Original subtitles

Ness?

Come out and meet a friend of yours.

You don't come out, she's dead!

Tonight's episode...

Starring Robert Stack as Eliot Ness.

Co-starring Joanna Barnes...

and Steven Geray.

With special guest star Steve Cochran.

Narrated by Walter Winchell.

April, 1932.

Chicago ruled by its underworld czars.

One of the strongest: Nate Kestor.

Former henchman of Capone's

and still a very big noise with the Mob,

he maintained a pretense of legality

by owning and running the Odeon Burlesque.

Kestor's shows were notoriously underdressed.

His girls wore just enough to cover his real operation.

Well, well, Bogar.

Come in, come in.

Listen, Kestor,

anytime you want to talk to me,

you've got a telephone.

Well, I, uh, kind of wanted

to see your face when I told you.

Told me what?

You got a top business in brandy, ain't you, Henry?

How much territory you got?

Five, six states?

I thought you were going to tell me something.

From now on, you sell nothing but De Bouverais.

Now, that's nice to know,

considering that's all I've been selling, De Bouverais.

Not my De Bouverais.

I just started making it.

So Ness finally did it, huh?

Ran you out of the whiskey business.

Nah, nah, just a few lousy raids.

But there's less competition in brandy.

You know that, Henry.

A man can make a couple of honest bucks with this.

You'll never swing it, Nate.

Why not?

That's mine, this is yours.

The real McCoy, the import stuff.

You going to try and tell me there's a difference, huh?

Just like two Siamese twins in a pod, huh?

Now, who could tell one from the other?

Only the customers.

You don't fool brandy drinkers, Nate,

no matter what label you put on your slop.

Now, wait a minute, Henry.

That ain't nice.

You ought to at least taste it before you talk.

Here.

Just like I said.

It's slop.

Maybe you'd better have another taste, Henry.

Better?

It's still slop.

All right, that's enough for now.

Every day, Henry.

It's going to start tasting better every day.

You might as well make up your mind.

This is the stuff you're gonna be selling.

Get him out.

Nate? Hmm?

He's right.

Brandy drinkers know what they want.

They want the real stuff, the imported De Bouverais.

So we're giving them the imported De Bouverais.

We're making it.

You ain't going to fool anybody with a label.

Not when the real stuff's around.

Not when they can compare.

Who said they're going to compare?

Well, how do you stop 'em?

That give you any ideas?

Stop playing games.

Get them smashed.

Hitting Bogar right where he lives.

It seems kind of a shame.

This stuff is all 90 proof.

Go down to his office first thing in the morning

and give him the good news.

How long is it going take you?

Another ten minutes, maybe.

Another ten minutes, for sure, I'll be in the car.

Well, that's it.

Maybe tonight we can get some sleep.

Four nights in a row.

Close up one hole, the rats find another.

Better run that through the lab.

I can tell you now what the report will say.

Sure. New label, same old poison.

Let's close up shop and get some sleep.

Ness.

Ness, how would you like to make a killing tonight?

200 cases of good stuff, the McCoy.

Who is this?

McKeon Street between Bruce and Olive,

in the old church.

Look, if you're trying to...

Did you put the car away?

Why? We going someplace?

To church.

♪ ♪

De Bouverais.

Isn't that the stuff Bogar's been running in?

Yeah, if it's the McCoy.

He said it was.

Who? Who'd want to knock over 200 cases for us?

And then phone in to tell us about it?

Maybe somebody who's out to get Bogar.

Yeah, but why toss all this good stuff away?

That's right.

Whatever happened to hijacking?

I haven't got the answers, but don't stop asking.

Mr. Ness?

Thompson, The Morning Chronicle.

Thanks for the tip.

Well, it looks like I beat the competitors.

Rewrite that.

Waterbury, The Clarion.

Looks like you had a ball.

Pretty important hit, huh, Mr. Ness?

No comment.

Well, of course you know whose stuff it was?

No comment.

Well, can I promise our readers any further action?

It couldn't be someone has Mr. Ness worried?

No comment.

Okay, Morty.

Hobson.

Is Eliot Ness there?

Just coming in. Hold on.

Ness speaking.

Mr. Ness, I'd like to do you a real, big favor.

You might have to stand in line. Who's this?

That doesn't matter.

Trace line three.

I can hand you the biggest boy in the class.

Booze, houses, dope...

He's got his finger in a lot of dirty pies,

and I can hand him to you, Mr. Ness.

I can tell you how and where.

Just like that, for nothing?

