THE HORSE HEAD USED IN THE FILMING OF THE MOVIE “THE GODFATHER”

THE HORSE HEAD USED IN THE FILMING OF THE MOVIE “THE GODFATHER”. This is the actual horse head used by Paramount Studios during the rehearsal scenes of the first Godfather movie. It was just prior to this scene Brando mumbled one of the more iconic verbiages of the film and now probably one of the most repeated quotes used today “I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse”. As a result of various correspondence with Paramount Studios, the consignor, and the former employee of Paramount who originally owned the head, we understand that this taxidermy mount on Styrofoam was purchased by Paramount and shipped from a firm in Texas (the name of which is unknown to us) for $2,000. Despite the lifelike and grisly appearance of the mount (the Styrofoam base of the simulated horse head is painted red and looks very realistically bloody) apparently Coppola was not satisfied with its realism. According to Producer Al Ruddy, this head was “unsuitable”, one reason being that the seam/crack in the middle of the taxidermy horse’s neck was too obvious. Coppola wanted no question of it being a real head. As a result, in the actual final filming a real horse’s bloody head was used. Coppola wanted to make an extraordinarily dramatic statement that left no question of its reality. The result was one of the most notorious and grisly scenes in the entire movie. Studio boss, Jack Woltz who had been unresponsive to Corleone’s request awoke the next morning in his satin sheeted bed, to discover the bloody severed head of his prize thoroughbred “Khartoum”. Our taxidermy head was used in the various rehearsals but at the final filming an actual real severed horse head was sent from a New Jersey dog food plant, packed in dry ice, and used for the final scene. Using a real head was a delicate matter with the SPCA and so the actual real head used was immediately thereafter given to the SPCA for disposal. Paramount’s prop department was closed and liquidated in 2000. According to the former owner who had worked at Paramount, she had acquired the head in the 1970’s. There are two references of official note that discuss both horse heads. 1) Page 21 in “The Godfather Companion by Peter Biskind which references Coppola & the second horse head. 2) In “The Godfather Legacy, The Untold Story of the Making of the Classic Godfather Trilogy” (Revised & Updated Edition) by Harlan Lebo shows a half page photograph of Coppola in the bed with our taxidermy head, showing actor Marley how he wanted him to react to the discovery of the horse’s head. Our taxidermy mount is an actual head & neck of a horse that had been mounted on a Styrofoam form and the seam which Al Ruddy refers to is very apparent in our taxidermy mount. SIZE: 34″ from the neck to tip of nose; 24″ wide. PROVENANCE: Our consignor acquired this head from an ex-employee of Paramount Studio’s. According to the Ex-Paramount employee she acquired the head in the early 70’s and shipped it at her mother’s home where it was stored until she later sold it to our consignor. CONDITION: Very good. 9-25481 (10,000-20,000)

Auction: Fine Art, Antiques & Asian - August 2012

Please Note: All prices include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium, which is paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price. The prices noted here after the auction are considered unofficial and do not become official until after the 46th day.

Image	Lot	Price	Description
	2244	$11,500.00	THE HORSE HEAD USED IN THE FILMING OF THE MOVIE “THE GODFATHER”. This is the actual horse head used by Paramount Studios during the rehearsal scenes of the first Godfather movie. It was just prior to this scene Brando mumbled one of the more iconic verbiages of the film and now probably one of the most repeated quotes used today “I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse”. As a result of various correspondence with Paramount Studios, the consignor, and the former employee of Paramount who originally owned the head, we understand that this taxidermy mount on Styrofoam was purchased by Paramount and shipped from a firm in Texas (the name of which is unknown to us) for $2,000. Despite the lifelike and grisly appearance of the mount (the Styrofoam base of the simulated horse head is painted red and looks very realistically bloody) apparently Coppola was not satisfied with its realism. According to Producer Al Ruddy, this head was “unsuitable”, one reason being that the seam/crack in the middle of the taxidermy horse’s neck was too obvious. Coppola wanted no question of it being a real head. As a result, in the actual final filming a real horse’s bloody head was used. Coppola wanted to make an extraordinarily dramatic statement that left no question of its reality. The result was one of the most notorious and grisly scenes in the entire movie. Studio boss, Jack Woltz who had been unresponsive to Corleone’s request awoke the next morning in his satin sheeted bed, to discover the bloody severed head of his prize thoroughbred “Khartoum”. Our taxidermy head was used in the various rehearsals but at the final filming an actual real severed horse head was sent from a New Jersey dog food plant, packed in dry ice, and used for the final scene. Using a real head was a delicate matter with the SPCA and so the actual real head used was immediately thereafter given to the SPCA for disposal. Paramount’s prop department was closed and liquidated in 2000. According to the former owner who had worked at Paramount, she had acquired the head in the 1970’s. There are two references of official note that discuss both horse heads. 1) Page 21 in “The Godfather Companion by Peter Biskind which references Coppola & the second horse head. 2) In “The Godfather Legacy, The Untold Story of the Making of the Classic Godfather Trilogy” (Revised & Updated Edition) by Harlan Lebo shows a half page photograph of Coppola in the bed with our taxidermy head, showing actor Marley how he wanted him to react to the discovery of the horse’s head. Our taxidermy mount is an actual head & neck of a horse that had been mounted on a Styrofoam form and the seam which Al Ruddy refers to is very apparent in our taxidermy mount. SIZE: 34″ from the neck to tip of nose; 24″ wide. PROVENANCE: Our consignor acquired this head from an ex-employee of Paramount Studio’s. According to the Ex-Paramount employee she acquired the head in the early 70’s and shipped it at her mother’s home where it was stored until she later sold it to our consignor. CONDITION: Very good. 9-25481 (10,000-20,000) Auction: Fine Art, Antiques & Asian - August 2012 Please Note: All prices include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium, which is paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price. The prices noted here after the auction are considered unofficial and do not become official until after the 46th day.

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