The Godfather's Last Ride

          There is a scene in Francis Ford Coppola's classic 1972 film The Godfather that depicts the funeral of Don Vito Corleone, played brilliantly by Marlon Brando. This classic film won three Oscars, including one for Brando as Best Actor, one to Coppola and Mario Puzo for Best Screenplay Adaptation and, of course, the gem of them all, Best Picture. In addition, it received eight other nominations. Throughout the world it won 27 awards. Not only was it a critical success but a financial one as well. With a $6 million budget the picture went on to make over $245 million worldwide. And that's just in theaters.

          During that stirring scene at Don Corleone's funeral, the late mob capo is loaded into a hearse and taken to the cemetery. The hears was a Henney built Packard. It was officially called a Landau 3-Way Hearse because of a unique design where the B pillar had been removed. This allowed a casket to be loaded from the rear or from either the left or right side. Henney Body built 1941 vehicles based on Packards in 1948 with the vast majority being either hearses or ambulances.

          A heavy vehicle, the Landau Hearse weighed in at 6100 pounds but was pulled along by a 356 cubic inch Custom 8 engine that could generate 160 horse power. And for a car designed to provide someone their last ride, it was loaded with just about every luxury feature imaginable.

          The 1948 Packard Landau 3-Way Hearse seen here is on display at the Citizen's Motor Car Museum in Dayton, OH. The reason the pictures are so dark is that it is tucked away in a back corner of the museum's rear building, a place that doesn't afford very much light.
          Oh, and, by the way, this is the actual car that was used in that scene from The Godfather. Not only a piece of automotive history but also cinematic history.