For one answer; just tell me one little thing.

Did you smash that brandy last night?

Why?

Because those 200 cases were mine.

90-proof stuff.

Merchandise Kestor can't compete with.

Kestor?

Is he bottling brandy?

He's bottling hogwash and trying to call it De Bouverais.

Where?

You haven't answered yet.

Was that you last night?

No.

You said Kestor.

I want him. I want him bad.

Well, you've got him.

Hello?

Hello, you all right?

Ted?

Right. Thank you.

North Side.

Okay to clean?

I always give Mr. Bogar extra time.

Very particular.

Very particular.

Well, he wouldn't win any beauty contest

after being worked over with a broken bottle like that.

You say you were talking to him?

He was talking to me.

Eliot?

Maybe this means something.

Postal telegraph.

Did you find a telegram on him?

No. No telegram.

And we've been all through the place.

He might have thrown it away.

If he ever got it.

We don't know that it was Bogar's.

We can find out.

Operator? Postal telegraph, please.

You think somebody else could have opened it?

Maybe.

Okay, boys, take him out.

Postal telegraph?

I'd like a confirmation, please.

Henry Bogar, 790 North Ames.

Yes, it was delivered.

Rico, you'd better check out the house.

Doorman, elevator boys, maintenance.

Maybe somebody noticed something. Right.

Thank you. Yes.

That's it. Yes, thank you.

Much obliged.

Well, it was Bogar's telegram all right.

It was sent from New York today, 10:06 a.m.

"Loss reported morning papers.

"Flying out immediately.

Meet me at the airport, 7:30 p.m."

And it's signed "De Bouverais."

The plane was on schedule for a change.

You sure you're gonna know him, Nate?

Seen his picture in the paper a dozen times.

De Bouverais is a very old firm.

They get lots of publicity.

There.

Mine are this, this and this.

For a pretty old firm, he's got some young ideas.

Yeah, smart ideas bringing that along.

Now isn't that just too nice.

Hey, that's Ness.

Mr. De Bouverais?

Yes? I'm Marquis de Bouverais

and my wife the Marquise.

How do you do?

I'm a government agent.

My name is Ness.

The name isn't unfamiliar, monsieur.

Am I under arrest?

Not of all, but I would like to talk to you

if you'll do me the favor, unofficially.

No... Fait comme il dit, Étienne.

Il peut faire beaucoup dommage.

Va causer avec lui.

Et toi, ma chère... Je vais à l'hôtel.

Je suis épuisée.

Tout sera bien. Bon.

My wife will go on to the hotel,

unless you propose to hold her, too.

I'm not holding you.

Hotel Burgundy.

Alex.

Get her.

I'm not intimidated, monsieur.

I've broken none of your laws.

I ship no brandy into this country, only to Canada.

But you came to Chicago.

I have friends here.

Henry Bogar?

Yes.

I would say Monsieur Bogar is a friend.

Was a friend.

He was murdered this morning.

Who?

We're betting on a man named Kestor.

We think he destroyed that brandy last night.

All the newspaper stories carried your name.

Kestor tossed us a fish.

He likes to joke.

There's one for you.

He's making your five star.

Anyone can buy it, even a federal agent.

Oh, that's impossible.

That's my label and my bottle.

That's as far as it goes.

So he doesn't want your stuff around.

People might remember what brandy can taste like.

He killed Bogar to keep you out of the market.

He'll kill anyone else you make a deal with.

You are warning me, monsieur.

Suggesting.

But it would please you to keep my brandy out of the country.

You've got the rest of the world.

You make it so simple.

So simple to close off our largest single market.

To say to hundreds of families on our lands;

"This year we'll only sell half of our brandy.

"Soon you will half of your clothes,

"half of your food, half of your money,

half of the things for your children."

Monsieur, since 1780,

these people always looked to my family.

I must sell my brandy wherever I can.

You must forgive me; my wife is waiting for me.

Marcie, welcome home.

Thanks for your welcoming committee, Nate.

It had real showmanship.

What do you want?

Five years.

You've done all right for yourself.

You're some kind of a countess or something, ain't you?

A marquise.

You get your laugh, Nate.

The Marquise de Bouverais.

No laugh.

I just want to help you.

Help? Sending your goons to pick me up?

Well, I, uh, I didn't tell the Cicero boys.

They're still mad, huh?

These pretty Paris clothes wouldn't look very nice

on something floating face down in the lake.

If you're trying to help, you could forget you saw me.

Uh... Yeah, but, uh...

