Synopsis
Includes:
The Untouchables: The Otto Frick Story (1961)
The Untouchables: The Big Train, Part 2 (1961)
The Untouchables: The Big Train, Part 1 (1961)
The Untouchables: The Tommy Karpeles Story (1961)
The Untouchables: The Masterpiece (1961)
The Untouchables: The Organization (1961)
The Untouchables: The Mark of Cain (1961)
The Untouchables: The Jamaica Ginger Story (1961)
The Untouchables: A Seat on the Fence (1961)
The Untouchables: The Purple Gang (1961)
The Untouchables: The Rusty Heller Story (1961)
The Untouchables: Jack (1961)
The Untouchables: Kiss of Death Girl (1961)
The Untouchables: The Larry Fay Story (1961)
The Untouchables: The Waxey Gordon Story (1961)
The Untouchables: Nicky (1961)
The Untouchables: The Otto Frick Story
Beating the U.S. Army to the punch by nearly six years, Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) goes after a criminal gang with links to the Nazi party. Otto Frick (Jack Warden), a racketeer in charge of several travelling carnivals which are distributing narcotics throughout the country, enters into an unholy partnership with the Hitler government. The Nazis agree to supply narcotics for free--on the condition that Frick drum up membership for the German-American Bund, in anticipation of a huge pro-Hitler rally at Madison Square Garden. Meanwhile, Frick's cohort Hans Eberhardt (Richard Jaeckel) is seduced into double-crossing his partner by Hedda Messlinger (Erika Peters), the sexy "niece" of a suave Nazi contact man (Francis Lederer). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The Untouchables: The Big Train, Part 2
In the conclusion of a two-part story, Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) has arranged for Federal prisoner Al Capone (Neville Brand) to be transferred from his prison cell in Atlanta to a maximum-security lockdown at the newly opened Alcatraz. Meanwhile, several of Capone's loyal lieutenants have set in motion a plan to help their boss escape before he arrives at "The Rock." For this purpose, they take over a small California town and patiently await the arrival of the train carrying Big Al to San Francisco Bay (a plot device reminiscent of the 1954 Frank Sinatra vehicle Suddenly). Watch for Anthony Zerbe and Charles Lane in uncredited roles. Parts One and Two of "The Big Train" were lated combined into a feature film and released theatrically as Alcatraz Express. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The Untouchables: The Big Train, Part 1
In the first episode of a two-part story, Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) is convinced that Al Capone (Neville Brand) is receiving prefential treatment while serving a sentence for tax evasion at the Federal prison in Atlanta. Pulling a few strings, Ness arranges for Big Al to be transferred to a newer, tougher penal institution called Alcatraz. While several of Capone's flunkeys take financial advantage of his absence, there are others who find it advantageous to cook up a scheme to spring "Scarface" from the prison train that is transporting him to "The Rock." The opening scenes in which Capone is seen being pampered by corrupt penitentiary officials resulted in a protest from the Bureau of Prisons, who demanded that the episode be preceded with a disclaimer insisting that it was complete work of fiction. Parts One and Two of "The Big Train" were lated combined into a feature film and released theatrically as Alcatraz Express. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The Untouchables: The Tommy Karpeles Story
Once a big shot in the criminal world, Tommy Karpeles (Harold J. Stones) cuts quite a pathetic figure as a jury convicts him on a mail-theft charge. Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) is convinced that Tommy is innocent, and that he is taking the fall for a trio of clever hoodlums named Mendoza (Joseph Wiseman), Collier (Vic Morrow) and Herling (Murray Hamilton). The only person who can provide Karpeles with an air-tight alibi is his embittered daughter Sally (Madlyn Rhue)--but she refuses to lift a finger for the old man. In the end, it is up to Tommy himself to win back both his daughter's love and his self-respect...but at a terrible cost. Featured in the cast is future director Leo Penn, the father of film stars Sean Penn and Christopher Penn. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The Untouchables: The Masterpiece
