Original subtitles

Mexico? Looks like.

Get after them!

Tonight's episode...

Starring Robert Stack as Eliot Ness.

Co-starring Will Kuluva and John Dehner.

With special guest star Joanna Moore.

And narrated by Walter Winchell.

September 1933.

Although Eliot Ness had successfully destroyed

the underground court,

he had not been able to smash its parent organization,

the Big Syndicate... Then in control of over 50%

of the nation's crime.

With the death of Judge Foley, chief of the court

and chairman of the Syndicate, it was expected that the power

of the Syndicate would wane,

but on September the 16th, at a roadhouse

on the outskirts of Chicago,

top-ranking members of the national organization

had congregated to vote on the man

whom Foley had designated as his successor,

months before he died.

The heir apparent was an elder chieftain of crime

named Nero Rankin... Foley's teacher in infamy

and, at present, proprietor of Chicago's

most popular roadhouse, the Club Debutante.

But before Rankin could assume his role

as head of the Syndicate, he had to win

a vote of approval by the Syndicate bigwigs.

Maury Brigger, who controlled the southwest,

Lou Hyndorf, boss of the east coast

from Canada to the Florida Keys;

Hooey Barker, who had been able to dominate the underworld

of the Midwest without stepping on Al Capone's toes;

Paddy Polofski of Detroit, who headed the Gunman Squad;

and Cy Brenner of New Orleans, bookkeeper for the Syndicate.

Others present were top-ranking subordinates of the Syndicate

who had no voting privileges.

Are you all right, honey?

Sure, I'm all right.

Anybody's ticker would be a little jumpy

on a night like this.

What are they doing out there?

They got to vote.

Well, even if they vote you in,

you can still turn them down, can't you?

Setting the glass down upright was a vote for Rankin.

Turning it over was a vote against.

Because there ain't no one else in the picture,

I could see him taking over.

Two for, three against.

He don't make it.

Wait a minute.

Like Lou Hyndorf says... Who do we have better?

That puts him in.

For now.

Nero...

you can come out now...

Mr. Chairman.

Hey.

I made it clear on the phone this was between us only.

Won't you have a seat?

Thanks.

I haven't had much to do with cops before.

If you stick us, we bleed.

I guess that's true.

Why don't you just start talking.

I want to stop him from killing himself.

Who's that?

I guess you've heard of a man called Nero Rankin.

Rankin... yeah.

Big time mobster during the World War and early '20s.

That's him.

Served a jail term, retired after he got out, as I recall.

For five years.

It was real nice.

I'm his secretary... and friend.

Although me being here, I guess it might not seem like it.

Mr. Ness, have you got anything on him?

Anything you can arrest him for?

Why?

I want to see him safe.

Even in jail.

Well, he's not on any of the wanted lists.

Well... maybe my coming here was just a waste of time.

Why do you want him out of the way?

I told you.

The old fool's gonna get himself killed.

He's gonna take Judge Foley's place

as chairman of the Syndicate.

When he starts on that job,

we can send him away for a nice long rest.

I'll do anything I can to help.

Where can I reach you?

Through my sister.

I'll get in touch with you very shortly.

Thank you.

Mr. Ness... I love him.

I realize that, Miss Orchins.

Boss.

It's important.

Where is she?

At the bar.

What business you got with Ness?

I did it for you, Nero.

What'd you tell him?

Nothing. I don't know anything.

Go on home. Stay there.

I'll take care of you later.

How?

That ain't your concern.

How much does she know, Nero?

I don't give her no secrets.

Get rid of her, Nero.

I don't need your help with my woman.

Wait a minute... The boys want to be sure

you know how to handle a big-mouthed dame.

I'll handle her my own way.

Listen, she gets away with this,

you are going to have to do some fancy explaining.

You finished your business here.

Get moving.

Lefty?

Sylvia... now.

Ness learned of Sylvia Orchins' death

when he called the number she had left with him.

