I grew up in Del Mar. When I was a young boy, Desi Arnaz lived in a beach front home. He’d sit in his backyard some days. One time he was outside and I pointed him out to my friend as we walked by (At the time, homeowners got a big beach easement so we were closer to the ocean and not super close to him). Desi realized we were looking at him and talking about it, and suddenly he stood up, and gave us a big smile and wave. At the time, we would regularly watch I Love Lucy reruns. I was probably 9 or 10 and it was a big deal at the time for me.
Desi gave you a fine gesture of what an adult male should be, especially to younger folks. Men to admire as friendly adults were not so common where I grew up. It's great to hear he set you a friendly recognition. On TV he gave me new ideas about how men could react and respond to the behavior of women.
And it created so many misconceptions about Ness's career. We didn't know it back then - we just saw the good guys beating the bad guys, and that's all we needed!
Untouchables television show was perfect for it's time..vintage nostalgia..looking good in black and white film..Walter Winchell,s voice narration time period perfect .thank you for excellent presentation
I was in 7th grade when the Untouchables came out. It was immediately my favorite night time TV show. I was raised in a small conservative town but did not feel that its violence was over the top. To me it accurately told the story of underworld violence in that era. That is what made it exciting to me. From my perception as a young viewer the federal agents were putting their lives on the line going up against the bootlegging gangs. As a young country boy who was raised on a farm I found it terribly exciting. Robert Stack was terrific in the role. I saw him as a hero. All in all it is one of my all time favorite night time TV shows. A more modern TV show that I was a big fan of as a young adult was Hill Street Blues. Not as violent but also showed the gritty side of urban life. My dad who came of age in the 30's also loved the show. We use to talk about events he had read about in the papers when he was a young man. I know of no other TV show that I talked about at length with my dad. One final thing, the voice of Walter Winchell really made the show.
when I was growing up, our area, Da Heights, had a large Italian-American community, my family included...when the show debuted, we all watched and loved it...just as today, the very small minority seem to be the only ones heard...violence?...TV was full of violence, with the westerns dominating the schedules...lack of accuracy?...when has that been important to the entertainment industry?...or to mainstream news...
I watched the show every week from the first episode. I lived on Long Island where there was a huge Italian-American community which included my family. The adults complained about the biased depiction of IA's as mobsters. Ironically, some of the complainers were low level mobsters themselves.
Same here. My father had Mafia in his family. Some were killed. He hated that organization. I'll always remember him yelling at the TV when Joe Columbo, the gangster, was leading an Italian/American "rights group". "Those stupid Italians"! "This is the guy who's pumping heroin into their kids arms & their handing him money"!
As a kid I loved The Untouchables! I wanted to be an agent...when I wasn’t being a soldier like Sgt. Saunders on Combat! True story- my grandmother told me that my grandpa was a border patrol agent in the Detroit area during Prohibition when the Purple Gang was smuggling booze across the Detroit River. Never became an agent, but I did become a infantry soldier during Vietnam.
My friends and I, teenagers in the UK in the late 1960s, were obsessed with this programme and gave it cult status. It was simply unmissable and provided us with much discussion afterwards. We were all fans of the Frank Nitti character, memorably played by Bruce Gordon, one of the best "baddies" in television history.
Yes I love this series even after watching with my father many years ago. The violence was disturbing for a teenager but I had a crush on Robert Stack. Today 60 years later sill watch an episode or more every day and haven’t lost my love for Robert Stack. The whole creative show in black and white, the sets in water, the fantastic props make TV history that still lives today. ❤
This 'boycott' is news to me this many years later. Back then we all watched the show and enjoyed it, even if it did gloss over the historical Eliot Ness' ego trip. Nobody talked about 'that certain Italian/Sicilian organization of businessmen' then, or their supposed intent to snuff out Desi Arnaz. That all came later, and no one cared by then.
I remember watching this show in syndicated reruns. Robert Stack was Eliot Ness. Walter Winchell provided the narration. They had many guest stars that were veteran or up and coming actors and actresses. They include Bruce Gordon, Elizabeth Montgomery, Murray Hamilton, Jack Lord, Lee Marvin, Piper Laurie, Luther Adler, Frank Sutton, James Coburn, Joan Blondell, Ed Asner, Jack Warden and many others.
Walter Winchell's out of breath delivery almost made me think that I was watching a news program. He was perfect for the show and I have been imitating his voice ever since. Many years later when the show went into reruns I never missed an episode. I was completely unaware of any controversy surrounding it.
For anyone interested in that era and wants to read the biographies of all of the gangsters go to the library and find the book Bloodletters and Badmen by J. Robert Nash It's phenomenal
Thank you. This, just like all (or vast majority) of tv shoes, movies, bookss are entertainment. Facts are always changed around to suit a story. If you were or getting your history from a tv show you got bigger problems.
It has always been my favorite tv show. I am 75 years old and i can still quote a variety of the characters. My favorite character was Bruce Gordon. I always wished Neville Brand had more appearances.
I grew up when the Untouchables was aired. During this time I knew kids whose parents forbade them from viewing it because of the violence. One of my friend's mothers lamented about a little girl up the street who said that she enjoyed watching it. This child was about 8 or 9 and still played with dolls.
I grew up watching these as a kid in Mexico. When I came to live in the US in '98 there was channel that had an episode every night at 2am. I recorded a lot of them in VHS to watch later the next morning. You don't see plots like these anymore anywhere.
I liked the Untouchables. I also give it credit as one of the reasons I switched from seeing things on TV as realistic to seeing the performance aspect - and sound, lights, makeup, camera angle, set design ... the entire cinematic/TV magic show. I loved that. Also, that knowledge leaked out into my analysis of news shows and documentaries ... also a good thing.
The villains were depicted as brutal, almost psychopathic thugs. The only exception was Frank Nitty (Bruce Gordon), who was depicted as a cold-blooded business executive.
From what I've read in reality Frank Nitti only thought he was in charge, several times others would countermand his orders, And he wasn't killled by Ness, he committed suicide. to avoid going to prison for extorsion.
I have a boxed set of the series. I absolutely love watching Untouchables. I won't argue with any of the criticism. I view it as sort of a noir-fantasy so that I can get past the cringe-worthy aspects. I enjoy old episodes of Gunsmoke in a similar fashion.
I am watching The Untouchables every Sunday on H&I (Dish 293). One of the things I find remarkable is how many top billed guest stars meet their fates before the mid episode commercial break.
They were important people, with places to go. Thew didn't want to hang around to long. It's enough that thay're doing a television show for you. Show some respect.
