Original subtitles

(theme music plays)

WALTER WINCHELL: The year: 1930.

The nation locked in the grinding Depression

takes time out.

The month: December,

when men sing of brotherly love,

of peace on earth.

(laughing)

Merry Christmas!

And wait till you see what Santa's got for you.

And there we are.

And you! Santa's got something for you, too.

There we are.

Now, let's see, what have we here?

Merry Christmas, son.

God bless you.

Oh, and wait'll you see what Santa has for you!

-How about that! -Thank you, Santa!

(laughing)

Well, see you again next year, Mr. Edges.

And if the boys want anything in the meantime,

-just let me know. -I will, Hap.

Merry Christmas, boys! Merry Christmas!

And have a wonderful, wonderful...

-(boys shouting) -All right, children.

Into the dining room,

uh, for the ice cream that Santa Claus brought us.

(boys speaking indistinctly)

BOYS: Santa Claus! Santa Claus!

Santa Claus!

Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!

(gunfire)

ANNOUNCER:

"The Night They Shot Santa Claus."

Starring Robert Stack as Eliot Ness.

Co-starring Ruth White...

Russell Collins.

With guest star Nita Talbot.

And narrated by Walter Winchell.

Peace on earth, goodwill toward men.

I was on my way home, picked up your call for me.

Who is he?

Sorry. I know Hap Levinson was a friend of yours.

For ten years.

Laughing at his jokes,

eating his steaks...

beating him at pinochle.

Never once did he ask a favor.

Never once.

Hap and I had a treaty.

Every time I went into the club through the front door

I was a Fed.

The back door to the kitchen, neutral ground.

Yeah, we were friends.

Everybody loved the little guy.

Doesn't make any sense-- who'd want to knock him off?

He was strictly a front man for the club.

Mike Volny's club.

It still doesn't figure.

Why a big gangland hit on Hap Levinson?

-(siren approaching) -I don't know.

I'll be right back.

You want to check out the orphanage with me?

Yeah.

This is Mr. Eliot Mess-- he's a Federal officer.

-How do you do? -Very well.

I didn't know Hap Levinson played Santa Claus.

Every Christmas for the past seven years.

That's the kind of guy he was.

You should've seen the presents he brought for the children.

Each one specially wrapped with their name on it.

Was anyone forgotten?

Mr. Levinson never forgot.

What about Renee?

Renee?

Is there anyone here named Renee?

No.

Did you see what happened after Hap left, Mr. Edges?

I was serving the ice cream.

Did anyone see? Were there any witnesses?

Yeah.

There are your witnesses.

Now, boys, did you see what happened outside

a few minutes ago?

We ain't gonna talk about what happened.

Why not?

We ain't gonna talk about it.

Now, look, boys, I'm a policeman.

It's my job to ask questions.

We ain't gonna talk about it.

My name's Eliot.

Care to tell me yours?

I'm Charles. This is Gary.

He's five. He's my kid brother.

Did, uh, Santa Claus come to see you tonight?

Gary and me ain't gonna talk about him.

-Why not? -'Cause he's dead!

Somebody shot Santa Claus, and he's dead!

He's not dead, Gary.

He is-- we were looking out the window and saw.

What did you see, son?

A big black car came around the corner and shot him.

NESS: Who was in the big black car?

A man, he was driving, and another man had a gun.

Two men?

What'd they look like?

-I don't know. -Like bad men!

What do bad men look like?

Ain't you a policeman?

Charlie, please. What'd they look like?

-You know. -You tell me.

Like bad men.

Use your phone?

This way, Mr. Ness.

(kids' happy shouts)

Hello, Mary.

May I talk to Lee, please?

Thanks. Same to you.

$2,500 a year, you expect the government

-to give you a night off, too? -Shut up.

Brikka. Tonight we're in luck.

Brikka and his four brothers will all be together

at mama's place.

-Won't it be fun. -Yeah, lots of fun.

Hi.

Hey, don't you guys know that...

BOTH: That it's Christmas Eve.

Sit down, slave.

-Where's Eliot? -I don't know.

How was he?

Upset.

Well, that figures.

He loved that little guy.

Why Hap Levinson?

Eliot say anything? He have a lead?

