The Untouchables (1959–1963): Season 2, Episode 15 - The Organization - full transcript
With the imprisonment of Al Capone for tax evasion, Frank Nitti has taken over the operation of the organization but that isn't stopping others from trying to muscle their way in. Arnie Seeger in particular thinks he has the opportunity to create a national crime syndicate and partners with St. Louis mobster Joe Kulak to make it happen. They plan on inviting key mobsters from across the country to a conference in Chicago. Into this mix comes a recently released small-time criminal, Maxie Schram. His wife Roxie now lives with Seeger and Maxie tries to hit her up for money. Down and out, he has no choice but to turn to Eliot Ness as an informant after his wife refuses to help him. It is Maxie that puts Ness and his men on Seeger's trail. When Kulak kills a policeman who had wiretapped the site of the syndicate conference, theirs is now a murder investigation as well.
Tonight's episode:
Starring Robert
Stack as Eliot Ness;
co-starring Susan
Oliver, Milton Selzer,
and Oscar Beregi.
With special guest
star Richard Conte.
And narrated by Walter Winchell.
The bookies had given
four to one against it,
but on May 3, 1932...
Through the efforts of Eliot
Ness and the Untouchables...
Al Capone was convicted
and taken out of circulation.
Out of circulation but
not out of business.
Frank Nitti was holding
the organization together.
Although the Capone
mob still made a big noise,
it wasn't the same.
The lion was down
and the jackals were
already slashing at his flanks,
but there were other lions.
One of the biggest was
Joe Kulak from St. Louis...
Kulak, the one they
called "The Teacher"
because he had trained so
many underworld big shots.
He had given them their start.
He still gave them their orders.
On November 9, 1932,
alerted by federal
authorities in St. Louis,
the Untouchables
watched Kulak arrive.
Their job: to find out what
he was doing in Chicago.
Arnie Seeger's place.
He's stepping up in
class, entertaining Kulak.
What do you figure it
means, Kulak being here?
I don't know, but you
can bank on one thing:
it won't be penny ante.
One big organization
coast to coast.
We control it all...
The gambling, the whiskey,
the houses, the dope.
The whole works.
How are you cutting it up?
You're going to like it, Joe.
Take my word for it,
you're going to like it.
Here.
Bouchard for the
New Orleans traffic,
Nicholson in Kansas City,
and Danny here is going to
take the Pittsburgh territory.
I got Marker
Malone in Pittsburgh.
Well, I kind of
promised Danny here.
Okay.
You want Malone, you got Malone.
Well, what happens to me?
Maybe you don't trust us?
I want to hear it said.
This much belongs to
Kurtz... from here to here.
I want it said right out.
Danny, you can't
always say it right out.
No? Well, you're
going to say it to me.
I put in a lot of
good time with you...
Six stinking months
on this thing alone,
working night and day
to help you set it up...
And nobody's going to walk
in now and give me the boot.
The water cooler is outside.
Get yourself a drink.
He'll simmer down, Joe.
I don't like no arguments.
Ah, forget him.
Now, look, Joe, all the
other guys are waiting on you.
You just say the word
and I'll set up the meeting.
Maybe I think it over, huh?
Yeah.
Yeah, you think it over.
I don't want to rush
you into nothing.
Here, Dutch will take
that down for you.
He'll drive you
over to the hotel.
I take a cab.
Something wrong?
Joe...
There won't be no arguments.
You ain't gonna
be sore, are you?
Just my mouth.
Look, I'm in a spot.
I can't move without him.
I got to put on an act, don't I?
So what?
You know I'm going to
take care of you, don't you?
Sure.
Good boy.
Still got a lot of
work to do, huh?
Plenty.
Look, uh, suppose
I come back later...
After dinner, around,
uh, 10:30 or so?
Fine.
All right.
Westside A.C.
Is Arnie there?
Seeger? He just left.
Who's this?
Maxie.
Maxie Schramm?
Yeah.
This is Dan... Dan Kurtz.
How are you, Maxie?
How am I?
I got a lousy prison
suit on my back
and five lousy prison
bucks in my pocket.
I'm fine.
I got to talk to Arnie.
Well, how about first
thing in the morning?
Tonight, I want to
talk to him tonight.
Where is he?
He went out to eat.
He's got a dame.
Listen, I got to see him.
Well, look, he's coming back
if you want to drop in
around, uh, half past 10:00.
Thanks, I'll be there.
At 10:30 that night, Danny
Kurtz returned from dinner
for some late work
at Seeger's gym.
A minute or two later,
Maxie Schramm arrived.
Arnie?
Is somebody there?
Who's that?
You two still at it?
Don't feel too bad.
Kurtz is working late, too.
I say a dirty word?
Kurtz is dead.
The D.A. just called.
Dead?
Yeah, some drunk
stumbled over him in an alley.
In an alley?
I saw him go in, but I
never saw him come out.
Back door, I guess.
You see anyone else?
Yeah, Maxie Schramm.
Schramm?
He's in Joliet.
He's back.
He went in right after Kurtz
and then came right out.
I didn't give it much thought.
We could pick him up.
Let's start with the
flops on State Street.
Hey.
Shh... No noise.
Come on.
Come on, Maxie.
What is it?
Shh... Come on, downstairs.
Who are you guys?
Federal officers.
What do you want?
We'll let you know
later. Come on.
Hello, Maxie.
Just happens I had a spare.
What were you doing
in Seeger's gym tonight?
I went to see Arnie...
to hit him for a job.
And maybe hit Danny Kurtz, too?
Not me, honest.
I never killed him.
Who said he was killed?
We know you were
in the gym with him.
One minute, that's all.
I came right out.
Why? Because you saw it happen?
Who killed him, Maxie?
I don't know, honest.
The both of them
against the light...
I couldn't even
tell it was Kurtz.
