Walk in the footsteps of New York’s notorious gangsters as Godfather turns 50

IT was 50 years ago that the world began to see horse’s heads in a new – and frankly horrifying – way.

Francis Ford Coppola’s 1972 film The Godfather, starring Marlon Brando and Al Pacino as the bosses of the ruthless Corleone family, gave us a chilling insight into the brutal world of the American mafia.

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Much of the plot and the characters were based on New York’s real-life mobsters.

And while the mob may have moved on from putting severed horses’ heads on their enemy’s pillows, the Big Apple still has more than enough landmarks where you can walk in the footsteps of some of the most notorious gangsters.

Here we reveal the mafia hangouts — both real and from the film — that you can explore today.

SPARKS STEAK HOUSE

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ORDERING your steak “scaloppini” (thick slices of prime cow with peppers and mushrooms) on the rare and bloody side is apt for this old-timer steakhouse in mid-town Manhattan.

It’s been here since 1977 and has genuine Italian-American heritage in the form of its founders, the Cetta family, who come from Campania in the old country.

This is where John Gotti in 1985 put out a hit on Paul Castellano, the boss of his own Gambino mob family and underboss Thomas Bilotti. 

In a move worthy of Tony Soprano, Gotti, who took over as boss, is said to have viewed the shooting outside the restaurant entrance from a car parked across the street. See sparkssteakhouse.com.

SANDS POINT PRESERVE

THE horse’s head scene in The Godfather wasn’t actually filmed in Hollywood but on Long Island, in a wonderfully over-the-top Hacienda-type mansion that’s now a museum. Situated on the north shore, the country pile, called Falaise (French for cliff), and the surrounding grounds are a fantastic rural escape from the buzz and noise of the Big Apple, with gardens, forests and woodland trails. See sandspointpreserveconservancy.org.

THE FORMER TRIANGLE CLUB

LOOKING for the kind of sawdust and poker-type Mafia social clubs depicted in movies from Goodfellas to Donnie Brasco?

Well, gentrification in New York has “whacked” all of them — with the Triangle in Greenwich Village being the last to close in 2011. It was reportedly owned by Genovese family boss Vincent “The Chin” Gigante, who was partial to wandering around in his dressing gown and feigning dementia to deter the cops (it didn’t work and they jailed him anyway). The former club is now a tea and spices store called Sullivan Street. See onsullivan.com.

UMBERTOS CLAM HOUSE

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THIS classic joint has a menu to make a mobster salivate: Fried clams, pasta fagioli and linguine with meatballs are all present and correct.

Back in 1972, this was the location for one of the most notorious mob hits — on “Crazy Joe” Gallo, of the Profaci crime family. He was shot at his table in the early hours of the morning after celebrating his birthday at the Copacabana nightclub.

Umbertos moved to 132 Mulberry Street in the early Noughties but the original location where the shooting took place is just a footstep or two away at number 129. See umbertosclamhouse.com.

NEW YORK SUPREME COURT BUILDING

ALL mobsters in the Big Apple, guilty or innocent, end up walking up these grand stairs at some point.

In The Godfather, this is where young Michael Corleone’s ruthlessness is seen for the first time as enemy Emilio Barzini and his associate are gunned down on the steps by a shooter disguised as police officer.

Getting inside is hard (unless you’re involved in organised crime yourself, of course) but there are occasional group tours by appointment only. See ww2.nycourts.gov.

PARK CENTRAL HOTEL

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ON October 25, 1957, former Murder Inc leader and organised crime powerbroker Albert Anastasia was getting a shave at the in-house barbershop of the Park Sheraton hotel when two men rushed in with guns blazing and shot him dead.

The reasons for the killing were complicated, involving a power struggle at the top levels of the Mafia. No one was ever charged for the murder.

A Starbucks now occupies the corner of 55th Street and 7th Avenue where the barber shop once sat. See parkcentralny.com.