No, from the way he sounded on the phone,

it was no time to ask any questions.

You think he was sore, you should've seen my wife.

She was just taking the roast out of the oven when you called.

Brikka first. Let's go.

(crying): Why? Why should anyone kill him? Why?

-I don't know why. -He did what they asked.

Everybody liked him. He did what they asked.

Did Hap have any trouble

-at the club recently? -Oh, it was no life

for a man like Hap.

It was no life for him.

He was as good as gold.

Why should anyone kill him? (sobbing)

Bertha, that's what I want you to help me find out.

H-How should I help you?

What do I know?

Did he have any trouble at the club?

Trouble anywhere?

Hap never brought his work home.

"It's another world, Bertha,” he said.

"What goes on away from here, that I can spare you."

Such good years I had with him.

Such beautiful years.

My husband was an angel! Why!

He must have told you things.

Did he ever mention names?

Renee.

When you mix with such people, how can you not?

Gangsters and racketeers.

Hap said...

"Who knows, Bertha,

maybe someday you'll find me dead in a gutter.”

(sobbing)

When'd he say that?

When?

A week ago?

A month ago?

When?

A week, a month,

what does it matter now?

Bertha, a month ago Mike Volny got drunk

at the Criss Cross Club.

He pulled a gun and killed a man over a two-buck bet.

Ever since then, every cop in the city's been looking for him.

But Volny's holed up good; we can't find a trace.

Bertha...

now, Hap was in the club that night.

He swore to me he didn't witness the shooting.

I believed him.

But if Hap did witness...

Even if he did, Mr. Volny trusted him,

he wouldn't hurt him.

Wouldn't he?

There were four witnesses of that shooting.

Three of them have been murdered.

The bartender Jimmy Canada's missing

and would be assumed dead, except Volny

hasn't crawled out of his rat hole yet.

Who do you want to put in jail, Hap's murderer or Mr. Volny?!

Both could be the same!

The radio says it's going to snow tomorrow.

(quiet crying)

You got a nerve.

I'm a family man.

This is Christmas Eve.

I heard.

Where's Volny?

How do you think I'm supposed to know where he's holed up?

'Cause you and Mr. Volny

have been playing a little game lately.

Chopping up the opposition.

I got four kids.

The oldest one is 14.

Tomorrow, what are they gonna find

under the Christmas tree, huh?

Clean job, Brikka.

Who pulled the trigger for you?

Call in somebody from Detroit, St. Louis?

What are you, dumb? What do I care about Hap?

If you can't hit Volny, hit his best friend.

Hit a little man in a Santa Claus suit.

Isn't that the way you work?

You are out of line, Ness.

Hap Levinson was a right guy.

I liked him.

So why should I gun him? Tell me, why?

-Then who? -You already named him.

Why Volny?

Because Levinson was in the club that night.

Even you know Hap was the one man Volny trusted.

Maybe he didn't trust him enough to carry around

that kind of information.

The shooting at the Criss Cross Club was a month ago.

Why now? Why a big-time hit on Hap now??

Ask Volny. (laughs)

That was the same answer--

a shipment of booze, a pound of heroin, a body in the street--

"Ask Volny."

I'll level with you, Brikka, I'd rather him than you.

But it doesn't figure.

If Volny wanted Hap, all he had to do was reach out

and put a gun to his head real quiet.

Then you got a problem, Ness.

But I didn't have anything to do with it, I swear it.

I swear it on my kid's life.

Go home, Brikka.

Brikka...

who's Renee?

Levinson's girl.

You're a liar.

Why should I lie?

You asked me, I tell you.

She's Levinson's girl.

Get out.

Just ask around the club. Just ask!

Get out!

(up-tempo jazz playing)

(dancers squeal)

WINCHELL: The Criss Cross Club: Hap's place. Owner, Mike Volny.

This year, besides Christmas decorations,

there is a fresh paint job

to cover an embarrassing bullet hole;

the mark of a shooting.

Witnessed by four people, three dead,

one: Jimmy Canada missing and assumed dead.

(dancers squealing)

Voted by the Chicago police most likely

to make a witness turn up dead;

First Lieutenant to Volny, Art Tenney.

Mr. Ness, you come in the front door this time.