But the information she had given him

naming Rankin as the new head of the Syndicate

was relayed to Hartley Lester

of the Attorney General's Office in Washington, DC.

During the weeks that followed, Ness, operating in Chicago,

spearheaded a nationwide campaign

designed to disorganize and cripple the Syndicate

before Rankin's administration could get up steam.

The richest prize was the Syndicate's number-one palace,

Amy's Place, which festered with every known vice

from gambling tables to prostitution.

In charge was Madame Amy of London.

You the manager of this club?

How clever of you to have guessed.

You're going for a ride.

Oh, what a bore.

Must we go through this formality twice every year?

I'll be open again in a month.

Not this time.

I'll give you, uh... five-to-one on it.

I'm not a betting man.

Let's go.

In the first week of October,

the national drive against the Syndicate

tore into them to the tune of nearly $10 million

in illicit goods and property.

To add acid to their wounds,

hundreds of their men were arrested

or put out of commission.

As a result, Rankin called his first meeting

of the top national Syndicate leaders.

We're getting hurt, Nero, and we don't like it.

From the looks of it, you ain't fit to sit in Foley's chair.

Shut up!

Why you... Forget it.

This chair is my chair.

This chair belongs to Nero Rankin.

Who wants to try and take my chair off this table?

Walk this around your brains, you punks.

Foley sat in his chair, I sit in mine.

Mine!

I clean dirt like you out of my fingernails every day.

You hear?

When I call a meeting,

you talk out of my courtesy.

You don't raise no voices

and you don't give me no scared-rat digs!

You...

put my chair back where it was.

When I get through with this organization,

it's gonna make what it was

look like a kid's shoeshine box.

That's all you need to know.

Got any plans you can let us in on, Nero?

You puttin' that like a request, mister?

Sure.

Respectfully yours.

Lefty, my cough medicine.

I only got one plan for the time being, boys:

Stop Ness!

Where you been lately, Hooey?

I was beginning to think you didn't like me any more.

Like you?

Baby, baby, I love you.

Oh, do you...?

In fact, I love you so much that I'm gonna

to sacrifice you to someone else

for your own good.

Oh, so you're here on business, huh?

Yes, you always were a one for plain talk.

That's just about all I understand.

You like older men, don't you?

Popsies? Mm-hmm.

Oh, I adore them.

I've got one for you.

He's a real big shot, too.

Do you still know how to type?

As much as I ever did.

Well... it's good enough.

This gent's gonna be needing a secretary.

What's your cut?

All I want is to make my friend happy.

Hooey, since when have you been givin' out apples

without worms in them, huh?

What a way to talk.

What do you want, Mr. Barker?

No, all I want is for us

to continue on being friends, Althea.

Good friends.

You just want me to be your foot in the door, huh?

Oh, no.

Mm-mm.

Not my foot, baby... my little ear.

Though Ness' raids failed

to produce any of the Syndicate hierarchy,

he spent exhaustive hours questioning those lesser fish

that had been caught in the net.

Thank you.

I'll ask you again.

Who are you fronting for?

And I'll tell you again:

I'm my own boss.

Where'd you get the dough to open your place?

I'm an heiress.

You're the daughter of a small storekeeper in London.

My, you do do your homework, don't you?

We know your place was Syndicate-owned and operated.

Mine?

All right, this routine's getting us no place.

Throw her back in.

Let's hear the next one.

I'll make the odds ten-to-one

if you care to take that bet I offered you, Mr. Ness.

Progress was slow.

It took a lot of digging

to uncover even the smallest of gems.

And the Syndicate had smart lawyers

and unlimited funds for bail money.

In a matter of days, Madame Amy was out

and discussing plans with the Syndicate for reopening.

But Rankin, although he exuded confidence

in Syndicate circles, was privately worried.

He knew he was not a popular chairman,

and lately, his medicine,

prescribed by one of Chicago's leading heart specialists,

seemed to do him less and less good,

even when administered by his new secretary.

But it was a visit to his doctor that curdled his unrest

and turned it into desperation.

