Original subtitles

Hey, kid.

Yeah?

You got a gun?

Yeah.

Give it to me.

Okay.

Hey!

Tonight's episode...

Starring Robert Stack as Eliot Ness.

Co-starring Ned Glass, and Carole Eastman.

With special guest star James McArthur.

Narrated by Walter Winchell.

On June the 14th, 1930,

the establishment of a Bureau of Narcotics

signaled the beginning

of an all-out effort by the government

against an alarming rise in opium addiction.

The bureau's vigorous actions,

coupled with the complete cooperation

of the Chinese government, sharply reduced the flow

of illegal opium into the United States,

and by 1932, the smuggling of opium

from China to this country had virtually come to an end.

During the last week in April of 1933,

Frank Nitti, who had ascended to Al Capone's throne

following Capone's conviction,

was offered a huge quantity of Chinese opium.

And on May the 4th, 1933, Nitti sent Ed Getty,

one of his top lieutenants to rendezvous with agents

of the man who claimed he could supply the opium.

There were two additional men at the rendezvous...

"uninvited guests."

Got it?

Here.

I'll get back to you.

But don't take too long.

Nitti promised action right away.

You ever know Frank to go back on his word?

Okay.

Hands up high and keep 'em high!

Raw opium.

It's been a long time

since we've seen any of that, Eliot.

Not long enough.

The second fallen thug was identified

at the Cook County morgue as Cliff Anders.

Anders had been released from Sing Sing in February of 1933.

These are the three men that Anders worked for, Eliot.

Harry Brian, small-time bootlegger.

Howie Rolfe.

He delivered liquor for Capone, remember?

Rolfe's tucked away in Joliet, isn't he?

Yeah.

Phil Melnick.

That's a name out of the past.

I wonder whatever happened to him?

He evidently got out of Chicago three years ago

when the Bureau of Narcotics was formed.

Present whereabouts unknown.

Isn't he the one they call the "King of Opium"?

That's what he's called, but nothing was ever proved.

As far as we know, he's out of the rackets.

As far as we know...

It doesn't seem possible that Chinese opium

is still getting into the country, Eliot.

Maybe it's been here, Lee.

See what's keeping the report

on the paper the opium was wrapped in, huh?

Right.

The analysis of the paper

in which the raw opium was wrapped

took Ness and the Untouchables to New York.

It was a special, expensive bond paper,

manufactured by the Clary Paper Company.

Not too many people buy this grade of paper.

The Depression's cut down on the use of it.

Before the stock market crashed,

companies bought this paper by the carlo...

Well, I'm sorry, Mr. Ness.

I guess you've got troubles of your own.

Here's a list of the six firms who bought the paper this year.

Good. We'll start with this.

If we don't find what we're looking for with this list,

could you prepare a list of last year's sales?

Why, certainly.

Thanks for your cooperation.

By the way, Mr. Ness... Yes?

Uh, just what is it that you hope to find?

Opium, Mr. Clary.

Opium.

Following the aborted Nitti negotiation,

Art Reel, agent for three million dollars worth of opium,

had arranged a rendezvous

with the narcotics czar of the New York waterfront.

Mr. Reel?

Yeah?

You have an appointment with Johnny Luben,

isn't that right?

You gonna take me to him?

You're took.

Are you Johnny Luben?!

What's so funny?

Ever since I can remember,

whenever I meet somebody, it's the same story.

Their jaws drop and, "Are you Luben?"

Well, what do you expect? You're just a kid.

You got something against doing business with kids?

Are you Luben?

Is that all you're gonna say all night?

How much do you want?

How much is there?

Three million. Dollars.

Chinese?

Jersey City.

Melnick's stuff, huh?

Now, look, I can get used to you being a kid,

but I can't get used to you being a wise kid, understand?

Now, do you want any of it or not?

I want all of it.

Three million dollars worth?

Unless there's more.

Cash?

Cash.

Go on, say it again... "Are you Luben?"

All right.

When can you get the dough?

I'm sorry, Reel.

That's all the business I do with you.

From here on in, I deal with your boss.

Not a chance.

Then forget about it.

I don't make three-million-dollar deals

with in-betweens.

Now, look...!

You look!

It's very simple.

Does your boss want three million dollars

in exchange for his opium?

If the answer is yes, take me to him.

If the answer is no, don't take me to him.

I'll talk to him; I'll let you know.

If you don't take me to him now,

don't let me know anything.

I'll sit back with my three million,

and your boss can sit back with his opium.

You really got three million dollars?

No, I just like standing out here getting damp.

Kid...

Come on.

George Dodd Toys, Incorporated.

Come on!