You closing us up?

No, Volny, I'm still looking for him.

If I knew where he was, I'd tell him about Hap.

He'd be real broken up.

(dancers squeal)

(audience cheering, applauding)

You want to eat, Mr. Ness?

No, thanks.

-Warczek. -Yes, Mr. Ness?

How long have you worked for Hap?

Since I fell out from Garden of Eden.

-Long time, huh? -Long time.

Get a cup. Got time?

I make time.

(makes kiss sound) Cup.

We have lost a good friend, you and I.

Yes.

You will find the men who did this evil thing?

I will.

That's good.

What can you tell me, Warczek?

Very little.

I too, work on neutral ground.

Where's Volny getting his stuffed cabbage

and black bread these days?

I don't know. You think Volny kill Mr. Hap?

That possibility has crossed my mind.

He did not.

Did Hap have a girl?

Did Hap have a girl?

Mr. Hap had a wife.

You're talking to a friend, remember?

Then speak like friend.

You asked me if I was gonna get the men who killed Hap.

I said I was.

I don't make an inquiry like this to be crude or stupid.

Did Hap have a girl? A girl named Renee?

He did not.

It's important, Warczek.

Does the name Renee mean anything to you?

-Anything at all? -No.

Okay, thanks.

I go work now.

Thanks for the coffee.

Bye, Mr. Ness.

Good-bye, Mr. Warczek.

(band plays outro)

My aching feet.

You're feet? I need a whole body...

I'll be so glad to get out.

Somebody hand me a tissue, will you, please?

Thank you.

I'm looking for a girl named Renee.

Which one of you girls is Renee?

You're in the wrong dressing room, lover boy.

No Renee here.

I'm looking for the man who killed Hap Levinson.

I was told Hap Levinson had a girl named Renee.

Who told you Hap had a girl?

That's not the point. The question is, did he?

You're working a bum steer, mister.

Hap was a sweet man. No angles, no gimmicks.

-He was real. -Christmas presents.

All of them from Hap. We each got one.

All right, maybe Hap didn't have a girl.

Maybe this girl in the line wasn't named Renee.

Hat check girl, a waitress,

a girl who came to the club regularly.

Anybody called Renee?

I'm sorry. We don't know any Renee.

Thanks.

(band plays jazz)

Merry Christmas.

Find anything?

Mr. Ness.

I want to talk to you.

All right. Shall we get out of the wind?

I don't sit in cars with men.

Well?

I know a lot of things.

A lot of things I could tell you, Mr. Ness.

You had me at a disadvantage.

You know my name. I don't know yours.

-You noticed me? -Yes.

It's more than most men would do

in a room full of half-naked women.

I noticed you.

-You're a gentlemen. -Thank you.

It's more than I could say for Hap Levinson.

Oh, sure, he fixed up the dressing room

and gave everybody presents,

but he was just like every other man.

Hap was no angel.

Look, I've been wardrobe mistress at the Criss Cross Club

for a long time. I know.

You know what?

I know men.

What are you trying to say?

There was a Renee.

What happened to her?

I suppose he set her up in some swell apartment some place.

-Who has? -Him.

You mean Hap Levinson?

I don't mean nobody else.

He started running around with her about two years ago.

And she just up and disappeared.

Too good to work in the line, I suppose.

Renee what?

Renee Grayson.

(door buzzer sounds)

(buzzer continues)

(buzzer continues)

Who is it?

-Renee Grayson? -Yes?

I'm a federal officer. My name is Ness.

Open up, please.

You, uh, looking for something?

I'm doing my spring cleaning.

Getting an early start, aren't ya?

What do you want, Mr. Federal Officer?

This is from Hap.

I don't know any Hap.

Then this doesn't belong to you.

All right, all right, I did know Hap.

Did?

He's dead, isn't he? That's what the radio said.

Yeah, he's dead.

Thanks.

Good night.

Open it.

I'll wait.

Tell me what you're searching for, Renee.

A little peace and quiet.

Good night.

What's in it for you?

What do you mean?

With Hap.

This isn't the Ritz.

I don't see any fur coats laying around,

any rocks on your fingers.

What's in it for you?

Love.

Come on.

I loved him.

