The Untouchables (1959–1963): Season 2, Episode 2 - Jack 'Legs' Diamond - full transcript

Working in the New York area, Eliot Ness and his men are trying to trace an incoming shipment of narcotics. Some years before, mobster and nightclub owner Jack "Legs" Diamond spent time in Europe and he made a deal with a Greek crime family to buy $5 million worth of narcotics. Diamond is flamboyant and loves publicity but his partners, Lucky Luciano and Dutch Schultz, want him to lay low for a while and they send him off to his cabin in the Catskills. When Diamond learns that they have gone ahead with the drug deal without informing him, he assumes they're trying to cut him out of the deal and goes after the drugs himself.

You got the stuff, Legs.

What do you want with me?

I'm just a delivery boy.

Unpack the crates,
put the stuff in my car.

Throw what's left in
the truck and burn it.

Not my truck, please, Legs.

That's all I got!

Don't burn it, please!

You ain't gonna be
needing your truck, Moxie.

I never hurt you.

You're not gonna kill
me, are you, Legs?



No, I ain't gonna hurt you.

(theme music plays)

Tonight's episode...

Starring Robert
Stack as Eliot Ness.

Co-starring Stephen
Hill, Norma Crane,

and Suzanne Storrs.

And narrated by Walter Winchell.

NARRATOR: By 1931, the
country's "Era of Wonderful Nonsense"

was over.

The great depression
was steadily sinking

its fangs deeper into
the nation's economic life

with each passing day.

Unaffected by the growing
unemployment, gangster-owned

and operated
speakeasies and nightclubs



continued to flourish.

Prohibition had spawned
a new mobster aristocracy.

Hoodlums with money had become
knights of the submachine gun.

One such prominent mobster
was Jack "Legs" Diamond,

known to the mobs
as the "Clay Pigeon"

because of the
great number of times

he had been shot
at and survived.

Legs had a wife, but
most of his time now

was spent in the
company of Dawn Dolan,

young and glamorous
nightclub canary.

How about a couple of
quick poses, Miss Dolan?

You, too, Mr. Diamond.

Just one more.

No, forget it. We got
to get back to town.

Thank you very
much, Mr. Diamond.

Get down, baby! Get down!

Legs? Legs?

It's all right,
baby. It's all right.

Oh, Legs, I'm so frightened!

Shh... Don't
worry, it's over now.

It's not over. It'll
never be over.

Oh, come on now,
baby. Take it easy.

We walked away
from it, didn't we?

This time we did, but next
time we won't be so lucky.

You still love me?

You know I do.

Anything that happens
to you, happens to me.

From now on, nothing but good's

going to happen to both of us.

Promise me something, please?

Find out who it is
that's trying to kill you.

Talk to them and
try to make peace.

I already know who it is.

All I gotta find out now is why.

Once again, the
luck of Legs Diamond,

the "Clay Pigeon," had held,

while that of a 19-year-old
boy had run out.

After leaving Dawn Dolan
at the Hotsey Totsey Club,

Legs Diamond drove directly
to the apartment of the man

whose bodyguard he had
once been, and whose friendship

had raised him into the ranks
of New York's gangster elite.

The gambler and
behind-the-scenes racketeer,

Oscar Benjamin,

financier to the underworld,

and known to every hoodlum
from Brooklyn to the Bronx

as the "Man Uptown."

In Gangster Benjamin's
elegant card room,

the usual high-stakes
poker game was in progress.

Seated around the table were
the men who were responsible

for a major portion of
New York's big time rackets.

Big Bill Swinney, now
shifting his greedy interest

from beer and bail
bonds to narcotics,

Dutch Schultz, beer baron
and king of the rackets

in Harlem and the Bronx,

and Lucky Luciano,
rapidly building an empire

on prostitution,
dope and gambling.

Hi, Legs.

Hey, Diamond, how are you?

How are all the
little ladies, huh?

Pull up a chair, Legs.

Not tonight, Bennie.

Anybody here
surprised to see me?

Should we be?

I think so.

It seems I was scheduled

to take on a little
extra weight tonight,

about two pounds of lead
from a sawed-off shotgun.

(laughing)

You mean they missed?

They ought to call you
"Lucky" instead of "Legs."

Legs makes his own luck.