I don't know, Marcie, the boys might not like it

if they thought I was holding out on them.

All right, Nate, what do you want?

Want?

What else?

You haven't changed that much in five years.

Oh, now...

I got a picture of you helping me.

Like you helped me five years ago

when I was running from the Mob?

I was right under your nose in your own chorus,

and you didn't even know I was alive.

I knew.

And now all of a sudden, you're so buddy-buddy.

Why?

Go on, Nate, you can tell me.

I'm a big girl now.

I'm 23 going on 108.

Okay, Marcie.

This guy you married, he makes this De Bouverais brandy, right?

I make it, too.

Yeah.

Have been for a couple of months,

and I don't like competition.

I, uh... I could just run your boy out of town,

but, uh, I'd rather trade.

Trade?

You keep this pretty face, and I keep my territory.

You talk to your Frenchie,

and I don't talk to the boys from Cicero.

You see, I don't want no more imported De Bouverais

in Chicago.

Yeah, but, Nate, you don't understand.

It's different in France.

A wife's got nothing to do with business.

Well, a wife has plenty to do with her husband.

Okay.

But, uh, suppose the boys from Cicero find out you're here.

All right, Nate.

I'll call you.

I got a deal?

You got a deal.

She could grab the first plane and forget about it, too.

She ain't gonna grab no plane.

She ain't gonna forget about it.

A shape like that, she'll have you seeing double.

She could play you for a 24-karat sucker.

Nobody plays me for a sucker!

No, nothing, Eliot.

I've checked out almost everybody.

Yeah. All except the janitor.

He had to go downtown and buy supplies.

Oh, and the elevator man; he went off at noon.

I'll check him out in the morning.

Sure, I'm coming in.

So she's going to forget, huh?

Like you said,

nobody plays you for a sucker.

Oh, dear. Sorry.

It was for me.

It was a warning for me, and they could have hurt you.

Please, let's get out of here.

We can leave. We can take the late plane.

I can't. Please, for me?

I can't, I've made appointments.

I was going to tell you later.

Our brandy will continue coming to Chicago.

I've already made arrangements

for someone to take Bogar's place.

Early the next morning, Ness and Rossi were at the apartment

to check out the employees Rossi had missed.

The janitor had seen nothing the day before.

And the elevator man had not arrived.

He was due on the job at 8:00.

At a quarter past, he still had not shown.

You think I carry a gun?

You're dreaming.

You're Wally Dakin.

You were on the elevator yesterday.

So what?

You got no call to roust me around.

Hey, look, I ain't no dumbo.

I know my rights.

You can't hold me. I didn't do nothing.

You ran. Why?

Mister, I asked you a question.

Why? Okay.

Okay, I'll tell you.

You were right.

I seen them.

Who?

Three of them.

They never knew I was there.

I come down to the cellar to grab a smoke, you know?

And they come sneaking down the back stairs.

Only they weren't wasting no time.

They headed for the alley.

And one of them says, "Get the car, Alex."

Alex Brosak.

Nate Kestor's boy.

These three?

Them three.

We'll take you down, you can identify them.

Now? When we pick them up.

Yeah, but look, I got a job, you know?

This is my shift.

If you want me, I get a two-hour break at 12:00.

All right, we'll send a car for you.

Okay. Okay, thanks.

We'll have to pick up the warrants.

Kestor won't even know what hit him.

Who?

Nobody, Mr. Kestor. I'm nobody.

Except I run the elevator where Bogar lived.

Okay, say it.

That's funny.

That's what Mr. Ness keeps yelling.

Ness?

Yeah. He's riding me pretty hard, Mr. Kestor.

He wants me to admit I seen you yesterday in the building,

right after Bogar was killed.

Okay, how much?

Well, I got my eye on a new roadster, you know.

Two grand?

Come down to the theater and pick it up.

I can't, I got to get back to work.

But if you want to send it up here...

I'll send it up.

Just ask for Wally Dakin.

Thanks.

Dakin? Get in.

I'll take it up a ways.

We'll stop between floors.

I don't want no lousy tenants barging in.

You bring it?

Yeah, I brought it.

Swell.

Give it to me. Yeah.

No...

Hey, what's the big idea?

You can't go in there.

You've got company, Kestor.

Walk right in.

I've got a strong stomach.

Put on your coat.

I'm going someplace?

Someplace.

Downtown, the state pen, the chair.

When you talk like that, you've got to have a warrant.

All right.

Oh, I... I almost forgot.

Uh, somebody left this number for you to call.

