Synopsis
Includes:
The Untouchables: The Underworld Bank (1960)
The Untouchables: Head of Fire, Feet of Clay (1960)
The Untouchables: The St. Louis Story (1960)
The Untouchables: Portrait of a Thief (1960)
The Untouchables: The Frank Nitti Story (1960)
The Untouchables: The Unhired Assassin, Part 1 (1960)
The Untouchables: The White Slavers (1960)
The Untouchables: One-Armed Bandits (1960)
The Untouchables: Little Egypt (1960)
The Untouchables: The Big Squeeze (1960)
The Untouchables: The Unhired Assassin, Part 2 (1960)
The Untouchables: Star Witness (1960)
The Untouchables: Three Thousand Suspects (1960)
The Untouchables: The Doreen Maney Story (1960)
The Untouchables: The Underworld Bank
This episode boasts the presence of two "Lieutenant Columbos": Thomas Mitchell, who created the role of disheveled detective Columbo in a 1960 theatrical production, and Peter Falk, who made the character internationally famous in a popular TV series. Mitchell is cast as Milo Sullivan, a gangland banker who supplies loans for various criminal operations--albeit with certain strings attached. Having a score to settle with Sullivan, hoodlum Duke Mullen (Peter Falk) tries to undercut his operation by pretending to fall in love with Milo's niece Louise O'Hara (Virginia Vincent). Meanwhile, Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) patiently awaits the inevitable downfall of both men. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The Untouchables: Head of Fire, Feet of Clay
Nehemiah Persoff, who appeared in the premiere Untouchables episode as mob accountant Jake "Greasy Thumb" Guzik, returns to the series in the role of crooked gambler Johnny Fortunato. Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) is reunited with his former school chum Frank Barber (Jack Warden), now the owner of the Chicago Sports Palace--and one of many entrepreneurs forced to pay tribute to Fortunato. A series of violent incidents convince Ness that Barber and his girlfriend Chickie (Madlyn Rhue) are in desperate need of police protection. What Elliot doesn't know is that old buddy Frank is setting him up as a dupe in an elaborate scheme to blackmail Fortunato and his flunkeys. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The Untouchables: The St. Louis Story
Behind his respectable veneer as owner of the posh Jockey Club, Dink Conway (David Brian) is actually in charge of all organized crime in St. Louis. Backed up by his top gun Whitey Deering (Leo Gordon), Conway forces all the other hoods in town to play ball with him--and systematically bumps off those with whom he can't see eye-to-eye. When a minor mobster pulls off a mail truck heist without permission, Conway has the man killed, then goes to great lengths to get his own grubby hands on the stolen loot. It is up to Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) to put an end to Conway's operation before every potential witness is rubbed out. This episode marks the last appearance of Jerry Paris as "Untouchable" Martin Flaherty, and the first appearance of Anthony George as new team member Cam Allison--who turns out to have a personal reason for putting Conway behind bars. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The Untouchables: Portrait of a Thief
At the behest of Elliot Ness (Robert Stack), "Untouchable" Enrico Rossi (Nick Georgiade) goes undercover to pinpoint the source of some 190-proof grain alcohol being smuggled into Chicago. The trail leads to an outwardly respectable pharamaceutical firm, run by E. Carlton Duncan (Edward Andrews) and Brooks Wells (Henry Jones)--who are actually the Brittano brothers, racketeers in cahoots with mob boss Johnny Torrio (Charles McGraw). The trick now is to turn one Brittano against the other--which proves deceptively easy during an evening of drunken revelry. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The Untouchables: The Frank Nitti Story
Although his bootlegging operation has been smashed up and his boss Al Capone is in Federal Prison, Frank Nitti (Bruce Gordon) still has plenty of crooked irons in the fire. One his most lucrative enterprises is a Hollywood-based extortion racket, designed to control exhibition prices for theater operators. Hoping to break Nitti once and for all, Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) uses an old warrant against Nitti flunkey Sidney Rogers (Richard Anderson) as the first step in his plan. This final episode of The Untouchables' first season feature the last appearance of Anthony George as "Untouchable" Cam Allison--but if you think that the explosive climax marks the exit of the formidable Frank Nitti, guess again. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The Untouchables: The Unhired Assassin, Part 1
In the first episode of a two-part story, Capone lieutenant Frank Nitti (Bruce Gordon) attempts to bribe Chicago mayor Anton Cermak (Robert Middleton) for a piece of the 1933 World's Fair. When Cermak tells him to get lost, Nitti growls "You're dead"--and he means it. As Federal agent Elliot Ness and his Untouchables provide Cermak with round-the-clock protection, Nitti brings in a couple of out-of-town boys to assassinate the Mayor...while a deranged lone gunman named Giuesppe Zangara (Joe Mantell) plans a killing of his own. Parts One and Two of "The Unhired Assassin" were later combined and released theatrically as the feature film Guns of Zangara. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The Untouchables: The White Slavers
Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) breathing down his neck, Mig Torrance (Mike Kellin), head of With a large and thriving prostitution racket, moves his base of operations south of the Mexican border. Though Mig refuses to dirty his hands with firearms, he has no qualms about dispatching his minions to gun down anyone who threatens his business; as a result, the hookers victimized by Torrance are unwilling to cooperate with the Feds. In the end, Ness must bank upon the courage of feisty retired madam Mrs. B (Betty Field)--and the cowardice of Torrance's sniveling kid brother Ernie (a decidedly pre-Bewitched Dick York). "The White Slavers" boasts a higher dead-body count than any other Untouchables episode...and also features the single most brutal act of violence in the series' history. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The Untouchables: One-Armed Bandits
