scene was filmed before any one left to ensure it was all there, that none was missing
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