I enjoyed watching the program at the time on Network TV on a 1947 Zenith Console television with a big round black and white CRT. although I was only around 4 or 5 years of age. Most of it I didn't understand at the time but I especially liked the machine gun fire in the show. I do faintly remember Robert Stack winning an award (Emmy) in a ceremony on television and they played the theme song for the series. Mom didn't mind us watching violent TV shows (We watched Combat!) or spooky sci fi shows like The Outer Limits Only recently I have bought the program on DVD.
m9078jk3 Have you ever had the chance to shoot a machine gun? Every time I see someone shoot one for the first time, they Always end up with an ear-to-ear grin! (Goog Knob Creek gun range machine gun shoot)
@@savage22bolt32, I've seen Thompsons fired twice. First time was when my 9th grade Jr. high class toured the capitol in Lansing. We got to watch the legislative session from the gallery, then all file past to shake hands with Governor John B. Swainson as he stood in his office doorway. We had lunch in the E. Lansing MSU Stiudent Union and then toured the State Police Post. We were lectured about a State Police Car, and had a demonstration of a clip-fed Thompson. After telling us to cover our ears, the trooper fired several short bursts downrange and told us that longer busts made the barell go upward. They told us in Navy boot camp to only fire the Thompson in 3-5 shot bursts for the same reason. The second time I saw a Thompson fired was when we qualified with small arms on my ship. In order to be eligable to advance to E4, we qualified by by firing off the fantail into our 8-knot wake. Just like our .22 cal. Remington semi-auto boot camp target shoot, we didn't actually need to HIT anything with the 1911 Colt, M-1, or BAR! If each sailor fired a clip without killing anybody, he qualified. At the end of the session, the Chief Gunner's Mate told one of his gang, "Throw that crate over." Ater firing a long burst (reducing the crate to splinters) he turned around and showed a picture perfect depiction of Edward G. Robinson, cigar and barrel smoking. Wanna see how many a Navy chief looks? Watch Clifton Daniels in "The Last Detail." It's my FAVORITE sailor film, although I also enjoyed "Cinderella Liberty", and "The Sand Pebbles." All three of these films were adapted from books written by former US Navy sailors, and each is an EXCELLENT read. ---J.D. Schultz, MM2, USNR, 1965-71.
By any chance could you tell me the name of the episode where a newspaper boy is shot in the leg? I came across it on here a few years ago, but it's been taken off.
I believe I caught it on rerun TV in the 1970s when I was in my tweens and teens. I liked it and didn't think about its accuracy at the time. Robert Stack as the "Untouchable" good guy made a positive impression on me. The character actor Cliff Robertson played in the episode "The Underground Railroad" was disturbing to me.
I can’t believe the Capone family sued. They made themselves look bad. You can’t be a gangster and profit from that lifestyle then cry when you’re rightfully depicted as a gangster and the family of a gangster.
I remember watching it when I was a kid in the 60s. One thing I noticed when watching the reruns now is the difference between the first season and the following ones. In the first season, all the gangsters (including Nitty) had such strong Italian accents that they became caricatures. They quickly lost them in the following season.
Trivial note, apparently Lucy Ball saved Star Trek, the pilot didn’t do very well and was rejected by (I forget by whom) and Desilu asked for another pilot which did better.
A question about the casting of Robert Stack. I recall reading that Van Johnson had accepted the role but backed out at the last minute, which forced the mad hunt for a replacement the Friday before filming was set to begin.
Desi Arnaz did want Van Johnson for the role. Both Desi and Robert Stack mention this in their books. What was not in their books was the version of the story that says Van's wife/manager tried to bluff Desi into paying him more. The week before shooting started, she thought Desilu would agree to a salary increase because they wouldn't have time to replace Van. I think it was a lucky break for everyone but Van Johnson.
@@shadowlouise I never liked Van Johnson, even WAY BACK in the 1940's. He wasn't straight, and he wasn't even a good actor, and that shows up in his roles. Other actors could have handled the Eliot Ness role, including Edward Binns, Everett Sloane, James Whitmore, James Gregory, Hugh Beaumont, Frank Lovejoy, Brian Keith, Keith Andes, Dennis O'Keefe, Robert Sterling, Robert Hutton, and a lot of others NOT including Marlon Brando.
@@leelarson107 That's me as well. There were some actors that some just can't warm up to. He is definitely one of them. Loretta Young was another...to me her over the top acting in "The Stranger" with Edward G. Robinson almost ruined a great old movie and some of Robinson's best work. Robinson movies of the 40's was so much better than his early gangster movies which were too exaggerated. The Stranger, Key Largo...wow what movies they made back then. No transforming monster machines, no alien super forces or warring alien tribes.
I loved watching the show, I was old enough to know that a lot of the show couldn't have happened. Elliot Ness wouldn't have had run ins with certain gangsters, but I still was watching do to the plot's, and action. Gangsters were a ruthless bunch of animal's, so if you don't want to be depicted as such don't live the lifestyle.
Capone destroyed himself by getting too friendly with reporters. There were big time bootleggers who kept their heads down and just racked in the money. The Untouchables was entertaining.
@@jcjc4164 which he never sought medical help for; or at least not until it was too late. Seriously even back then doctors knew how to treat it with antibiotics if they caught it in time. But Capone hid his symptoms.
The Untouchables was a great TV show seems every thing that is presented as entertainment is party truth and partly fiction. I grew up in an Italian family environment and half Italian myself. I knew of the presents of the Mob in my home town of Rockford, IL at an early age. Always was fascinated by the life style of a gangster and the usual outcomes, prison or death. The Untouchables influenced me to say away from the crime, deception, and the ruthlessness of Mob life. Not only was it a great series the music and narration were excellent 👌..
Much of the pleasure of watching The Untouchables comes from the cinematography of Charles Straumer who shot 111 episodes during the series run. His shots were razor sharp looking much like TCF's 1940's black and white house style. Those night shots are really something to look at. Favorite episodes include The Empty Chair, Ma Barker and Her Boys, The Unhired Assassin (two parts), The Mark of Cain, The Stryker Brothers, & The Snowball. There are others. Leonard Freeman also executive produced some episodes. He also executive produced Route 66 and later the movie Hang'em High & Hawaii Five-O.
It was a high quality production. It set a standard for TV in those days. We watched it every week. Most people don't know Eliott Ness eventually died of alcoholism.
Good job of delivering enough information in a short amount of time. I grew up (in the late 60's) loving this program and you're correct, they aren't even close to todays programing.
One episode was about a gangster who believed he had the ability to know if someone was squealing on him to Ness. At one point he asks a guy under suspicion if he knew about his esp like ability. The guy says "yeah, your a psycho.". The response was " no, I'm not a psycho, I'm a psychic, a psychic.". I still laugh at that one!
I was 10 years old, and I LOVED The Untouchables (I even read the book). I loved the theme song. I loved Winchell's narration. I thought Frank Nitti was cool. I loved the way Ness called his boys - "Lee, Rico". I still watch it when it's on.
Once when traveling through Ottawa Illinois, had time to stop at a little hole in the wall bar. Against the wall opposite the long bar was a very shallow glass cabinet with many old pictures. The one that stood out was a black and white one of the local sheriff and deputy. They were standing on either side of what I guess was a model T. The deputy had one foot on the running board and was holding a Thompson machine gun, pointed toward the sky. The passenger side of the wind shield had a round hole about what looked to be 6 inches in diameter, I'm guessing in which to shoot through! What a time!
I was given a stack of books about Organized Crime. One of the books claimed that the Mafia also didn't like the show because it gave them publicity they didn't want. The book claimed that they used their infuence in the movie industry to get the show cancelled. I, of course, have no idea if there is any truth to this.
