Jack Woltz

Jack Woltz is a fictional character from the Mario Puzo novel The Godfather and the 1972 film adaptation. In the film, he is portrayed by John Marley.

In the film

Woltz is a Jewish movie producer who refuses to cast the singer/actor Johnny Fontane, who had slept with one of his mistresses, in a movie. Fontane asks Don Vito Corleone, who is the head of an organized crime family and his godfather, to lean on Woltz. Corleone sends his consigliere, Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall), to Hollywood to "reason" with Woltz.

Hagen offers to help Woltz with union trouble in return for casting Fontane. The offer may be sincere, but also interpreted as that union trouble will likely arise if Woltz does not cooperate. Woltz loses his temper, shouting anti-Italian slurs at Hagen, and refuses to bargain. Later, after learning exactly who Hagen works for, he appears more eager to listen, but in the end still refuses to cast Fontane. Woltz, in one of the most famous scenes in movie history, wakes up the next morning to find the decapitated head of his prized stud horse, Khartoum, in his bed with him. Although he phones the Corleones and furiously threatens to bring the law on their heads, he gives in to their wishes and casts Fontane.

In the novel

In the novel, Woltz is portrayed as a man who has achieved great success in the film industry, having come up from nothing. During World War II he became the White House's propaganda adviser, obtaining a large government contract as well as political contacts in the process, as well as an acquaintance with J. Edgar Hoover. It is also revealed that he is a pedophile who routinely molests young girls who audition for his movies, as well as the daughters of some of his actresses. (Although this aspect of the character is left out of the feature, it can be viewed in a deleted scene).

When Johnny Fontane is nominated for an Academy Award for his role in the film, a spiteful Woltz bribes or threatens nearly everyone in Hollywood to keep him from winning. He is again thwarted by the Corleone Family, and Fontane wins, eventually opening a Corleone-funded movie studio that soon rivals Woltz Pictures.

In the video game

In the game The Godfather: The Game, for one of the stages the player is sent on a mission to Hollywood. Being outside of New York City, he has no map to rely on. The player is ordered by Tom Hagen to decapitate Khartoum, with the help of Rocco Lampone, a Corleone soldate. The player then must sneak the head into Woltz's bedroom, all the while being quiet enough so as not to alert any of the security guards or cleaning ladies who are employed by Woltz. Successfully completing the stage will show a reenactment of the infamous "horse head" scene.

Trivia

Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (April 2009)

• Woltz's palatial home depicted in the film is actually William Randolph Hearst's mansion, situated in Beverly Hills, California^[1].
• In 1981, Marley sent up his role as Woltz in a Second City Television adaptation of The Godfather. Marley played Leonard Bernstein as a virtual Woltz clone, refusing to cast the Don's protegé in a war opera. He tried to impress Tom Hayden (Dave Thomas) with his talking horse Signor Bruschino, and asked him if he really appreciated singing zucchini.

References