Back in the late fifties Desi Arnez and Lucille Ball’s production company was doing a show called the Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse. They did a two parter called The Scarface Mob, which was later released in the movie theaters. This was also to become the pilot for The Untouchables. While the pilot used material right from the book by Elliot Ness also called The Untouchables, later episodes would become more fictionalized, such as the episode that sees Ness going after Ma Barker.
Helmed by producer Quinn Martin, the show was ahead of it’s time showing crime to be a violent and dangerous way of life. Robert Stack lead the cast as Elliot Ness, and later won an Emmy for the role. While tame by today’s television standards, this was groundbreaking television. Long on action and filled with tense moments they didn’t flinch from showing how badly a life of crime could end.
The Untouchables is as good as any of the crime movies being made at the time, and any fan of this era in America’s crime history should consider this a must own. This first volume contains the fist half of the first season, 13 hours and 25 minutes worth of classic television. This show is every bit as fun as I remebr it being when I first watched it as a kid.
Jon Jordan
