Nonureva Really Surprised!

filippaberry84 I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Lidia Draper Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Freeman This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

screenman Here was a great American crime series about the great age of American crime.Robert Stack played Elliot Ness, the G-Man tasked to enforce absurd prohibition laws and deal with the organised crime that inevitably saw a profit to be made.The series was so popular in its day and Stack such an iconic figure of good combating wickedness that he often became typecast to a British generation. Even today, greying fans will sometimes refer to him as Elliot Ness.The series was filmed in black & white, and given an excellent noirish style. There was an almost perfect mix of action, suspense and drama. Aiding its authenticity and imbuing it with the stamp of semi-documentary, the story was frequently pushed along by a narrative voice-over, which made scene-shifting and location-changes seamless. Throw-in an excellent script, memorable theme and incidental music and you have the stuff of a classic.At least some of the programmes are available on DVD, and whilst the violence may seem pretty tame by today's standards, it is still well worth a look.Robert Stack never bettered his performances.

bkoganbing Before Brian DePalma gave us his stylish telling of the tale Eliot Ness and his band of Treasury agents, the world was reintroduced to them via this television series from Desilu productions. Eliot Ness was portrayed in tight-lipped, square jawed fashion by Robert Stack and it became his career role.If Ness had only lived to see it. After his high point in leading that gang of Treasury agents in Chicago that raided illegal liquor establishments with flair, Ness went on to become Cleveland's Chief of Police and an unsuccessful candidate for mayor of that city. He drifted into obscurity after that.But shortly before that Ness who was in bad health and in a bad financial situation contacted author Oscar Fraley who helped him ghost write his memoirs of those days. Ness died right after that and the book was published after his demise. It was then snapped up by Desilu productions because Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz saw potential for a television series.The Untouchables had a good run for a few seasons. The period atmosphere was helped by the familiar voice of Walter Winchell who lived through that period and covered it. Winchell helped give the series a ring of authenticity it didn't deserve.After a while the Untouchables were in New York dealing with Lucky Luciano and those gang wars, dealing with the Purple gang of Detroit and others that had nothing to do with what they really did. They hit Al Capone and his competitor Bugs Moran in the pocketbook, but of course were not the ones who brought them down. We all know it was those busy accountants in the US Attorney's office in Chicago that did the job.The success of the series spun a brief spurt of nostalgia for that era in America both on the big and small screen. Neville Brand as Al Capone and Bruce Gordon as Frank Nitti were a perfect pair of scowling counterparts to the jut-jawed Robert Stack as Ness.Occasionally the series is still run on the nostalgia channels. It remains an interesting and glamorized look at a part of our past.

DKosty123 This show got a lot of critique during it's run for being to violent and glorifying Mafia type criminals. As for the violence, while there is a lot of shooting, there is only a few times you see much blood. The Godfather films and The Sopranos since have done more to glorify the Mafia than this program ever did.The show was well written having an original basis on the book The Untouchables by Elliott Ness. Desilu seemed to be very good at getting writers to adapt fine scripts for most of the show. One does shudder to think what the show would have been if it weren't for Van Johnson's wife telling him to turn down Lucy's offer that Van play Ness because "television will never amount to anything". Robert Stack fits the role very well even though he was not the first choice. The show at it's height was a top rated program though it did not have the long term staying power of I Love Lucy. Walter Winchell was the master stroke of casting in the narrators role. His voice is so authoritative that it gives the show a feeling of reality with each introduction. Desilu did an early parody of the show in the mid 1960's when it was producing the original Star Trek series. If you ever catch it, the episode is called "A Piece of The Action" and Star Trel literally borrowed some of the Untouchables sets at Desilu to film the episode. Years later, Saturday Night Live did a great satire of Untouchables when Desi Arnez hosted.The music, especially the theme song, along with Winchell helps sell this show to the audience.

tforbes-2 Strangely, I remember my parents watching "The Untouchables" when I was a toddler. Actually, it was the theme music during its final season that I recall.I saw a little bit of the show on YouTube today (15 June 2008), and was struck by Quinn Martin's influence here. It reminded me very much of a show Mr. Martin would begin in 1965, "The FBI." As much as I love the latter series, one advantage Desi Arnaz and Quinn Martin had here was a lack of interference from government agencies.The show was not only a precursor to "The FBI," but it also was ahead of its time when it came to gritty crime dramas. It began just as the 1950s was ending, and when life in the United States was once again becoming unsettled. Perhaps it might have even been a precursor to "The Godfather" when it came to portraying the Mafia; then again, it debuted only two years after the famous Apalachin, NY gathering that brought the Mob to national attention.In any event, "The Untouchables" was a very brave series that, like "The FBI," had high-quality production and acting. And I am glad it is coming out on DVD.PS: Watch for a 1960 episode was features "Bewitched" regulars Elizabeth Montgomery and David White!