Sweetest guy in the world, but no Valentino.

Hap Levinson was short and fat, in his 50s.

You could have had your pick.

Yeah, I could. I picked him.

Sure, you did.

Where'd you meet Hap?

I danced at the club.

You knew he had a wife?

Yes.

Didn't bother you a bit, did it?

Hap promised he'd marry me.

I knew Hap Levinson. I knew him well.

It's true. Even asked his wife for a divorce.

I said I knew Hap Levinson.

You don't have to believe me.

I don't.

Why don't you leave me alone?

Why do you keep razzing me, huh?

I'm hoping you'll slip once, and tell the truth.

You see Hap today?

He was supposed to come here from the orphanage.

Who else knew he was at that orphanage?

I really can't tell you.

Do you care?

Would you believe me if I told you?

No.

Well, I believed your friend when he promised to marry me.

I believed him.

(door shuts)

Ah...

(gasping anxiously)

(screams)

Hello, Criss Cross Club?

I want to talk to Art Tenney.

You tell him Renee Grayson is calling!

ANNOUNCER: And now, back to The Untouchables.

WINCHELL: Christmas Eve, 1930,

when men sing of brotherly love,

of peace on earth.

Hello, Eliot.

Pardon the mouthful.

Christmas turkey.

Want me to send upstairs for a plate for you?

No, thanks.

How's it goin'?

Lousy.

Here, too.

It was a dead end.

Nobody wanted to kill Hap.

Somebody wanted to.

Okay, you find him.

The Federal government wants to pull out, eh?

I want out.

It's a local killing; strictly a police matter.

It's your friend.

But weren't you the guy, a couple of hours ago,

who couldn't wait to get somebody strapped in the chair?

Hap Levinson was no angel.

Hap Levinson was a human being, Eliot,

just like you and me.

I'm going home.

Okay.

Use this?

Go.

Oh, Lee...

just calling to tell you to go home.

I am.

When?

I'm on my way.

Hey!

Jimmy Canada just turned himself in to the Cook County Jail.

Goin' home, eh?

(raspy laughter)

WINCHELL: Jimmy Canada, witness to the shooting

at the Criss Cross Club, missing and assumed dead,

upon hearing of the murder of Hap Levinson,

crawled out of hiding and turned himself in

for protective custody.

Now Ness knew that he had a chance at Mike Volny.

WOMAN: Eliot...

What is it, Bertha?

I had to talk to you.

I called your office and they told me you'd be here.

I had to talk to you.

You were always such a good friend of Hap's.

BERTHA: I..

I don't know how to say it.

I did wrong, Eliot.

Hap lied.

And when you asked me, I also lied.

About what?

Hap was a witness.

He saw Mr. Volny shoot that man in the club.

Why didn't he tell me?

Why?

Why should such a wonderful man like Hap

go to work for Mr. Volny in the first place?

I told him.

I said...

"Hap, a child plays in the mud, and it gets dirty."”

Hap did more than just run the club?

He did more, Eliot.

Everything Volny did, Hap knew.

He took care of the books, the records for everything.

Where are those records?

That he never told me.

Hap could have handed me Mike Volny on a platter.

He never would.

And Mr. Volny knew that.

And Volny knew not one word would ever pass Hap's lips.

Somebody else killed my husband.

Volny had no reason.

Yeah.

I---

I begged him to leave the club; to give it up.

I was worried, I was afraid...

...because, in my heart,

I still remembered the man I married.

This is what I held on to.

This is what I loved.

A memory.

You knew everything, didn't you, Bertha?

You mean the books?

No, that's not what I mean.

In his heart, he loved me,

that I'm sure.

A man sees a girl...

What can I tell you?

I knew.

And I understood.

That's all.

You've always been kind, Eliot.

Thank you.

(door shuts)

Thanks.

Do me another favor, will you?

Sure.

Lock me up.

Pick me a cell at the bottom of this tomb.

Lock me up and let me live to see Christmas.

Feel like talking?

What's to say?

I'm the kind of guy never wanted much,

never got into trouble.

Who cared about Jimmy Canada?

A lousy bartender in a speak.

And one night, I work late,

I see a guy die,

so I have to die.

What did you see, Jimmy?