He's got a pair of pins that
always take him out of trouble

Right, Legs?

Me, I'd rather have luck.

Sooner or later, the
legs, they give out.

Sooner or later,
the luck does, too.

And sooner or later, I get
tired of playing "Clay Pigeon."

I want to know why
somebody set me up.

Maybe it could be a warning.

Yeah, there's a lot of warning

in a blast of buckshot,
huh, Bennie?

(men laugh)

Okay, I been warned.

What against?

Publicity, Legs.

It's all that publicity
you've been getting.

It's bad.

The boys feel, and I do, too,

that this is the wrong
time to be calling attention

to ourselves. Who
calls attention?

I get around. What's
wrong with that?

The newspapers got to
have somebody to write about.

So let 'em.

But from now on, it's
got to be somebody else.

What's the matter?
You're jealous I get

my picture in the
paper a few times?

The kind of publicity you've
been getting, Diamond,

can hurt a project that
we're all interested in.

All right, let's
cut the fancy talk.

You're a hog, Diamond.

A hog about women,
a hog about publicity.

You like so much to get
your picture in the paper,

maybe we can fix it up
for you to get a big spread.

Back on the obituary page.

BENJAMIN: Bill's right, Legs.

We've got to be careful
because of the new project.

Anything that draws
attention to you,

draws attention to us.

And that's not good.

Okay, so it stops. Then what?

Well, then we got
something for you to do.

Such as?

SWINNEY: Retire. Retire?

That's right.

You sit on the sidelines
for a while, you cool off.

You got a lovely place

in the Catskills.
My wife lives there.

So what?

There's no law against
a man living with his wife.

(men laugh)

I'm afraid that's the
way it's got to be, Legs.

The new project comes
ahead of everything else.

I'm sure Alice will
be glad to see you.

Bennie... Oh, sure.

Maybe you ought to
open up a little shop,

a little trade in hard cider.

Bennie, I... Look
at it this way, Legs,

your luck still holds.

Be grateful you're
walking out of the rackets

instead of... being carried out.

Bennie...

Bennie, I...

I think Legs has seen the light.

He'll behave.

Care to make a bet?

Hey, what about Legs' piece
of this project, does he get it?

I vote we write him out.

BENJAMIN: Now, wait a minute.

Legs set up the European
end of the operation.

If those stupid gunsels
had done their job,

there wouldn't be a problem.

I told you before,

that's not the way
to handle Legs.

All right! All right!

If he keeps his nose clean,

stays out of the newspapers,

we throw him a bone, okay?

Okay?

Yeah. Okay.

Who deals?

The project which Legs
Diamond had been jeopardizing

by his fondness for
publicity was a master plan

for smuggling dope
into the country

in unparalleled quantities.

Reports from the cooperative
Greek government in Athens

that such a plan was
already in operation

alarmed federal officers.

Eliot Ness and his Untouchables
were ordered to the East Coast

to aid in combating
the threatened traffic.

I can give you the problem
in a single word: dope.

A multimillion dollar operation.

ROSSI: Any names
to go with the pictures?

Some big ones, it took
money to set up this deal.

Here's the picture
Washington gave me:

two years ago, Legs
Diamond made a trip to Greece.

When he was there he made a
deal with the Esotopolis Brothers,

two of Europe's top smugglers.

They agreed to furnish
all the morphine and heroin

the Lucky Luciano-Bill
Swinney mob could possibly use.

That's a big order.

Where will the
Esotopolis Brothers

get their supply? Turkey
and the Near East.

From there, they
smuggle it into Greece

and onto ships
bound for America.

But dope has always
been penny-ante stuff, Eliot.

Why should gangster
money want to move in now?

Won't be penny-ante
stuff any longer.

The market's getting
bigger every day.

As long as there's
an illegal demand,

you can make book the mob
will come up with an illegal supply.

Where do we start from?

The waterfronts.

East side, West side,
all around the town,

with Newark and
Brooklyn thrown in,

and particular
attention to Greek ships.

Say, anyone see this?

Somebody tried to knock
off Legs Diamond last night.

Ness and the Untouchables
reported at once

to John Carvell,
United States Attorney

for the Southern
District of New York.

This is going to be
a tough one, Eliot.

I think you may need some help.

We can always use that.

