When filming The Godfather, Marlon Brando would often read his lines off cue cards, sometimes even stuck on other actors, whose backs were to the camera.
Part of the reason for this is that there were constant last minute rewrites throughout production. Here's a few quotes from Ira Zuckerman's day-by-day account of the Godfather filming in his 1972 book 'The Godfather Journal':
28th DAY OF SHOOTING: TUESDAY MAY 4
Because script changes are made every day, cue cards are being prepared for Brando. Between takes now he often mouths his lines and walks through the action, trying to get the feel of the scene, while director and crew attend to technical problems.
30th DAY OF SHOOTING: THURSDAY MAY 6
Coppola arrives this morning with a rewrite of the scene to be shot today. Mona types it up and makes Xerox copies. Cue cards are quickly prepared for Brando as there is no time for him to memorize his lines.
33rd DAY OF SHOOTING: TUESDAY MAY 11
Last-minute script revisions of the scenes to be filmed today are still being typed and Xeroxed; they are distributed immediately after lunch. Again cue cards must be made for Brando as the changes are too numerous for him to commit to memory in the time available.
I'm not that saying Brando is blame-free himself. There's no mention in the book of any other actors needing cue cards. But the rewrites were also clearly a factor.
My favorite Brando story: David Thewlis, his ‘The Island of Dr. Moreau’ costar, said he had to be fed lines through an earpiece, and the earpiece would occasionally pickup other frequencies.
“He’d be in the middle of a scene, and suddenly he’d be getting police messages. Marlon would repeat, ‘There’s a robbery at Woolworth’s.”’
marcvanh on March 12nd, 2018 at 12:21 UTC »
I remember a Trivial Pursuit question claiming he never had to memorize his lines because he had a “photographic memory”.
Debunked
RunDNA on March 12nd, 2018 at 14:06 UTC »
Part of the reason for this is that there were constant last minute rewrites throughout production. Here's a few quotes from Ira Zuckerman's day-by-day account of the Godfather filming in his 1972 book 'The Godfather Journal':
I'm not that saying Brando is blame-free himself. There's no mention in the book of any other actors needing cue cards. But the rewrites were also clearly a factor.
georgesgettingupset on March 12nd, 2018 at 14:08 UTC »
My favorite Brando story: David Thewlis, his ‘The Island of Dr. Moreau’ costar, said he had to be fed lines through an earpiece, and the earpiece would occasionally pickup other frequencies.
“He’d be in the middle of a scene, and suddenly he’d be getting police messages. Marlon would repeat, ‘There’s a robbery at Woolworth’s.”’