And the other witnesses started turning up dead,

I tried to get word to Volny.

I told him, I swore, I swore on my mother's grave,

I'd get out of town, out of the country, if he wanted,

never say a word.

I swore.

What happens?

I send a message, two guys come to answer.

With guns.

I was up on the roof.

Through the skylight, I saw the whole bit.

The Criss Cross Club-- what'd you see there?

I been runnin' ever since, trying to stay alive, hoping...

When Hap got it tonight...

Hap Levinson...

Volny's pal, the guy he trusted...

when Hap got gunned, what chance did Jimmy Canada have?

Goose egg.

You've still got one chance-- put Volny in the chair for me.

Why didn't your friend Hap Levinson put him there for you?

That was his mistake.

You think you're talking to a ten-year-old kid?

I know these guys.

I been working speaks for the last ten years.

I know these guys.

I'm marked.

Now or later-- either way-- I'm a dead man!

What'll it be, Jimmy-- now or later?

Uh-uh.

First, I want to see Christmas.

NESS: Okay, then talk.

It was maybe 5:00 in the morning.

I was patrolling behind the plank,

polishing the same glass for the hundredth time,

waiting for Hap to come down,

check me out, give me the word.

Since early that afternoon,

Volny had a poker game going upstairs.

Hap was sitting in.

Maybe 5:00 it was.

The big shots finally break it up.

As they come down,

one look at Volny was enough.

You could tell.

He was boozed, he'd lost, and he was mean.

He offered one for the road.

Smart ones kept right on walking.

Only Augie--

the real hotshot--

and just as loaded as Volny-- took him on.

They bellied up,

they shoved a bottle of private stock down,

they started belting-- neat, fast.

Hap was right next to me, checking out the register,

when it started.

Stupid two-buck bet by a couple of guys

who'd just been throwing away thousands.

But inside of 30 seconds, they were both white-hot.

Augie claimed that there wasn't anybody in Chicago

who could carry Babe Ruth's spikes.

Volny fired back, like, something like, uh...

"Augie must be out of his head.

"Hank Wilson hit 56 homers this year,

"and next it will be 61,

and Babe Ruth can go back to the bushes.”

Augie blew his top

and offered to bet any amount

Hank Wilson would never hit any 61 homers.

And then Volny tried to back off--

Augie wouldn't let him.

Hap was scared.

He moved around to the front of the bar,

tried to break it off.

No chance.

Hap rushed to the kitchen,

I think to call some of the guys.

Augie was giving Volny that, uh,

"Put your money where your mouth is" jazz.

Finally slammed two bucks on the bar

and said if Volny wouldn't cover a two buck bet,

he was bush.

Chicago was bush.

Volny reached.

He didn't pull any roll.

Augie never had a chance.

Volny stuck it in his ribs and blasted.

Then Volny poured hisself a shot,

lifts the glass...

"To Hank Wilson," he says.

Downs the drink,

steps over Augie

and walks.

That's it.

Did you get it?

Don't change your word.

When Volny's flushed out, we'll be ready for him.

{(phone rings)

But if you start to develop amnesia,

you'll be out in the street in five minutes.

What's the difference-- I'm dead either way.

Okay, then die a hero, put Volny in the chair.

It's for you, Eliot.

Hello, Ness speaking.

Sophie?

Oh, yes, Sophie, the wardrobe woman.

I remember you.

I'm glad you're pleased, but what...

Thank you very much.

Volny just had a phone conversation with Art Tenney.

He sent him to kill Renee Grayson.

Give him the best cell in the house.

WINCHELL: Two minutes past midnight,

Christmas Day, 1930,

six hours since they shot the man in the Santa Claus suit.

What do you want from me, Mr. Ness,

my blood, my life?

I told you everything.

You left out a few things.

I told you everything!

Why is Volny sending Art Tenney to kill you?

I don't believe you.

Renee, for a reason that only you know,

Volny's decided you're dangerous to him.

Why?

I told you everything.

What do you know?

What did you find that put you on Volny's list?

Crazy... I told you every...!

(knocking on door)

NESS: Delivery boys are right on time.

TENNEY: Renee, baby.

It's Tenney.

You call, and I come running.