Hello, Mr. Ness. I'm from the Leader.

Do you think you've broken the back of the Syndicate

with all of these national raids?

Well, I think we've made it ache a little.

From what I hear,

they've started to reopen their places already.

You gonna keep on wasting tax money

trying to close them again?

If the public did their part and stayed away from those joints,

they'd save a lot more than tax money.

There'd be no Syndicate and lot less criminal activity.

Thank you, Mr. Ness.

Would you pose for a picture now, please?

Mr. Ness, don't you ever smile?

You've got a message, Eliot... From a lady.

My wife?

Not from the expression on his face.

Here's the number.

Don't recognize it.

It's Eliot Ness.

No, no, no... hold it to my ear, sweetie,

'cause, see, I'm wet all over,

and that's just murder with electricity.

Hello?

Mr. Ness?

This is Nero Rankin's secretary.

I have a message for you.

My boss, Mr. Rankin, would like to meet with you any time,

any place you name.

But, but alone, you know, just the two of you.

What should I tell him?

Hold on a moment, please.

Would you say that Rankin considers me

naive enough to walk into a trap?

Definitely not.

Neither do I.

Hello?

Hello. I'm still here.

Tell Mr. Rankin I'll be on Beacon Avenue

between Sixth and Seventh at 11:30 p.m.

I sure will, and thank you so much for calling, Mr. Ness.

Good-bye.

Go on, take it.

A shake's not illegal.

I'll pass.

I've come to be friendly.

I'm listening.

I don't know whether you know

my line of work or not, Mr. Ness.

I'm a nightclub owner.

Not a big one; the Club Debutante.

Strictly an up-and-up enterprise.

Not even legitimate hooch sold.

Just light wines and beer.

Makes a good front.

We're never gonna get no progress

if you're gonna slur me.

Lay down your hand, Rankin.

We're not here to play cards.

I'm here representing some friends of mine who suffered

some business reverses a couple of days ago.

I don't know the details,

but they seem to figure you had something to do with it.

You know anything about that, Mr. Ness?

Keep going.

They're gonna fight back.

They don't play nice, these gentlemen.

They don't know nothin' about rules,

so it's part to help you I'm here.

How much they offering?

How much would it take?

Best offer so far wasn't enough.

Suppose they doubled your best.

That the offer?

Who's playing cards now, Ness?

I know you can't be touched with cash.

You just come here to pass on some threats?

No.

How much do you know about me, Ness?

I know all about you, Rankin.

I was up there before you was out of school in the old days

when the federal government was doing what they ought to:

busting trusts and fighting the Huns.

They didn't fool around with income taxes then;

they didn't fool around with hero law enforcers.

They passed phony laws like Prohibition

and forgot about them, like gentlemen.

They didn't go on with all this...

Rankin, I've got no time

to swing down memory lane with you.

All right.

I got access to certain ledgers;

books belonging to my friends,

what you guys call "foolproof evidence."

Every name, every transaction my friends done is written down

in those books.

I'm offering them to you.

What do I do in return?

Wait.

What for?

For me to die.

I got an old heart.

It won't last out the rest of me.

A year, the sawbones say.

Lay off for one year, Ness, and I'll give it all to you.

That's my proposition.

How do I know you got the books you say you have?

I never said I had them.

Whoever has got them controls my friends

and their businesses, and I never said it was me.

Not in so many words.

Double-talk.

I won't welch on you, Ness.

What do you say?

I don't make deals with punks, Rankin...

Young or old punks!

Don't you call me no punk!

I'll make you a counter offer.

You turn those books over to me

and I'll give you protection from your friends

for the rest of your life.

What do you think I am,

some old horse to be fenced in?

No, Mr. Federal Cop...

I don't eat grass for the rest of my life.

I eat pure filet mignon to the last minute!

And I live out my last year how I always lived... on top!

You're gonna wish you caught the ball before I'm done, Ness.

Now, back to The Untouchables.