Well, we have a
young customs officer

working the East River
Docks undercover.

Speaks Greek like a native.

That could be useful.
When can I meet him?

I'll set it up. It may
take a day or two.

His name is Spiros.

Dimitrious Spiros.

He's a good man.

Eliot Ness planned his campaign

against the dope ring
in the same manner

he had operated against
Al Capone's liquor syndicate.

His Untouchables
were spotted in key,

undercover locations
around the great harbor.

Rossi appeared in Newark
as an unemployed stevedore,

Youngfellow was a
sailor without a ship,

and Hobson moved
about as a port fireman.

As soon as John Carvell made
the necessary arrangements,

Ness went himself to
meet with Dimitrious Spiros,

the undercover agent operating
on the East River Docks.

Mr. Ness?

Mr. Ness?

Dimitrious.

You picked quite a spot.

I didn't want to break my cover.

Mr. Carvell said
you might help us.

That's why I'm here.

What can I do, Mr. Ness?

Here's the problem:

three Greek ships
are arriving this week.

The S.S. Alcibiades
is due tomorrow,

the S.S. Rokas and the
Korinthos a day or two later.

We've had a tip from
the Greek authorities

there's a $5 million shipment
of dope on one of those boats.

Whew! That's a big bundle.

We need someone who can
slip on board and locate the stuff.

Well, getting on
board is no problem,

but finding the
stuff will be like

looking for a needle
in a bale of hay.

I'm afraid there
are no shortcuts.

By checking and double-checking,

we've cut the list of
shippers who might be

fronting for the
ring down to these.

Check them out first,
you might get lucky.

If luck is all that's
needed, we're in.

My father was the seventh
son of a seventh son.

He could take one look
at a basket of oysters

and point to the
one with a pearl in it.

I hope that some of
that rubbed off on you.

This is one way to find out.

If you locate the
stuff, just mark it.

We want to trace it from
the dock to wherever

it's going.

You're going to let $5 million
worth of dope come ashore?

It's a calculated
risk, but it's worth it.

We're not after the little
guys, the pushers or the punks.

We want the big boys, the
ones who have set up this deal.

Well, it's your neck, Mr. Ness.

I hope you realize

how far you're sticking it out.

(cat meowing)

(cat meowing)

Hello.

WINCHELL: While Dimitrious
Spiros was carefully searching

the holds of the
three Greek freighters

for the $5 million
drug shipment,

Eliot Ness and the
Untouchables concentrated

upon the laborious task of
checking the cargo manifests.

I picked up something
interesting over in Newark.

The guys who tried to
rub out Legs Diamond

were working for
Big Bill Swinney.

That puts Mr. Swinney
right in the middle of it.

And if Swinney's in, that
means Luciano's in, too.

Well, knowing who
we're after helps,

but catching them
with the stuff...

That's the tough part.

Maybe not, if Dimitrious
comes through.

Hey, listen to this:

"What well-known
man-about-town has left the arms

"of what well-known
nightclub beauty

"to return to the
arms of his wife

because country air
is suddenly healthier?"

That must be Diamond.

You're probably right.

What I can't figure
is the connection

between trying to kill
him night before last

and sending him
to the country today.

(phone rings)

Ness speaking.

I found the stuff, Mr. Ness.

It's on the Korinthos.

Yes, it's the Number Four Hold.

The night shift is
unloading it now.

Good work, Dimitrious!

Now, did you mark the stuff
so we can spot it in the dark?

Yes. It's already marked
with a big "D" for Dimitrious.

I'm on the pier now.

I'm going to put another "D"
on the truck that picks it up.

How soon can you
get down here, huh?

Wait there on the dock for us.

We'll be there in 15 minutes.

Dimitrious has come through.

They're unloading
the stuff at Pier 9.

I don't like it.

Dimitrious should have
been here half an hour ago.

Let's check the trucks,
see if he marked any.

I'll check the trucks.
You take a took outside.

He's not outside.

No sign of Dimitrious, no
"D" chalked on any truck.

Something's gone wrong.

Bill, keep covering the pier;

take down the license numbers
of any trucks that move off it.

Right. We'll hit the ship.

Forward.

I told you, Number Four
Hold has been unloaded.

Look, see for yourselves,
there is nothing!