Help yourself.

Hello?

Hello. This is Ness.

Rico.

Yes, Rico.

Wally Dagan's has been killed.

What?

He was murdered in an elevator.

When?

An hour ago.

Shall I stick around?

No, no. Come on in.

I'm on my way.

Right.

I'll get my coat.

Thanks for the phone.

Is there, uh, anything else I can do for you?

You've just done it.

It's after 4:00.

You want a cup of coffee?

Go on, Irma.

Marcie?

La Marquise de Bouverais.

You've stepped up in class.

I read it Marcie McKuen.

Marcella McKuen, born in Cincinnati,

showed up here and got a job with Kester.

A burlecue queen at 17.

Sixteen, Mr. Ness.

Sixteen.

Larry Kopke's girl for a year,

until a tommy gun cooled him off,

and the Mob thought you'd set him up for it.

Five years ago you shook loose and ran,

now you're right back where you started.

Right back with Kestor.

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

Report from the Hotel Burgandy switchboard.

You called Kestor's office at 2:00... he was out.

You left a message you'd call back later.

What do you want?

How much have you told your husband?

What do you want?!

Short and sweet. I want Nate Kestor.

I want you to help me put him away.

Go take a walk around the Loop.

You can pick up plenty of stoolies there...

$20 a head.

I'm not for sale!

I was wrong.

You haven't stepped up in class.

You belong with Kestor.

Yeah?

Nate? It's Marcie. Are you alone?

Yeah. Nobody's here.

Nate, I've got to talk to you.

Well sure, why not?

Ain't we buddies?

I haven't told him yet.

Not yet?

Well, I couldn't tell him last night.

He was too angry.

He thought that warning was meant for him.

What's the matter with today?

He left early this morning for Canada.

He had to talk to some people.

He'll be back for dinner.

I'll tell him then.

Look, Nate, you can trust me.

Sure I can.

Thanks, Nate.

Thank you very much.

Forget it, pal.

Nate...

I got something to tell you.

Beat it, baby.

When are you going to learn to knock?!

Nobody plays you for a sucker, huh?

You know where De Bouverais was today?

Of course, in Canada.

You know why?

He's arranging to ship down here to Hermanos.

Hermanos?

Every stop we made, that's all we heard.

He's got a deal to replace Bogar.

What can I do?

Taxi.

Hermano's insisted, and after all he is a customer.

I will only be one hour.

I promise.

'Tienne, I want to leave.

I want to go back.

Soon.

Now.

Please, darling, if you love me...

Of course.

I will make the reservation for the morning plane.

Now go back to the hotel and start packing, madame.

I promised Hermanos I would call him.

'Tienne... I love you very much.

Hotel Burgandy.

You'd better call an ambulance.

All right, let's stand back!

Less than an hour after De Bouverais was murdered,

Eliot Ness arrived at the Hotel Burgandy.

Upstairs, Marcie was packing.

There was only one thought in her mind.

Tomorrow she would be leaving Chicago.

Who is it?

Who is it?

Eliot Ness.

Do you know what time it is?

Look, you want to talk to me, you've got all day.

Look, we've got nothing to talk about.

Now beat it before my husband comes home.

He isn't coming home.

He's dead.

No witnesses, no clues.

They did a pretty good job.

I'm wondering how they knew where he'd be.

I'm wondering who set him up for them.

Why don't you ask your Ouija board?

Is there anything else you want to tell me?

That's all.

Except I've had to tell other women their husbands were dead,

and believe it or not, they had the decency to cry.

You have a nice shoulder, Mr. Ness.

And I'm sure it would be wonderful to cry on,

but no thanks, I am fresh out of tears.

There's nothing else you want to tell me?

Except get out!

It's better this way.

A half a dozen people swear we're here,

then they won't be lying.

You're pretty hard to find.

No table complete without a dame.

But three to one...

do you like your odds that long?

He's dead.

Lots of people are dead.

Lots of people aren't my husband.

De Bouverais?

That's tough. When?

Tonight.

That's really a lousy break, Marcie.

Baby, I don't have to tell you...

He's dead.

Now you do business with me.

Not a chance, not a chance.

Baby, I can't afford to peddle your stuff.

I make five times the profit when I make it myself.

How long do you think you can go on making it yourself?

It's a lemon.

It hasn't been selling, has it?

Huh.

But say you changed the formula, just a little.

Use a little of my stuff for a base.

Use a little more brandy, you make a little less profit,

but you make it all back on volume... in spades.