Ness continued to hit at the Syndicate's empire,

closing places as soon as they were reopened.

Most of them were in Hooey Barker's territory.

You been talkin' "Stop Ness" since you got the chair, Nero.

Meantime, he's ruining me, and if I ain't makin' it,

the Syndicate don't get its take.

It ain't good, Nero.

Maybe you're too much of a gentleman for the job, Nero.

Maybe you're not mad at Ness anymore.

You're getting on my nerves, Barker.

Look out.

I mean... look out.

Maybe you're getting on our nerves too, Nero.

For instance...

What was that little rendezvous with Eliot Ness all about?

What are you doing, spying on me?

We got eyes all over. What about it?

You don't keep no eyes on me.

I move like I have to... Like I think best.

Nero, what about Ness?

I tried to buy... he wouldn't sell.

You want to make something out of that?!

That's good enough.

Lay off him, Barker.

What have you got on your mind, Nero?

I'll need five top triggermen and a fast car.

What about a wheelman?

Lefty... he's the best.

Now you'll see how class operates.

Ness and his men worked day and night

gathering information of the latest Syndicate activities.

Got a report from downtown.

Narcotics are flowing in again.

Mexico? Looks like.

Get after them.

Are you all right? Are you hurt badly?

It's my leg.

An ambulance will be along shortly.

There's nobody dead.

Two others wounded.

Looks like they tried to scare them more than anything.

Not them... us.

We're going down to the Club Debutante

and rub Rankin's nose in this.

Looks like they're out of business.

They left the lights on like they're expecting someone.

Eliot, look at this.

"Next time the shooting will be straight.

How many dead bodies before you lay off?"

The effectiveness of Nero Rankin's

cold-blooded maneuver was reflected

in Chicago newspaper headlines the next day.

And Ness was besieged by the press and civic leaders

pressuring him for statements

about his future actions against the Syndicate.

Hello, Eliot.

Hartley.

I got the news last night.

Caught an early plane.

Pity.

Just when you had them on the ropes.

I've seen dirty fighting, but...

this is worthy of Satan himself.

Does that mean Washington's convinced

we should change our tactics now?

Aren't you?

I don't know.

Eliot...

Hartley, I don't advocate experimenting

with the lives of innocent people any more than you do.

But can we let ourselves

get knocked out of the box this easily?

It's got greater ramifications

than a fight to break the Syndicate.

If we back down now it's a blueprint

for the entire underworld to follow.

Fire a few shots into a crowd and you're home free.

I see that.

Not a lot of people do.

Chicago's more scared of our next move

than they ever were of Capone.

I came down here to offer you some advice

in the matter, Eliot,

but I suppose advice at a time like this

is only undue pressure.

It's your job, your decision.

When I get back to Washington,

I'm going to recommend that they leave it that way.

I know you'll make the right choice.

I'm not sure there is a right one, Hartley.

Either way, it's going to hurt.

At a Syndicate-owned hotel

the newspapers were being read, too,

but another mood prevailed.

That's as sweet as sugar candy.

You happy today, Popsie?

Like a bird.

Would you read me the funnies?

Oh... Come on, Popsie.

My real popsie used to read me the funnies.

Well... they're going in a tunnel...

and Little Ace says,

"Hey, Benny, what has a hole

on either side and is dark in the middle?"

And in the next picture they're in the tunnel

and it's so dark you can't even see them,

just what they say.

Benny says... "I give up.

What has a hole on either side and is dark in the middle?"

In the next picture they're out of the tunnel

and Ace says, "Search me."

In the next picture

they're all the way down the road already

and Benny says, "What made you think of that silly question?"

And Ace says, Ace says, "I don't know."

Hole on either side... dark in the middle...

Boss, Barker's here.

Nero, you've done a beautiful job.

A beautiful job.

Now we got Ness on the mat.

Now all we gotta do is wait for the count.

Yeah, what the politicians call public pressure

will take care of that. Yeah.

In the meantime, you and me got some planning to do.

