Frank Pentangeli
Encyclopedia
Francesco "Frankie Five Angels" Pentangeli is a fictional character from the film The Godfather Part II
. In the film, he was portrayed by Michael V. Gazzo
, who was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar
for his performance, which he lost to Robert De Niro
, his co-star from the same film (as young Vito Corleone
). He gets his nickname from his last name, which is Greco-Italian for five angels.
in the Corleone family
, running the family's operations in New York City
while Michael
(Al Pacino
) and Fredo Corleone
(John Cazale
) are in Nevada
. He was a top soldier in the regime of Peter Clemenza (Richard S. Castellano
), and succeeded Clemenza on his death. Pentangeli is a very old associate and family friend, having worked with Vito Corleone
(Marlon Brando
) in the early days of their olive oil
business. He now lives in Vito's former estate on Long Island
. His bodyguard is longtime soldier Willi Cicci
.
Pentangeli's character was conceived when Castellano declined to reprise his Peter Clemenza role for The Godfather, Part II. Pentangeli's role in the plot of the film was originally intended for Clemenza's character.
(Lee Strasberg
), who supports the Rosatos. Pentangeli takes this as an insult and leaves in anger. Later that night, Michael narrowly escapes an assassination attempt at his home.
Suspecting that Roth was behind the assassination attempt, Michael meets with Pentangeli and asks him to help take his revenge. As part of his plan, Michael insists that Pentangeli capitulate to the Rosato brothers, so that Roth will not suspect that Michael is conspiring against him. Pentangeli, preferring open warfare against Roth and the Rosatos, is again very aggravated by Michael's demand that Pentangeli give in to them. However, he reluctantly agrees to comply with Michael's wishes.
Back in New York, Pentangeli arranges a meeting with the Rosato brothers. At the meeting, Tony Rosato (Danny Aiello
) ambushes Pentangeli with a garotte, telling him, "Michael Corleone says hello." A policeman passes by and the attack degenerates into a shootout in the street. Pentangeli disappears and is believed to be dead.
Later, at a Senate
hearing investigating the allegations of Michael's criminal activities, the committee presents Pentangeli as a surprise witness to corroborate Cicci's testimony against Michael. Pentangeli and Cicci have been in the protective custody of the FBI
since the apparent attempt upon his life. Believing that Michael ordered him to be murdered, Pentangeli has told investigators, and is now prepared to testify before the Senate, that Michael is the head of the most powerful Mafia
family in the nation, controls virtually all gambling activity in North America
, and has ordered countless murders. Most damningly, Pentangeli tells investigators that Michael personally killed Captain McCluskey (Sterling Hayden
) and Virgil Sollozzo
(Al Lettieri
), and also began planning his mass slaughter of New York's other Mafia bosses as early as 1950. Cicci also told this to investigators, but is unable to directly implicate Michael in any illegal activity because he never received orders directly from him. However, since Pentangeli is a capo, there is no insulation between Michael and himself. The Senate subcommittee and the FBI thus consider Pentangeli very credible, and are certain that he can corroborate Cicci's testimony and send Michael to prison. As it turned out, the whole hearing was engineered by Roth as part of his plan to eliminate Michael from the scene; the committee's lawyer is on Roth's payroll.
Because Pentangeli's protective custody is so secure, Michael knows he will be unable to have Pentangeli killed before he testifies. Instead, Michael flies Pentangeli's brother, Vincenzo, in from Sicily
, and Vincenzo accompanies Michael to the hearing at which Frank is scheduled to testify. Vincenzo and Frank exchange a silent glance before the hearing. Understanding the threat, Frank recants his earlier statements and now claims that the Corleone family is innocent of any wrongdoing, thus committing perjury
against the Senate committee and subjecting himself to federal imprisonment. This testimony catches the Senators completely off-guard and effectively derails the government's case against Michael.
After the hearing, Tom Hagen
(Robert Duvall
) visits Frank in custody. Hagen tells Frank that he did the right thing by recanting, and that if he accepts responsibility for turning on the Corleone family, Frank's own family will always be taken care of. He thanks Hagen, returns to his room, and commits suicide
by slitting his wrists while taking a bath.
The finished film leaves unclear exactly what about his brother's presence motivated Frank to change his story. The final film only states that Vincenzo is himself a Mafia chieftain in Sicily. An early draft of the film explains that Vincenzo, shocked that Frankie is about to break his blood oath and betray the Corleones to government authorities, attends the hearing to remind Frankie that he must not break the Mafia's code of silence, Omertà
. His brother's presence, as well as the stare they exchanged, serves as a threat that if Frankie follows through with his planned testimony, retribution will be taken against his children, who are living in Sicily under Vincenzo's guardianship.
The Godfather Part II
The Godfather Part II is a 1974 American gangster film directed by Francis Ford Coppola from a script co-written with Mario Puzo. The film is both a sequel and a prequel to The Godfather, chronicling the story of the Corleone family following the events of the first film while also depicting the...