After seizing control of the booze traffic in Chicago, Capone lieutenant Meyer Wartel (Robert Middleton) oversteps his bounds by murdering a reporter who had been crusading against him. The only person who can "finger" Wartel is Herman Kihn (George Voskovec), the gunsmith who fashioned the silencer used on the murder weapon. Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) advises Kihn to testify against Wartel, warning him that there is already a contract on his life. Meanwhile, professional assassin Pittsburg Phil (Rip Torn), a man truly in love with his work, prepares to pull off what he considers his "Masterpiece" by bumping off Kihn in full view of Ness and his fellow Untouchables--without making a sound. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The Untouchables: The Organization
Though set in the 1930s, this episode is clearly based on the infamous Appalachin Mafia conference of 1957. Gangsters Al Seeger (Richard Conte) and Joe "The Teacher" Kulak (Oscar Beregi) call a summit meeting to establish a consolidation of all organized crime in the U.S., the better to take over the enterprises of the Capone mob. Though Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) would love to bust this meeting and arrest everyone, he has no evidence to back him up. All this changes when Seegar orders the ice-house murder of Maxie Schramm (Milton Selzer), the "turncoat" husband of Seegar's mistress Roxie (Susan Oliver). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The Untouchables: The Mark of Cain
In this sequel to the first-season episode "Noise of Death", Henry Silva returns as drug kingpin Little Charlie Sebastino. After a little girl dies from an overdose, Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) persuades the Chicago media to bear down on the city's illegal heroin traffic. Withering in the glare of publicity, the higher-ups in the Mob shut down Little Charlie's operation--leading to a bloody chain reaction of betrayal and revenge. The episode's stellar supporting cast includes Eduardo Cianelli and Will Kuluva as fraternal mob kingpins, Paula Raymond as Kuluva's two-timing wife, and Conrad Janis, miles removed from his mild-mannered portrayal of Pam Dawber's father on Mork and Mindy, as a dope-addicted jazz drummer. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The Untouchables: The Jamaica Ginger Story
"Jamaica Ginger" is the street name for a dangerous grade of wood alcohol, capable of blinding or killing anyone who consumes it. Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) must prevent this lethal rotgut from being brought into the United States and distributed by bootlegger Rafael Torres (Michael Ansara). Meanwhile, Torres has problems of his own with rival gangster Jerry LaCava (Alfred Ryder), so he brings in a pair of out-of-town torpedoes named Jim Martinson (Brian Keith) and Dennis Garrity (James Coburn). Ness finally gets the opportunity to smash Torres' operation when the trigger-happy Garrity commits the fatal blunder of murdering Martinson's schoolteacher sweetheart (June Dayton). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The Untouchables: A Seat on the Fence
John McIntire appears as radio commentator Loren Hall, a character rumored to be based on The Untouchables' rat-a-tat narrator Walter Winchell. Relying heavily on his gangland connections, Hall dispatches several tantalizing bulletins about a mob-connected drug operation which has been robbing pharamacies and hospitals in the Chicago area. Though Elliot Ness Robert Stack has little success persuading Hall to reveal the sources of his information, by episode's end the newsman is forced to realize on his own that no one can "sit on the fence" in the war against crime. All this intrigue is interwoven with the betrayal and murder of gang boss Dino Patrone (Frank Silvera, the kidnapping of Dino's sheltered daughter Carla (Arlene Sax), and a homicidal hoodlum (Joseph Anthony) who happens to be a diabetic. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The Untouchables: The Purple Gang
Even their fellow hoodlums are in mortal terror of the Purple Gang, a Detroit-based operation led by Eddie Fletcher (Steve Cochran). Now the Gang has come up with racket that surpasses all their previous achievements: namely, kidnapping other mobsters and holding them for ransom, knowing full well that their victims can't go to the police. But Fletcher sets the stage for his own inevitable downfall when his boys snatch Jan Tornek (played by a pre-Hogan's Heroes) Werner Klemperer), a minor functionary of the Capone gang who is presently under surveillance by Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) and the Untouchables. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The Untouchables: The Rusty Heller Story