We'll use the Chicago section as a test.

Reopen Madame Amy's at a new location.

Right under Ness' eye.

I was thinking, maybe even where I closed my Club Debutante.

Ah, that'd be a good one.

If Ness turns the other cheek like he's gotta,

we'll give it a couple of weeks for a double safety check,

and reopen all over the country.

What if he busts Madame Amy?

If he busts Madame Amy,

this time I turn a loaded car loose

with orders to shoot to kill.

But you've got my word, it won't ever come to that.

Want some?

Me?

Then what's so interesting?

Nothing.

Don't worry, I'm not gonna croak...

Not till I'm good and ready.

Aw, I didn't even think such a thing.

The fun's just beginning.

I'm not walking out on no fun.

What brings you here, Mr. Ness?

Thought I'd see how you were getting along.

I hear you not only stopped a bullet,

but busted a leg when you fell.

Yeah, I got all the luck.

Is this your family?

Pleased to meet you.

Food's not so good here,

but like I was telling my wife, the nurses make up for it.

Well, if you noticed, it's a good sign.

Yeah, shows I ain't dead anyhow.

You could've been.

If those cops had stop poking around so much

this wouldn't have happened.

If we quit poking around, ma'am,

this country might be taken over by hoods and racketeers.

I don't know about that.

I only know about innocent people getting shot at.

You'd better stop before you get us all killed,

Mr. Ness.

She's right.

It's all a lot of malarkey anyway, all this reform.

Like booze.

One year it's a crime, the next year it's legal.

Same glass of whiskey.

It's ridiculous.

It's a matter of obeying the law.

Law?

Your laws don't mean as much

as a bullet in my husband's leg.

Get well soon.

For city officials, newspapers and the people of Chicago,

public safety overwhelmingly outweighed

the cause of public welfare...

but the final decision lay with Ness.

At his office he found letters, wires and messages

urging him to give up his campaign against the Syndicate.

What's the matter?

The word's out the Club Debutante is reopening.

Maybe it's just a rumor.

It's more than a rumor, Eliot.

We drove out there this afternoon.

They're putting up a new sign.

Madame Amy's.

It didn't take them long to call my hand, did it?

Hobson.

Yeah, he's right here.

It's Rico.

Yes, Rico.

Eliot, our witness just gave us a positive ID

on the driver of the Syndicate car.

Good. Give me a rundown on him.

His name is Lefty Southern.

Got a record a mile long,

mostly extortion and armed robbery.

He was paroled from Joliet in November of last year.

Any address?

Not since Joliet.

We'll check his probation officer in the morning.

Pick you up in ten minutes.

Where are we going?

To close Madame Amy's.

Do you think the police will cooperate?

I don't know. There's a lot at stake.

But it's our move.

One way or another we've got to make it.

In a Chicago police station,

Ness went over last-minute details for a raid

on the new Madame Amy's place.

As a precaution, Rankin had posted Lefty at a vantage point

overlooking the only means of approach by automobile.

Inside Madame Amy's place, the mood was gala.

Hello, John, darling. How are you? Welcome!

Oh, darling, thank you for coming!

How are you?

Hello, darling.

Hello, stranger.

Mm... You got something for me, hmm?

My settings will come loose.

How come we haven't talked the past couple of days?

I've been busy.

Popsie and I have been shopping.

You know, baby just had to have a pair

of new diamond bracelets.

Hmm. What's the occasion?

What?

Christmas.

Christmas has an "R" in it this year.

That's a reward.

What for?

Hooey.

You know how particular I am.

Baby always rides the winner.

Now come on, say ta-ta to your little ear.

I'm all Popsie's now.

That's what I wanted to tell you.

You tipped him about us.

That's why I didn't hear from you.

Popsie.

I was just showing Hooey my-my karats.

How you like them, Hooey?

Yeah... beautiful.

I got something for you, too.

There's gonna be a meeting at my place tomorrow.

Be sure and make it.

About 12:00.