I attended a Catholic grade school in Chicago at the time. At some point we had TVs in the classrooms to view occasional educational programs broadcast by the short-lived "airborne tv", which a web search shows was the Midwest Program on Airborne Television Instruction (MPATI). (Long aside: I vaguely remember one science program, and I learned to count in Spanish and the song "Vengan a ver mi chacra". The broadcasting was done from a transmitter in an airplane that circled Muncie, Indiana! I know this sounds VERY bizarre, but this was WAY before consumer videocassettes, widespread cable tv, and the first communications satellites, folks. And UHF and regular broadcasting of educational programs were just taking their very first steps.) What does this have to do with the show? During an evening performance of the school play, all of us kids in the cast and crowd scenes who weren't on stage stayed in classrooms. Some of the kids wanted to watch the show on the TVs. The nuns said no, the show was forbidden! The TVs stayed off!
I loved it as a kid.They would show it really late on Friday night on British TV and because there was no school next day my mother let me stay up to watch. I lapped it up.
When I was a kid playing Babe Ruth baseball, one of our teams was called The Untouchables and another called themselves The Touchables. We all had a good laugh over that one. We were The Valiants and ended up in second place to The Untouchables. Those were the days. If I remember right The Touchables were coached by the great running back and linebacker of Washington Huskies, Mike Otis.
Only 1 episode ever had the word "Mafia" in it and many of the gangsters in the series were not Italians. I expect they made that one episode to annoy certain people because Ness cannot stop saying ":Mafia" though he never says it again after the episode. The Untouchables actually shot criminals who were no longer a threat, running away. Ness is one episode begs a gangster to go for his gun so Ness will be justified in shooting him, its the one time a gangster had the good sense not to draw his gun when surrounded by cops. Both sided fired so many rounds its impossible as they were mostly using 6 round revolvers and never reloaded, and both side missed so much its impossible they didn't kill innocent bystanders, though that only happened once when the plot required it. Yes the real Eliot Ness died broke and all but forgotten leaving behind his (3rd?) wife and an adopted son. From what I've read despite both TV series claiming he was married he wasn't until during the actual time of The Untouchables. Later he would be married and divorced more than once. I think its fun to see actors who are now better know for comedy play murderous gangsters. William Bendix was surprisingly scary to me. Frank Sutton aka Gomer Pyle's Sgt Carter was in four episodes.. Several future cast members of Betwitched were in this series. Colonel Clink and Sgt Schutz actors are in it. Several future TV cops including Jack Lord, Telly Savalas and Peter Falk were in it. A pre-Mission: Impossible also Desilu series, Martin Landau is in it. A pre-Star Trek and Mission: Impossible Leonard Nimoy was in it. Michael Connors later Mannix (another Desilu series) was in it. Harry Morgan before Dragnet and MASH is in it. Future game show host Bert Convy did an episode.
I'm watching the Untouchables right now. I bought the first half of the first season at a video store and liked it so much that I bought the entire series except for two sets that I am looking for. I am very impressed with the acting, the cinematography and the stunning list of guest actors like Lee Marvin, Jack Lord, Robert Redford, James Caan and Barbara Stanwyck. Just about all the guests who play bad guys get killed by the end. It is a very violent show. Some minor complaints such as Bruce Gordon who plays Frank Nitti looks no more Italian than an Indian chief. Some scenes are repeated such as a truck crashing into a shack- that one has been in the series maybe three times. There is a scene of a car rolling over that is obviously a car from the 1950s and not the early thirties but that's stock footage. Stories are based on truth but naturally liberties are taken. But, real people are in the show such as Jake Guzik and Dion O'Banion. Another thing is that the word "Mafia" is never mentioned, only the "Syndicate" or the "Organization." J. Edgar Hoover did say that the Mafia didn't exist ( for reasons too lengthy to go into here.) I have to say that it was ground breaking television and it's no wonder that it was so controversial. Another thing that is interesting are the cars. They drive around in Buicks and sometimes there's a Lincoln but Duesenbergs show up too. One odd thing is that a late 1930s Mercedes is used sometimes. I think that same car was used in Hogan's Heroes.
I love this show growing up and even got the hole series on DVD, but growing I never thought every Italian I met was a gangster holding Tommy gun and a bottle of gin. Lol
Classic stuff. I grew up watching this. I was so young but I do remember this. In fact, my depiction of gangsters dressed in pin strip suites, fedora hats and using machine guns, doing drive by's out of 1920's black sedans with running boards came from that show . But I didn't know where I got that image of gangsters from until I've been watching these re-runs. When I saw Robert Stack later on in the Believe it or Not narrations he did look familiar to me and my mother said " Hey look, there is Ness". Now I know what she was talking about and and now I know where I got the those images from and where I saw Robert Stack before. I must have been only 3 years of age. LoL. I must admit, that I never depicted gangsters /mobsters as being stereotypically of I A origin. Though Al Capone was one of them that I definitely remembered hearing about. The ones that I normally used to hear about was Legs Diamond, Dutch Schultz , Lepke , Bonnie & Clyde to name a few. There were so many of them that were of Non Italian origin. Gangsters are gangsters period. From all over the globe. And The Italian Americans inclusive of all other ethnic groups contributed heavily to the countries well being. The good far, far outweighs any negativity. It is totally insignificant. I'm sorry that Desilu got the criticism but I can see why they were upset. I was and still am a big fan of the show. Straight up.
J Edgar Hoover was never the former Director of the FBI. He died in office after running the agency for nearly 50 years. As for the show, I remember it being overly violent and not representative of the actual work done by Ness and his team. One former newsman from the time period snidely remarked that Ness didn't even know how to use a gun. That may have been meant as hyperbole, but it illustrated a level of disdain for the man that may not have been entirely unjustified. The story Ness is most famous for, bringing Capone to justice, is not entirely accurate. Ness's team did major damage to Capone's bootlegging racket, which led to 5,000 indictments for violations of the Volstead Act, but the federal judge handling the case, James H. Wilkerson, blocked the indictments in favor of income tax evasion charges brought by US Attorney George Johnson and accountant turned Treasury Revenue Agent Frank Wilson. It should be noted that the work of the Untouchables did contribute materially to the tax evasion charges that ultimately resulted in Capone's conviction and imprisonment. In an ironic twist of fate, the seemingly incorruptible Ness repeatedly fell from favor in his followon careers and died almost penniless at the age of 54, largely due to the excessive consumption of alcohol.
I remember watching it with my family...I was pretty young back then, but I remember....I remember how I really liked the music at the start of the show!😄
We did not have an ABC affiliate in Jacksonville, FL back then. But, for a season or two, our NBC affiliate would snag a few shows and air them @ 10pm to compete with CBS. It was past my bedtime, so, I didn't get to watch many...but I did pick up the reruns in later years. Thanks for the memories.
Yah So what? Boycotts are common and being offended has become the national past ahead of baseball and shooting It was good amusement in its day and probably would do well in this day.
I remember the reruns, I was intriqued with the familiar actors, such as Dwayne Hickman (Dobie Gillis) Edward Platt (Chief of Control) and the guy who was The Professor on Gilligan’s Island. and a few others I can’t remember.