Newly released from prison, Frank O'Dean (Harry Guardino) would like to go straight, but is forced into working for the illicit slot-machine operation run by Augie Viale (John Beradino). It turns out that Viale has a powerful hold on O'Dean: he knows that Frank's daughter, who is convinced that her father died a war hero, is about to marry into a respectable society family. Rather than ruin his daughter's chances at happiness, O'Dean agrees to play ball with Viale--while Elliot Ness (Robert Stack), who senses that Frank is a decent guy despite his criminal record, does what he can to turn the hapless ex-convict against his boss. A powerful finale caps this curiously sentimental (but still extremely violent) episode. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The Untouchables: Little Egypt
"Little Egypt" is what they call the town of Morraine, Illinois, which is ruled with an iron hand by Major Charlie Byron, a former military officer turned mob boss. Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) sends his fellow "Untouchable" Cam Allison (Anthony George) undercover to get the goods on Byron, and to send messages back to Chicago via carrier pigeon. Meanwhile, exotic dancer Hazel Stanley (Susan Cummings) is ordered by Byron's flunkeys to play up to Allison to see if he can be trusted--and in the process, she finds herself falling for the big lug. Majel Barrett of Star Trek fame appears unbilled as a waitress in this episode, which was loosely based on the life of Charlie Birger, the last gangster to be hanged in the state of Illinois. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The Untouchables: The Big Squeeze
This episode was written by W.R. Burnett of Little Caesar fame, so it shouldn't be a surprise that much of the story is told from the viewpoint of the nominal villain--in this case, dapper bank robber Larry "Ace" Banner (Dan O'Herlihy). As a clever as he is prolific, Banner is a master of disguise and psychology, frequently covering his tracks by preying on bankers who are even bigger crooks than he is. Unable to put the cuffs on Banner because bank robbery is not yet a Federal crime, Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) must resort to other, more subtle methods to trip up the elusive thief. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The Untouchables: The Unhired Assassin, Part 2
In the conclusion of a two-part story, Capone's second-in-command Frank Nitti (Bruce Gordon) steps up his heretofore unsuccessful efforts to eliminate Anton Cermak (Robert Middleton), the incorruptable mayor of Chicago. Scheduled to appear at a public event in Miami with president-elect Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Cermak would seem to be a sitting duck for Nitti's torpedoes, but Elliot Ness and the Untouchables aren't about to let that happen. Meanwhile, a deranged anarchist named Giuseppe Zangara (Joe Mantell) may well succeed where Nitti has failed--assuming that Cermak is Zangara's intended target. Though historically inaccurate in many respects, this episode paints a vibrant picture of the euphoria surrounding the election of the first anti-Prohibition president in 14 years. Parts One and Two of "The Unhired Assassin" were later combined and released theatrically as the feature film Guns of Zangara. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The Untouchables: Star Witness
Jim Backus guest stars as William Norbert, a mob bookkeeper with a photographic memory. Tired of living on the wrong side of the law, Norbert wants to retire, but his boss Luigi Rinaldo (Marc Lawrence) refuses to let him--and is willing to bump off Norbert's entire family to ensure the man's loyalty. Ultimately, Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) offers to provide protection for Norbert if he agrees to testify in an out-of-town courtoom trial...while a hired gunman prepares to make certain that this doesn't happen. Among the highlights in this episode is the sight of stalwart "Untouchable" William Youngfellow (Abel Fernandez) in the guise of a flagpole sitter. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The Untouchables: Three Thousand Suspects
Leslie Nielsen guest stars as Tom Sebring, a disgruntled prison inmate who has unexpectedly been denied parole. Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) hopes to play on Sebring's resentment to persuade him to act as an "inside man" at Leavenworth, the better to trap the partners of recently murdered mobster Nick Segal (Peter Leeds). But Ness' plans may be thwarted by a corrupt prison guard and a phony "escape" designed to cover up a second murder--and pulling the strings on the "outside" is none other than Frank Nitti (Bruce Gordon. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The Untouchables: The Doreen Maney Story
Anne Francis and Christopher Dark guest star as armored-car bandits Doreen Maney and Sheik Humphries in this thinly disguised retelling of the "Bonnie and Clyde" legend. Designed by the newspapers as "The Lovebirds", Doreen and Sheik have masterminded four major heists, the last of which netted the gate receipts from Yankee Stadium. This time, however, blood has been spilled, and Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) is determined to avenge the deaths of the four armored guards mowed down by the Lovebirds' gang. Managing to capture Doreen, Ness hopes that she will reveal Sheik's whereabouts while being extradited to New York, but Doreen says nothing, confident that her boyfriend will help her escape--little imagining that she is being double-crossed not only by Sheik, but also by her own kid sister Maybelle (played by a pre-Mister Ed Connie Hines). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
