Ok, folks. I couldn't find out what Willie whispered to Caan right before he died but in reading all the posts of his prison conversation and other hints here it is. Cann was raised by the state. Willie wasn't a father figure. He whispered to Cann that he IS his father!!
shareHe was thanking Frank for getting him out of prison.
From the script:
162 INT. HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - THREE SHOT - DAY
They wait on red leatherette and chrome tube settees
from 1958. The sonorous-voiced P.A. Is LOW and IN-
CESSANT. Garner smokes.
JESSIE
What did he whisper to you?
FRANK
(somewhere else, pause)
He said thanks...
'Cause I got him out. He don't
have to die in there.
(beat)
That's the big thing... Not to
die in there...
Drifting through lost latitudes with no compass and no chart
Folks, what did the letter that Frank read at the start of the film. I believe it was written on State of Illinois stationary. Couldn't find it in quotes and trivia.
share'Dear Frank, nothing new ever
happens around here. No, I don't
need any money or anything. Go
slow and EZ and keep knocking them
dead. I could never find the
words to tell you how proud I am
'cause you are making your life
happen like you said and collecting
your debt back from society. And
I know you're pretty busy, but
could you come up 'cause I gotta
see ya. Your pal, Okla.'
I hope this helps.
"No tellin' who's sellin' out, power buildin' the nation so..."