The Skipper was in it too, with William Bendix from the Life of Riley as a blood thirsty killer.. Also Col. Klink and Sgt. Schultz (not together). The witch and her husband's boss (from Bewtiched) were in the same episode. The actor who played Sgt Carter in Gomer Pyle was in 4 episodes,
growing up a neighborhood bar had a weekly lottery, the winner being the one who predicted the number of killings in each episode- the numbers were quite impressive if I recall...
I was only a baby when this show came out in England. This along with The Invaders. Does anyone from that era remember when these shows were first aired on British tv ?I remember the intro music from both shows as a child before I was carted off to bed. This was a very good doc on the show. Enjoyed watching.
I myself enjoyed the untouchables , the narrations was fast and serious, the action also fast and furious, I saw the reruns as I was born in 58. I have seen the whole series twice and still will watch it to this day. Brilliant programme
I grew up watching this wonderful series with great actors & actresses that for my “A” level made a written project about Prohibition I have now the entire “The Untouchable’s “ series & watch them frequently still massively enjoy them
With paragons of virtue like the Capone family, Frank Sinatra and J. Edgar Hoover as its most prominent critics, it's hard not to sympathize with the producers of the show. But, in all honesty, it was quite violent, as were the times it was depicting. 1929 set an all-time record for the number of cops murdered on duty.
I’m 74 and loved Untouchables!! Still love violent gangster movies. Guy Ritchie etc👍 Too much of this woke “I’m offended” 💩 going on nowadays. Glam gran 💃🏻
I was maybe in 4th grade when The Untouchables ran. It aired late in 'adult time' (after 8:30pm) when children were supposed to be in bed. I would wait for the adults to turn in then sneak back to watch shows like The Untouchables with the volume turned way down. I will take Nelson Riddle's theme to my grave. I can hear it now, the musical alteration of the wailing of fear and anguish heavily punctuated by the relentless drumbeat of a slow march. Played under the ugly white on black faces in the opening titles and combined with Winchell's totally authentic voice over made the 1930s jump out of the screen and left the impression on a little boy of a city totally immersed in horror. I recall wondering why anyone lived in Chicago, why they didn't all just flee somewhere else? Frankly it was brilliant. Everyone seemed to carry a gun or a knife and Tommy guns were constantly sprayed out of old fashioned car windows. To this day, even though it was not strictly historically accurate, it feels like one of the most powerful depictions of what can happen if the mob gains control. By comparison the movie made many years later felt to me like milquetoast.
I never had the desire to BOYCOTT the Untouchables. I used to watch EVERY episode and loved that show. Who the Hell, and why, is someone trying to propagandize a God damned TV show from the 1950s ?? Go sit on your thumb !
I have every episode of The Untouchables; seen each one twice. I loved it as a kid; not because it was historically accurate (most history taught to us isn't), but it was Good vs. Evil, with the Good winning a lot of the time. We could use some of that today, eh?
Yes! I loved the show! I’m a gangster fan of the 20’s and 30’s era in general. Al Capone! John Dillinger! Bonnie & Clyde! are my favorites. B&C though are my most favorite.
Great show told the truth of what happen at the time it portrai d.Characters in spite of violence had some in using parts in it.After the first couple of years it milid up and blood was not spattered all over the tube like it is today on some shows.
6:20 I heard a funny joke about Frank Sinatra from one of his Rat Pack pals (I think it might have been Buddy Hackett). "Everybody says Franks is a gangster, but I want to tell you that Frank saved my life one night. I was being severely beaten by two thugs in an alley when Frank intervened and said 'you can stop now, he's had enough.'"
The suitably ominous theme song to the series was written by Nelson Riddle, an iconic composer/conductor/arranger chiefly known for his work with Frank Sinatra.😢
Ness took a lot of heat and bad publicity for his response to the Cleveland Torso Killings in the mid to late 30's. While his career for the most part was ruined, history now points to the very likely possibility that his suspect in the serial killings which involve mutilations, was indeed Dr. Francis Sweeney who taunted Ness. Sweeney was in and out of mental institutions and forensics at the time could never definitively pin the 13 credited mutilations to him. While the truth will never be officially tied to Sweeney, enough evidence now has been found to at least say the very highest suspect was the doctor, who Ness suspected all along.
Great action packed show with Robert Stack and Bruce Gordon great performances among many others, without the violence there would be no Untouchables or a successful TV series so some scenes needed to be fictionalized plus the powerful music theme, one of the all time great shows.
@@savage22bolt32 Another thing that I enjoy about this show and Naked City are the all the surrounding bit players: they looked like the people we saw every day, not like today: perfect teeth, toned, etc. 👍😉
I grew up in Del Mar. When I was a young boy, Desi Arnaz lived in a beach front home. He’d sit in his backyard some days. One time he was outside and I pointed him out to my friend as we walked by (At the time, homeowners got a big beach easement so we were closer to the ocean and not super close to him).
Desi realized we were looking at him and talking about it, and suddenly he stood up, and gave us a big smile and wave.
At the time, we would regularly watch I Love Lucy reruns. I was probably 9 or 10 and it was a big deal at the time for me.
So, you didn't have a lotta 'splainin to do?
Desi gave you a fine gesture of what an adult male should be, especially to younger folks. Men to admire as friendly adults were not so common where I grew up. It's great to hear he set you a friendly recognition. On TV he gave me new ideas about how men could react and respond to the behavior of women.
I was a big fan of the Untouchables.
I've watched the reruns more than once.
Robert Stack was fantastic.
I liked Bruce Gordon as Frank Nitti too.
Frank Nitti's protégé was Saul Alinski. Alinski's protégée was Hillary Rodham.
Easy, 'Rico!
I love The Untouchables too and Robert Stack! I hate that the show was canceled!
And it created so many misconceptions about Ness's career. We didn't know it back then - we just saw the good guys beating the bad guys, and that's all we needed!
Untouchables television show was perfect for it's time..vintage nostalgia..looking good in black and white film..Walter Winchell,s voice narration time period perfect .thank you for excellent presentation
Walter Winchell always sounded like he'd just run six blocks to catch a bus.
I guess it was boycotted because they didnt have anything better to do. Lol.
... for its* time (it's = it is) ...
@@einundsiebenziger5488Teacher Thank you
I was in 7th grade when the Untouchables came out. It was immediately my favorite night time TV show. I was raised in a small conservative town but did not feel that its violence was over the top. To me it accurately told the story of underworld violence in that era. That is what made it exciting to me. From my perception as a young viewer the federal agents were putting their lives on the line going up against the bootlegging gangs. As a young country boy who was raised on a farm I found it terribly exciting. Robert Stack was terrific in the role. I saw him as a hero. All in all it is one of my all time favorite night time TV shows. A more modern TV show that I was a big fan of as a young adult was Hill Street Blues. Not as violent but also showed the gritty side of urban life. My dad who came of age in the 30's also loved the show. We use to talk about events he had read about in the papers when he was a young man. I know of no other TV show that I talked about at length with my dad. One final thing, the voice of Walter Winchell really made the show.
when I was growing up, our area, Da Heights, had a large Italian-American community, my family included...when the show debuted, we all watched and loved it...just as today, the very small minority seem to be the only ones heard...violence?...TV was full of violence, with the westerns dominating the schedules...lack of accuracy?...when has that been important to the entertainment industry?...or to mainstream news...
