The Untouchables: Kevin Costner, Sean Connery Star
If my memory serves me right, I first saw this 1987 film, directed by Brian De Palma, at the Colony Theater on Shaker Square here in Cleveland (the theater is now called Shaker Square Cinemas). The movie is only loosely based on history, as much in the film is fiction. It is set in the early 1930s, and it deals with the enforcement of Prohibition,* which, by then, was not popular with many Americans, but it was the law, although Al Capone and others used illegal alcohol to make great fortunes. The film shows the underlying feelings about booze (see Word History, below), including at the ending, as Eliot Ness, when asked what he'll do if Prohibition is repealed says, "I think I'll have a drink." Sean Connery won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as "Malone." Real life Eliot Ness lived in Cleveland and served as the city's safety director during the 1930s. When Ness died in 1957, his body was cremated and his ashes were strewn in Lake View Cemetery here in Cleveland, and there is a memorial for him at the cemetery.** Ness died when I was a kid and after his death, he was portrayed in an ABC television series called, "The Untouchables," starring Robert Stack as Eliot Ness from 1959 until 1963.
The film depicts Eliot Ness, played by Kevin Costner, as he tries to combat Al Capone's alcohol business and the violence Capone, played by Robert De Niro, used to keep his control on the Chicago market. Acting on a tip, the idealistic Ness conducts a raid, only have it turn to nothing, as Capone has also been tipped off by a corrupt policeman, and he has the alcohol removed from the warehouse. The Chicago newspapers ridicule Ness over the fiasco and Capone has a good laugh. Ness is feeling low, but then he meets an Irish beat cop, named Jim Malone, played by Sean Connery. Malone has decided to stay alive by walking the beat, rather than go up against the Chicago police department and the Chicago political system, both heavily tainted by the corruption of Al Capone's money. Malone tells Ness that it will take a fight to the finish to break Capone and the corrupt system. Malone is a wise and experienced policeman and he begins to share his wisdom with Ness, who, at first, is a crusading idealist. Together, Ness and Malone check on police recruit George Stone, played by Andy Garcia, known for his ability to handle firearms. When they ask the recruit why he wants to be a cop, he gives the standard textbook answer ("protect and serve... etc"). Malone decides to ruffle the feathers of the young officer and he mentions the officer's name, "George Stone." Malone then asks, "What's your REAL name," and the officers says, "That IS my real name." Malone presses further by saying, "I mean your name before you changed it." Now the officer turns more serious. Finally the young man utters, "Giuseppe Petri." This brings Malone to call the young officer "a lying wop *** and a member of a lying no good race." Now Stone responds by quickly drawing his pistol and telling Malone, "It's better than you, you stinking Irish pig," Malone now says, "Oh, I like him." So Stone becomes part of the team.
Ness also meets an accountant, Oscar Wallace, played by Charles Martin Smith, sent by the federal government to investigate Capone's finances. Wallace tells Ness that Capone has not filed a tax return for several years, but Ness doesn't really understand the potential significance of the information provided by the little accountant with the big glasses. When Ness, Stone and Malone go on their first raid as s team, Malone hands the accountant, Wallace, a gun. So now Wallace is part of the team, which will eventually be called, "The Untouchables." This raid scores a big hit and Capone scores a big hit by killing a member of his own inner circle with a baseball bat for providing info to the authorities. As Malone had told Ness, this has all of the makings of a fight to the finish.
The Untouchables get info about a shipment of liquor coming from Canada and they go to the border area to arrest those involved. Not only do they kill a number of Capone's men, but they capture one of his bookkeepers, who can help tie Capone to the gangster's large net of businesses; and thus, to income tax evasion. We also see another reference to how many Americans wanted alcohol, as Wallace, an Untouchable, takes a drink of liquor streaming from a bullet hole in a keg. The bookkeeper's ledger also has names of people who have taken money from Capone (been bribed). When Wallace is taking the bookkeeper away later, both are killed by one of Capone's hitmen, Frank Nitti, played by Billy Drago.**** In Wallace's blood on the wall, Nitti scrolls, "Touchable." So now one of the team members is gone. Malone gets the chief of police, who is part of the corruption, and he forces him to tell him the whereabouts of Capone's main bookkeeper. Before Malone can act on the information, a man with a knife gets into his apartment, and Malone forces him out with a gun, but this brings him into the fire of Nitti who is waiting in ambush. Severely wounded, Malone crawls back into the house and Ness and Stone get there in time for Malone to give them the info about the main bookkeeper. Malone dies, so another team member is gone.
