Old World Social Club

Synopsis Ken Adam

"[Vincent Lobrutto:] In The Freshman Marlon Brando plays a character who has a strong resemblance to Don Corleone in The Godfather. The Social Club where he has his office is very different looking than the office in The Godfather, but it still gives the feeling that this is a very powerful man to be respected. How does the design help to create this illusion?

[Ken Adam:] In the back of the set behind Brando, I forced the perspective. Like a theatrical set, I lowered the ceiling and raised the floor up to make him look even bigger. I came up with the idea of putting him against a window. Now what kind of window? It was an industrial window, which you find everywhere in New York. The texture on the walls was really incredible. We papered the walls, repapered them, then painted them, and peeled them off. The ceilings and the wainscoting was that tinned material that is so New York. It was to give The Godfather atmosphere to it, but in fact it wasn't anything that we had seen in The Godfather except in terms of the lighting."

Vincent LoBrutto: By Design: Interviews with Film Production Designers. Westport 1992, S. 45f.