Please, I just copped a parole.
You get me mixed up
in a killing and then...
Look, Mr. Ness, I'm
just a two-bit flunky.
Everybody knows that.
I never carried
a gun in my life.
What's Kulak doing in town?
How should I know?
I need some information, Maxie.
Why ask me?
I'm not a stool pigeon.
You turned state's
evidence once.
You get another boy.
I learned my
lesson the hard way.
I had three years
to think about it,
three years with
nobody talking to me.
Men that used to
be my friends spitting
when they had to pass.
Sometimes wanting
to spit at myself.
I can pay you, Maxie.
I don't need you.
I got Arnie Seeger.
All right, so I...
so I sold out once!
That don't mean any lousy fed
can buy me any time he wants.
I ain't no salami
hanging up on a hook
for anybody who's got the price.
Keep it.
I gotta say thanks?
One thing I can't
stand... being cold.
I never could stand the cold.
He's going to be a big help.
He'll be back.
Following traditional
underworld practice,
Danny Kurtz's body
lay in state the next day.
Seeger paid his
respects in mid-afternoon.
It's a hard thing to
lose a good friend.
He was with you a long time.
Well, I always say you
got to roll with the punch.
You lose a friend,
you make a friend.
You're going to make plenty.
You got the touch.
Joe, you been thinking over
what we talked about yesterday?
Apple, Mister?
Would you buy an apple?
Here, that's for you.
Oh, thank you.
Like they say, an apple a day
You makin' double sure?
One for me, and
one for my partner.
You got elegant hands, Arnie.
First thing you ever
told me, remember?
When I come into the
shop for a manicure.
"You got elegant hands."
Well, you have, just elegant.
Roxie?
Kulak's in.
And that means all
the rest of his boys.
Ten days from now, we're
gonna have a meeting.
And a month from now,
we're gonna own
the whole country.
It's that big, huh?
I'll tell you how big.
You're gonna have
so many fur coats,
you'll have to hire a
girl to wear 'em for you.
And a new car?
One for every day of the week.
And Sundays and holidays, too.
And diamonds.
Diamonds?
For breakfast, with
cream and sugar.
With cream and sugar?
I guess you want
to talk business.
I heard you were out.
I been looking for
you at the gym all day.
It wouldn't been right
to go down there today.
Losin' a good friend like Danny.
What's on your mind?
Arnie... look, I'm broke.
I got to have a job.
Not with me.
You talk too much.
Once.
Once. I only done it once.
Arnie, I was in a jam.
They were putting
the pressure on.
I couldn't take no 20-year rap.
Dutch, get my jacket, huh?
And brush it off good.
I kept you out of it, didn't I?
I kept you clean.
I was counting on you.
So, what do I do?
You ever heard of working?
You looked around lately?
You seen the breadlines?
Arnie, you owe me!
Nothing.
I owe you nothing.
It's long distance
from Cincinnati.
Mr. Schweger. Shut up.
You used to be pretty.
He thinks I'm pretty now.
Three years.
What's he done to you?
What's he done?
You want to know?
I got clothes and
money and my own car.
I got charge accounts
in the best stores.
I can walk into any
top place in town
and the maitre d' knows my name.
Does he know it's
Mrs. Maxie Schramm?
Suppose I tell him?
Go ahead.
You wouldn't be around long.
Arnie takes what he
likes, and he likes me.
He'd rub you out
like a soup stain.
Maxie, you couldn't call
what we had a real marriage.
How long was it? A
month? Six weeks?
You want me to tell
you in hours or minutes?
You don't know
how it is for a girl.
It's hard to be alone.
Three years can be
an awful long time.
Yeah.
At 10:00 that night,
on the platform of a
remote elevated station,
Maxie Schramm
met with Eliot Ness.
$500. That's as
high as I can go.
It ain't the money.
All right, then, that's it.
$500 when the job is done.
Enough to keep
you going till then.
You get anything,
that's the number to call.
For the next several days,
Maxie hung around the
edges of Seeger's world
trying to dig out
information for Ness.
Eight days passed
before he hit pay dirt.
Hey, Georgie.
What happened to your papers?
Oh, I ain't selling no
more papers tonight.
I'm doin' a job for Mr. Seeger.
Really getting up
in the world, huh?
Here, let me hold
that for you. Thanks.
Here you are.
Thanks. I think it's booze.
Don't tell the cops,
huh? No Hey, taxi!
Looks like you
spent a lot today.
I spend a lot every day.
Nobody's here.
Seeger's got an apartment.
520 Beck Street, 1-C.
He's expecting company.
He sent a kid over
today with some booze.
You know it's Seeger's place?
I know it's his key.
Looks to me like
some kind of meeting.
Who's meeting?
Corey from New
York, Tomack from L.A.
Them two for sure.
How do you know?
Their top boys hit town today.
They always come in first
to kind of look things over.
New York and L.A.
That's coast to coast.
You all right? You
need anything?
I could use some dough.
Sure.
Three bucks?
Oh, I gotta get
out of that flop.
I'm getting chewed
up alive every night.
You live it up now,
the wrong people
might be asking questions.
Keep in touch, huh?
Working on Maxie's
one slim lead,
Ness quickly developed a plan.
It would take a
lot of man hours...
Hobson and the
other Untouchables
would have to
contact the railroads,
the airlines, the bus companies,
and check their reservation list
to learn which princes
of the underworld
were bound for Chicago.
The next afternoon,
Ness borrowed a technician,
George Cooper, from the police.
Together they drove
out to 520 Beck Street.
They discovered that apartment
1-C had recently been rented
by an attractive blonde,
who very much
resembled Roxie Plummer.
Real homey, isn't it?
Yeah.
How long will it
take you to wire up?
Ground floor...
I can drill right
through to the cellar.
