Video: 'The Godfather' trailer

(Tuesday, March 14, 1972, 7:30 p.m. EST) — The Godfather, an American crime film based on Mario Puzo’s best-selling 1969 novel of the same name that chronicles the experiences of the Italian-American Corleone family, premiered tonight at Loews’s State Theatre, 1540 Broadway (at W. 45th St.) in New York City as a benefit for The Boys Club of New York.

Video: 'The Godfather (1972) - Movie' (9 clips)

Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, the film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard Conte, and Diane Keaton.

Since its release, The Godfather has been widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential films ever made, especially in the gangster genre.