Ellis Island is located just of the coast of Manhattan, New York, and was where immigrants were traditionally registered before entering America. One such immigrant was Vito Andolini, who, in 1901, was mistakenly registered as "Vito Corleone", the name he kept for the rest of his life. He was briefly contained here for having suspected smallpox, before being taken in by the Abbandando family.
Behind the scenes[]
- When Vito arrives on Ellis Island he is marked with an X inside a circle. He is then held for what he is told is suspected smallpox. In reality, this would have meant he was suspected of having a mental defect. This is possibly a reference to Vito's mother suspecting him of being somewhat slow.
- Ellis Island operated from 1892 to 1954. Over 12 million immigrants were processed in those years.