About 45 minutes.
Watch yourself.
Check in every two hours, huh?
Right.
SEEGER: Go ahead, Joe.
This place is
made to order, huh?
Gives you an idea
of how I operate.
Organization... That's
my middle name.
I tried to make it comfortable.
It's nice.
The way I got it
worked out, Joe,
the boys are all in
on Thursday morning.
They come straight here
and we have our meeting
and in two hours they're gone,
and nobody even knows
they've been in town.
Clean, huh?
The kid left the
refreshments in the closet.
I hope there's
enough for all of us.
You're a good host.
Arnie never forgets anything.
I figure a deal
as big as this...
Arnie, they must
have done it while I...
And now back to
The Untouchables.
After three hours had passed
without word from Cooper,
Ness picked up his men
and returned to Beck Street.
There was nothing to indicate
that the police technician
had ever been there.
The alley.
Nothing there.
There's nothing anywhere.
You stay.
I'll send the coroner out.
I'd have swore it said
"private" on that door.
I guess maybe I
didn't hear you knock.
I got your present.
Present?
The trunk.
What are you talking about?
520 Beck Street, apartment 1-C.
The one Roxie
Plummer rented for you.
Where is she, Arnie?
Why? What do you want her for?
Suspicion of murder.
Save your time, Ness.
She was with my sister all day.
Yeah. Playing mahjong.
Where were you all day, Seeger?
Playing mahjong, too?
Yeah, that's right.
You can't pin no
murder on me, Ness.
Can't I?
Kulak, aren't you
out of your territory?
You better keep
your bags packed.
I pull the right string,
you're on the next
train back to St. Louis.
Now, just one lousy
minute... You try to put him
on a train, I'll have so
many lawyers around,
the train won't move for a week.
We ain't no lousy punks
you can roust around.
We know our rights;
we know the law.
Now, let me tell you, the
law can work both ways.
Thanks.
I'll try to remember.
What was that all about?
Just testing. I think
we struck a nerve.
Seeger sure took
it big, all right.
What do you suppose
he's working on?
Whatever it is, he can't
swing it without Kulak.
You.
You want to make
the big organization.
You want to run
the whole country.
What can he do?
What can he prove?
I don't want no Fed on my back.
We call the meeting off.
You can't.
Bouchard's on the train already.
Tomack's coming out from L.A.
So we'll forget the apartment.
So we find some other place.
The Rathskeller, maybe.
Nobody goes down
there, only private parties.
And we move in quiet.
How's Ness gonna know?
How does he know
about the apartment?
How?
That's what I ask myself...
Who's talking to him?
All the time it comes
out the same answer.
Who?
Who finds the place for you?
Who fixes it up?
Who knows about
the meeting? Who?
Oh, now, Joe, hold it,
if you mean the girl...
Who you got around all the time?
You think she don't
have eyes to see?
You talk on the phone,
you think she don't listen?
Now, Joe, you're wrong.
You got to take my word for it.
You're way off base.
If I thought there was even
one chance in a thousand...
I don't want no chances at all.
I can't.
You don't want me
for the meeting, huh?
You got till tomorrow night.
Joe...
Joe, I... I can't.
Dutch?
Keep driving.
What's the idea?
What's going on?
What... You're wrong.
It's got to be a mistake.
I'm going down
to meet Arnie now.
Right on Jackson, to the lake.
Why?
What'd I do? I
didn't do anything.
Why?
Please, you got
to give me a break.
I'm not asking much, just...
Dutch, I-I could be nice to you.
I got money at the
apartment, big money.
And jewelry.
Stuff you could
easily turn into cash.
You could tell Arnie
you missed me.
Forget it.
You keep washing,
weather like this,
you take the skin
right off your hands.
I been waiting.
Glad you called... I
want to talk to you.
Not to me. No more.
And I ain't talkin' to you.
We were doing fine.
What happened?
What happened?
The word is out Seeger's mad.
He killed a cop last night,
so what do you think
he's gonna do to me?
I thought you
didn't like the cold.
It's a whole lot
colder being dead.
Maxie.
Rose.
What?
He's looking for me.
Arnie... he's gonna kill me.
I didn't know who
else to come to.
Maxie, he'll kill me.
Why? I don't know.
He's sore. Ness is on his back.
Maxie... help me.
I need some money.
You got money.
You spend a lot every day.
It's at the apartment,
everything is.
I can't go back.
Please?
A few bucks, just
to get out of town.
I know, I got no right.
But you told me once...
Was a time you would've done it,
anything I asked.
Oh, Maxie, I never
changed, not down deep.
I was scared, that's all.
That month we had together,
that's the only nice thing
that ever happened to me.
But you were gone.
You weren't there,
and I was scared.
Maxie, I been
scared all my life.
How much?
If I can get to Dayton...
My sister's in Dayton...
Only 20, 30 bucks.
Oh, I ain't got that much.
But maybe I can get it.
Where?
A friend of mine... he owes me.
I done a job for him. Who?
It don't matter.
You don't know him.
I done a job.
I never changed, neither,
Rose, not for a minute.
Three years in
that stinkin' hole,
and all I ever thought
about was you.
It's gonna take a while.
I got to see someone.
I'll go with you.
No, no, you wait.
Buy yourself a cup
of coffee or something.
I'll be back in an hour,
and we can lam out tonight.
A dame.
You can't even handle a dame.
And you let her get
away with it like that.
She might have even
gone straight to Ness!
Arnie!
Your hands.
You're wrong.
I never talked.
I never sold out to Ness.
Would I come back?
You could have lots of
reason for coming back.
I know who's singing.
Who?
Maxie.
Maxie Schramm.
Right under your nose.
I had a feeling it was him.
I saw him snooping around
Georgie the other day,
when you sent the
kid over with the booze.
And the next day the
apartment was bugged.
