Here is the Daly marker shown from the back. This is the approximate angle from which the marker is seen in the film. It is here, also, where things get a little perplexing.

If you recall which way this marker faces in "The Godfather" you might say "That can't be the right Daly marker. It's facing the wrong way."

This is true. In the film the name "Daly" on this marker faces west. Today the name faces east, toward the mausoleums and more in the direction of the BQE/Kosciuszko Bridge.

With all other evidence indicating that this was the location of the Daly marker seen in "The Godfather" I conclude that the tombstone was knocked over, completely or in part, at some time during the 30+ years between the filming of this scene and the day these pictures were taken. This sort of vandalism is common at all cemeteries, and any visit to Calvary or most large cemeteries will include sightings of toppled tombstones.

When the Calvary Cemetery groundskeepers discovered this toppled marker and re-assembled it I think they simply put the top part on backwards.

Looking at side-by-side photos and comparing the details of the marker today and the marker seen in the film, there appear to be chips at a couple of places on the cross today, evidence (perhaps) that this marker took a tumble.

Things change slowly at cemeteries but they do change. While it faces a different direction today, I have no doubt that this is the same Daly marker from the funeral scene of "The Godfather." Everything else adds up: the position of the mausoleums, the BQE/Kosciuszko, even the dot at the end of the name Daly on the tombstone.

Created on

Sunday 25 March 2007

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• Where was Vito Corleone Buried in "The Godfather"?