Absolutely!!
well said Jerry.. the kill count on night time westerns was huge!.. This 10 y.o. loved the Untouchables
I watched the show every week from the first episode. I lived on Long Island where there was a huge Italian-American community which included my family. The adults complained about the biased depiction of IA's as mobsters. Ironically, some of the complainers were low level mobsters themselves.
Haa, ha !!! You cracked me up !
I loved the show. I'm Italian and know that there is good and bad in all ethnic groups.
Same here. My father had Mafia in his family. Some were killed. He hated that organization. I'll always remember him yelling at the TV when Joe Columbo, the gangster, was leading an Italian/American "rights group". "Those stupid Italians"! "This is the guy who's pumping heroin into their kids arms & their handing him money"!
That true. I am mix of three different ethnic groups, German, Irish and British (old English).
funny thing is the jewish and irish gangs were just as active and vicious but they were never held up to the same light.
As a kid I loved The Untouchables! I wanted to be an agent...when I wasn’t being a soldier like Sgt. Saunders on Combat! True story- my grandmother told me that my grandpa was a border patrol agent in the Detroit area during Prohibition when the Purple Gang was smuggling booze across the Detroit River. Never became an agent, but I did become a infantry soldier during Vietnam.
My friends and I, teenagers in the UK in the late 1960s, were obsessed with this programme and gave it cult status. It was simply unmissable and provided us with much discussion afterwards. We were all fans of the Frank Nitti character, memorably played by Bruce Gordon, one of the best "baddies" in television history.
Yes I love this series even after watching with my father many years ago. The violence was disturbing for a teenager but I had a crush on Robert Stack. Today 60 years later sill watch an episode or more every day and haven’t lost my love for Robert Stack. The whole creative show in black and white, the sets in water, the fantastic props make TV history that still lives today. ❤
This 'boycott' is news to me this many years later. Back then we all watched the show and enjoyed it, even if it did gloss over the historical Eliot Ness' ego trip. Nobody talked about 'that certain Italian/Sicilian organization of businessmen' then, or their supposed intent to snuff out Desi Arnaz. That all came later, and no one cared by then.
My Father was never a fan of TV the only show he watched without fail was the Untouchables. We always watched the show together good times. RIP Dad.
I remember watching this show in syndicated reruns. Robert Stack was Eliot Ness. Walter Winchell provided the narration. They had many guest stars that were veteran or up and coming actors and actresses. They include Bruce Gordon, Elizabeth Montgomery, Murray Hamilton, Jack Lord, Lee Marvin, Piper Laurie, Luther Adler, Frank Sutton, James Coburn, Joan Blondell, Ed Asner, Jack Warden and many others.
Walter Winchell's out of breath delivery almost made me think that I was watching a news program. He was perfect for the show and I have been imitating his voice ever since. Many years later when the show went into reruns I never missed an episode. I was completely unaware of any controversy surrounding it.
Forget the bad. Enjoy what's good.
About the inaccuracies, If you want pure history, go find a history book! This was done for pure entertainment. And boy! Was it good!
For anyone interested in that era and wants to read the biographies of all of the gangsters go to the library and find the book
Bloodletters and Badmen by
J. Robert Nash
It's phenomenal
Absolutely!!
Well said.I would add,however,that there are also many inaccuracies in history books.Real facts,are now & always have been,wildly elusive.
Thank you. This, just like all (or vast majority) of tv shoes, movies, bookss are entertainment. Facts are always changed around to suit a story. If you were or getting your history from a tv show you got bigger problems.
Sure there were inaccuracies, but most of the Untouchables were true.
It has always been my favorite tv show. I am 75 years old and i can still quote a variety of the characters. My favorite character was Bruce Gordon. I always wished Neville Brand had more appearances.
I grew up when the Untouchables was aired. During this time I knew kids whose parents forbade them from viewing it because of the violence. One of my friend's mothers lamented about a little girl up the street who said that she enjoyed watching it. This child was about 8 or 9 and still played with dolls.
That poor little girl probably became a murderer . Haa, ha, haaa !!!
I grew up watching these as a kid in Mexico. When I came to live in the US in '98 there was channel that had an episode every night at 2am. I recorded a lot of them in VHS to watch later the next morning. You don't see plots like these anymore anywhere.
I liked the Untouchables. I also give it credit as one of the reasons I switched from seeing things on TV as realistic to seeing the performance aspect - and sound, lights, makeup, camera angle, set design ... the entire cinematic/TV magic show. I loved that. Also, that knowledge leaked out into my analysis of news shows and documentaries ... also a good thing.
The villains were depicted as brutal, almost psychopathic thugs. The only exception was Frank Nitty (Bruce Gordon), who was depicted as a cold-blooded business executive.
This was before the 'anti-hero and 'misunderstood' bad guy. I find brutal thugs a lot more healthy in terms of morality.
From what I've read in reality Frank Nitti only thought he was in charge, several times others would countermand his orders, And he wasn't killled by Ness, he committed suicide. to avoid going to prison for extorsion.
I have a boxed set of the series. I absolutely love watching Untouchables. I won't argue with any of the criticism. I view it as sort of a noir-fantasy so that I can get past the cringe-worthy aspects. I enjoy old episodes of Gunsmoke in a similar fashion.
I am watching The Untouchables every Sunday on H&I (Dish 293). One of the things I find remarkable is how many top billed guest stars meet their fates before the mid episode commercial break.
They were important people, with places to go. Thew didn't want to hang around to long. It's enough that thay're doing a television show for you. Show some respect.
I enjoyed watching the program at the time on Network TV on a 1947 Zenith Console television with a big round black and white CRT.
although I was only around 4 or 5 years of age.
Most of it I didn't understand at the time but I especially liked the machine gun fire in the show.
I do faintly remember Robert Stack winning an award (Emmy) in a ceremony on television and they played the theme song for the series.
Mom didn't mind us watching violent TV shows (We watched Combat!) or spooky sci fi shows like The Outer Limits
Only recently I have bought the program on DVD.
m9078jk3 Have you ever had the chance to shoot a machine gun?
Every time I see someone shoot one for the first time, they Always end up with an ear-to-ear grin!
(Goog Knob Creek gun range machine gun shoot)
@@savage22bolt32 Yes it's very pleasurable and the next door neighbor owned a fully operational Thompson with a drum magazine
@@m9078jk3 Vic Morrow carried the Thompson in Combat!
@@savage22bolt32,
I've seen Thompsons fired twice.
First time was when my 9th grade Jr. high class toured the capitol in Lansing. We got to watch the legislative session from the gallery, then all file past to shake hands with Governor John B. Swainson as he stood in his office doorway.
We had lunch in the E. Lansing MSU Stiudent Union and then toured the State Police Post. We were lectured about a State Police Car, and had a demonstration of a clip-fed Thompson. After telling us to cover our ears, the trooper fired several short bursts downrange and told us that longer busts made the barell go upward. They told us in Navy boot camp to only fire the Thompson in 3-5 shot bursts for the same reason.