We know this man
was aboard the ship,

we have reason to
believe he's still aboard.

Then where would he be?

Mind if I look over the ship?

Go ahead.

(cat meowing)

This was the man?

Yeah... this was the man.

WINCHELL: The murder
of Dimitrious Spiros

meant that Ness'
calculated risk had backfired,

$5 million worth of narcotics

had entered the
country undetected,

and Ness' hope for a quick
smashing of the dope ring

had died with Dimitrious

in the Number Four
Hold of the S.S. Korinthos.

I know how you feel, Eliot,
but don't take it out on me.

I'm sorry, Rico...

That's all right. Forget it.

Let's get a shower.

Well, I know how you must feel.

We're right back
where we started from.

Not necessarily. We know a
few things we didn't know before.

We know the stuff
is in the country

and we know the names
of those trying to get it.

We can't include Legs
Diamond with the others.

Don't forget they've chased
him to his place in the mountains.

I know.

Rico, you and I are
going to take a little trip.

To the Catskills?

Maybe we do a little
fishing while we're there?

The only fishing I want
to do is to stir up the mud

at the bottom of the lake
and see what floats to the top.

(carnival style music playing)

WINCHELL: Banishment
to the mountain greenery

wasn't easy for Legs
Diamond to accept.

He missed the bright lights
and the bowing waiters;

he missed the publicity...

But most of all he
missed Dawn Dolan.

But not Alice, his wife... A
former carnival entertainer...

Now seeking to compensate
for the emptiness in her life

by filling the
house with gadgets

and herself with liquor.

Come on, honey,
have a little drink.

Maybe you won't
feel so restless.

I don't want a drink.

It's the middle of the day.

You ought to be dressed.

I am dressed.

I've got my earrings on.

You shouldn't be
slopping that stuff up either.

(chuckles)

Well, a girl's got to keep
up her spirits some way.

You haven't been
a girl in ten years.

(music slows and stops)

Well, I was once...

and I used to be
real pretty, too.

That was before you started lapping
up the booze. Now you're a slob.

Tell me, Legs, is it just
being away from town

that makes you so unpleasant,
or is it being away from her?

Shut up.

If it's just being
away from Dawn...

maybe we can have her
up here for a weekend, huh?

I said shut up.

I told you never to
mention her name.

Dawn!

Dawn! Dawn! Dawn!

I'll mention her name
any time I please!

What is she... some kind
of goddess or something?

Oh, you would love to use
that gun, wouldn't you, Legs?

Love to!

Well, go ahead... Go
ahead, use the gun!

Why don't you?

Come on, go ahead
and use that gun!

Why don't you...?

(doorbell buzzing)

Fix your face. Answer the door.

(doorbell buzzing)

Hello.

Eliot Ness.

Uh... uh... this
is, uh, Mr. Ness.

We're Federal Agents.

My name's Ness and
this is Agent Rossi.

Can you spare us a few
minutes, Mr. Diamond?

If you could bottle time
the way they do cider,

a man could get rich.

Have a drink.

No, thanks.

We'd like to check a few
facts with you if you don't mind.

Yeah, sure, go right ahead.

What is it, an income tax beef?

Not this time.

ALICE: Uh... are you sure
you wouldn't like a drink?

No...

well, I think I'll just
have a short one.

Oh, you go right ahead.

This file here indicates
you left for England

rather hurriedly two years ago

after that shooting at
the Hotsey Totsey Club.

Self-defense.

The case didn't
even come to trial.

Yes, I know.

It's all right down here.

I understand that you cut
quite a figure in England.

Did I?

Oh, yes. The police were
calling you "Cunning Jack."

That was before
they threw you out.

Is that what they did?

After that, you went to Germany.

When they threw you out
there, you went to Greece,

where Lucky Luciano
put you in touch

with a family of cutthroats
called Esotopolis.

Is this what the government
pays you for, Ness...

Making up little
travel brochures?

No, it pays me to
investigate things,

like the smuggling of
narcotics into the country.

Does that subject interest you?

I don't know what
you're talking about.

Oh, yes, you do.

How'd you like to fill us
in on your arrangement

with the Esotopolis Brothers?

Get out of here!

Don't let them make
you sore, honey.

Who do you think you are

coming in here
with your corny act?

You're not in Chicago, Ness,
knocking over beer parlors.