Hey, kid.

Yeah?

Have you got a gun?

Yeah.

Give it to me.

Okay.

Hey!

Take it easy.

Relax, Mr. Melnick.

Nothing more is going to happen.

Here... that ought to make you feel better.

Who are you?

Johnny Luben.

Aren't you the one that Art was supposed to meet tonight?

He met me all right.

What'd you kill him for?!

I was saving you the trouble.

What do you mean?

I mean, people who work for me

don't bring strangers back to see me.

I'm sure that's your policy too, isn't it?

Yes, but... What's the "but"?

This guy was a bum!

In the old days, you wouldn't have had him around

for five minutes.

Like I said, I did you a favor.

What do you know about the "old days"?

You hear stories.

All right. You did me a favor.

Now, what do you want me to do for you?

You hired Reel to get rid

of three million dollars worth of opium, didn't you?

And?

You're lucky you don't have to feed this dog.

Yeah, I'm very lucky. Go on.

Cut me in 50-50...

and I'll get rid of the opium for you.

How?

I got a plan.

Fifty-fifty?

What's your plan?

Why don't you just say "50-50"?

If you don't like the plan, you can pass.

And if I do like it...

what's going to stop me

from killing you and doing it myself?

Only one thing.

My plan needs the right kind of men.

You haven't got any.

Fifty-fifty.

It's simple.

You sell toys.

I open a mail order house,

make a catalogue.

One of the items in the catalogue,

ordered in a special way,

will have the opium in it.

My men will make the right contacts

all over the country.

In six months, all of the stuff will be gone.

All shipped out of my warehouse

and nobody the wiser.

Here.

This'll be perfect.

We'll put the opium right in here.

What do you say?

I said it already... Fifty-fifty.

The first four firms

that Ness and the Untouchables visited checked out negatively.

Their fifth stop was the George Dodd Toy Company.

What can I do for you gentlemen?

First thing you can do is save us a lot of trouble

by not denying you're Phil Melnick.

Who are you?

Federal officers.

Eliot Ness, hmm?

What do you want?

Two men were killed in Chicago a few days ago.

One of them had a packet of raw opium.

What's that got to do with me?

The paper the opium was wrapped in

is very expensive stationery.

Not many people use it.

You're one of them.

What does that prove?

Maybe nothing, maybe a lot.

The same old story.

You guys got a bug about me and opium.

I got a legitimate business here.

I've had it for years.

Why'd you change your name, Melnick?

To avoid this kind of thing.

Do you think it would do my business any good

to have guys like you hanging around hounding me?

If you're legitimate, we won't bother you.

I am.

You know, sometimes, I think you guys get upset

when you find out everybody isn't in a racket.

I'd like to see your books, Melnick.

What for?

I just want to make sure we both have the same idea

about what legitimate means.

I pay my taxes, if that's what's on your mind.

Good for you.

I want those books.

All right.

Hey!

You lookin' for somebody?

Johnny Luben.

You a friend of his?

Yeah, I'm a friend.

Friends got names, friend.

George Dodd.

Wait here.

What are you doing here?

You out of your mind?

Ness came to see me today.

Eliot Ness... you know who he is?

I read the papers.

Well, what does he want?

What the Feds have always wanted

and haven't been able to get... my scalp.

If you don't panic, they won't get it now.

I never panic, kid.

If you panic, you lose your best friend...

Your own brains.

My own brains reminded me this morning

this fellow Ness put Capone away.

So what?

Capone wasn't smart.

When you start saying things like that, kid, you worry me.

What do you want to do?!

Back out of the deal because a Fed shows up?

Before I tell you what I'm gonna do,

I'm gonna tell you what you're gonna do.

You're gonna lower your voice, kid, okay?

Not okay. I don't work for you, Phil... we're partners!

And if I want to raise my voice, you'll just have to like it!

Okay?!

Okay.

What about the deal?

The deal is still on.

I just want you to remember

we're like Siamese twins

till we finish this business.

If Ness sticks you, my skin is going to hurt.

Do you think you can remember that?

It'll be easy, Phil,

because I like my skin just as much as you like yours.

That's all a Siamese twin can ask.

What is it?

He's all right.

Talk.

We got a stiff in the back room.

A kid about 20.

He was back there using the stuff

for about five hours, and, all of a sudden...

Get rid of him.

You run a den in here?

What are you making faces about?

I'm not going to be selling cotton candy for you, am I?

There'll be a few hundred people dead

by the time all this stuff's pushed.

A few hundred people dead doesn't worry me.

One person dead here... That worries me.

That's my worry.

I told you to get rid of him.

He came with a girl.

She's sittin' outside waitin' for him.