The second time I saw a Thompson fired was when we qualified with small arms on my ship. In order to be eligable to advance to E4, we qualified by by firing off the fantail into our 8-knot wake. Just like our .22 cal. Remington semi-auto boot camp target shoot, we didn't actually need to HIT anything with the 1911 Colt, M-1, or BAR!
If each sailor fired a clip without killing anybody, he qualified.
At the end of the session, the Chief Gunner's Mate told one of his gang, "Throw that crate over." Ater firing a long burst (reducing the crate to splinters) he turned around and showed a picture perfect depiction of Edward G. Robinson, cigar and barrel smoking.
Wanna see how many a Navy chief looks? Watch Clifton Daniels in "The Last Detail." It's my FAVORITE sailor film, although I also enjoyed "Cinderella Liberty", and "The Sand Pebbles."
All three of these films were adapted from books written by former US Navy sailors, and each is an EXCELLENT read.
---J.D. Schultz, MM2, USNR, 1965-71.
The untouchables was a great show. Never missed a show.
By any chance could you tell me the name of the episode where a newspaper boy is shot in the leg? I came across it on here a few years ago, but it's been taken off.
It was gritty, but those were gritty times. I've done my homework on the REAL Eliot Ness. But I love the TV 'heroes'.
I believe I caught it on rerun TV in the 1970s when I was in my tweens and teens. I liked it and didn't think about its accuracy at the time.
Robert Stack as the "Untouchable" good guy made a positive impression on me. The character actor Cliff Robertson played in the episode "The Underground Railroad" was disturbing to me.
I can’t believe the Capone family sued. They made themselves look bad. You can’t be a gangster and profit from that lifestyle then cry when you’re rightfully depicted as a gangster and the family of a gangster.
I recall that my family would all gather around our tv when it was on every week without fail!
It was a brilliant , gripping series , nothing today compares to it , Robert Stack was just right for the lead role .
I remember watching it when I was a kid in the 60s. One thing I noticed when watching the reruns now is the difference between the first season and the following ones. In the first season, all the gangsters (including Nitty) had such strong Italian accents that they became caricatures. They quickly lost them in the following season.
Trivial note, apparently Lucy Ball saved Star Trek, the pilot didn’t do very well and was rejected by (I forget by whom) and Desilu asked for another pilot which did better.
Then she sold Desilu to Paramount which ruined Star Trek and Mission: Impossible
A question about the casting of Robert Stack. I recall reading that Van Johnson had accepted the role but backed out at the last minute, which forced the mad hunt for a replacement the Friday before filming was set to begin.
Desi Arnaz did want Van Johnson for the role. Both Desi and Robert Stack mention this in their books. What was not in their books was the version of the story that says Van's wife/manager tried to bluff Desi into paying him more. The week before shooting started, she thought Desilu would agree to a salary increase because they wouldn't have time to replace Van. I think it was a lucky break for everyone but Van Johnson.
@@shadowlouise I never liked Van Johnson, even WAY BACK in the 1940's. He wasn't straight, and he wasn't even a good actor, and that shows up in his roles. Other actors could have handled the Eliot Ness role, including Edward Binns, Everett Sloane, James Whitmore, James Gregory, Hugh Beaumont, Frank Lovejoy, Brian Keith, Keith Andes, Dennis O'Keefe, Robert Sterling, Robert Hutton, and a lot of others NOT including Marlon Brando.
@@leelarson107 That's me as well. There were some actors that some just can't warm up to. He is definitely one of them. Loretta Young was another...to me her over the top acting in "The Stranger" with Edward G. Robinson almost ruined a great old movie and some of Robinson's best work. Robinson movies of the 40's was so much better than his early gangster movies which were too exaggerated. The Stranger, Key Largo...wow what movies they made back then. No transforming monster machines, no alien super forces or warring alien tribes.
@@leelarson107 some of those had other roles in the series
I loved watching the show, I was old enough to know that a lot of the show couldn't have happened.
Elliot Ness wouldn't have had run ins with certain gangsters, but I still was watching do to the plot's, and action.
Gangsters were a ruthless bunch of animal's, so if you don't want to be depicted as such don't live the lifestyle.
Capone destroyed himself by getting too friendly with reporters. There were big time bootleggers who kept their heads down and just racked in the money. The Untouchables was entertaining.
And getting syphilis.
Capone was destroyed by the diligent work of the IRS....... Not these bunch of phoney publicity seekers called the Untouchables
@@jcjc4164 which he never sought medical help for; or at least not until it was too late. Seriously even back then doctors knew how to treat it with antibiotics if they caught it in time. But Capone hid his symptoms.
The Untouchables was a great TV show seems every thing that is presented as entertainment is party truth and partly fiction. I grew up in an Italian family environment and half Italian myself. I knew of the presents of the Mob in my home town of Rockford, IL at an early age. Always was fascinated by the life style of a gangster and the usual outcomes, prison or death. The Untouchables influenced me to say away from the crime, deception, and the ruthlessness of Mob life. Not only was it a great series the music and narration were excellent 👌..
It wasn't meant to be a historically accurate documentary, it was purely entertainment. They did that rather well.
Minstril shows and Amos and Andy were purely for entertainment, too.
@@michaelpisani5962 Oh, get over it. On second thought, I apologize for the depiction of the mafiosi as being Italian .
Much of the pleasure of watching The Untouchables comes from the cinematography of Charles Straumer who shot 111 episodes during the series run. His shots were razor sharp looking much like TCF's 1940's black and white house style. Those night shots are really something to look at. Favorite episodes include The Empty Chair, Ma Barker and Her Boys, The Unhired Assassin (two parts), The Mark of Cain, The Stryker Brothers, & The Snowball. There are others. Leonard Freeman also executive produced some episodes. He also executive produced Route 66 and later the movie Hang'em High & Hawaii Five-O.
One thing I hate about complainers: They don't have to watch anything they don't like, but to force their "ideals" on the rest of us is unfortunate.
Almost as bad as listening to the President, the VP, and the Speaker of the House.
It was a high quality production. It set a standard for TV in those days. We watched it every week. Most people don't know Eliott Ness eventually died of alcoholism.
Good job of delivering enough information in a short amount of time. I grew up (in the late 60's) loving this program and you're correct, they aren't even close to todays programing.
One episode was about a gangster who believed he had the ability to know if someone was squealing on him to Ness.
At one point he asks a guy under suspicion if he knew about his esp like ability. The guy says "yeah, your a psycho.". The response was " no, I'm not a psycho, I'm a psychic, a psychic.". I still laugh at that one!
One of my favorite shows as a young child during the sixties. Great actors and even if the scripts were not histocically accurate they were good
I was 10 years old, and I LOVED The Untouchables (I even read the book). I loved the theme song. I loved Winchell's narration. I thought Frank Nitti was cool. I loved the way Ness called his boys - "Lee, Rico". I still watch it when it's on.
Once when traveling through Ottawa Illinois, had time to stop at a little hole in the wall bar. Against the wall opposite the long bar was a very shallow glass cabinet with many old pictures. The one that stood out was a black and white one of the local sheriff and deputy. They were standing on either side of what I guess was a model T. The deputy had one foot on the running board and was holding a Thompson machine gun, pointed toward the sky. The passenger side of the wind shield had a round hole about what looked to be 6 inches in diameter, I'm guessing in which to shoot through! What a time!