Ness gets the bookkeeper after a major shootout and a dead on shot by Stone at the train station and the man begins his testimony in court about Capone's massive organization. Capone, however, sits in court yawning, appearing to not have a care in the world. Nitti briefly talks with him, and Ness sees the Nitti's gun. When Ness and the bailiff escort the Nitti out of the courtroom, Ness searches him and finds a book of matches with Malone's address on it. He now knows this is Malone's killer. Nitti takes off and gets to the roof, with Ness in hot pursuit. Ness finds Nitti as vulnerable as he could be, climbing a rope, but he decides to remain within the law and have Nitti tried for Malone's murder. But then the cocky Nitti tells Ness that Malone "died screaming like a stuck Irish pig," and that Ness should think about that when he goes free for the murder (he knows the court system is fixed). Now Ness's emotions take hold and he pushes the son-of-bitch off of the building roof. Nitti screams and Ness shouts out, "Did he (Malone) sound anything like that?" I remember the movie audience cheered when all of this took place.
Back in court, Ness has notes from Nitti about how Capone's jury has been bribed. This is why Capone was so confident. Ness asks to speak to the judge privately and when court resumes, the judge orders the bailiff to switch juries with the courtroom next door. Capone is furious and orders his attorney to do something, which he does, he tells the judge that on behalf of Capone, he is changing Capone's "not guilty" plea, to "guilty." All hell breaks loose with the press and the people in the courtroom, as now Capone is in big trouble. The district attorney asks Ness what he told the judge. Ness says he told him his name was in the payoff list in the ledger too, but the DA says, "His name wasn't in the ledger." I take this to mean that the judge had received some "favors" from Capone, other than direct payoffs. While the film doesn't show it, in real life, Capone was convicted and sentenced to eleven years in prison, plus fines and also back taxes. Most people are probably unaware that the real life Capone "ruled" Chicago when he was only in his mid 20s to early 30s.
* Prohibition was the ban on the production, transportation, importation and sale of alcoholic beverages in the United States, as established by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution in 1920. It was repealed by the 21st Amendment in late 1933.
** President James A. Garfield and his wife Lucretia are buried there, as well as billionaire oilman John D. Rockefeller, who founded his Standard Oil Company here in Cleveland.
*** "Wop" has long been a highly derogatory term for an Italian.
**** Frank Nitti was a real person and the head of Capone's "enforcement department;" which was responsible for intimidating people, and led to some being killed or seriously injured. The scriptwriters have simply used his name for the movie, and the film does not truly mirror Nitti's life, although his character's killings in the film do symbolically show his responsibility.
Photo is from the 2004 Paramount Home Entertainment DVD
WORD HISTORY:
Booze-This word has both a noun (alcoholic beverage) and verb form (to drink alcohol, usually more than a small amount), but its origin is very unclear. It was borrowed in the late 1200s as, "bouse(n)," from Dutch "busen," which meant "to drink a lot of alcoholic beverages." The noun apparently was taken from the verb. Where Dutch or how Dutch got the word is unknown. The modern spelling "seems" to date from the 1700s.
The film depicts Eliot Ness, played by Kevin Costner, as he tries to combat Al Capone's alcohol business and the violence Capone, played by Robert De Niro, used to keep his control on the Chicago market. Acting on a tip, the idealistic Ness conducts a raid, only have it turn to nothing, as Capone has also been tipped off by a corrupt policeman, and he has the alcohol removed from the warehouse. The Chicago newspapers ridicule Ness over the fiasco and Capone has a good laugh. Ness is feeling low, but then he meets an Irish beat cop, named Jim Malone, played by Sean Connery. Malone has decided to stay alive by walking the beat, rather than go up against the Chicago police department and the Chicago political system, both heavily tainted by the corruption of Al Capone's money. Malone tells Ness that it will take a fight to the finish to break Capone and the corrupt system. Malone is a wise and experienced policeman and he begins to share his wisdom with Ness, who, at first, is a crusading idealist. Together, Ness and Malone check on police recruit George Stone, played by Andy Garcia, known for his ability to handle firearms. When they ask the recruit why he wants to be a cop, he gives the standard textbook answer ("protect and serve... etc"). Malone decides to ruffle the feathers of the young officer and he mentions the officer's name, "George Stone." Malone then asks, "What's your REAL name," and the officers says, "That IS my real name." Malone presses further by saying, "I mean your name before you changed it." Now the officer turns more serious. Finally the young man utters, "Giuseppe Petri." This brings Malone to call the young officer "a lying wop *** and a member of a lying no good race." Now Stone responds by quickly drawing his pistol and telling Malone, "It's better than you, you stinking Irish pig," Malone now says, "Oh, I like him." So Stone becomes part of the team.
Ness also meets an accountant, Oscar Wallace, played by Charles Martin Smith, sent by the federal government to investigate Capone's finances. Wallace tells Ness that Capone has not filed a tax return for several years, but Ness doesn't really understand the potential significance of the information provided by the little accountant with the big glasses. When Ness, Stone and Malone go on their first raid as s team, Malone hands the accountant, Wallace, a gun. So now Wallace is part of the team, which will eventually be called, "The Untouchables." This raid scores a big hit and Capone scores a big hit by killing a member of his own inner circle with a baseball bat for providing info to the authorities. As Malone had told Ness, this has all of the makings of a fight to the finish.