That makes it messy.

Johnny, look...

I'll take care of everything.

Good.

You do that.

I'll see you, kid.

Phil, use the back door.

Hello?

Can I sit down?

I'm not alone.

I know; you've got a boyfriend in there.

That's what I want to talk to you about.

Well...?

Can I sit?

All right.

Do you know what he's doing in there?

Yes, I know what he's doing in there.

Look, if you're a cop or a missionary or something,

talk to him, not me.

I draw the line on my kicks with this.

Talk to him.

I can't talk to him.

That's what I came to tell you.

He's dead.

That's too bad.

How well did you know this guy?

Well enough to have him bring me here.

Not well enough to say more than "That's too bad,"

when I find out he won't be taking me home.

Look, I'm sorry

if I'm not behaving the way you expect me to,

but he knew exactly what he was doing.

I'm not glad it happened to him,

but I certainly can't shed any tears.

You're behaving fine.

Do you work here?

No.

Then how come you're the messenger?

Somebody had to tell you.

I drink here. I know the boss.

And he asked me to do it.

Would you tell the boss something for me?

With pleasure.

Tell him the whiskey's terrible.

Let me take care of the check.

No, thanks.

I'd be glad to drive you home.

There's a cab stand outside.

Can I call you?

Hey, where do you live?

Hey, what's your name?

What about the stiff?

The stiff.

Oh, yeah.

What are you doin'?

Advertising, Chester.

Just advertising.

Let's go.

This firm has paid all its taxes, Ness...

City, state and federal.

Every year checks out.

Thanks, Bradley.

I'm sure glad I'm an accountant for the government,

and not the George Dodd Toy Company.

What do you mean?

I'd be out of a job.

This company is practically bankrupt.

Unless it's refinanced,

there won't be any books to audit next year.

Good night, Ness.

Good night, Bradley. Thanks.

Practically bankrupt.

Melnick didn't act like he was going out of business.

Yeah, I know.

That brings up the question

as to how he's going to get the money

to refinance and keep legitimate.

Hello.

Hello, Mr. Ness?

This is Ness.

A body is being dropped into the river at Pier 14.

Cause of death... an overdose of opium.

Who is this?

Hello. Who is this?!

Hello?

Hello...?

Now, back to The Untouchables.

Following the phone call,

Eliot Ness contacted the New York City police,

and with the cooperation of their harbor precinct,

the river in the vicinity of Pier 14 was dredged.

Two hours later,

the body of David Wilcox was brought up

from its watery grave.

Happen to know where the Ship Ahoy is?

It's over on Pier Six.

Thanks.

How about a story, Ness?

Captain Barker will give you a story.

Sorry, gents, we're closed.

Still open to answer some questions, aren't you?

Sure.

What do you serve here?

Good meals, cheap.

What else?

Coffee.

Strong, black coffee.

Strong enough to kill somebody?

What are you talkin' about?

These matches were found on a body fished out of the river.

So what? Those matches are all over the waterfront.

You own this place?

No, I just work here.

Johnny Luben owns it.

Where is he? I don't know.

Eliot?

It's locked.

Where's the key?

I don't have a key.

Let's open it.

Don't tell me this is a dormitory.

I don't know what it is.

I just work outside.

All right, you work outside.

Take him down to the morgue.

See if he recognizes one of his customers.

I don't think we're going to get much out of him, Eliot.

I don't expect to; just want to keep him busy for 24 hours.

We're going to pay this place a surprise visit tomorrow night.

Eliot?

What do you suppose these cards are used for?

To serve opium, Rico.

And the cards are really stacked against the poor devils

who get hooked on this stuff.

You see the papers? Shh!

Watch this!

Smoke... can you beat that? Smoke!

Shut it off!

You're gonna spoil my fun?

See what's plastered all over the front page?

"Overdose of opium kills a college student."

I never went to college.

I didn't go to any school past the third grade.

I started working when I was eight.

When this college kid was probably

playing with these kind of trains,

I was lugging carts full of clams down on the docks.

I got a dollar for a whole day's lugging.

By the time I was 13, when this college kid

was going into high school,

I had three clam stands of my own.

I was making $500 a week.

And do you know who my partner was?

The truant officer.

I paid him 75 bucks a week

to keep off my back.

I paid him for three years,

till I didn't have to go to school no more.

So don't ask me to cry over a college boy!

I'm not asking you to cry for anybody!

I want you to see whose picture is on that front page.

That's Ness, Johnny!

My skin is beginning to hurt.

I know who it is.

I called him last night.

You what?!

I called him. I told him where the body was going to be dumped.

What for?

