The Untouchables (1987 film)
The Untouchables is a 1987 film,
directed by Brian De Palma, based on the 1959 ABC television series, which, in
turn, was based on Eliot Ness's autobiographical account of his efforts to bring
Al Capone to justice. It was adapted by David Mamet, and stars Kevin Costner as
Ness, Sean Connery as Irish-American beat cop Jim Malone, and Robert De Niro as
Capone. Connery received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role
in the film. The film became a solid hit, grossing over $76 million domestically.
The film, like the television series, exaggerates the role Ness and his men played in the capture of Al Capone (most notably his involvement in Capone's trial and eventual conviction on tax evasion charges).
Spolier
Prohibition in
the US led to an organized crime wave in the 1920s and early 1930s. Various gangs
bootleg vast amounts of alcohol and enforce their business with violence and extortion.
The problem is most serious in Chicago, where gang leader Al Capone (Robert De
Niro) supplies low-quality liquor at high prices. Treasury Department agent Eliot
Ness (Kevin Costner) is put in charge of leading the crusade against Capone and
his empire. Early warehouse raids fail due to corrupt officers in the Police Department.
Ness solicits help from Jim Malone (Sean Connery), an incorruptible Irish-American police officer. Malone advises Ness to find more members to their new team from the police academy to ensure that no one betrays them to Capone. An Italian-American trainee George Stone, formerly Giuseppe Petri (Andy Garcia) is then enlisted due to his superior marksmanship. Along with an accountant Oscar Wallace (Charles Martin Smith) assigned to Ness from Washington, Ness has formed a new team to deal with Capone.
The post office is raided by Ness and his men.Their
first raid takes place in a local post office, where its storeroom is used to
house illegal liquor. Apparently, the place is overlooked because no one wants
to provoke Capone and his gang. The raid succeeds without anyone killed. As the
four are picking up steam, Wallace informs Ness that Capone has not filed an income
tax return since 1926. Therefore a feasible method of prosecuting him would be
through a tax evasion charge.
During a raid on the Canadian border, Ness captures one of Capone’s bookkeepers, George (Brad Sullivan). They manage to persuade him to provide evidence against Capone. However, when Wallace is escorting him to a police car, Capone’s henchman Frank Nitti (Billy Drago) kills the two. This leaves Ness with insufficient evidence to press charges. Malone tells Ness to stall the prosecutor from dropping the case while he searches for information regarding Capone’s other bookkeepers. He learns about Payne, another bookkeeper from the corrupt police chief.
That night, Malone is ambushed by Nitti at his home and shot countless times. Ness and Stone arrive to find him mortally wounded. With his dying breath, he informs the two about Payne’s upcoming departure from Chicago by train. He asks Ness, “What are you… prepared… to do!” before dying. Ness and Stone arrive at Union Station (Chicago) and find Payne guarded by many gangsters. After a fierce shootout, the two succeed in killing all the gangsters and taking Payne alive.
Payne testifies in court against Capone, admitting he has disbursed over $1.3 million for Capone over a five-year period. Ness notices Nitti carrying a gun in court. He takes Nitti out of the courtroom with the bailiff and discovers that Nitti was permitted by the mayor of Chicago to carry the gun into court. However, Nitti is revealed to be Malone’s murderer when Ness sees a matchbook with Malone's address on it. Nitti runs up to the roof of the building and another gun battle occurs. Eventually Nitti gives himself up to Ness. In an act of vengeance after Nitti provokes him, Ness pushes Nitti off the building. Back inside the courthouse, Stone shows Ness a document from Nitti’s jacket, suggesting that the jury has been bribed. Ness convinces the judge to do the right thing, saying that the judge's name was among those in the bookkeeper's ledger of official payoffs (on which the prosecutor privately corrects Ness). As a result, the judge switches the jury with the one sitting on a divorce case next door. As a result, Capone is found guilty and sentenced to 11 years in prison.
Ness packs up his Chicago office. He sees the Saint Jude pendant that Malone had carried with him for many years. Ness offers Stone the pendant, having shaken hands with him. "He would have wanted a cop to have it," Ness insists, because Jude is the patron saint of police officers. Out on the street, a reporter wishes to have a word from the man who put Capone away, but Ness merely remarks he was just there "when the wheel went 'round." When the reporter mentions that Prohibition is due to be repealed, he asks what Ness might do then? Ness says, "I think I'll have a drink."
The Untouchables was filmed in Chicago, Illinois; Hardin, Montana; and the surrounding areas of Great Falls, Montana.
Robert
de Niro prepared so thoroughly for the role of Al Capone, that he even wore underwear
from that period, even though it would never be seen throughout the movie. After
the movie came out, he said that he was not satisfied with his performance.
Prequel
The
Untouchables: Capone Rising is a prequel to director Brian De Palma's earlier
film The Untouchables. It tells the story of Al Capone, his arrival in Chicago
and his dealings with cop Jimmy Malone, portrayed by Gerard Butler, and Capone's
subsequent rise to power.
Cast
Kevin
Costner as Agent Eliot Ness
Sean Connery - Agent Jim Malone
Andy Garcia
-Agent George Stone
Charles Martin Smith - Agent Oscar Wallace
Robert
De Niro -Al Capone
Richard Bradford- Police Chief Mike Dorsett
Jack Kehoe
- Walter Payne
Billy Drago - Frank Nitti
Brad Sullivan - George
Patricia
Clarkson - Catherine Ness
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