The Untouchables

The Untouchables is the name of a 1957 book by Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley, and also of two television series and a motion picture that it inspired. They deal with the experiences of Eliot Ness, a United States Treasury agent, as he fought crime in Chicago in the 1930s with the help of a special team of agents handpicked for their incorruptibility, nicknamed the Untouchables. The stories often revolved around his enmity with reputed mob boss Al Capone, and many focused on crimes related to Prohibition.

Film

A movie based on the television series was adapted by David Mamet in 1987, directed by Brian de Palma and starring Kevin Costner as Eliot Ness, Sean Connery as Irish beat cop Jim Malone, and Robert de Niro as Al Capone. Sean Connery received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the film.

Related Topics:
David Mamet - 1987 - Brian de Palma - Kevin Costner - Sean Connery - Robert de Niro - Academy Award - Best Supporting Actor

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There are some discrepancies in the movie that should be noted. Eliot Ness is portrayed as a newcomer to Chicago, and married with two children. Ness was actually a native Chicagoan and was single when he put together the legendary crime-fighting team.

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At the beginning of the movie, Capone tries to portray himself as a nice man who is simply giving the thirsty people of Chicago what they want. He even says to a reporter "There is violence in Chicago, but not by me and not by anybody I employ. You know why? Because it's not good business." But Capone actually supplied poor quality liquor at high prices, and backed up his business with hired guns. While being interviewed, a ten-year-old girl in another part of the city is killed by a bomb planted in a speakeasy.

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Ness is put in charge of leading the crusade against Capone and his empire. His first task is to infiltrate a warehouse suspected of carrying crates of Canadian whiskey, but it turns out that the crates are full of Japanese umbrellas. Obviously members of Ness's squad have informed the mob. A photographer snaps a picture of the embarassing moment, turning Ness into a laughing stock in the newspaper.

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A veteran beat cop named Jim Malone takes Ness under his wing and becomes his mentor, teaching him never to trust anyone in the corrupt police department. He tells Ness that he knows where to find the honest men who are just as determined to see Capone put out of business.

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After hiring an Italian sharpshooter named George Stone and an accountant named Oscar Wallace, the Untouchables are complete.

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Their first raid takes place in a post office whose storeroom is being used to store crates of illegal liquor. They manage to infiltrate the post office and nab all the workers without firing a single shot.

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Ness soon becomes a formidable opponent to Capone's empire, angering the crimelord. After receiving a death threat from Capone's hitman Frank Nitti, Ness sends his wife and two children into hiding while he and the Untouchables continue the battle against Capone.

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The team's greatest success comes when they intercept a shipment of liquor being smuggled across the U.S.-Canadian border. They also capture Capone's bagman George, who can testify against Capone and have him put away for 28 years.

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An enraged Capone realizes he has no choice but to have George killed, a task he leaves to Nitti. Disguised as an elevator operator, Nitti kills both George and Oscar Wallace. With George dead, Ness thinks the case against Capone is lost, because the district attorney will not prosecute Capone without a witness. Malone convinces Ness to stall the D.A. from dropping the case and thinks that the corrupt police chief knows where the next best witness is.

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The other witness is Capone's bookkeeper Walter Payne. But Capone plans on keeping Payne out of Ness's hands, and assigns his sideman Bowtie the task of escorting Payne out of Chicago.

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After a fistfight, the corrupt police chief tells Malone that he knows where Payne is. Capone is determined to silence the Untouchables once and for all, and orders Malone killed. Nitti machine-guns Malone in the alley behind his house.

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Ness and Stone arrive in time to find Malone mortally wounded and near death. Malone manages to give Ness the piece of paper that gives the time and train that Payne is travelling to Florida on. He blurts to Ness "What are you prepared to do?" before he dies.

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Ness and Stone find Payne at Chicago's Union Station, and also encounter several armed Capone hoods. A shootout occurs in which several innocent bystanders and all the Capone hoods are killed. Ness and Stone finally manage to apprehend Payne.

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Capone is finally brought to trial. During the trial, Ness realizes that Nitti is carrying a gun in court and orders the bailiff to take him outside. Nitti empties the contents of his pockets onto a table. Ness takes Nitti's matchbook when he wants to smoke a cigarette, but when he lights the match he sees Malone's address written on the inside of the matchbook. Ness realizes that he is confronting his mentor's killer.

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Nitti pulls his gun, shooting and wounding the bailiff. Ness pursues Nitti to the roof of the court building. Foolishly, Nitti attempts to escape by using a rope and tackle to climb down the side of the court building. The rope isn't long enough to get him to the street, and Nitti winds up taunting Ness to save him. Ness originally considers shooting Nitti to avenge Malone's murder, but common sense prevails and he saves the hitman.

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But Nitti makes a smirking remark that Malone "died screaming like a stuck Irish pig". An enraged Ness seizes Nitti and throws him off the court building roof to his death. In real life, Nitti committed suicide in 1943 when it became apparent that he might go to prison.

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Stone finds a piece of paper in Nitti's coat that lists the names of the jurors. It turns out they've all been bribed. At first, the judge, who is also probably on Capone's payroll, is hesitant to do anything. Ness uses the lessons he had learned from Malone to convince the judge to switch the juries, and Capone is convicted of income tax evasion and sentenced to 11 years in prison.

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