This is New York.

I know I'm just a
country boy, Legs,

but I'll soon get
the hang of things.

Tell me, is this the
"New York" way...

The way Luciano and
Swinney are treating you?

What do you mean by that?

He's just needling you...

I've been needled by experts.

Go ahead, Capone-catcher,
tell me more.

I don't have to tell you, Legs.

Didn't the big
boys use your plan

to organize the dope racket?

Didn't they try to blast
you out with buckshot?

When that failed, they scared
you into retiring up here?

Nobody scares Legs
Diamond into anything.

You're here, they're there.

Or hasn't anyone told
you... The first big shipment

came in two days ago
on the S.S. Korinthos.

What's that to me?

When the stuff's
cut, it will retail

for around five million...
That's a lot of money.

And that's a lot of bull.

What's your share
going to be, Legs?

Are they going to
toss you a bone,

or deal you out entirely?

You're wasting your
breath and my time, Ness.

Take off.

From the way it looks, Legs,

you're going to have a lot
more time on your hands

than you know what to do with.

It's an old trick, honey.

He's just trying to push you
into doing something foolish.

One thing I'm not doing is
falling for a double-cross.

If that ship's in and the
stuff's on it, I'll find out quick.

Hello, Operator?

This is Acra 3.

Would you please get me
New York City, Canal 7-0418?

They got the wrong
patsy this time.

Hello, Eddie?

I'm coming into town.

Yeah.

Right away.

Wanna do something
nice for your husband?

What?

Come here.

Well, we've been
waiting here three hours.

You still think
he'll make a move?

If he knows where
the stuff's hidden,

he might be sore
enough to lead us to it.

Eliot, look.

This could be our boy.

(brakes squealing)

Well, fancy meeting
you fellas here.

You followin' me?

I ought to call a cop!

(laughs)

You like playing these
little jokes, Mrs. Diamond?

Ooh, I love it!

I do it all the time.

(giggling)

Well, next time, it
might not be so funny.

(laughs)

You got the stuff, Legs.

What do you want with me?

I'm only a delivery boy.

I run errands for
Lucky and Bill.

You were in on the
double-cross, too.

You forgot I knew where
the stuff was stashed.

No, Legs, honest.

I only did what Bill
and Lucky told me.

I'm just a punk, Legs.

You know I don't make
no decisions on my own.

Unpack the crates,
put the stuff in my car.

Throw what's left in
the truck and burn it.

Not my truck.

Please, Legs! That's all I got!

Don't burn it, please!

You ain't gonna be
needin' your truck, Moxie.

Why not, Legs?

I never hurt you.

You're not gonna kill
me, are you, Legs?

No.

I ain't gonna hurt you.

(gunshots)

Excuse me, Eliot.

Thanks, Rico.

It all fits, Lieutenant.

Moxie's truck picked up a
shipment of drugs last night.

Legs caught up with Moxie

before he could dispose of it.

You figure Legs
disposed of Moxie

because he smelled
a double-cross?

Something like that.
You want to pick him up?

If this man here can make
a positive identification,

we got a case.

Then you're gonna pick him up?

It's worth a try.

If we get to Diamond
before he can rig an alibi,

maybe we can make
the charge stick.

Good luck.

I'll take our witness down
to headquarters. Good.

Rico?

(piano plays jazz)

♪ Mean to me ♪

♪ Why must you be mean to me? ♪

♪ Gee, honey, it seems to me ♪

♪ You love to see me crying ♪

♪ I don't know why I stay home ♪

♪ Each night when
you say you'll phone ♪

♪ You don't, and
I'm left alone ♪

♪ Singing the blues
and sighing... ♪

You here to see Dawn?

I'm her mother.

You didn't have to tell me.

You noticed the resemblance?

How could I miss it?

Look, Mister...? Ness.

If you're here to make like a
stage-door Johnny, forget it.

Her boyfriend gets real jealous.

I'm not here to see your
daughter, Mrs. Dolan.

I'm here to see her boyfriend.

Ness?

Are you Eliot Ness, the cop?

That's right.

Well, look, Mr. Ness,
if Legs is in trouble,

it's got nothing to
do with my daughter.

I didn't say it did.

My little girl is 100% clean.

I've seen to that.