. In the film, he was portrayed by Michael V. Gazzo
Michael V. Gazzo
Michael Vincenzo Gazzo was an American Broadway playwright who later in life became a film and television actor....
, who was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
for his performance, which he lost to Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro, Jr. is an American actor, director and producer. His first major film roles were in Bang the Drum Slowly and Mean Streets, both in 1973...
, his co-star from the same film (as young Vito Corleone
Vito Corleone
Vito Andolini Corleone is a fictional character and the main character in Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather, as well as Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather trilogy, where he was portrayed by Marlon Brando in The Godfather and by Robert De Niro in The Godfather Part II. Premiere Magazine listed Vito...
). He gets his nickname from his last name, which is Greco-Italian for five angels.
Character overview
Pentangeli is a caporegimeCaporegime
A caporegime or capodecina, usually shortened to just a capo, is a term used in the Mafia for a high ranking made member of a crime family who heads a "crew" of soldiers and has major social status and influence in the organization...
in the Corleone family
Corleone family
The Corleone family is a fictional Sicilian Mafia family settled in New York City. The family was created by Mario Puzo and appears in his 1969 novel The Godfather, as well as the acclaimed film trilogy of the same name directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The family was founded by Vito Corleone , who...
, running the family's operations in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
while Michael
Michael Corleone
Michael Corleone is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's novels, The Godfather and The Sicilian. He is also the main character of the Godfather film trilogy that was directed by Francis Ford Coppola, in which he was portrayed by Al Pacino, who was twice nominated for an Academy Award for his...
(Al Pacino
Al Pacino
Alfredo James "Al" Pacino is an American film and stage actor and director. He is famous for playing mobsters, including Michael Corleone in The Godfather trilogy, Tony Montana in Scarface, Alphonse "Big Boy" Caprice in Dick Tracy and Carlito Brigante in Carlito's Way, though he has also appeared...
) and Fredo Corleone
Fredo Corleone
Frederico "Fredo" Corleone is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather. In the fictional universe of the novel and its film adaptation, he is the second son of Vito Corleone , head of a powerful Mafia family...
(John Cazale
John Cazale
John Holland Cazale , was an American film and theater actor. During his six-year film career he appeared in five films, each of which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture: The Godfather, The Conversation, The Godfather Part II, Dog Day Afternoon and The Deer Hunter.From his...
) are in Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
. He was a top soldier in the regime of Peter Clemenza (Richard S. Castellano
Richard S. Castellano
Richard Salvatore Castellano was an American actor who is best remembered for his Oscar nominated role in Lovers and Other Strangers and his subsequent role as Peter Clemenza in The Godfather.-Biography:...
), and succeeded Clemenza on his death. Pentangeli is a very old associate and family friend, having worked with Vito Corleone
Vito Corleone
Vito Andolini Corleone is a fictional character and the main character in Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather, as well as Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather trilogy, where he was portrayed by Marlon Brando in The Godfather and by Robert De Niro in The Godfather Part II. Premiere Magazine listed Vito...
(Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
) in the early days of their olive oil
Olive oil
Olive oil is an oil obtained from the olive , a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. It is commonly used in cooking, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and soaps and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps...
business. He now lives in Vito's former estate on Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
. His bodyguard is longtime soldier Willi Cicci
Willi Cicci
Willi Cicci is a fictional character in The Godfather film series. The character of Cicci is loosely based on real-life Mafia soldier and informant Joe Valachi.-Appearances:...
.
Pentangeli's character was conceived when Castellano declined to reprise his Peter Clemenza role for The Godfather, Part II. Pentangeli's role in the plot of the film was originally intended for Clemenza's character.
In the film
Near the beginning of the story, Pentangeli approaches Michael to ask for his help in eliminating the Rosato brothers, rivals in New York, who claimed to have been promised territories by Clemenza prior to his death. Michael refuses, however, and orders Pentangeli to do nothing, as he does not want a war to interfere with an upcoming deal with Hyman RothHyman Roth
Hyman Roth is a fictional character, and the primary antagonist in The Godfather Part II, played by the actor and acting teacher Lee Strasberg, who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the role...
(Lee Strasberg
Lee Strasberg
Lee Strasberg was an American actor, director and acting teacher. He cofounded, with directors Harold Clurman and Cheryl Crawford, the Group Theatre in 1931, which was hailed as "America's first true theatrical collective"...
), who supports the Rosatos. Pentangeli takes this as an insult and leaves in anger. Later that night, Michael narrowly escapes an assassination attempt at his home.
Suspecting that Roth was behind the assassination attempt, Michael meets with Pentangeli and asks him to help take his revenge. As part of his plan, Michael insists that Pentangeli capitulate to the Rosato brothers, so that Roth will not suspect that Michael is conspiring against him. Pentangeli, preferring open warfare against Roth and the Rosatos, is again very aggravated by Michael's demand that Pentangeli give in to them. However, he reluctantly agrees to comply with Michael's wishes.