The Untouchables launches its second season with one of the series' most celebrated episodes. Elizabeth Montgomery earned an Emmy nomination for her bravura performance as Rusty Heller, a scheming chorus girl who has a personal vendetta against the mobsters who've done her dirt all her life. Using every feminine wile at her disposal, Rusty hopes to use an upcoming gang war between two bootlegging operations to her own advantage by cozying up to the leaders of both operations. Meanwhile, Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) hopes to appeal to Rusty's last vestige of decency to enlist her aid in bringing the criminals to justice. Paul Picerni joins the regular cast in the role of "Untouchable" Lee Hobson. Fans of Bewitched will particularly enjoy the now-famous scene in which Elizabeth Montgomery makes passionate love to David White, long before the two actors were cast respectively as Samantha Stevens and Larry Tate. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The Untouchables: Jack
Steven Hill guest stars in this episode as flamboyant mobster Jack "Legs" Diamond. The Mob doesn't like the publicity stirred up by Diamond's many extramarital affairs, so they order him out of town for a spell while they orchestrate a scheme to smuggle $5 million worth of narcotics into the country. But Legs get wind of the plan and hijacks the valuable cargo, demanding a piece of the action from his disgruntled fellow hoods. Ultimately, Legs double-crosses himself by continuing to flaunt his affair with Follies dancer Dawn Dolan (Suzanne Storrs) in front of his embittered wife Alice (Norma Crane). Crime historians will have no trouble identifying the characters played by Oscar Beregi and Peter Whitney as thinly disguised versions of real-life scofflaws Arnold Rothstein and Big Bill Dwyer. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The Untouchables: Kiss of Death Girl
The "Kiss of Death girl" is Francey McKay (Jan Sterling), who runs the blackjack table at a mob-controlled gambling house. Every time a man falls in love with Francey, he ends up shot full of holes: her most recent "victim" was Whitey Barrows (Wesley Lau), who worked for Francey's bootlegger boss Lou Scalisi (David J. Stewart). Though Scalisi and his fellow hoodlums hold Francey personally responsible for the ongoing friction between the booze runners and a gang of hijackers, it really isn't the poor girl's fault. All she wants to do is get out of the rackets, and she's looking for a nice guy who'll show her the way--and can she help it if every guy she knows is mixed up with the rackets? Mickey Shaughnessy is seen as Henny Combs, a softhearted nightclub bouncer who shares Francey's dream of going straight...without, of course, committing the fatal blunder of cooperating with Elliot Ness (Robert Stack). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The Untouchables: The Larry Fay Story
Racketeer Larry Fay (Sam Levene) gains control of New York's dairy industry, forcing the price of milk to an astronomical (for 1933) price of 13 cents a quart. Hoping to put Fay out of business, Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) appeals to the better nature of singer Sally Kansas (Claire Trevor), star attraction of Fay's popular nightclub (Sally is a thinly disguised caricature of real-life entertainment Texas Guinan, of "Hello, suckers!" fame ). Though she has managed to steer clear of her boss' criminal activities, Sally isn't about to bite the hand that feeds her--until Larry goes one step too far and orders the murder of Sally's kid brother Tommy (Tommy Cook). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The Untouchables: The Waxey Gordon Story
In his third Untouchables appearance, Nehemiah Persoff impersonates another real-life gangland figure, in this case the notorious "beer baron" Waxey Gordon. Riding high on the hog after cornering the New Jersey beer market, Waxey has no compunction about killing or double-crossing everyone in sight to advance his career--and even manages to dally with two sexy chorines in the process. But Ness isn't about to turn down the heat on Waxey, and by episode's end he has managed to come up with a novel method of gathering enough evidence to beard the "baron" in his own den. This is the episode in which a mob conclave is staged in the manner of a medieval banquet, replete with a "castle", a battalion of lackeys and a baroque musical score. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The Untouchables: Nicky
Nick Bousso (Mario Roccuzzo), the son of mob-connected cab driver Mario Bousso (A.G. Vigganza), has sworn vengeance against Elliot Ness for killing Mario in a raid. Taking advantage of Nick's anger, mob boss Gus Marco (Luther Adler) and "Purple Gang" functionary Charlie Steuben (Michael Ansara) intend to use the boy to bait a trap for Ness--not counting on the possiblity that Nicky might have a last-minute change of heart. Joe De Santis makes his first series appearance as hard-of-hearing Mob "troubleshooter" Louie Latito, one of the few people in the world capable of using a hearing aid as a weapon. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
