Focus Features

In mid-March 1972, the world was waiting to see Marlon Brando’s highly anticipated comeback role in the gangster epic The Godfather, which was to be released on March 24. However, a compelling real-life drama involving Brando had instead been commanding the headlines, and had forced him to miss the movie’s grand premiere in New York on March 15. Earlier that month, it had been reported that Christian Brando, the actor’s son by ex-wife Anna Kashfi, had been kidnapped. Brando and Kashfi had been in a protracted custody battle over Christian since their two-year marriage ended in 1959; the boy had suffered as the cause of their conflict, and Brando would later describe him as "basket case of emotional disorder" at the time of his disappearance. When Christian disappeared, Brando (who was in France shooting Last Tango in Paris for Bernardo Bertolucci) denied the kidnap stories, saying his son had secretly gone on a fishing and scuba diving trip to Mexico friends, while Kashfi claimed ignorance to his whereabouts. Despite his calm public front, Brando swiftly employed an army of private investigators to track down Christian in Mexico. A few days later, one of these agents, Jay Armes, located him, hidden in a cave near a San Felipe fishing camp, in the company of six men and two women. They denied kidnapping him, and claimed that Kashfi had brought him to them and promised them $10,000 if they hid Christian. Kashfi’s arrest near the Mexican border for suspected drunk driving and disorderly behavior seemed to corroborate this story. Within days, Brando was granted sole custody of his son, and permitted to take him with him back to Paris where he was finish shooting Bertolucci’s movie.

In mid-March 1972, the world was waiting to see Marlon Brando’s highly anticipated comeback role in the gangster epic The Godfather, which was to be released on March 24. However, a compelling real-life drama involving Brando had instead been commanding the headlines, and had forced him to miss the movie’s grand premiere in New York on March 15. Earlier that month, it had been reported that Christian Brando, the actor’s son by ex-wife Anna Kashfi, had been kidnapped. Brando and Kashfi had been in a protracted custody battle over Christian since their two-year marriage ended in 1959; the boy had suffered as the cause of their conflict, and Brando would later describe him as "basket case of emotional disorder" at the time of his disappearance. When Christian disappeared, Brando (who was in France shooting Last Tango in Paris for Bernardo Bertolucci) denied the kidnap stories, saying his son had secretly gone on a fishing and scuba diving trip to Mexico friends, while Kashfi claimed ignorance to his whereabouts. Despite his calm public front, Brando swiftly employed an army of private investigators to track down Christian in Mexico. A few days later, one of these agents, Jay Armes, located him, hidden in a cave near a San Felipe fishing camp, in the company of six men and two women. They denied kidnapping him, and claimed that Kashfi had brought him to them and promised them $10,000 if they hid Christian. Kashfi’s arrest near the Mexican border for suspected drunk driving and disorderly behavior seemed to corroborate this story. Within days, Brando was granted sole custody of his son, and permitted to take him with him back to Paris where he was finish shooting Bertolucci’s movie.