The Untouchables (1959–1963): Season 2, Episode 22 - Murder Under Glass - full transcript
With the election of Franklin Roosevelt and the end in sight for prohibition, Frank Nitti and the Chicago mob have been shifting from alcohol to narcotics as their primary source of income. When their supply dries up, Nitti travels to New Orleans to meet with their supplier, Emile Bouchard, whose original shipment of drugs was hijacked but is expecting another any day. Nitti warns him that there better not be any foul-ups with this shipment but it soon becomes clear that Bouchard has plans of his own and is out to get a percentage of the mob's total income. Eliot Ness and his men are in New Orleans trying to break up the drug pipeline.
Well, they're sure
boisterous, aren't they?
Yeah, and maybe dangerous
if a man has enemies.
Any one of those
masks might hide a killer.
Mr. Ness,
you happen to be
ridin' in a bulletproof car.
Tempered and
laminated glass all around.
Have you any idea, Mr. Ness,
just what it would take to
smash through this glass?
Tonight's episode...
Starring Robert
Stack as Eliot Ness.
Co-starring Bruce
Gordon, Carl Milletaire
and Dennis Patrick.
With special guest
star Luther Adler.
And narrated by Walter Winchell.
The presidential
campaign of 1932
was loaded with dynamite
for the underworld.
Roosevelt had pledged
himself to end Prohibition.
The Capone mob,
however, was unconcerned.
For over a year,
it had been shifting its
operations away from booze.
By November 1932,
its empire rested on
a new foundation...
Narcotics.
But suddenly, the new
foundation was shaken.
Suddenly, in mid-December,
narcotics were in short supply.
And one month later, the
problem had become acute.
Mr. Nitti?
Beat it, bum.
It's okay, Pete.
I ain't had a jolt
in three days.
I'm dry.
You got the stuff.
You've got plenty of it.
You're just holding it
back to kick up the price.
So hand some
over, Mr. Nitti, fast,
or I'm gonna burn you like
you been burnin' me!
That's enough.
You don't want to kill him.
He's a customer.
Bouchard still ain't
shipped that stuff.
Maybe we go down
there and ask him why.
Determined to end
the narcotics famine,
Frank Nitti and his
lieutenant, Pete Konitz,
flew south the next morning.
They reached New
Orleans at 4:40 p.m.
on the afternoon of February 20.
Their arrival did
not go unnoticed.
At 5:00 that afternoon,
Nitti and Konitz moved into
the plush Governor's Suite
at the Hotel Trianon.
The rate... $150 per night.
Check the bedrooms.
Good. I'll let you know. Thanks.
That was Lieutenant
Willard, New Orleans Police.
Nitti and Konitz just blew in.
New Orleans? What for?
Maybe they're taking
over the Mardi Gras.
Narcotics, you think?
I could make an educated guess.
They're short. They've
been in a squeezer for weeks.
They've got to make
some kind of move.
I wonder what made
'em pick New Orleans.
Let's try to figure it
out on the way down.
Lee, will you pick
up three tickets
on the next flight?
Call me. I'll be home packing.
Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.
If there's anything
you need, sir, don't...
Get out.
Yes, sir.
That ain't too bad, Frank.
Stinks!
Just so we arrange for
the stuff and pull out fast.
Maybe we should
have called Bouchard,
tell him we were comin' down.
No, it's better to give
him a little surprise.
We got to find out if
Bouchard is levelin',
so, we drop in on
him sudden-like.
Don't give him a
chance to set himself.
Hmm.
"Welcome to Mardi Gras.
Emile Bouchard."
Go ahead, Mr. Bouchard!
Go ahead, shoot!
Go on. You'll see.
Won't nothin' happen!
Why, Sully... That's wonderful!
That's-That's just wonderful!
Like I told you,
it'd take a cannon
to smash that glass.
Well, thank you, Sully.
Mr. Bouchard?
Here, you take this.
Somehow it suits you better.
Why, Mr. Nitti.
Welcome to our city.
Pete Konitz.
My pleasure.
I trust Mr. Capone
is feelin' well?
He'll feel better
if we get somethi"
set down here.
Oh, we'll see
to that, all right.
I have the deepest
regard for Mr. Capone.
You knew that we were comin' in.
Mr. Nitti,
you know a man of your
prominence can't travel
without bein' observed.
So, I don't travel
unless I have to.
All right, I'll lay it
out for you plain,
on the line, no trimmings.
We need the stuff,
and we need it bad.
I understand perfectly.
Nothing. You don't
understand nothin'.
Now, just one moment
there, Mr. Nitti...
The punks... they
operate hit and run, not us.
