DESILU PLAYHOUSE: THE UNTOUCHABLES {PART 1 OF 2} (TV)

Summary

The first of two programs on this tape. One in this anthology series, hosted by Desi Arnaz. This episode, part one of a two-part drama which ultimately served as the basis for a network series, is based on the cases of federal agent Eliot Ness and his team of investigators as they battle corruption during the Prohibition era. Arnaz briefly discusses the show before presenting Walter Winchell, who tells about Al Capone turning Prohibition Chicago "wet," and how Capone's gang first encountered Ness on June 17, 1929. Ness's men raid the gang's hangout, the Cafe Montmartre, believing it to be an illegal speakeasy, but ultimately find nothing. Ness speaks with Capone's second-in-command, Frank "the Enforcer" Nitti who has paid other cops off. One week later, Ness gets summoned to the Chicago office of new U.S. District Attorney Beecher Asbury, where he learns of the government's plan to capture Capone while offering an idea of his own -- Ness will form his own team of reliable, courageous, dedicated, and honest men who refuse to be bought off by Capone. Eventually, Ness assembles a team of six such men, plus a unique seventh, former convict Joe Fuselli. Ready to battle the underworld empire of Capone; these men eventually become known as The Untouchables. Later, while on a date with Betty Anderson, a girl he had been going with for over a year, Ness is informed of a "setup." Rushing to the scene, Ness busts a smaller gang -- helmed by Johnny Giannini -- intending to use it as a "wedge" to make contacts within Capone's crew. Later, when Giannini tries to buy off Ness's crew with "chicken feed," Ness turns him down, leading to The Untouchables being allowed to meet with Nitti yet again, who offers to pay them off to the tune of $1,000 a week. Ness turns the money over to the D.A.'s office before he and his men begin to shut down numerous Capone distilleries, despite the bribe. Then, Ness arrests Giannini for bribery, offering him amnesty if he reveals the location of a brewery. Based on Giannini's tip, the Untouchables raid the brewery but not before discovering that the gangsters "flew the coop." Then, in the first week of July, the Untouchables continue searching for additional breweries, eventually locating one of Capone's biggest on the southside of Chicago and penetrating it with their new steel-reinforced truck. Later, in November, Nitti holds a meeting, trying to determine whether to assassinate Ness. Meanwhile, Ness proposes marriage to Anderson. He also begins utilizing the services of a double agent, George Ritchie. Ness is intrigued since Ritchie's wife, the stripper Brandi LaFrance, is the niece of Capone's treasurer. Later, after being threatened by Capone's gang, Ness decides to wiretap Nitti's phone, a less-than-easy task. Forced to use Ritchie to help penetrate Nitti's lair, one of Ness's men -- under the guise of a Cleveland gangster -- befriends club manager Tony Liguri. Before the phone is tapped, however, an amorous LaFrance almost sabotages the operation. Eventually, the tap on Nitti's phone pays off when Ness's men learn of a new brewery being opened, then wreck four additional breweries. On March 19, 1930, Capone is released from jail and makes his celebrated return to Chicago. Immediately, Capone meets with his cabinet, where he learns how bad "business" has got in the last few months due to Ness's work. Part one ends with an irate Capone determined to "take care of" Ness. Commercials deleted.

Details

NETWORK: CBS
DATE: April 20, 1959 10:00 PM
RUNNING TIME: 1:43:19
COLOR/B&W: B&W
CATALOG ID: T:47005
GENRE: Drama, historical
SUBJECT HEADING: She Made It Collection (Lucille Ball); Drama, historical; Crime and criminals; Prohibition
SERIES RUN: CBS - TV series, 1958-1960
COMMERCIALS: N/A

CREDITS

Bert Granet … Executive Producer
Quinn Martin … Producer
Jack Aldworth … Associate Producer
Phil Karlson … Director
Paul Monash … Writer
Eliot Ness … Writer, Based on the book "The Untouchables" by
Oscar Fraley … Writer, Based on the book "The Untouchables" by
Johny Green … Theme Music by, Desilu Theme
Wilbur Hatch … Music by
Desi Arnaz … Host
Walter Winchell … Narrator
Robert Stack … Cast, Eliot Ness
Keenan Wynn … Cast, Joe Fuselli
Barbara Nichols … Cast, Brandy LaFrance
Pat Crowley … Cast, Betty Anderson
Joe Mantell … Cast, George Ritchie
Bill Williams … Cast, Martin Flaherty
Bruce Gordon … Cast, Frank Nitti
Neville Brand … Cast, Al Capone
Peter Leeds … Cast, La Marr Kane
Eddie Firestone … Cast, Eric Hansen
Robert Osterloh … Cast, Tom Kopka
Paul Dubov … Cast, Jack Rossman
Abel Fernandez … Cast, William Youngfellow
Paul Picerni … Cast, Tony Liguri
John Beradino … Cast, Johnny Giannini
Frank Wilcox … Cast, Beecher Asbury
Wolfe Barzell … Cast, Angelo Picco
Richard Benedict … Cast, Fur Sammons
Wally Cassell … Cast, Phil D'Andrea
de Kova, Frank … Cast, Jimmy Napoli
Bern Hoffman … Cast, Jake "Greasy Thumb" Guzik
Peter Mamakos … Cast, Bomber Belcastro
Herman Rudin … Cast, Mops Volpe
James Westerfield … Cast, Ed Marriatt