I just ran into Maxie.
I strung him along,
let him think I was
open for a deal.
He's waiting for me now.
Ida's Cafe on State Street.
Dutch.
And don't louse it up this time.
Hold it.
Take Boomer along.
I told you, he went out to eat.
I don't know where.
You said he'd be
back in 15 minutes.
It's over a half hour!
Hold it. Here he is.
It's Maxie.
Yes, Maxie?
Let's talk.
I don't like the cold.
20 minutes? Same place?
I'll be waiting.
Come on, Maxie.
The alley.
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
Let's get out of here.
It's cold.
The night man at the icehouse
discovered Maxie's body
and telephoned the police.
15 minutes after the
call was relayed to him,
Eliot Ness visited the
flophouse on State Street.
This was his.
He liked to be down
here at the end.
Did he have any personal stuff?
Clothes? Anything?
Anything he had
would be in here.
I don't charge for the lockers.
Terrible thing.
You know who done it?
It might be hard to prove.
Nice little fella.
Stuck to himself.
Used to come and go.
You a friend of his?
That might be
hard to prove, too.
You want anything else?
We'll call you.
Do you have your light handy?
The next day was Thursday,
a bright, sunny morning,
especially bright
for Arnie Seeger.
This was his day.
He left his hotel
shortly after 10:00.
As a rule, he didn't
waken before noon,
but today he was
expecting company.
At about the same time,
Eliot Ness was in his office.
He was expecting company, too.
Let go. I can walk by myself.
Don't these apes know
how to treat a lady?
They know.
Maxie Schramm
was killed last night.
Does that mean anything to you?
Is that why you dragged me in?
Bums like him get
knocked off every day.
I'm busy. I've got
some shopping to do.
Rose...
Roxie!
The name is Roxie!
Rose. Rose Plummer.
That's what it says right here.
Marriage certificate
signed and witnessed,
copy of the application...
Rose Plummer, Beauty Operator.
We checked it out.
I'm not interested.
Arnie Seeger might be.
Go ahead, tell him.
I told him myself.
Arnie always knew I was married.
To Maxie Schramm?
You figure it out.
Seeger's always been touchy.
Right now, Kulak must
be rubbing him raw.
It wouldn't take
much to set him off.
Maxie's dead.
He can't sing anymore.
But where'd he get the tunes?
Don't you think
Seeger's asking himself?
And suppose he finds
out you were Maxie's wife?
What do you want?
I want Seeger for
killing George Cooper.
He didn't do it.
Who did?
Why were Maxie
and Cooper killed?
What kind of a deal
is Seeger pulling?
Who's in it with him?
I want names, dates,
places, time, everything!
Helping you turns my stomach.
It did the same to Maxie.
Time was moving
against the Untouchables.
Since shortly after 8:30 that
morning, half a dozen cities
across the country had
been spilling their vice lords
into Chicago.
Jerry Tomack, from
the Coast, at 8:43.
Schweger, from
Cincinnati, at 9:36.
Del Corey arrived at the
Chicago Airport at 10:22
and went immediately
to the Rathskeller.
By 10:55, everyone was
there... or almost everyone.
Seeger was already
counting the profits.
I was just tellin' 'em, Del,
we slice up seven figures
every month, maybe more.
The kind of organization we got,
whose gonna tell
us where to stop?
Sounds real good.
We just gotta work
out the details, that's all.
Well, any time you
fellas are ready,
we can get down to business.
You're all in, ain't ya?
Jerry?
Sure. I'm just waitin' for Joe.
Ya. What's the hurry?
I figured Joe to talk for me.
Well, you're all big boys now.
You gotta wait for The Teacher?
You know how Joe is.
What time did he
say he'd be here?
Well, he never said exactly.
You want some action?
A C-note says he'll
be here by 11:00.
So, I lose a hundred bucks.
Did Joe know the
meetin' was for 11:00?
Yeah, he'll be
here. Stop worryin'.
I sent one of my men
over to pick him up.
Joe's never late for a meetin'.
So what's a couple of
minutes, the end of the world?
So the valet is late
deliverin' the suit.
The barber shop is
crowded this morning
or the driver got
hung up in traffic.
Could be a million
things holdin' him up.
Arnie, don't play
no games with us.
Who's playin' games?
I passed up a couple
of big deals in L.A.
I only come east because of Joe.
If it turns out you're
just usin' his name...
You think I'd pull a fast one?
Joe's in right from the start.
He was the first
one I talked to.
Didn't he tell you?
I never talked to Joe, only you.
Look, I wouldn't try to kid you.
Joe's been here for
almost two weeks.
We've been working
together every day.
Joe's with me... like that.
Hello?
Room 907, please.
Mr. Kulak.
When?
Oh.
No message.
He left the hotel. When?
When?!
45 minutes ago.
And it takes ten
minutes to come here.
15 if the traffic's bad.
I told you.
If you're waiting for
Kulak, he won't be here.
Ness, I told you
the other day...
Yeah, I know, the
law works both ways.
And Kulak's caught
right in the middle
for the murder of George Cooper.
Big talk.
We'll be havin' lunch with Joe.
I'll bail him out in no time.
Sorry, no bail.
You boys better save
your money for flowers.
All right, maybe he's got
Kulak, and maybe he's bluffin'.
But there's no reason
why we can't go ahead.
He can't stop us!
Nothin' wrong with
just havin' a meetin'.
We're just a
bunch of old friends
sittin' around talkin', huh?
He can't stop us!
Jerry, where are you going?
Don't let him run you out.
Jerry, wait!
We can swing it without Kulak!
Wait. Use your head.
Arno. Arno, sit down.
Let's talk it over.
Let's talk. Let's talk it over.
Hey, boys, where you going?
Let's wait. Wait.
Wait!
