Released in 1987 and directed by Brian De Palma, who based it on the eponymous novel by Oscar Fraley and Eliot Ness, The Untouchables has become a classic in film history, a movie that every cinephile should see at least once in their lifetime. Available tonight at 9:31 PM on Rete 4, The Untouchables is a dramatic film set in the world of organized crime and the underworld, based, however, on true stories, and on events that genuinely influenced the political history of the United States of America.
The Untouchables, the plot
The story of the film is set in Chicago during the early 1930s when Prohibition dictated new rules in people’s lives but also in the dealings of organized crime. Al Capone (Robert De Niro) managed to turn the government restrictions into a profitable empire: his illegal alcohol trade further solidified his reign over the city, and thanks to the corruption of a significant portion of law enforcement, he was able to expand his empire without fear of retribution. It is at this point that Eliot Ness (Kevin Costner) enters the scene, a Treasury agent tasked with curbing and arresting Capone and his most trusted men. However, for the agent, things are far from simple: not only because Al Capone is a formidable opponent, but especially because the roots of law enforcement are so corrupt that Ness cannot rely on his colleagues and often finds himself fighting against them. Ness’s only real ally is Jimmy Malone (Sean Connery), an Irish cop with a steel and incorruptible moral compass. Ness’s team also includes George Stone (Andy Garcia) and Oscar Wallace (Charles Martin Smith), an accountant hoping to catch Capone due to his tax evasion. Thus begins a full-blown war on the streets of Chicago, leading to unprecedented violence and unexpected deaths. But it is indeed the pain that drives Ness to pursue his objective with greater determination, even if it means going against one of the most powerful crime bosses in the United States.
The true stories that inspired the film
As mentioned in the first paragraph of this article, The Untouchables is not only a milestone in film history but also the visual adaptation of things that truly happened. According to what is reported on the Internet Movie Database, Eliot Ness’s heroic battle against Al Capone was at risk of being forgotten by the very citizens of the United States. Although Ness and his team managed to capture one of the most wanted criminals of all time, history seemed ready to turn its back on them. Everything changed when Eliot Ness died in 1957. At that point, Chicago newspapers, in writing obituaries and journalistic editorials, resurrected Ness’s story, bringing it back into the public consciousness, just before the posthumous publication of the book that Ness himself had written with Oscar Fraley about his fight against crime in the 1930s. As Coming Soon writes, the world of entertainment soon took notice, deciding to take the Treasury agent’s story and transform it into a successful television series, which aired from 1959 to 1963 and subsequently became another source of inspiration for Brian De Palma, who wanted to direct a film that was as true to the reality of the events as possible. For this reason, the director also hired Albert H. Wolff, the last surviving Untouchable, who helped Kevin Costner accurately build his portrayal of “his” Eliot Ness. Naturally, since it is a cinematic work, The Untouchables takes narrative liberties that serve to enhance the spectacle and that have little adherence to reality. For example, as stated in The Guardian, although it is true that Al Capone was known to wield a baseball bat, he never killed a man at a gala in front of journalists, as seen in a scene. IMDB also recalls how intelligent the mobster was, understanding that killing or hunting the Untouchables would mean bringing more attention to his illicit activities and attracting the attention of law enforcement officers who were not on his payroll. For this reason, Al Capone always ordered to corrupt the Untouchables, but never to kill them. He himself never genuinely attempted to take Ness’s life; on the contrary, he made sure to try to corrupt him in every way possible. His attempt to bribe Ness with a thousand-dollar payoff (which, at current exchange rates, would be thirty thousand dollars) every Monday has become somewhat legendary. However, Ness never accepted corruption, so much so that when he died, he was on the brink of bankruptcy. Born in 1902 to Norwegian immigrants, Eliot Ness grew up in the south side of Chicago, a neighborhood known for immigration and crime. After graduating from his city’s university, Ness decided to work with his brother-in-law and join the bureau that dealt with Prohibition. As reported by The Independent, since Ness created the team against Capone in 1931, many aspects of his life changed: there were many attempts at corruption, his car was stolen, and his phone was put under surveillance. His friends and informants were followed and attacked, with one friend being shot in the face four times. None of these intimidating maneuvers, however, had an effect, so much so that the name Untouchables emerged on the front page of a newspaper to describe the incorruptibility of Ness’s men. This aspect was emphasized by Brian De Palma in a scene when a “bribe” appears on Ness’s desk. Ness and Al Capone never met in person before the 1931 tax evasion trial, at the end of which Capone was sentenced to eleven years in prison.
The character of Sean Connery, on the other hand, is completely invented. In reality, Ness did not “hire” an Irish policeman to be part of the team: Malone is a character created “for the camera,” to enhance the pathos of an already incredible story.