Eliot Ness and the untouchables: the historical reality and the film and television depictions PDF
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Eliot Ness and the Untouchables ALSOBYKENNETHTUCKER Shakespeare and Jungian Typology: A Reading of the Plays (McFarland, 2003) Eliot Ness and the Untouchables The Historical Reality and the Film and Television Depictions SECOND EDITION K T ENNETH UCKER McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers Jefferson, North Carolina, and London LIBRARYOFCONGRESSCATALOGUING-IN-PUBLICATIONDATA Tucker, Kenneth, 1940– Eliot Ness and The untouchables : the historical reality and the film and television depictions / Kenneth Tucker. — 2d ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-7864-4996-5 softcover : acid freepaper 1. Untouchables (Television program : 1959–1963) 2. Untouchables (Television program : 1993–1994) 3. Untouchables (Motion picture) 4. Ness, Eliot. I. Title. PN1992.77.U58T83 2012 791.45'75—dc23 2011045425 BRITISHLIBRARYCATALOGUINGDATAAREAVAILABLE © 2012 Kenneth Tucker. All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Front cover photograph: Eliot Ness in later years (Cleveland Press Collection); cover design by David K. Landis (Shake It Loose Graphics) Manufactured in the United States of America McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers Box 611, Je›erson, North Carolina 28640 www.mcfarlandpub.com To the memory of my father, my mother, and Jean Cochrane George, all of whom have departed this world to meet l’amor che move il sole e l’altre stelle. This page intentionally left blank Contents Preface to the Second Edition 1 Introduction 7 ONE: The Real Eliot Ness 11 TWO: The Real Al Capone and Frank Nitti 46 THREE: The Real Dutch Schultz and Other Prohibition Plug- Uglies of New York 79 FOUR: The Untouchables on Desilu Playhouse 98 FIVE: The Untouchables—Original Series Episode Guide 105 SIX: The Untouchables—The 1987 Movie 192 SEVEN: The Return of Eliot Ness 202 EIGHT: The Untouchables—The Series Redux 206 NINE: Ness and a Decade of Documentaries 246 TEN: The Need for a Hero 256 Bibliography 267 Index 271 vii This page intentionally left blank Preface to the Second Edition This book had its genesis many years ago when in the fall of 1961, an ABC affiliate came to Louisville, Kentucky, and began broadcasting The Untouchables. An undergraduate English major at the time, I was eager to view the series. I had heard of it, knew something of the controversies it was generating, and began wondering who Eliot Ness was. My interest was also whetted by a comic interlude in which Ernie Kovacs walked across the set of his own program amid a spread of well-dressed corpses and quipped that no one had cleaned up after The Untouchables. When my opportunity to watch the series finally came, I was totally blown away by it. Its stark realism, its unabashed portrayal of prostitutes and corrupt politicians and judges (characters generally avoided by fifties televi- sion), its “noir” atmosphere, and its own special aura captivated me. As I watched episode after episode, I became intrigued by whatever historical real- ity lay behind the series. Of course, I had grown up knowing who Al Capone was. But I knew little about Ness. I also wondered about Frank Nitti and the Genna brothers, characters who were evidently historical. An avid reader since my childhood, I set about trying to learn as much as I could about the real Ness and his historical adversaries. Rather quickly I found and read Ness and Oscar Fraley’s book, The Untouchables and, as they appeared, Fraley’s sequels, Four Against the Mob, dealing with Ness’ years in Cleveland, and The Last of the Untouchables, written with former Untouchable Paul Robsky. But the novelistic presentations tipped me off that what I was reading was the varnished truth. At a local drugstore, I acquired a paperback copy of Judge John H. Lyle’s The Dry and Lawless Years. It incorporated plenty of informa- tion about Capone, but only a few comments on Frank Nitti, and not even a word about Ness. I soon became aware that at that time precious little had been written about the historical events that formed the basis of the weekly episodes that fascinated me. I wished that I could somehow find a guidebook to the series, providing information not only about the program, but the events and persons it undertook to represent. 1
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