I'm gonna make my recommendation

for who should take my place

if something happens to me.

The boys tell me you've been anxious about it.

I wouldn't do that.

I'm a pretty popular guy with the boys lately.

Well, dear, you look lovely.

Oh, thank you.

I've heard all sorts of inquiries about you,

but I, uh, I told everybody you're private stock.

Oh, Mr. Gregson, you're all alone.

We don't allow that here, you know.

Amy can run him through for awhile.

Cops... they're heading this way.

Car down below?

Yeah.

Come on, Althea.

Hey!

Federal officers! This is a raid! Stay where you are!

All right, wait up! Wait up now!

It's a good thing you didn't bet me, Mr. Ness.

Only small fry left.

Now it's Rankin's move.

This time he'll try for wholesale slaughter.

The next day, while Chicago waited anxiously,

an emergency meeting was being held

at a Syndicate-owned hotel.

By 11:30 a.m., Eliot Ness,

with the cooperation of the Chicago police department,

had taken every possible precaution

to protect the city's populace.

Enlisting the aid of off-duty policemen

and civilian volunteers,

Ness had dispatched over 100 mobile units

throughout the city.

At 15-minute intervals,

radio broadcasters warned the people of Chicago

to stay off the streets

unless it was absolutely necessary to be out.

Here is an official bulletin

from the local police department:

All traffic in the immediate vicinity of the Federal Building

on Dearborn Street is under police supervision

and the public is advised to stay away

from that area.

It won't work.

It's worth a try.

Hooey's right.

The first time Rankin sent the car out,

it made its point.

It was a bluff and had a chance.

Well, Ness wasn't bluffed. I say forget it.

You don't say nothing.

By 12:07, Ness, acting on information

supplied by Lefty Southern's probation officer,

went to a Hillsdale address

where Southern shared an apartment with his uncle.

How should I know where he goes?

He stays out lots of nights.

Does he work?

Work?

Some kind of chauffeur, that's what he says.

You... you interested in pigeons?

Who employs him?

I don't know.

Have you got any idea where he works?

Oh, some hotel.

Which hotel?

Ah, this one, this one is my favorite.

Which hotel? What part of town?

I don't know, I don't know, I don't know.

All right, thanks.

Hey, mister! Mister, wait a minute!

It's right here on Lefty's matches!

"Hotel Gastone."

It's almost lunchtime.

The streets will be full of people.

Not today.

Didn't you listen to the radio?

Yeah, I heard the radio.

I'm rich. I got a radio!

Maybe you forget there's a depression on!

25% of this city can't afford a radio.

You're pretty sure this thing's gonna work?

When Ness can count a dozen, two dozen,

50 dead innocent people in the streets,

he'll know who he's dealing with.

You want to gamble on that, Nero?

What's the bet?

It don't work... you step down.

That's fair.

I'll buy that.

I'm with Hooey.

Yeah.

And if it does work, I shut your big mouth for good.

And that's fair, too.

Give me the garage.

Garage.

Now.

This is it.

Federal Agents!

Again we are requested by the police to remind all persons

if they do not have important business requiring them

to be out on the streets today, they should remain at home.

Those persons who are Relax.

Already at their places of business

are most urgently advised to stay off the streets

as much as possible Yeah?

Particularly in the area of the Federal Building on Dear... It's Lefty. Open up!

It's no good, boss.

The Feds are downstairs in the garage.

It's good. It's good!

I'll make it good.

Get your hands against the wall.

Let's go. Come on. Against the wall.

Hurry up. Get your hands on the fireplace.

Move!

Ness took the remaining ranking members of the Syndicate alive.

From the ledgers and the books produced by Cy Brenner

came the evidence that led to prison terms for them

ranging from 20 years to life.

For Althea, as a possessor of stolen diamonds,

there were several years without bubble baths.

As for Nero Rankin, his heart managed to hold out

for 11 years, all of them spent behind bars,

but when he received word of his probation,

it faltered and he died of the good news.