The Untouchables

1959

Seasons & Episodes

  • 4
  • 3
  • 2
  • 1
  • 0
8| TV-PG| en| More Info
Released: 15 October 1959 Ended
Producted By: Desilu Productions
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

Special Agent Eliot Ness and his elite team of incorruptible agents battle organized crime in 1930s Chicago.

Genre

Drama, Crime

Watch Online

The Untouchables (1959) is currently not available on any services.

Director

Walter Grauman

Production Companies

Desilu Productions

The Untouchables Videos and Images

The Untouchables Audience Reviews

Perry Kate Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!
AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks
InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.
Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.
tforbes-2 Strangely, I remember my parents watching "The Untouchables" when I was a toddler. Actually, it was the theme music during its final season that I recall.I saw a little bit of the show on YouTube today (15 June 2008), and was struck by Quinn Martin's influence here. It reminded me very much of a show Mr. Martin would begin in 1965, "The FBI." As much as I love the latter series, one advantage Desi Arnaz and Quinn Martin had here was a lack of interference from government agencies.The show was not only a precursor to "The FBI," but it also was ahead of its time when it came to gritty crime dramas. It began just as the 1950s was ending, and when life in the United States was once again becoming unsettled. Perhaps it might have even been a precursor to "The Godfather" when it came to portraying the Mafia; then again, it debuted only two years after the famous Apalachin, NY gathering that brought the Mob to national attention.In any event, "The Untouchables" was a very brave series that, like "The FBI," had high-quality production and acting. And I am glad it is coming out on DVD.PS: Watch for a 1960 episode was features "Bewitched" regulars Elizabeth Montgomery and David White!
Craig Newman After having seen Brian DePalma's film (of which I've probably seen a thousand times), I have to say as a fan of crime dramas and gangster movies and shows in particular, this is one of the best crime dramas I've ever watched.The series loosely (And I do mean loosely...) follows the true story of how Federal Prohibition Agent Eliot Ness formed an independent squad of G-Men to fight the Chicago Mob, specifically the legendary Al Capone. In real life, "The Untouchables" ( A name they actually wouldn't get until years later) fought the Chicago mob from 1930 to Prohibition's end in 1933.The show originally premiered as a two-hour made-for-TV movie titled "The Scarface Mob" and based directly from Eliot Ness's autobiography. However when the show became such an unexpected hit, the producers decided to turn it into a weekly series. The only problem was that the true adventures of Eliot Ness were covered almost entirely in the movie. So they were forced create new adventures for Ness where he battled bank robbers, kidnappers, other Chicago mobsters (real and fictional), and even had Ness going up against other famous criminals like "Ma" Barker, "Lucky" Luciano, "Dutch" Schultz, and "Legs" Diamond. Which is something the real Ness never did. The sad side-effect of these newly created stories is that historians have been trying to devalue Ness's contributions to fighting crime ever since.That being said, the series is as hard hitting and gritty as an old James Cagney or Humphrey Bogart movie. It's balance between a semi-documentary, helped by the staccato narrations of famed New York crime reporter Walter Winchell, and the film noir style lighting and camera angles heighten the drama.The solid storytelling is anchored further by the rock-solid cast which includes series regular Bruce Gordon as the menacing Frank Nitti, Al Capone's successor as well as other inspired guest stars like Peter Falk (Colombo), Leslie Neilsen (The "Naked Gun" movies), Jack Warden, and a wide variety of recognizable tough guy character actors. Playing the members of Ness's squad are Jerry Paris (The Dick Van Dyke Show) as the sensible Martin Flarety, Abel Fernandez as good-natured Native American William Youngfellow, Steve London as the sleepy-eyed Jack Rossman, and Nicholas Geogiande as the eager young Italian Enrico Rossi (Although Brian DePalam says he wasn't inspired by the series and actually didn't care for it, it's easy to see that Rossi may've played some influence in Andy Garcia's character). And, of course, the centerpiece to this series is Robert Stack's indelible, and enduring, portrayal of Eliot Ness with the right blend of toughness, compassion, and moral outrage that isn't bland, nor does it deserve the "boy scout" label that some have used to mock the character. Stack is incredible. And this series is truly entertaining.If you get the chance, buy this series. While some of the show's elements might seem dated or cheesy, it's still a compelling show that will keep you hooked.