All these months...
all the time I put
into this thing...
now I got nothin'.
You got one thing,
you're still alive.
Eliot!
Turning your back like that,
you took a long chance.
Yeah.
It couldn't happen
to a nicer guy.
Convicted on Roxie
Plummer's testimony,
Joe Kulak was
executed April 10, 1933.
That same day, Roxie was shot
and killed by parties unknown.
Her death had been arranged
by six notorious big shots
paying their last
respects to The Teacher.
Starring Robert
Stack as Eliot Ness;
co-starring Susan
Oliver, Milton Selzer,
and Oscar Beregi.
With special guest
star Richard Conte.
And narrated by Walter Winchell.
The bookies had given
four to one against it,
but on May 3, 1932...
Through the efforts of Eliot
Ness and the Untouchables...
Al Capone was convicted
and taken out of circulation.
Out of circulation but
not out of business.
Frank Nitti was holding
the organization together.
Although the Capone
mob still made a big noise,
it wasn't the same.
The lion was down
and the jackals were
already slashing at his flanks,
but there were other lions.
One of the biggest was
Joe Kulak from St. Louis...
Kulak, the one they
called "The Teacher"
because he had trained so
many underworld big shots.
He had given them their start.
He still gave them their orders.
On November 9, 1932,
alerted by federal
authorities in St. Louis,
the Untouchables
watched Kulak arrive.
Their job: to find out what
he was doing in Chicago.
Arnie Seeger's place.
He's stepping up in
class, entertaining Kulak.
What do you figure it
means, Kulak being here?
I don't know, but you
can bank on one thing:
it won't be penny ante.
One big organization
coast to coast.
We control it all...
The gambling, the whiskey,
the houses, the dope.
The whole works.
How are you cutting it up?
You're going to like it, Joe.
Take my word for it,
you're going to like it.
Here.
Bouchard for the
New Orleans traffic,
Nicholson in Kansas City,
and Danny here is going to
take the Pittsburgh territory.
I got Marker
Malone in Pittsburgh.
Well, I kind of
promised Danny here.
Okay.
You want Malone, you got Malone.
Well, what happens to me?
Maybe you don't trust us?
I want to hear it said.
This much belongs to
Kurtz... from here to here.
I want it said right out.
Danny, you can't
always say it right out.
No? Well, you're
going to say it to me.
I put in a lot of
good time with you...
Six stinking months
on this thing alone,
working night and day
to help you set it up...
And nobody's going to walk
in now and give me the boot.
The water cooler is outside.
Get yourself a drink.
He'll simmer down, Joe.
I don't like no arguments.
Ah, forget him.
Now, look, Joe, all the
other guys are waiting on you.
You just say the word
and I'll set up the meeting.
Maybe I think it over, huh?
Yeah.
Yeah, you think it over.
I don't want to rush
you into nothing.
Here, Dutch will take
that down for you.
He'll drive you
over to the hotel.
I take a cab.
Something wrong?
Joe...
There won't be no arguments.
You ain't gonna
be sore, are you?
Just my mouth.
Look, I'm in a spot.
I can't move without him.
I got to put on an act, don't I?
So what?
You know I'm going to
take care of you, don't you?
Sure.
Good boy.
Still got a lot of
work to do, huh?
Plenty.
Look, uh, suppose
I come back later...
After dinner, around,
uh, 10:30 or so?
Fine.
All right.
Westside A.C.
Is Arnie there?
Seeger? He just left.
Who's this?
Maxie.
Maxie Schramm?
Yeah.
This is Dan... Dan Kurtz.
How are you, Maxie?
How am I?
I got a lousy prison
suit on my back
and five lousy prison
bucks in my pocket.
I'm fine.
I got to talk to Arnie.
Well, how about first
thing in the morning?
Tonight, I want to
talk to him tonight.
Where is he?
He went out to eat.
He's got a dame.
Listen, I got to see him.
Well, look, he's coming back
if you want to drop in
around, uh, half past 10:00.
Thanks, I'll be there.
At 10:30 that night, Danny
Kurtz returned from dinner
for some late work
at Seeger's gym.
A minute or two later,
Maxie Schramm arrived.
Arnie?
Is somebody there?
Who's that?
You two still at it?
Don't feel too bad.
Kurtz is working late, too.
I say a dirty word?
Kurtz is dead.
The D.A. just called.
Dead?
Yeah, some drunk
stumbled over him in an alley.
In an alley?
I saw him go in, but I
never saw him come out.
Back door, I guess.
You see anyone else?
Yeah, Maxie Schramm.
Schramm?
He's in Joliet.
He's back.
He went in right after Kurtz
and then came right out.
I didn't give it much thought.
We could pick him up.
Let's start with the
flops on State Street.
Hey.
Shh... No noise.
Come on.
Come on, Maxie.
What is it?
Shh... Come on, downstairs.
Who are you guys?
Federal officers.
What do you want?
We'll let you know
later. Come on.
Hello, Maxie.
Just happens I had a spare.
What were you doing
in Seeger's gym tonight?
I went to see Arnie...
to hit him for a job.
And maybe hit Danny Kurtz, too?
Not me, honest.
I never killed him.
Who said he was killed?
We know you were
in the gym with him.
One minute, that's all.
I came right out.
Why? Because you saw it happen?
Who killed him, Maxie?
I don't know, honest.
The both of them
against the light...
I couldn't even
tell it was Kurtz.
Please, I just copped a parole.
You get me mixed up
in a killing and then...
Look, Mr. Ness, I'm
just a two-bit flunky.
Everybody knows that.
I never carried
a gun in my life.
What's Kulak doing in town?
How should I know?
I need some information, Maxie.
Why ask me?
I'm not a stool pigeon.
You turned state's
evidence once.
You get another boy.
I learned my
lesson the hard way.