Brandy drinkers are special, Nate.

They ask for De Bouverais,

they want it to taste like De Bouverais.

You could be in business for 20 years.

Baby, you should have talked like this five years ago.

I guarantee you and I would have done business.

Even if you were Larry's gal.

I'm not Larry's gal now.

No taste, no pride, no conscience.

Dancing on her husband's coffin.

Every night, every hot spot in town.

He's billboarding.

Her name's De Bouverais.

That's pretty happy for business.

It's not too bad for him either.

Kestor had never had it so good,

business and pleasure both reaching new highs.

Living in a perfumed cloud,

he was much too happy to pay proper attention

to a series of costly accidents.

Net loss to Kestor for truck and contents... almost $80,000.

Two weeks later, in the morning,

a fire at the theater.

Loss... above insurance, $22,000.

And shortly after, an even greater loss.

Two Kansas City officers

showing suddenly and taking Alex Brosak,

alias half a dozen dozen other names,

on a seven-year-old charge of murder.

Ah, Mr. Big.

You're just gonna stand there, huh?

Uh... They've got a warrant, and extradition papers.

What can I do?

Nothing. Nothing.

Just go back to your dame.

Shut up.

You think things like this just happen?

The truck, the fire?

Why don't you wise up?

She's slicing you down one pound at a time.

Shut up.

Nobody plays you for a sucker, huh?

Ha! They won't have to stick me in the chair.

I'm gonna kill myself laughing. Let's go.

Funny how he always barges in

just when you want a cup of coffee.

I got your call.

I wasn't sure you'd come.

Line of duty.

Well, it's no ball for me either.

Look, there's a place out on the Mayberry Road,

About ten miles.

You turn left at Carlin's filling station.

You go about half a mile.

There's a place on the right. It's Kestor's.

It's a barn, but any hay he's making is strictly wet.

I can give you Kestor, too.

How?

There's a shipment coming in from Canada tonight,

a truckload of De Bouverais.

He's using the stuff for a base.

About 11:00 by the North Road.

He's meeting them at the barn

with his top boys.

You can take the whole lot of them.

Thanks a lot.

You don't trust me, do you?

I'm not your husband.

Irma's.

Nate. Any luck?

Did you get her to tell you anything?

Come on, you want the C note. Did she talk?

Not to me.

To who?

Ness.

But Eliot, suppose she's leveling?

She hasn't leveled with anybody

since she was 14.

Kansas City say they'd get back to us today?

They promised they would.

She's been playing patty cake with Kestor.

Why would she turn around and hand him to us?

Well, it's hard to tell about a woman, Eliot.

We could be wrong.

Not that wrong.

That could be Kansas City.

Hello.

That's right.

Go ahead.

It's Kansas City.

Yeah?

Yeah...

I see.

Well, yeah, it sure does.

Thanks a lot.

They were tipped to Alex Brosak

by an anonymous letter.

Their expert says it was written by a woman.

So?

On plain white paper with a French watermark.

I guess maybe we could be that wrong.

They'll be hitting that barn around 11:00.

We got two hours.

How much further is it?

Well, you certainly don't have very much to say.

Maybe I... maybe I don't want it to get back to Ness.

Oh, now look, Nate,

I'm not gonna sit here... Oh!

When I get through with you, you won't need a beauty shop.

Irma.

She told you about Ness.

Thought you had me set up real good.

Couldn't wait to get me out to that barn.

Okay. Just let him be there.

He won't be, Nate.

Don't count on it.

There's the gate.

Douse your lights.

Ness?!

You're in there, Ness.

I know you are.

Ness!

Come out and meet a friend of yours.

She's scared.

You gotta be in there.

You don't come out, she's dead!

Nobody in here.

Kill the lights.

Somebody's playing you for a sucker.

The truck.

Scooter?!

Take it around back and unload.

Close the door.

Ram it!

You okay? Yeah.

Yeah...

No.

Take it easy, Rico.

You're all right.

That was a shotgun, Lee.

Be careful.

You're a dead man, Kestor.

Give yourself up.

Run for it.

No, Nate, No.

Ness!

I was wrong.

I'm sorry.

I guess I should have told you what I was doing.

My husband was very good to me,

and I loved him very much.

We'll drive you back.

Can't let a... lady drive back to town alone.

Two days later,

the Marquise de Bouverais left for France.

Eliot Ness had no further word from her,

but one month after repeal,

he received a case of imported brandy.

It had no card, but Ness didn't need any.

It was de Bouverais, and it was 90 proof.