The Untouchables get info about a shipment of liquor coming from Canada and they go to the border area to arrest those involved. Not only do they kill a number of Capone's men, but they capture one of his bookkeepers, who can help tie Capone to the gangster's large net of businesses; and thus, to income tax evasion. We also see another reference to how many Americans wanted alcohol, as Wallace, an Untouchable, takes a drink of liquor streaming from a bullet hole in a keg. The bookkeeper's ledger also has names of people who have taken money from Capone (been bribed). When Wallace is taking the bookkeeper away later, both are killed by one of Capone's hitmen, Frank Nitti, played by Billy Drago.**** In Wallace's blood on the wall, Nitti scrolls, "Touchable." So now one of the team members is gone. Malone gets the chief of police, who is part of the corruption, and he forces him to tell him the whereabouts of Capone's main bookkeeper. Before Malone can act on the information, a man with a knife gets into his apartment, and Malone forces him out with a gun, but this brings him into the fire of Nitti who is waiting in ambush. Severely wounded, Malone crawls back into the house and Ness and Stone get there in time for Malone to give them the info about the main bookkeeper. Malone dies, so another team member is gone.
Ness gets the bookkeeper after a major shootout and a dead on shot by Stone at the train station and the man begins his testimony in court about Capone's massive organization. Capone, however, sits in court yawning, appearing to not have a care in the world. Nitti briefly talks with him, and Ness sees the Nitti's gun. When Ness and the bailiff escort the Nitti out of the courtroom, Ness searches him and finds a book of matches with Malone's address on it. He now knows this is Malone's killer. Nitti takes off and gets to the roof, with Ness in hot pursuit. Ness finds Nitti as vulnerable as he could be, climbing a rope, but he decides to remain within the law and have Nitti tried for Malone's murder. But then the cocky Nitti tells Ness that Malone "died screaming like a stuck Irish pig," and that Ness should think about that when he goes free for the murder (he knows the court system is fixed). Now Ness's emotions take hold and he pushes the son-of-bitch off of the building roof. Nitti screams and Ness shouts out, "Did he (Malone) sound anything like that?" I remember the movie audience cheered when all of this took place.
Back in court, Ness has notes from Nitti about how Capone's jury has been bribed. This is why Capone was so confident. Ness asks to speak to the judge privately and when court resumes, the judge orders the bailiff to switch juries with the courtroom next door. Capone is furious and orders his attorney to do something, which he does, he tells the judge that on behalf of Capone, he is changing Capone's "not guilty" plea, to "guilty." All hell breaks loose with the press and the people in the courtroom, as now Capone is in big trouble. The district attorney asks Ness what he told the judge. Ness says he told him his name was in the payoff list in the ledger too, but the DA says, "His name wasn't in the ledger." I take this to mean that the judge had received some "favors" from Capone, other than direct payoffs. While the film doesn't show it, in real life, Capone was convicted and sentenced to eleven years in prison, plus fines and also back taxes. Most people are probably unaware that the real life Capone "ruled" Chicago when he was only in his mid 20s to early 30s.
* Prohibition was the ban on the production, transportation, importation and sale of alcoholic beverages in the United States, as established by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution in 1920. It was repealed by the 21st Amendment in late 1933.
** President James A. Garfield and his wife Lucretia are buried there, as well as billionaire oilman John D. Rockefeller, who founded his Standard Oil Company here in Cleveland.
*** "Wop" has long been a highly derogatory term for an Italian.
**** Frank Nitti was a real person and the head of Capone's "enforcement department;" which was responsible for intimidating people, and led to some being killed or seriously injured. The scriptwriters have simply used his name for the movie, and the film does not truly mirror Nitti's life, although his character's killings in the film do symbolically show his responsibility.
Photo is from the 2004 Paramount Home Entertainment DVD
Booze-This word has both a noun (alcoholic beverage) and verb form (to drink alcohol, usually more than a small amount), but its origin is very unclear. It was borrowed in the late 1200s as, "bouse(n)," from Dutch "busen," which meant "to drink a lot of alcoholic beverages." The noun apparently was taken from the verb. Where Dutch or how Dutch got the word is unknown. The modern spelling "seems" to date from the 1700s.
Labels: Al Capone, Andy Garcia, Charles Martin Smith, Chicago, Cleveland, Dutch, Eliot Ness, English, etymology, films, Kevin Costner, law enforcement, movies, Prohibition, Robert De Niro, Sean Connery
posted by Randy at 6:30 PM
2 Comments:
I just saw the movie, and the only thing that doesn't make sense is why the judge felt compelled to switch the jury. He obviously new his name wasn't on the list, so why would he let Ness force him into doing that without any evidence? To me it is a vague reason to suddenly change the court proceedings at the climax of the movie.
I took it as judge wanted to prove his incorruptibility?
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