I had three years
to think about it,
three years with
nobody talking to me.
Men that used to
be my friends spitting
when they had to pass.
Sometimes wanting
to spit at myself.
I can pay you, Maxie.
I don't need you.
I got Arnie Seeger.
All right, so I...
so I sold out once!
That don't mean any lousy fed
can buy me any time he wants.
I ain't no salami
hanging up on a hook
for anybody who's got the price.
Keep it.
I gotta say thanks?
One thing I can't
stand... being cold.
I never could stand the cold.
He's going to be a big help.
He'll be back.
Following traditional
underworld practice,
Danny Kurtz's body
lay in state the next day.
Seeger paid his
respects in mid-afternoon.
It's a hard thing to
lose a good friend.
He was with you a long time.
Well, I always say you
got to roll with the punch.
You lose a friend,
you make a friend.
You're going to make plenty.
You got the touch.
Joe, you been thinking over
what we talked about yesterday?
Apple, Mister?
Would you buy an apple?
Here, that's for you.
Oh, thank you.
Like they say, an apple a day
You makin' double sure?
One for me, and
one for my partner.
You got elegant hands, Arnie.
First thing you ever
told me, remember?
When I come into the
shop for a manicure.
"You got elegant hands."
Well, you have, just elegant.
Roxie?
Kulak's in.
And that means all
the rest of his boys.
Ten days from now, we're
gonna have a meeting.
And a month from now,
we're gonna own
the whole country.
It's that big, huh?
I'll tell you how big.
You're gonna have
so many fur coats,
you'll have to hire a
girl to wear 'em for you.
And a new car?
One for every day of the week.
And Sundays and holidays, too.
And diamonds.
Diamonds?
For breakfast, with
cream and sugar.
With cream and sugar?
I guess you want
to talk business.
I heard you were out.
I been looking for
you at the gym all day.
It wouldn't been right
to go down there today.
Losin' a good friend like Danny.
What's on your mind?
Arnie... look, I'm broke.
I got to have a job.
Not with me.
You talk too much.
Once.
Once. I only done it once.
Arnie, I was in a jam.
They were putting
the pressure on.
I couldn't take no 20-year rap.
Dutch, get my jacket, huh?
And brush it off good.
I kept you out of it, didn't I?
I kept you clean.
I was counting on you.
So, what do I do?
You ever heard of working?
You looked around lately?
You seen the breadlines?
Arnie, you owe me!
Nothing.
I owe you nothing.
It's long distance
from Cincinnati.
Mr. Schweger. Shut up.
You used to be pretty.
He thinks I'm pretty now.
Three years.
What's he done to you?
What's he done?
You want to know?
I got clothes and
money and my own car.
I got charge accounts
in the best stores.
I can walk into any
top place in town
and the maitre d' knows my name.
Does he know it's
Mrs. Maxie Schramm?
Suppose I tell him?
Go ahead.
You wouldn't be around long.
Arnie takes what he
likes, and he likes me.
He'd rub you out
like a soup stain.
Maxie, you couldn't call
what we had a real marriage.
How long was it? A
month? Six weeks?
You want me to tell
you in hours or minutes?
You don't know
how it is for a girl.
It's hard to be alone.
Three years can be
an awful long time.
Yeah.
At 10:00 that night,
on the platform of a
remote elevated station,
Maxie Schramm
met with Eliot Ness.
$500. That's as
high as I can go.
It ain't the money.
All right, then, that's it.
$500 when the job is done.
Enough to keep
you going till then.
You get anything,
that's the number to call.
For the next several days,
Maxie hung around the
edges of Seeger's world
trying to dig out
information for Ness.
Eight days passed
before he hit pay dirt.
Hey, Georgie.
What happened to your papers?
Oh, I ain't selling no
more papers tonight.
I'm doin' a job for Mr. Seeger.
Really getting up
in the world, huh?
Here, let me hold
that for you. Thanks.
Here you are.
Thanks. I think it's booze.
Don't tell the cops,
huh? No Hey, taxi!
Looks like you
spent a lot today.
I spend a lot every day.
Nobody's here.
Seeger's got an apartment.
520 Beck Street, 1-C.
He's expecting company.
He sent a kid over
today with some booze.
You know it's Seeger's place?
I know it's his key.
Looks to me like
some kind of meeting.
Who's meeting?
Corey from New
York, Tomack from L.A.
Them two for sure.
How do you know?
Their top boys hit town today.
They always come in first
to kind of look things over.
New York and L.A.
That's coast to coast.
You all right? You
need anything?
I could use some dough.
Sure.
Three bucks?
Oh, I gotta get
out of that flop.
I'm getting chewed
up alive every night.
You live it up now,
the wrong people
might be asking questions.
Keep in touch, huh?
Working on Maxie's
one slim lead,
Ness quickly developed a plan.
It would take a
lot of man hours...
Hobson and the
other Untouchables
would have to
contact the railroads,
the airlines, the bus companies,
and check their reservation list
to learn which princes
of the underworld
were bound for Chicago.
The next afternoon,
Ness borrowed a technician,
George Cooper, from the police.
Together they drove
out to 520 Beck Street.
They discovered that apartment
1-C had recently been rented
by an attractive blonde,
who very much
resembled Roxie Plummer.
Real homey, isn't it?
Yeah.
How long will it
take you to wire up?
Ground floor...
I can drill right
through to the cellar.
About 45 minutes.
Watch yourself.
Check in every two hours, huh?
Right.
SEEGER: Go ahead, Joe.
This place is
made to order, huh?
Gives you an idea
of how I operate.
Organization... That's
my middle name.
I tried to make it comfortable.
It's nice.
The way I got it
worked out, Joe,
the boys are all in
on Thursday morning.
They come straight here
and we have our meeting
and in two hours they're gone,
and nobody even knows
they've been in town.