I worked like a slave putting
her where she is today.

And where is she, Mrs. Dolan?

Where is she?

She's out there... a star,

with everything
a girl could want.

Shoes, furs, dresses, jewels.

Why, she don't have to
wear the same dress twice

the year round, if
she doesn't want to.

She's also got a married
gangster and a murderer

for a boyfriend and she
may not have him long.

♪ Can't you see ♪

♪ What you mean to me? ♪

(applause)

Miss Dolan, I'm...
Eliot Ness, a fed.

He wants to see Legs.

I would also like to
see you, Miss Dolan.

Don't let him talk you

into going to Sunday
School, honey.

He's a real blue-nose.

Mama, go get me some coffee.

Legs isn't here, Mr. Ness.

You probably know as much
about his whereabouts as I do.

Possibly, but we both
know that, sooner or later,

he always turns up here.

So what? He owns
the place, doesn't he?

Does he also own
you, Miss Dolan?

It's no secret.

Mr. Ness, I don't wish
to discuss my private life.

I'm afraid it's going
to be public very soon.

Miss Dolan, I don't
generally give lectures,

but I hate to see anyone
with your beauty and talent

mixed up with a
man like Diamond.

Is that cricket, Ness?

Running me down behind my back?

I'll be glad to repeat
everything I've said, Legs.

(chuckles)

Words, sticks and stones,

they roll off me like
raindrops off a goose.

Let's see how these roll off:

I'm here to arrest you for
the murder of Moxie Harris.

Come off it, Ness.

You start that stuff, you'll
wind up looking real silly.

Not too silly.

We've a witness who's
placed you at the scene.

And I've got an airtight alibi.

Honey, tell him I
was here all the time.

She'll swear to
it, won't you baby?

Of course I will.

You'll swear to that under oath

knowing that tonight he
murdered a man in cold blood?

You heard her.

Now book me or beat it.

I'm waiting, Miss Dolan.

Tell him, honey.

He's hard of hearing.

Yes, I will.

You satisfied, copper?

Not quite.

You cops get real brave when
you're hiding behind a badge.

I'll make you a standing
offer, Diamond...

You get out from behind
your girlfriend's skirts

and I'll get out from
behind the badge.

Sleep well, Miss Dolan.

ANNOUNCER: And now
back to The Untouchables.

WINCHELL: Eliot Ness knew
that Legs Diamond's hijacking

of the multimillion
dollar dope shipment

would bring the kingpins
of the dope ring running.

He and Rico Rossi staked
out at the Hotsey Totsey Club

to await developments.

There they go... a nice
friendly looking foursome.

Why don't we just go in

and grab the whole
bunch of them?

They'd be out in an hour.

Catching them without
the stuff in their hands

would be just a waste of time.

Well, they say all things
come to them who wait.

That's what they say.

(laughing)

What kept you?

I expected you sooner.

Sit down. How
about a little game?

We're through
playing games, Legs.

But this is a new game.

It's called: "I got
it, You want it."

One squeeze on that you
kiss five million clams good-bye.

Where's the stuff, Legs?

That's for me to know
and for you to find out...

Like the kids say.

It's not like you

to double-cross
your partners, Legs.

Me double-cross?

That's the biggest
laugh of the year.

We were going to cut
you in for your share, Legs.

Yeah, sure you were.

This time, I'm doing
the dealing, Oscar.

You punk!

Hold it.

How much, Legs?

Well, I won't be unreasonable.

Let's see, properly cut,

the stuff ought to
bring you about...

oh, $5 million.

All I want is my
share in cash... now.

That's a million
bucks! You're nuts!

You'll wait till we
peddle the stuff.

You'll take your share
with the rest of us.

You wait!

I'll take mine in advance.

Be reasonable, Legs.

We don't carry that kind of
dough around in our wallet.

48 hours... take it or leave it.

So, where do we
pick the stuff up?

DIAMOND: It's
stashed out of town.

When I give you the signal,

just be ready to lay
the dough in my hand.

When you do, I put
the stuff in yours.

All right, Legs,
you're the dealer.

That's right.

And I'd advise
against any cute tricks.

Those packages
are in kind of escrow.

Nobody can touch them

unless I'm there to arrange
their release personally.

Where're you going?