Back in New York, Pentangeli arranges a meeting with the Rosato brothers. At the meeting, Tony Rosato (Danny Aiello
Danny Aiello
Daniel Louis "Danny" Aiello, Jr. is an American actor who has appeared in numerous motion pictures, including Once Upon a Time in America, Ruby, The Godfather: Part II, Hudson Hawk, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Moonstruck, Léon, Two Days in the Valley, and Dinner Rush...
) ambushes Pentangeli with a garotte, telling him, "Michael Corleone says hello." A policeman passes by and the attack degenerates into a shootout in the street. Pentangeli disappears and is believed to be dead.
Later, at a Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
hearing investigating the allegations of Michael's criminal activities, the committee presents Pentangeli as a surprise witness to corroborate Cicci's testimony against Michael. Pentangeli and Cicci have been in the protective custody of the FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
since the apparent attempt upon his life. Believing that Michael ordered him to be murdered, Pentangeli has told investigators, and is now prepared to testify before the Senate, that Michael is the head of the most powerful Mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
family in the nation, controls virtually all gambling activity in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, and has ordered countless murders. Most damningly, Pentangeli tells investigators that Michael personally killed Captain McCluskey (Sterling Hayden
Sterling Hayden
Sterling Hayden was an American actor and author. For most of his career as a leading man, he specialized in westerns and film noir, such as Johnny Guitar, The Asphalt Jungle and The Killing. Later on he became noted as a character actor for such roles as Gen. Jack D. Ripper in Dr...
) and Virgil Sollozzo
Virgil Sollozzo
Virgil "The Turk" Sollozzo is a fictional character and one of the main antagonists in Mario Puzo's The Godfather.In the novel, it is said that he got his nickname because he has a nose like a Turkish scimitar, has a Turkish wife and kids and also because he does much of his business in Turkey...
(Al Lettieri
Al Lettieri
Alfred Lettieri was an American actor, known for his portrayal of Virgil Sollozzo, in The Godfather....
), and also began planning his mass slaughter of New York's other Mafia bosses as early as 1950. Cicci also told this to investigators, but is unable to directly implicate Michael in any illegal activity because he never received orders directly from him. However, since Pentangeli is a capo, there is no insulation between Michael and himself. The Senate subcommittee and the FBI thus consider Pentangeli very credible, and are certain that he can corroborate Cicci's testimony and send Michael to prison. As it turned out, the whole hearing was engineered by Roth as part of his plan to eliminate Michael from the scene; the committee's lawyer is on Roth's payroll.
Because Pentangeli's protective custody is so secure, Michael knows he will be unable to have Pentangeli killed before he testifies. Instead, Michael flies Pentangeli's brother, Vincenzo, in from Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, and Vincenzo accompanies Michael to the hearing at which Frank is scheduled to testify. Vincenzo and Frank exchange a silent glance before the hearing. Understanding the threat, Frank recants his earlier statements and now claims that the Corleone family is innocent of any wrongdoing, thus committing perjury
Perjury
Perjury, also known as forswearing, is the willful act of swearing a false oath or affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to a judicial proceeding. That is, the witness falsely promises to tell the truth about matters which affect the outcome of the...
against the Senate committee and subjecting himself to federal imprisonment. This testimony catches the Senators completely off-guard and effectively derails the government's case against Michael.
After the hearing, Tom Hagen
Tom Hagen
Thomas "Tom" Feargal Hagen is a fictional character in the Godfather books and films. He was portrayed by Robert Duvall in the films. He is the informally adopted son of Don Vito Corleone and serves as the family lawyer and consigliere . Mild-mannered and soft-spoken, he often serves as a voice of...
(Robert Duvall
Robert Duvall
Robert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and a BAFTA over the course of his career....
) visits Frank in custody. Hagen tells Frank that he did the right thing by recanting, and that if he accepts responsibility for turning on the Corleone family, Frank's own family will always be taken care of. He thanks Hagen, returns to his room, and commits suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
by slitting his wrists while taking a bath.
The finished film leaves unclear exactly what about his brother's presence motivated Frank to change his story. The final film only states that Vincenzo is himself a Mafia chieftain in Sicily. An early draft of the film explains that Vincenzo, shocked that Frankie is about to break his blood oath and betray the Corleones to government authorities, attends the hearing to remind Frankie that he must not break the Mafia's code of silence, Omertà
Omertà
Omertà is a popular attitude and code of honour and a common definition is the "code of silence". It is common in areas of southern Italy, such as Sicily, Apulia, Calabria, and Campania, where criminal organizations defined as Mafia such as the Cosa Nostra, 'Ndrangheta, Sacra Corona Unita, and...
. His brother's presence, as well as the stare they exchanged, serves as a threat that if Frankie follows through with his planned testimony, retribution will be taken against his children, who are living in Sicily under Vincenzo's guardianship.