Clean, huh?
The kid left the
refreshments in the closet.
I hope there's
enough for all of us.
You're a good host.
Arnie never forgets anything.
I figure a deal
as big as this...
Arnie, they must
have done it while I...
And now back to
The Untouchables.
After three hours had passed
without word from Cooper,
Ness picked up his men
and returned to Beck Street.
There was nothing to indicate
that the police technician
had ever been there.
The alley.
Nothing there.
There's nothing anywhere.
You stay.
I'll send the coroner out.
I'd have swore it said
"private" on that door.
I guess maybe I
didn't hear you knock.
I got your present.
Present?
The trunk.
What are you talking about?
520 Beck Street, apartment 1-C.
The one Roxie
Plummer rented for you.
Where is she, Arnie?
Why? What do you want her for?
Suspicion of murder.
Save your time, Ness.
She was with my sister all day.
Yeah. Playing mahjong.
Where were you all day, Seeger?
Playing mahjong, too?
Yeah, that's right.
You can't pin no
murder on me, Ness.
Can't I?
Kulak, aren't you
out of your territory?
You better keep
your bags packed.
I pull the right string,
you're on the next
train back to St. Louis.
Now, just one lousy
minute... You try to put him
on a train, I'll have so
many lawyers around,
the train won't move for a week.
We ain't no lousy punks
you can roust around.
We know our rights;
we know the law.
Now, let me tell you, the
law can work both ways.
Thanks.
I'll try to remember.
What was that all about?
Just testing. I think
we struck a nerve.
Seeger sure took
it big, all right.
What do you suppose
he's working on?
Whatever it is, he can't
swing it without Kulak.
You.
You want to make
the big organization.
You want to run
the whole country.
What can he do?
What can he prove?
I don't want no Fed on my back.
We call the meeting off.
You can't.
Bouchard's on the train already.
Tomack's coming out from L.A.
So we'll forget the apartment.
So we find some other place.
The Rathskeller, maybe.
Nobody goes down
there, only private parties.
And we move in quiet.
How's Ness gonna know?
How does he know
about the apartment?
How?
That's what I ask myself...
Who's talking to him?
All the time it comes
out the same answer.
Who?
Who finds the place for you?
Who fixes it up?
Who knows about
the meeting? Who?
Oh, now, Joe, hold it,
if you mean the girl...
Who you got around all the time?
You think she don't
have eyes to see?
You talk on the phone,
you think she don't listen?
Now, Joe, you're wrong.
You got to take my word for it.
You're way off base.
If I thought there was even
one chance in a thousand...
I don't want no chances at all.
I can't.
You don't want me
for the meeting, huh?
You got till tomorrow night.
Joe...
Joe, I... I can't.
Dutch?
Keep driving.
What's the idea?
What's going on?
What... You're wrong.
It's got to be a mistake.
I'm going down
to meet Arnie now.
Right on Jackson, to the lake.
Why?
What'd I do? I
didn't do anything.
Why?
Please, you got
to give me a break.
I'm not asking much, just...
Dutch, I-I could be nice to you.
I got money at the
apartment, big money.
And jewelry.
Stuff you could
easily turn into cash.
You could tell Arnie
you missed me.
Forget it.
You keep washing,
weather like this,
you take the skin
right off your hands.
I been waiting.
Glad you called... I
want to talk to you.
Not to me. No more.
And I ain't talkin' to you.
We were doing fine.
What happened?
What happened?
The word is out Seeger's mad.
He killed a cop last night,
so what do you think
he's gonna do to me?
I thought you
didn't like the cold.
It's a whole lot
colder being dead.
Maxie.
Rose.
What?
He's looking for me.
Arnie... he's gonna kill me.
I didn't know who
else to come to.
Maxie, he'll kill me.
Why? I don't know.
He's sore. Ness is on his back.
Maxie... help me.
I need some money.
You got money.
You spend a lot every day.
It's at the apartment,
everything is.
I can't go back.
Please?
A few bucks, just
to get out of town.
I know, I got no right.
But you told me once...
Was a time you would've done it,
anything I asked.
Oh, Maxie, I never
changed, not down deep.
I was scared, that's all.
That month we had together,
that's the only nice thing
that ever happened to me.
But you were gone.
You weren't there,
and I was scared.
Maxie, I been
scared all my life.
How much?
If I can get to Dayton...
My sister's in Dayton...
Only 20, 30 bucks.
Oh, I ain't got that much.
But maybe I can get it.
Where?
A friend of mine... he owes me.
I done a job for him. Who?
It don't matter.
You don't know him.
I done a job.
I never changed, neither,
Rose, not for a minute.
Three years in
that stinkin' hole,
and all I ever thought
about was you.
It's gonna take a while.
I got to see someone.
I'll go with you.
No, no, you wait.
Buy yourself a cup
of coffee or something.
I'll be back in an hour,
and we can lam out tonight.
A dame.
You can't even handle a dame.
And you let her get
away with it like that.
She might have even
gone straight to Ness!
Arnie!
Your hands.
You're wrong.
I never talked.
I never sold out to Ness.
Would I come back?
You could have lots of
reason for coming back.
I know who's singing.
Who?
Maxie.
Maxie Schramm.
Right under your nose.
I had a feeling it was him.
I saw him snooping around
Georgie the other day,
when you sent the
kid over with the booze.
And the next day the
apartment was bugged.
I just ran into Maxie.
I strung him along,
let him think I was
open for a deal.
He's waiting for me now.
Ida's Cafe on State Street.
Dutch.
And don't louse it up this time.
Hold it.
Take Boomer along.
I told you, he went out to eat.
I don't know where.
You said he'd be
back in 15 minutes.
It's over a half hour!
Hold it. Here he is.
It's Maxie.
Yes, Maxie?
Let's talk.