No! No... (yelling)

(gunshots)

Lee, get the phone.

(Renee moans softly)

(Renee mutters weakly)

Easy, easy.

Take it easy.

Hello, Sergeant.

-Federal Officer Hobson. -It's not serious...

Listen, Art Tenney just left the Lorraine Apartments.

That's right, Volny's boy.

Put out an all points, attempted murder.

(Renee moans)

Right. And get an emergency ambulance over here right away.

Apartment C.

Captain Johnson?

All right, I'll hold on.

No, that's all right, I'll hold on.

Want to tell me now?

Sometimes people need help, Renee.

I don't need any help.

All I need now is to die.

When I came to this town, that's when I needed the help.

I should've learned then...

but some dames never learn.

Nobody helps.

(laughs softly)

Tonight, when my teeth started to chatter

and I thought I couldn't stand it anymore,

I thought I'd bust into a thousand pieces,

I yelled, "Help."”

I called Tenney.

I told him Volny had to help me.

He helped.

You know what he said?

"Go cry in the alley.”

That's what he said.

"Go cry in the alley.”

The call, Renee.

Lied.

I lied for help.

Lie.

I told him Hap had spilled things to me,

important things,

and that if Volny didn't come through, I...

I should've known.

I should've know nobody helps anybody in this lousy world.

Try me.

Yeah.

Yeah.

(crying)

I'm a junkie.

I needed... I needed somebody...

to keep me supplied the way Volny did when Hap was alive.

Hap got drugs from Volny for you?

Hap cut stuff.

For both of us.

Your little friend was a junkie, too.

Yeah?

Hello, Captain Johnson.

Yes, Eliot's here with me.

(Renee crying softly)

Al right.

All right, I'll tell him.

Jimmy Canada waited for Christmas

and he hung himself in his cell.

Eliot?

I heard.

Wait here with Renee.

Volny's about to crawl out of his rat hole.

(door opens, closes)

(chattering, laughter)

WINCHELL: Mike Volny had indeed crawled out of his hole.

The witnesses to the shooting were all out of the way.

In celebration, he attended a coming out party.

The host-- Mike Volny.

Guest of honor-- the same.

(chatter, laughter stops)

I hear you've been looking for me, Mr. Ness.

What do you want?

You heard right, Volny, I've been looking for you.

Yeah, well, I've been out of town.

I've been taking it easy.

How about jumping in, the water's fine.

Champagne, be my guest.

I won't be staying, Volny, and neither will you.

Well, it ain't polite for a man to leave his own party.

Move.

What's the charge?

Murder.

You got no witnesses left.

Or didn't you hear--

Jimmy Canada, he strung himself up.

(laughs quietly)

I heard.

I'm taking you for the murder of Hap Levinson.

Me?

Are you nuts?

He was my boy.

I loved that little guy.

Not enough to let him live.

Not after he saw you kill a man over a lousy two buck bet.

I didn't kill nobody.

But if I did, you think I'd be scared of Hap talking?

Hap Levinson was as loyal as they come.

But he was a junkie.

You didn't know?

I swear.

(scoffs) You knew.

You knew that if Jimmy Canada didn't turn up,

I just might pull Hap in again for questioning.

All I'd have to do is ice him for a few hours, he'd break.

Like any junkie, he'd break.

You got it all figured, don't you?

The only possible reason Hap would work for you.

Now I'm going to tell you something, Mr. Ness,

you didn't have figured.

When you came through the back door into the kitchen,

you thought you were on neutral ground, but you weren't.

(laughing): Hap Levinson was using you.

(laughing)

(laughs softly)

Oh, no, it was no fix.

Nothing like that.

But your friendship, you friendship with Hap

was his passport with every cop on the streets of Chicago.

(laughing): He was using you.

(laughing)

Keep the party going, girls.

I'll be sprung inside of an hour.

(laughing)

WINCHELL: At 1:25 Christmas morning,

Eliot Ness took Volny into custody.

On March 6, Volny stood trial.

He was found innocent of Augie Vee's murder.

On May 11, Volny stood trial again.

He was found innocent

of the Christmas Eve shooting of Hap Levinson.

Eliot Ness and the Untouchables now knew

there could be no neutral ground

in their war against organized crime.