The Godfather Novel and Film Trilogy, 1965 - 1994

Series I contains draft manuscripts-many of which include notations in Puzo's hand-chapter outlines, correspondence, scene notes, cast lists, screenplay drafts, and final manuscripts for the novel The Godfather and its subsequent film adaptations (The Godfather Part I - III).

Much of the material present in this series reflects Puzo's working process and reveals how scenes and characters changed over the course of writing and producing. Items of... note include: a draft typescript of the novel,; correspondence with Marlon Brando regarding his casting as Vito Corleone; drafts for the second Godfather installment, originally titled "The Death of Michael Corleone"; and editorial correspondence with Francis Ford Coppola and his team at American Zoetrope Production Company. Researchers should note that references to Hanover, NH and Dartmouth College can be found throughout.

Published in 1969 by G.P. Putnam's Sons, Puzo's The Godfather tells the story of the New York-based Corleone crime family and describes the transfer of power from the patriarch, Don Vito Corleone, to his youngest son, Michael Corleone (who is incidentally described in the novel as attending Dartmouth College). This fictional melodrama is credited for introducing concepts such as La Cosa Nostra, the mafia, and organized crime to a mass audience. The Godfather spent sixty-seven weeks on The New York Times bestseller list and sold nine million copies in its first two years. Puzo also worked with director Francis Ford Coppola to adapt The Godfather for the screen. He won two Academy Awards for his work on the screenplays, in both 1973 and 1975, and The Godfather trilogy earned a combined twelve Oscars. The Godfather films were box office successes and have remained important cultural touchstones and works of twentieth-century American cinema.