Nelson Riddle who scored at least the theme music and probably other segments as well often worked with Frank Sinatra.
I must have watched the reruns on tv as a kid in the seventies and remember my mom had a crush on Stack.
I was given a stack of books about Organized Crime. One of the books claimed that the Mafia also didn't like the show because it gave them publicity they didn't want. The book claimed that they used their infuence in the movie industry to get the show cancelled. I, of course, have no idea if there is any truth to this.
It probably was it’s not 100% 75% accurate that the syndicate use their influence in Hollywood to put pressure to get the show canceled
Excellent! 👏👏👏
I attended a Catholic grade school in Chicago at the time. At some point we had TVs in the classrooms to view occasional educational programs broadcast by the short-lived "airborne tv", which a web search shows was the Midwest Program on Airborne Television Instruction (MPATI). (Long aside: I vaguely remember one science program, and I learned to count in Spanish and the song "Vengan a ver mi chacra". The broadcasting was done from a transmitter in an airplane that circled Muncie, Indiana! I know this sounds VERY bizarre, but this was WAY before consumer videocassettes, widespread cable tv, and the first communications satellites, folks. And UHF and regular broadcasting of educational programs were just taking their very first steps.)
What does this have to do with the show? During an evening performance of the school play, all of us kids in the cast and crowd scenes who weren't on stage stayed in classrooms. Some of the kids wanted to watch the show on the TVs. The nuns said no, the show was forbidden! The TVs stayed off!
I loved it as a kid.They would show it really late on Friday night on British TV and because there was no school next day my mother let me stay up to watch. I lapped it up.
This is where I first saw it.
It was so good, I thought it was actually from the time.
When I was a kid playing Babe Ruth baseball, one of our teams was called The Untouchables and another called themselves The Touchables. We all had a good laugh over that one. We were The Valiants and ended up in second place to The Untouchables. Those were the days. If I remember right The Touchables were coached by the great running back and linebacker of Washington Huskies, Mike Otis.
Some of my favorite childhood memories was my Dad allowing me to stay up late so we could watch reruns of 'The Untouchables'.
J Edgar was not the former director of the FBI at the time
Only 1 episode ever had the word "Mafia" in it and many of the gangsters in the series were not Italians. I expect they made that one episode to annoy certain people because Ness cannot stop saying ":Mafia" though he never says it again after the episode.
The Untouchables actually shot criminals who were no longer a threat, running away. Ness is one episode begs a gangster to go for his gun so Ness will be justified in shooting him, its the one time a gangster had the good sense not to draw his gun when surrounded by cops. Both sided fired so many rounds its impossible as they were mostly using 6 round revolvers and never reloaded, and both side missed so much its impossible they didn't kill innocent bystanders, though that only happened once when the plot required it.
Yes the real Eliot Ness died broke and all but forgotten leaving behind his (3rd?) wife and an adopted son. From what I've read despite both TV series claiming he was married he wasn't until during the actual time of The Untouchables. Later he would be married and divorced more than once.
I think its fun to see actors who are now better know for comedy play murderous gangsters. William Bendix was surprisingly scary to me. Frank Sutton aka Gomer Pyle's Sgt Carter was in four episodes.. Several future cast members of Betwitched were in this series. Colonel Clink and Sgt Schutz actors are in it. Several future TV cops including Jack Lord, Telly Savalas and Peter Falk were in it. A pre-Mission: Impossible also Desilu series, Martin Landau is in it. A pre-Star Trek and Mission: Impossible Leonard Nimoy was in it. Michael Connors later Mannix (another Desilu series) was in it. Harry Morgan before Dragnet and MASH is in it. Future game show host Bert Convy did an episode.
I'm watching the Untouchables right now. I bought the first half of the first season at a video store and liked it so much that I bought the entire series except for two sets that I am looking for. I am very impressed with the acting, the cinematography and the stunning list of guest actors like Lee Marvin, Jack Lord, Robert Redford, James Caan and Barbara Stanwyck. Just about all the guests who play bad guys get killed by the end. It is a very violent show.
Some minor complaints such as Bruce Gordon who plays Frank Nitti looks no more Italian than an Indian chief. Some scenes are repeated such as a truck crashing into a shack- that one has been in the series maybe three times. There is a scene of a car rolling over that is obviously a car from the 1950s and not the early thirties but that's stock footage.
Stories are based on truth but naturally liberties are taken. But, real people are in the show such as Jake Guzik and Dion O'Banion. Another thing is that the word "Mafia" is never mentioned, only the "Syndicate" or the "Organization." J. Edgar Hoover did say that the Mafia didn't exist ( for reasons too lengthy to go into here.) I have to say that it was ground breaking television and it's no wonder that it was so controversial.
Another thing that is interesting are the cars. They drive around in Buicks and sometimes there's a Lincoln but Duesenbergs show up too. One odd thing is that a late 1930s Mercedes is used sometimes. I think that same car was used in Hogan's Heroes.
I love this show growing up and even got the hole series on DVD, but growing I never thought every Italian I met was a gangster holding Tommy gun and a bottle of gin. Lol
Big fan of the Untouchables 👏🏾👏🏾
Classic stuff. I grew up watching this. I was so young but I do remember this. In fact, my depiction of gangsters dressed in pin strip suites, fedora hats and using machine guns, doing drive by's out of 1920's black sedans with running boards came from that show . But I didn't know where I got that image of gangsters from until I've been watching these re-runs. When I saw Robert Stack later on in the Believe it or Not narrations he did look familiar to me and my mother said " Hey look, there is Ness". Now I know what she was talking about and and now I know where I got the those images from and where I saw Robert Stack before. I must have been only 3 years of age. LoL. I must admit, that I never depicted gangsters /mobsters as being stereotypically of I A origin. Though Al Capone was one of them that I definitely remembered hearing about. The ones that I normally used to hear about was Legs Diamond, Dutch Schultz , Lepke , Bonnie & Clyde to name a few. There were so many of them that were of Non Italian origin. Gangsters are gangsters period. From all over the globe. And The Italian Americans inclusive of all other ethnic groups contributed heavily to the countries well being. The good far, far outweighs any negativity. It is totally insignificant. I'm sorry that Desilu got the criticism but I can see why they were upset. I was and still am a big fan of the show. Straight up.
J Edgar Hoover was never the former Director of the FBI. He died in office after running the agency for nearly 50 years. As for the show, I remember it being overly violent and not representative of the actual work done by Ness and his team. One former newsman from the time period snidely remarked that Ness didn't even know how to use a gun. That may have been meant as hyperbole, but it illustrated a level of disdain for the man that may not have been entirely unjustified. The story Ness is most famous for, bringing Capone to justice, is not entirely accurate. Ness's team did major damage to Capone's bootlegging racket, which led to 5,000 indictments for violations of the Volstead Act, but the federal judge handling the case, James H. Wilkerson, blocked the indictments in favor of income tax evasion charges brought by US Attorney George Johnson and accountant turned Treasury Revenue Agent Frank Wilson. It should be noted that the work of the Untouchables did contribute materially to the tax evasion charges that ultimately resulted in Capone's conviction and imprisonment. In an ironic twist of fate, the seemingly incorruptible Ness repeatedly fell from favor in his followon careers and died almost penniless at the age of 54, largely due to the excessive consumption of alcohol.