So he could find the Ship Ahoy matches I planted on the corpse.

I had a reason! Spit it out!

Ness went there last night, right from the pier.

He broke into the back room and saw the den.

And tonight he'll be back; he'll raid the joint.

And you know what he's gonna find?

Nothing.

And if your friend Ness

is the hotshot you claim he is,

he'll have already found out that Johnny Luben

owns 15 places on the waterfront.

And Ness can start playing the game, too.

"Button, button, who's got the button?"

I've been raided 46 times in the last two years, Phil,

and nobody's found nothing.

You know why?

Because I keep moving the action from place to place.

That way the odds are always 15-to-one in my favor.

And if things get real hot,

I cut the odds down to zero.

I forget about opium and booze

and close everything down.

And when things cool,

I let the odds build up to 15-to-one again,

and then open.

So let Ness play the odds.

Let him raid.

I want him to raid.

And while he's raiding...

I'll be making beautiful music, all over the country.

And by the time I'm finished,

I won't care about those 15 places of mine.

I won't even go near 'em.

Because I'll have one and a half million dollars

in cold cash.

Still mad, Phil?

Hello.

What are you doing here?

Well, I would have come upstairs,

but I didn't know your name.

Say, that's a great hat.

I could only find the address.

Persistent, aren't you?

Oh, not for myself,

it's, uh, for this panda.

You see, I'm trying to find it a good home.

The best place for pandas is their natural habitat...

The Himalayas.

I know, but, uh, the last words of this one,

before he was stuffed, were:

"I want to live on Park Avenue."

Here, take it.

I'm Johnny Luben.

Sandra Wiley.

Ordinarily, I'd say, "Dinner at the Voisin,

the Palais Royal, the Empire Room?"

And you'd turn me down, wouldn't you?

Besides finding homes for stray animals, Mr. Luben,

you're also a mind reader.

That's why I didn't say "dinner."

See, I know what you really want to do.

Oh?

What's that?

Take a walk in the rain.

Rico, cover the back.

Is there a law against playing solitaire?

Are you Johnny Luben?

Yeah, I'm Johnny Luben.

I see you've redecorated.

You mean the furniture?

You know what I mean.

I had to get rid of it.

It was a fire hazard.

You're plenty sure of yourself, aren't you?

I do all right.

You know, I've seen cocky kids before.

You mean there are more like me someplace?

There are 20 just like you in Joliet Prison alone.

You think he moved his operation

to one of his other places?

We're gonna find out.

What about Melnick?

We'll stay on him, too.

They're both selling the same thing: death.

For five days, the Untouchables kept a fruitless watch

on Phil Melnick and Johnny Luben.

Melnick rarely left his toy office,

while Luben was constantly seen

in the company of Sandra Wiley.

But on the sixth night,

while Ness was trailing Phil Melnick

and Hobson was detailed to follow Johnny Luben,

they stumbled upon an unsuspected alliance.

Welcome to Playland.

Not a bad place to meet.

It's pretty hard to be overheard on a Ferris wheel.

What's on your mind, Johnny?

I'm ready to ship.

I've got the first orders.

Now, where's the stuff?

How much are the orders for, Johnny?

$200,000.

You'll get $200,000 worth in the mail tomorrow.

Isn't that silly, Phil?

Why don't you send me all of it, so I don't have

to keep bothering you for every shipment.

It's no bother.

What's the matter? Don't you trust me?

I was 20 years old once, too, Johnny, clawing my way up.

You get a lot of temptations when you're clawing your way up.

All right. We'll do it your way.

I don't blame you for not trusting me.

It's not a matter of trust.

I'm 50 years old, Johnny.

I'll tell you how I got to be 50.

I never trusted anybody,

I didn't ask anybody to trust me,

I always lived up to my agreements,

and I killed anyone who didn't live up to theirs.

Fair enough.

I'll be at my office tomorrow night at 8:00.

Phone me there to verify the delivery.

Right.

What do you say we stay on once more?

Why, we got some more business?

No business, just for the pleasure of the ride, Phil.

Sold.

Just like a couple of kids.

Some kids.

At 4:00 p.m. the following afternoon,

during Enrico Rossi's watch,

the second mail, containing a large package,

was delivered on schedule to the Ship Ahoy.

Here it is.

Cedar.

What's wrong?

Smells like cedarwood.

Maybe the Chinese stuff smells like that.

Cedar...

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

What are you doing here?

Didn't the stuff come?

Sure it came, Phil.

I thought I'd surprise you and pay your share now.

I don't like surprises, Johnny, you hear?!

You're supposed to call, I want you to call,

so no surprises...

The next morning, Phil Melnick's body

was discovered by his secretary.