I don't like the cold.
20 minutes? Same place?
I'll be waiting.
Come on, Maxie.
The alley.
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
Let's get out of here.
It's cold.
The night man at the icehouse
discovered Maxie's body
and telephoned the police.
15 minutes after the
call was relayed to him,
Eliot Ness visited the
flophouse on State Street.
This was his.
He liked to be down
here at the end.
Did he have any personal stuff?
Clothes? Anything?
Anything he had
would be in here.
I don't charge for the lockers.
Terrible thing.
You know who done it?
It might be hard to prove.
Nice little fella.
Stuck to himself.
Used to come and go.
You a friend of his?
That might be
hard to prove, too.
You want anything else?
We'll call you.
Do you have your light handy?
The next day was Thursday,
a bright, sunny morning,
especially bright
for Arnie Seeger.
This was his day.
He left his hotel
shortly after 10:00.
As a rule, he didn't
waken before noon,
but today he was
expecting company.
At about the same time,
Eliot Ness was in his office.
He was expecting company, too.
Let go. I can walk by myself.
Don't these apes know
how to treat a lady?
They know.
Maxie Schramm
was killed last night.
Does that mean anything to you?
Is that why you dragged me in?
Bums like him get
knocked off every day.
I'm busy. I've got
some shopping to do.
Rose...
Roxie!
The name is Roxie!
Rose. Rose Plummer.
That's what it says right here.
Marriage certificate
signed and witnessed,
copy of the application...
Rose Plummer, Beauty Operator.
We checked it out.
I'm not interested.
Arnie Seeger might be.
Go ahead, tell him.
I told him myself.
Arnie always knew I was married.
To Maxie Schramm?
You figure it out.
Seeger's always been touchy.
Right now, Kulak must
be rubbing him raw.
It wouldn't take
much to set him off.
Maxie's dead.
He can't sing anymore.
But where'd he get the tunes?
Don't you think
Seeger's asking himself?
And suppose he finds
out you were Maxie's wife?
What do you want?
I want Seeger for
killing George Cooper.
He didn't do it.
Who did?
Why were Maxie
and Cooper killed?
What kind of a deal
is Seeger pulling?
Who's in it with him?
I want names, dates,
places, time, everything!
Helping you turns my stomach.
It did the same to Maxie.
Time was moving
against the Untouchables.
Since shortly after 8:30 that
morning, half a dozen cities
across the country had
been spilling their vice lords
into Chicago.
Jerry Tomack, from
the Coast, at 8:43.
Schweger, from
Cincinnati, at 9:36.
Del Corey arrived at the
Chicago Airport at 10:22
and went immediately
to the Rathskeller.
By 10:55, everyone was
there... or almost everyone.
Seeger was already
counting the profits.
I was just tellin' 'em, Del,
we slice up seven figures
every month, maybe more.
The kind of organization we got,
whose gonna tell
us where to stop?
Sounds real good.
We just gotta work
out the details, that's all.
Well, any time you
fellas are ready,
we can get down to business.
You're all in, ain't ya?
Jerry?
Sure. I'm just waitin' for Joe.
Ya. What's the hurry?
I figured Joe to talk for me.
Well, you're all big boys now.
You gotta wait for The Teacher?
You know how Joe is.
What time did he
say he'd be here?
Well, he never said exactly.
You want some action?
A C-note says he'll
be here by 11:00.
So, I lose a hundred bucks.
Did Joe know the
meetin' was for 11:00?
Yeah, he'll be
here. Stop worryin'.
I sent one of my men
over to pick him up.
Joe's never late for a meetin'.
So what's a couple of
minutes, the end of the world?
So the valet is late
deliverin' the suit.
The barber shop is
crowded this morning
or the driver got
hung up in traffic.
Could be a million
things holdin' him up.
Arnie, don't play
no games with us.
Who's playin' games?
I passed up a couple
of big deals in L.A.
I only come east because of Joe.
If it turns out you're
just usin' his name...
You think I'd pull a fast one?
Joe's in right from the start.
He was the first
one I talked to.
Didn't he tell you?
I never talked to Joe, only you.
Look, I wouldn't try to kid you.
Joe's been here for
almost two weeks.
We've been working
together every day.
Joe's with me... like that.
Hello?
Room 907, please.
Mr. Kulak.
When?
Oh.
No message.
He left the hotel. When?
When?!
45 minutes ago.
And it takes ten
minutes to come here.
15 if the traffic's bad.
I told you.
If you're waiting for
Kulak, he won't be here.
Ness, I told you
the other day...
Yeah, I know, the
law works both ways.
And Kulak's caught
right in the middle
for the murder of George Cooper.
Big talk.
We'll be havin' lunch with Joe.
I'll bail him out in no time.
Sorry, no bail.
You boys better save
your money for flowers.
All right, maybe he's got
Kulak, and maybe he's bluffin'.
But there's no reason
why we can't go ahead.
He can't stop us!
Nothin' wrong with
just havin' a meetin'.
We're just a
bunch of old friends
sittin' around talkin', huh?
He can't stop us!
Jerry, where are you going?
Don't let him run you out.
Jerry, wait!
We can swing it without Kulak!
Wait. Use your head.
Arno. Arno, sit down.
Let's talk it over.
Let's talk. Let's talk it over.
Hey, boys, where you going?
Let's wait. Wait.
Wait!
All these months...
all the time I put
into this thing...
now I got nothin'.
You got one thing,
you're still alive.
Eliot!
Turning your back like that,
you took a long chance.
Yeah.
It couldn't happen
to a nicer guy.
Convicted on Roxie
Plummer's testimony,
Joe Kulak was
executed April 10, 1933.
That same day, Roxie was shot
and killed by parties unknown.
Her death had been arranged
by six notorious big shots
paying their last
respects to The Teacher.