POPCORN EXTRA:
By Jim Szantor
Long before the 1987 movie of the same name starring Kevin Costner, “The Untouchables” was a prominent Sunday night TV show that, along with the absence of recording devices, was for many "appointment viewing" long before that term came into vogue. It ran from 1959 to 1963 and made a household name of Robert Stack, he "of the grim presence and ominous narration” (Wikipedia's words) as the leader of a cadre of lantern-jawed federal agents who were said to be never tempted or tainted by corruption.
In the TV series, Eliot Ness’ archenemy, Al Capone successor Frank Nitti (played by Bruce Gordon), was killed off four times during the series. But Gordon was so popular with the show's viewers that he was resurrected each time. (I hope he hit them up for a raise for each resurrection! Talk about timeless appeal!)
Adding to the series’ appeal was the presence of these actors (some of them yet unknown) as supporting players: Patricia Neal, Elizabeth Montgomery, Lee Marvin, Robert Redford, Ruth Roman, Brian Keith, William Bendix, Telly Savalas, Peter Falk, Jason Robards, Lee Grant, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Jack Klugman, Barbara Stanwyck, Claude Akins, Tim Considine, and Rip Torn.
Oh, and one more that can't be omitted: Frank (Sgt. Carter in “Gomer Pyle”) Sutton! He played a gangster who gets offed in the final scene, strangely enough . . . clutching a military medal! Weird.
According to Independent Movie Data Base: In the last year of the series, producer Quinn Martin bowed to pressure groups such as the Italian Anti-Defamation League and tried to replace Italian surnamed villains with others [almost comically so—you all surely remember the notorious bootlegger/hatchetman Frank Wilson--JS]; but the top-ranked series was canceled after four unforgettable years.
To measure the quality of "The Untouchables" against most other series is impossible; its scenes have far more power than those of almost any other series; the series always had first-rate production qualities, acting, writing and directing. It holds a very high place in U.S. film history.
(I always wondered where they got all those old classic cars—a seemingly endless supply-- that were always getting smashed up, shot up or burned up. Did they fix them up somehow (where did they get parts?) or have a secret source of others?) There was too much realism in the wrecks and gunfire involving them for models to have been used.
But that would be looking at this phenomenon through the lens of modern days. Back when the show was filmed, those cars weren’t probably that rare, as one fellow states below, and there were more of them around than I ever thought. A modern-day equivalent would be your uncle's 1998 Camry. Old? Sure, but hardly an antique and hardly the only one of that vintage still on the road.
But this much I learned from internet browsing:
--After the cars
and trucks were wrecked on “The Untouchables,” they were dumped on the back
lot, The 40 Acres, of Desilu Studios.
That’s Desilu as in Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball, of course, making the
show quite a leap from the sitcom they are most known for.
--It's hard to believe they had no respect for these old cars in the 1960s when this show was filmed. But then again, they were using old sedans mostly and not anything that even at that time would have been considered "rare." Nonetheless it still was an incredible waste of historic property.
--"I've seen Essex, Chrysler, Cadillac, Buick and Lincoln cars on the show, along with others. Ness and the boys used an Essex a lot," one show observer states. "There's one episode in particular--don't recall which one--but one of the “old sedans” rolled over and burst into flames! Only problem was, when it started to roll over, it suddenly became a 1950s sedan with dual headlights! It looked like an outtake from the movie “Thunder Road” with Robert Mitchum! That gangster series went through a time warp somewhere!"
--Nowadays a lot of the crashes, etc. are computer generated. Recalls another "Untouchables" fan: "I watched something akin to that one time; they could scan an old car and could place it wherever they want. They would use any modern car in a scene, say it’s for a ‘50s movie, then click on the car moving down the street and go into the database and pick out the car they want, say a ‘55 Chevrolet, and voila, the car driving down the street changes into the ‘55 Chevy. They do the same with pedestrians, buildings etc. Amazing."
Mafia backlash: According to testimony from Aladena Fratianno, (aka "Jimmy the Weasel"), a Mafia boss-turned-FBI informant, the Chicago family of the Mafia ordered the assassination of producer Arnaz, because they didn't like (a) the fact that the success of the show was focusing attention on the Mafia and (b) the show's portrayal of Italians. Fratianno said that two hitmen hid themselves near Arnaz's house one night waiting for him to show up, but he never did. Shortly afterwards, the assassination order was rescinded when it was realized that Arnaz's murder would cause the Mafia more trouble than it was worth.
Errata: The opening credits for the fourth season show a book open to a page that reads "The Untouchables, 1929--1933". This contradicts the chronology of several episodes set in 1934 or 1935. But if you can resurrect a dead mob kingpin four times, this seems like a very trivial gaffe.
But there's more fact-fudging: Several episodes show Frank Nitti taking over control of the Capone organization immediately upon Capone's conviction for tax evasion. Nitti actually was also convicted of tax evasion and sentenced to 18 months in federal prison; he wasn't able to assume control of the Capone organization until his release late in 1932.
Lastly, I will gladly do my impression of Robert Stack as Eliot Ness, (inspired by the one done expertly by Dan Aykroyd in an "Untouchables" sendup on an "SNL" program hosted appropriately enough by Desi Arnaz himself), which usually goes something like this:
“Alright, Nitti—the jig’s up! I’m going to hang you out to dry—you and all your pals.
“Rico, Hobson, Youngfellow! Check all the floors, the cars, the attic, the garage . . . he might have some of his other goons hiding around heeeeere.”
(The boxed set of all four seasons of the show on DVD is still available on Amazon for $74.99.)