She reported the murder to the New York City police,

who, in turn, relayed the news

to Eliot Ness and the Untouchables.

This is what the murder was about.

Melnick must have hidden the opium in this.

Looks like it's Luben's show now.

I just hope we can catch him

before he starts selling tickets.

Sure I know him. I know a lot of people.

He was a customer of mine.

Your customers have a lot in common, Luben.

They all seem to die suddenly.

You can't pin this rap on me.

Where were you last night?

Where I am every night: with my girl,

and that's the truth.

I'm telling you the truth.

Why don't you ask her?

That's just what I'm going to do.

That, and a lot more.

We're going to have a rough time

trying to push that stuff...

with Ness on us.

I'll get Ness off my back.

Only it's not gonna be as easy

as paying my truant officer 75 bucks a week.

What are you gonna do?

Get him over to the warehouse.

Let him wreck the joint looking for the stuff.

And when he doesn't find anything, maybe he'll quit.

He ain't never gonna quit.

Then we'll wait... A year, two, three.

How long are they gonna keep him watching nothing?

There's only one thing wrong with waiting.

What's that?

I always counted on being a millionaire before I was 21.

Do you live here alone, Miss Wiley?

Yes.

My parents are dead.

They left me a big pile of money.

That's all they left me.

You've been seeing a lot

of Johnny Luben lately, haven't you?

That's my business, isn't it?

Right now, it's my business, too.

Did you see him last night?

Yes.

Where'd you go?

We went to dinner and a movie.

Did he stop anywhere?

Yes.

Where?

At every red light.

Look, Miss Wiley, Luben's in trouble.

If you're withholding information,

you're in trouble too.

Johnny told me you'd come and question me.

He told me how you hound him.

Did he also tell you to lie about last night?

I don't lie.

Thanks.

What do you think?

Your guess is as good as mine.

Hello?

Johnny, Ness was here.

I told you he'd come.

Listen, it's only whiskey, isn't it?

Nothing else?

What else?

I don't know... his tone of voice frightened me.

Easy, baby, easy.

I'll see you tonight... Same time.

Same time.

What time do you go on duty?

Oh, uh, 4:00 p.m. till midnight.

Was Mr. Luben here last night?

Luben, Luben...

The man who goes with Sandra Wiley.

Oh, sure!

Came same as usual... -00 sharp.

Always smiling.

Carrying one of those stuffed toys

he gives her every time.

Gives me a buck, too.

You know, it's, uh, not every day

that a visitor tips the doorman

of an apartment house.

Oh, now, wait a minute, fellas.

Uh, I wasn't asking you guys

for anything, honest.

This might be what we've been waiting for.

This is strictly a legitimate business.

There's nothin' here.

The last person who told me

about a strictly legitimate business

got knifed last night.

I'm not the last person who told you anything.

I'm me: Johnny Luben.

I know who you are.

And I know who you are,

but I don't know what you want.

I'll tell you what I want... I want to be left alone!

I'll bet you do.

Look, Ness...

I've started a mail order business.

I worked a long time

to get a good business like this.

It wasn't easy.

I started out in the streets when I was eight, with nothing.

Now, why don't you just leave me alone?

I tell you, there's nothing here!

I believe you, Luben.

What are you surprised about?

Did you think I was gonna take the bait

every time you dangled it in front of my nose?

I don't know what you're talking about.

You want us to search this place, don't you?

Do I?

Bring him along, Lee.

Come on.

You can't do this.

I'll bring charges against you, Ness!

Johnny told you there's nothing in them.

I'm warning you, Ness.

Entering without a warrant, destroying private property...

I won't let you get away with this.

You're tearing up more than pandas, Ness.

You're tearing up your career!

You won't listen, huh?

Okay.

Go on, rip away!

Enjoy yourselves.

You might as well, because this

is the last case you'll ever be on!

Come on out, and get your hands up.

You're wasting your time, Luben!

The stuff isn't where you think it is!

You're a liar!

When you went out to dinner last night,

I went back to the apartment, and I found it!

What can you prove, huh?

Nothing, that's what!

You can't prove one thing!

All I needed was a confession, and I got it!

When you grabbed that panda, Luben,

you grabbed a life sentence!

I had three million bucks sewn up

when you came along.

Three million!

Enough to buy you like that stinking truant officer!

Enough for the world... All of it!

And tear up the gutters!

You all right?

Ness... Yes?

The girl...

She didn't know about the stuff.

For the first time, I believe you.

Johnny Luben, who had envisioned himself as the king

of a multi-million-dollar opium empire,

died a pauper on a lonely rooftop

in the heart of the city.