possumopossum I bought the first series of DVDs yesterday and until then, I never knew there was a two-hour pilot movie about it. I always thought Robert Stack was a better Eliot Ness than Kevin Costner. Stack's Ness was more like a tough, no-nonsense federal agent while Kevin Costner played him more like a nerdy accountant. This used to be my dad's favorite show and, on nights when I didn't have school the next day, he would let me stay up and watch it with him. When I was in college, I caught it when it was in syndication. I hope they continue to put out these DVDs until they have the whole series out. I'm really looking forward to it.Life sure was simple back when this series first aired. You rooted for the good guys and hissed at the bad guys and you were glad, in the end, to see Capone and his cohorts get what was coming to them. It also shows that we have to be ever vigilant with our government officials so that this kind of evil cannot permeate our society. Great action-packed series and now lives forever in the DVD format. Now, if only THE FUGITIVE would come out on DVD.
rcj5365 Crime: The unknown nature of it all,and the agents who would stop at nothing to bring them to justice remains one of the greatest crime-drama shows ever to come out of the golden age of television from the late 1950's,early 1960's.The Untouchables may have been one great show,but in its day it was just that..one of the most violent crime shows on television,but during its four year-run it was propelled into the art of TV greatness when it aired on ABC-TV from September of 1959 to September of 1963.Produced by Quinn Martin and Desi Arnaz,under his production company Desilu Productions,the series produced an astounding 114 episodes,all in black and white,and stood shoulder to shoulder with such giants as Bonanza,Gunsmoke,not to mention in that same time frame,Maverick,and classic shows like Rawhide and The Riflemen and it was during the four incredible years that this show ran,won Emmys for its breathtaking scripts and incredible acting. At the time this show was on the air,Desi Arnaz's production company,Desilu was producing shows like "Make Room For Daddy"(The Danny Thomas Show),"The Andy Griffith Show", and others and would go on after The Untouchables went off the air to created the shows "Gomer Pyle","I Spy","Mission:Impossible","Star Trek", "Mannix",and would co-produced his own comedy show,"The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour",and would be in charge of production,which went un-credited for "The Lucy Show" starring Lucille Ball during the show's first two seasons.The Untouchables was groundbreaking at its finest and it was that reason to see why this was just so. Set in the prohibition era of Chicago during the late 1920's,early 1930's,during the depression,Special Treasury Agent Elliott Ness(played by Robert Stack) and his band of crimefighters must deal with bootleggers,gangland murders,assassins,and crime figures and mob bosses like Al Capone (Neville Brand) and Frank Nitti(Bruce Gordon). Brilliantly and expertly narrated by the great Walter Winchell,this power-packed crime drama of a series got the story told without the use of the screen gore,explicit profanity and blatant violence,but this show had plenty of gunplay and some of it was maybe tone down in this day and age,but during the show's run it was very violent,for instance the breaking of glass and the ricoheting of bullets were the standard but you never got to see any blood or gory stuff on the show,which was at the time prohibited due to the censors. This would become so true when Brian DePalma did the movie version of "The Untouchables" in 1987 with Kevin Costner in the Robert Stack role and Robert DeNiro in the Al Capone character and here this version was more violent and graphic than the TV show,which by the way gave Sean Connery an Oscar for his performance.But getting back to the TV show of the same title,Among the superior work by Stack,Brand,and Gordon,this show had a array of special guest stars that appear on the show almost on a weekly basis and the guest list included: Jerry Paris(long before his days on "The Dick Van Dyke Show"),Telly Savalas,Oscar Beregi,Jr.,Steve London, Jason Wingreen,Jason Robards,Jack Klugman,Grant Richards,Elizabeth Montgomery(long before her collaboration on "Bewitched"),Lee Grant,Abel Fernandez,Charles Bronson,James Coburn,and so many more. This was as awesome production that was to perfection along with Nelson Riddle's theme score.I got the chance to catch one of the episodes on video recently,and it goes to show that this series needs to seen again and needs to be put on there on DVD,especially with the first two seasons of the series. Sometimes they do show this long lost series seldom at times on New York's WOR-TV and its very sad that the cable network's A&E,Nick at Nite,TV Land,TRIO,or The History Channel doesn't air this program.