I remember watching it with my family...I was pretty young back then, but I remember....I remember how I really liked the music at the start of the show!😄
My all time favorite tv show ,I watched it at age 11 with my Dad .
This is the first I’m hearing about a boycott of this show. We loved the show!
We did not have an ABC affiliate in Jacksonville, FL back then. But, for a season or two, our NBC affiliate would snag a few shows and air them @ 10pm to compete with CBS. It was past my bedtime, so, I didn't get to watch many...but I did pick up the reruns in later years. Thanks for the memories.
Yah So what? Boycotts are common and being offended has become the national past ahead of baseball and shooting It was good amusement in its day and probably would do well in this day.
My, has television morality changed over the years!
Please. Pleased Pleased bringbacktheUntochables. It made my Sundays on channel Heroes and Icons
Pissed me off too!! Put it back on!!!
It was a great show. My Grandfather who was of Sicilian ancestry enjoyed it very much when I was a boy in the 60‘s.
I remember the reruns, I was intriqued with the familiar actors, such as Dwayne Hickman (Dobie Gillis) Edward Platt (Chief of Control) and the guy who was The Professor on Gilligan’s Island. and a few others I can’t remember.
The Skipper was in it too, with William Bendix from the Life of Riley as a blood thirsty killer.. Also Col. Klink and Sgt. Schultz (not together). The witch and her husband's boss (from Bewtiched) were in the same episode. The actor who played Sgt Carter in Gomer Pyle was in 4 episodes,
Favorite of mine growing up and still is. Glad to see the reruns
My favorite TV show ever!
My parents allowed us to watch the Untouchable. And we tuned hard working with our families. I will be no different. Awesome video. Thank you.
I looked at THE UNTOUXHABLES as entertainment, that gave roles to future stars. I didn't consider it accurate history.
growing up a neighborhood bar had a weekly lottery, the winner being the one who predicted the number of killings in each episode- the numbers were quite impressive if I recall...
I was only a baby when this show came out in England. This along with The Invaders. Does anyone from that era remember when these shows were first aired on British tv ?I remember the intro music from both shows as a child before I was carted off to bed. This was a very good doc on the show. Enjoyed watching.
I myself enjoyed the untouchables , the narrations was fast and serious, the action also fast and furious, I saw the reruns as I was born in 58. I have seen the whole series twice and still will watch it to this day. Brilliant programme
Great Show.....We grew up watching this show with our parents.
I grew up watching this wonderful series with great actors & actresses that for my “A” level made a written project about Prohibition I have now the entire “The Untouchable’s “ series & watch them frequently still massively enjoy them
With paragons of virtue like the Capone family, Frank Sinatra and J. Edgar Hoover as its most prominent critics, it's hard not to sympathize with the producers of the show. But, in all honesty, it was quite violent, as were the times it was depicting. 1929 set an all-time record for the number of cops murdered on duty.
Stack was perfect for this role.
Kevin Costner did his story justice. Great movie.
And don't forget Sean Connery...great movie.
@@stephenclemence5856 you are correct.
I’m 74 and loved Untouchables!! Still love violent gangster movies. Guy Ritchie etc👍 Too much of this woke “I’m offended” 💩 going on nowadays. Glam gran 💃🏻
I was maybe in 4th grade when The Untouchables ran. It aired late in 'adult time' (after 8:30pm) when children were supposed to be in bed. I would wait for the adults to turn in then sneak back to watch shows like The Untouchables with the volume turned way down.
I will take Nelson Riddle's theme to my grave. I can hear it now, the musical alteration of the wailing of fear and anguish heavily punctuated by the relentless drumbeat of a slow march. Played under the ugly white on black faces in the opening titles and combined with Winchell's totally authentic voice over made the 1930s jump out of the screen and left the impression on a little boy of a city totally immersed in horror. I recall wondering why anyone lived in Chicago, why they didn't all just flee somewhere else? Frankly it was brilliant.
Everyone seemed to carry a gun or a knife and Tommy guns were constantly sprayed out of old fashioned car windows. To this day, even though it was not strictly historically accurate, it feels like one of the most powerful depictions of what can happen if the mob gains control. By comparison the movie made many years later felt to me like milquetoast.
I never had the desire to BOYCOTT the Untouchables. I used to watch EVERY episode and loved that show. Who the Hell, and why, is someone trying to propagandize a God damned TV show from the 1950s ?? Go sit on your thumb !
I have every episode of The Untouchables; seen each one twice. I loved it as a kid; not because it was historically accurate (most history taught to us isn't), but it was Good vs. Evil, with the Good winning a lot of the time. We could use some of that today, eh?
We went nuts over Star trek and the untouchables every week
Among my top favorite TV shows of all time.
Yes! I loved the show! I’m a gangster fan of the 20’s and 30’s era in general. Al Capone! John Dillinger! Bonnie & Clyde! are my favorites. B&C though are my most favorite.
Great show told the truth of what happen at the time it portrai d.Characters in spite of violence had some in using parts in it.After the first couple of years it milid up and blood was not spattered all over the tube like it is today on some shows.
I was a kid in grammar school when this show was running and it was indeed very popular.
6:20 I heard a funny joke about Frank Sinatra from one of his Rat Pack pals (I think it might have been Buddy Hackett). "Everybody says Franks is a gangster, but I want to tell you that Frank saved my life one night. I was being severely beaten by two thugs in an alley when Frank intervened and said 'you can stop now, he's had enough.'"
The suitably ominous theme song to the series was written by Nelson Riddle, an iconic composer/conductor/arranger chiefly known for his work with Frank Sinatra.😢
Ness took a lot of heat and bad publicity for his response to the Cleveland Torso Killings in the mid to late 30's. While his career for the most part was ruined, history now points to the very likely possibility that his suspect in the serial killings which involve mutilations, was indeed Dr. Francis Sweeney who taunted Ness. Sweeney was in and out of mental institutions and forensics at the time could never definitively pin the 13 credited mutilations to him. While the truth will never be officially tied to Sweeney, enough evidence now has been found to at least say the very highest suspect was the doctor, who Ness suspected all along.
This used to be on at 1100 at night when I was a boy, I enjoyed it very much and hearing about all the tales.
Loved it!
After 50 years, this is still one of my favourite shows of all time
Great show. Very entertaining 😊
Great action packed show with Robert Stack and Bruce Gordon great performances among many others, without the violence there would be no Untouchables or a successful TV series so some scenes needed to be fictionalized plus the powerful music theme, one of the all time great shows.
My parents wouldn't let me stay up to watch it. I think they were protecting their first born from the cold cruel world.
Same here.. I'm glad to find out that I wasn't the only one! 👍😁
@@kennethrouse7942 yeah, years later my little brother could go anywhere!
@@savage22bolt32 Another thing that I enjoy about this show and Naked City are the all the surrounding bit players: they looked like the people we saw every day, not like today: perfect teeth, toned, etc. 👍😉
It was entertaining. Plain and simple.