The Untouchables (1959): December 24, 1930. That evening, Hap Levinson is playing Santa Claus at the Sackman Orphan Home. Santa brings toys and ice cream to all the waifs. He walks outside, waves good-bye, and is promptly machine-gunned to death by hoods in a speeding car. Quite a shock for all the kiddies. Killing Santa is not a federal crime, but Eliot Ness investigates. Hap was a friend of Ness' for 10 years; they had sort of a truce. If Ness was on official business, they were on opposite sides of the law; unofficially, they were pals. Hap was a frontman for Mike Volney who owns the Criss Cross Club; Volney trusted him, and Hap also kept his books and records for him. It doesn't figure that anyone would rub out a small potatoes guy like Hap, especially since almost everyone liked him. The only motive could be because a month ago, Volney had shot another hood named Augie over some silly bet; there were 4 witnesses counting Hap. 2 of the witnesses had been killed. Now, with Hap rubbed out, that left only one living witness: Jimmy Canada, who was on the lam. Ness' only lead is a small, wrapped present made out to "Renee." Ness calls his men to assemble at the Federal Building. Lee Hobson enters and quips, "$2,500 a year, and you expect to get a night off?" They all go to arrest Brikka to get information. Ness talks to Hap's widow at her home, but she doesn't tell Ness anything. Back at the Federal Building, Brikka tells Ness that he should ask Volney about Hap's death; he also says that Hap had a girlfriend: Renee. At the Criss Cross Club, Mike Volney isn't there, only his lieutenant Art Tenney. Backstage, Ness questions the chorus girls at the club; they offer no information. But outside, Sophie the wardrobe woman approaches Ness and tells him that Hap's girlfriend was Renee Grayson. Now that Ness knows her last name, he looks her up, and delivers the wrapped present. She tells Ness nothing. After Ness leaves, she opens the present: it is a cameo necklace. She screams in frustration, she was expecting drugs. Desperately needing a fix, she phones Art Tenney at the Criss Cross Club. Finally, a break in the case-- Jimmy Canada turns himself in, he wants to be placed in protective custody. Jimmy was a bartender at the Criss Cross; he and Hap were there when Volney shot Augie over a silly baseball bet. Augie had said that Babe Ruth's record of 60 home runs in one year would not be broken; Volney said that even though Hack Wilson had only hit 56 homers that year, he would beat Babe's record next season.* Ness gets a phone tip from Sophie that Volney has sent Art Tenney over to kill Renee. Ness and Lee Hobson go to her apartment to warn her. Just then, there's a knock on the door, and Tenney fires 4 shots through the door. (The first 2 shots are clean misses; the 3rd shot hits Renee in the shoulder, she falls down; and the 4th shot misses her.) When Ness opens the door and runs into the hall, the hitman is gone. Renee is bleeding from the right shoulder. Renee explains to Ness, that with Hap's supply of drugs ended, she wanted Volney to supply her; she'd called Tenney and told him that Hap had spilled things to her, and Volney better give her some stuff. But instead of drugs, Volney had sent a hitman over. Jimmy Canada figures Volney will rub him out, in jail or not, so he hangs himself in his cell. With all 4 witnesses to Augie's shooting dead, Volney comes out of hiding. Ness confronts Volney at the club; he is arresting him for the murder of Hap. Volney asks, why would he kill his own man? Ness tells him that Hap was a junkie; if he pulled him in for questioning, all he'd have to do is ice him for a few hours and he'd break, like any junkie. Volney comes back by telling Ness that Hap was using his supposed friendship with Ness to his own advantage. And so, on Christmas morning, Ness arrests Volney for the murders of Augie and Hap. But in March 1931, Volney stood trial for Augie's murder and was found innocent; in May 1931, Volney stood trial for Hap's murder and was found innocent. Eliot Ness learned his lesson the hard way, there's no neutral ground in the battle against organized crime. (synopsis by: kdh) --------------------------------- *[trivia: Babe Ruth hit 60 home runs in 1927; he only hit 49 in 1930.]

Starring:

Abel Fernandez, Nicholas Georgiade, Paul Picerni, Robert Stack, Steve London, Walter Winchell

Genre:

Action, Crime, Drama