Now that it's all settled,

how's about a few
friendly hands of stud?

Not tonight, Legs.

Maybe some other time.

The friendly foursome
doesn't look so happy.

You think they made
a deal with Diamond?

If they did, they
didn't like it...

Which means Legs is
still in the driver's seat.

Let's go.

WINCHELL: Convinced that Legs
Diamond had defied the dope ring

and got away with it,

Eliot Ness assigned each of
his Untouchables to the task

of trailing the ring's
members around the clock,

and establishing a wiretap
on each of their phones.

Sooner or later, there
had to be a payoff.

This is Lee. I got Luciano.

He's in the back room of a
bar and grill on 8th Avenue.

Stay with him.

I've got a local man
covering Swinney,

and Youngfellow's camping
on Diamond's doorstep.

Keep me posted.

Right.

So, you're finally gonna take
Dawn and blow town, huh?

Little Alice Sit-By-The-Fire,
she knows everything,

She knows plenty.

Then she'd better know
enough to keep her mouth shut,

if she knows
what's good for her.

And what if she doesn't?

If she doesn't, then the
money to pay the bills

and to keep her in
booze will stop coming.

Oh, Legs... Legs, honey...

Oh, honey, don't go, huh?

Please don't leave me, honey.

I love you.

Please, Legs, please don't go,

Please! Please!

Darling, please don't go, honey.

Please don't leave me.

Don't leave me...

Get away from
me, you disgust me.

How long do you think
your Dawn will stick with you

when she finds out what
a louse you really are?

Too long.

You don't fool me!

I know you're playing
the same circuit with her

as you did with me.

And you'll make
her a bum or a drunk

the same as you made out of me!

Well, I'm never gonna
give you a divorce!

Do you hear that?
Do you hear it?

I'm never gonna
let you leave me!

Never, do you hear me?!

(sobbing)

(phone rings)

Hello. Ness.

Eliot? Bill. I lost Diamond.

He slipped out the
back door and took off.

Meet me at the
club in 20 minutes.

Isn't Miss Dolan
appearing tonight?

No, sir.

A new singer's taking her place.

The change was
rather sudden, wasn't it?

That's show biz; they
come and they go.

The girl gone, too?

Yeah.

Looks like something's
about to pop.

What we got to find
out now is where.

(gunshots, carnival
music playing)

This one's for her!

And this one's for you, Legs,

right between the eyes!

May I come in?

I knocked, but nobody answered.

I was just practicing.

Just practicing.

(music stops)

I used to be a kind of
Annie Oakley in the carnival.

I can knock those
things down like...

Clay pigeons?

Don't put any ideas
in my head, Mr. Ness.

Where's your husband,
Mrs. Diamond?

Now that's a real
foolish question

and you must think I'm
pretty foolish to get an answer.

No, but I think
you're smart enough

to want to save his life.

Well, don't make
book on it, Mr. Ness.

He's out of my life
now but completely.

Is he, Mrs. Diamond?

Did you know he
hijacked a dope shipment

from Oscar Benjamin
and his boys?

What has that got to do with me?

Mrs. Diamond, five million
dollars worth of narcotics

can ruin a great many lives.

Oh, don't come crying
to me with that line.

I've got problems of my own.

I'm sure you have.

I'm surprised you're going

to let him get away with it.

Now what do you
mean by that crack?

Legs is on his way

to deliver the dope right now.

His share should be in the
neighborhood of a million dollars.

How much of that's going
to be yours, Mrs. Diamond?

Oh, you'd love to get me sore,

so I'd blab where Legs
is, wouldn't you, Ness?

Well, you're wasting your time.

Not as much as
you're wasting yours.

How long you been
married to Legs? 15 years?

Now Dawn steps in
and gets the benefit

of all that money...

Travels, clothes, jewels...

You shut up and get out of here!

Remember when you
played that little joke,

the wild-goose chase?

I warned you then,

next time might not be so funny.

(carnival music plays)

Go on, get out of here!

Get out of here! (sobbing)

Get out! Get out of here!

Get out of here!

WINCHELL: Eliot Ness' shrewd
needling of Alice Diamond paid off.

One hour and a bottle of scotch
later, she was on the telephone

pouring out her
bitter resentment

to Oscar Benjamin,
the "Man Uptown."

