'An offer I can't refuse'

It has to be one of the most chilling lines in cinema - when Marlon Brando's Don Corleone makes someone an offer he can't refuse.

Now Brando's copy of the script for The Godfather is set to go under the hammer and notes he scribbled in the margin give a clue as to how he perfected this character's softly menacing voice.

The actor, who died last July aged 80, wrote: 'Through The Nose High Voice Nose Broken In Youth.'

The script for the 1972 Oscar-winning movie is among 250 items from the actor's Los Angeles estate to be auctioned at Christie's in New York on June 30.

The Godfather script is expected to raise about £1,000 out of a total sale of £600,000. Also included is a letter from Godfather author Mario Puzo urging Brando to accept the lead role.

It reads: 'I think you're the actor who can play the Godfather.'

Brando's Oscar nomination certificate for On The Waterfront is also on sale as are his boxing gloves and film costumes.