Hell hath no fury

like a woman cheated
out of a million dollars.

Alice Diamond wanted

to hurt her husband
in any way she could,

including seeing him dead.

Alice Diamond's
phone call to Benjamin

had given Ness and
the Untouchables

the information they needed.

Wasting no time, they
took the first plane available

for Niagara Falls,

where Legs Diamond and
Dawn Dolan were registered

under the name of "Kelly"
at the Happy Days Hotel.

A few hours earlier,

Big Bill Swinney and
four of his gangster friends

left New York by car.

Ness and the Untouchables
had hoped to arrive

ahead of Swinney and the
emissaries for the dope ring,

but a sudden storm necessitated
an emergency landing

in nearby Buffalo.

Honey, do you have
to wear the gun?

It makes me feel
more comfortable.

Darling... I'm shaking all over.

Can't we get out
of this some way?

Make some kind of a deal?

Always wanting me to
make some kind of a deal.

We already made one.

I don't care about the money.

I just want them
to leave us alone,

so we always won't
be running away.

Oh, we won't be running away.

We're just gonna step.

We're gonna step across
the border into Canada

and get married.

And then with a
million bucks in our kick,

we travel, we see the world

and we come back when
everything's quieted down.

Can you trust them?

No, of course not.

They can't trust me either.

It's a Mexican standoff.

$5 million bucks at stake...

They'd never risk a double-cross

'cause they're scared I
might double-cross them.

Then let's not wait.

Let's get it over with!

Call them!

All right, honey, in a while.

Please!

All right, baby.

They'll be up here by morning.

Hello, Operator?

Get me New York,
Murrayhill 0-9299.

(knocking)

See who it is, baby.

Legs?

I was just gonna call you.

Never mind, Operator.

How'd you know where to find me?

A little bird named
"Alice" told me.

Run along, honey.

There's your loot.

You want to count it?

You don't count a
million, Bill, you heft it.

Yeah, it feels
like it's all there.

So you've got yours.
Now where's ours?

This'll kill you, Bill.

It's in a bank... in New York!

Is this some kind of a gag?

No gag, Bill.

I'm just being careful!

What's this?

That's your authorization
to pick up the packages.

That's the bank's address.

How can I be sure
the stuff will be there?

You wanna gamble that it's not?

(laughs)

WINCHELL: In Buffalo, Ness
and the Untouchables rented a car

and sped toward Niagara,
hoping they would not be too late.

You look prettier
when you've had

a few drinks of champagne.

I never thought I
could be so happy.

I wanna come back here
at least once every year

as long as we're together.

That's gonna be
until death do us part.

(knocking)

Who is it?

Bellboy.

Let him in, baby.

Your taxi's here, Mr. Kelly.

Yeah, kid. Take those two.

I'll take that one.

How are you, punk?

I decided to gamble.

Help! Don't!

You lose. The stuff's not there.

I lied!

Maybe it is and maybe it isn't!

But I hate your guts so much,

I'm gonna risk that $5 million

and my neck to see you sweat!

They'll kill you, Bill!

I'll take that chance!

Legs! Legs!

Run, baby!

Let her go, Swinney.

She's got nothing
to do with this.

I want you both.

I want you to watch

while she gets it
slow and painful.

(horn blares)

(horn blares continuously)

(gunshot)

(Dawn screaming)

Legs! Legs!

(sobbing)

(horn blaring)

(horn ceases)

(Dawn sobbing)

Where's the stuff?

It's in escrow.

Call a doctor.

Is... is he dead?

He's dead.

That's, that's all
I wanted to know.

WINCHELL: Eliot Ness and
his Untouchables arrived in time

to smash the dope ring's attempt

at organized
smuggling of narcotics,

but not in time to save the life

of gangland's "Clay Pigeon".

Another form of retribution
overtook Oscar Benjamin.

He died shortly thereafter
with a slug in his stomach...

administered by parties unknown.

Lucky Luciano was
deported to Italy,

and Dutch Schultz
died as he lived,

by the submachine gun.

Only Dawn Dolan,
the Broadway moll,

who had loved Legs
Diamond not wisely but too well,

and had said to him:
"Whatever happens to you,

happens to me," lived on,

but the heart in her
bosom was as dead

as if gangster bullets
had pierced it, too.