We got a business, Bouchard.
We make promises,
we got to keep 'em.
We can't keep 'em
when you run out on us!
Now, look here, Mr. Nitti...
and just hold on, everybody,
and let us be reasonable.
Now gentlemen, we're
all aware of the fact
that the shipment
was stolen, aren't we?
Last December.
You had eight
weeks to find out who.
Somebody's been peddlin' it.
No one! Not an ounce!
Whoever grabbed that
shipment is holdin' on to it.
When's the new stuff comin' in?
Maybe today, tomorrow.
I never know exactly.
We have to wait for some word.
You make sure you get it.
Now, I got to get back.
I got work to do.
But you hear me good.
He'll be around and them.
I'd kind of... keep
that in mind, huh?
Nitti left for Chicago
the following day,
unaware that just
an hour before,
the rooms directly across
from the Governor's Suite
had been occupied by new guests.
Konitz was unaware of it, too.
Hello, Konitz.
You take a wrong turn?
This is New Orleans.
You looking for
something, Mr. Ness?
Same thing you're looking for.
Maybe I ain't
lookin' for nothin'.
Maybe I just come
for the Mardi Gras.
Forget it.
You're not the type.
Lobby, gentlemen.
Just one lousy minute!
I got some advice for you.
Go home.
You hang around
down here too long,
and Nitti'll have Chicago
in his back pocket.
Out, please.
406, please.
Lee?
They're gone.
You can tear their
suite apart now. Right.
Gentlemen!
I thought you'd like a little
taste of Bourbon Street.
Have you met the owner yet?
He's a close, a
personal friend of mine.
You're late.
On Bourbon Street,
we don't count time.
Except when Eliot
Ness is nosing around.
Ness? Here?
Well, that's too bad.
I was hoping to
save it for dinner.
To go with the dessert.
You got the word?
15 minutes ago, a radiogram.
"Grandma arriving tonight."
This time, no mistakes.
Nothing to worry about. I'm
sending my best two men.
To our mutual success.
To you, to me, to Mr. Capone.
To Grandma!
Over here.
"317-BL-5."
That's the one.
Be careful.
They said it'd be right on top.
Oh...
Watch it.
I think I nicked it a little.
Well, that's it.
Almost three pounds of pure,
uncut heroin had disappeared.
A critical loss.
A loss that could disrupt
the entire Capone operation.
Liar!
You're a dirty liar!
Honest, it was just like I said.
There must have
been five or six of them!
You didn't hear nothin'?
Nothin'! They come up so fast!
It was dark. There was a fog.
They come right out of the dark!
My best two men.
We tried to fight 'em off!
Honest, we tried!
And then they started blazin',
and Hugger got it, and I run.
Maybe you ain't gonna stop.
Hello?
Get me long distance.
Yes, sir?
Operator, I want Chicago.
Mr. Frank Nitti.
Wabash, 1-0-9-8
Mr. Bouchard... Get out.
Go on, get out of here.
Okay, make it fast, huh?
Hello, Frank?
Yeah?
Pete.
Well, what's the matter, Pete?
You don't sound so good.
Frank, I got some bad news.
Something happened.
The stuff ain't comin' in.
No, it come in... We
got hijacked, Frank.
You're right, Pete.
That's real bad news.
That's gonna hit the boys
real hard when I tell 'em.
Listen, Frank...
So, maybe I tell 'em
you're lookin', huh?
I tell 'em you promised
you're gonna find it.
And I tell you
something, too, Pete.
Like an old friend, huh?
Yeah, Frank?
Find it.
Well?
What'd he say?
Nothin'!
Early the next morning,
Eliot Ness was called
to the parish morgue to
meet Lieutenant Willard.
Someone else, however,
was there before him.
Emile Bouchard.
He's Bouchard and Company,
one of our oldest firms.
Made the legal identification.
No family?
The wife was too upset.
She asked Bouchard
to do it for her.
Davis used to work for him.
Hugger Davis.
The watchman found him
down on the wharf last night
in one of the sheds.
I thought you might
like to see the lab report.
"Trace of white powder on coat.
"Heroin.
Pure crystal form. Uncut."
You think Davis
was running it in?
I'd say.
Know what happened to the stuff?
Some of it.
Been practically none
around till last night.
Davis was killed around 11:30.
He was picked up about 3:00.
High as 11 eagles,
twice as mean.
You able to talk?
My name is Benny Kroll.
I work on the docks.
I live around, anyplace I can.
We want to help you, Benny.
You can help us.
My name is Benny Kroll.
I work on the docks.
I live around, anyplace I can.
You don't have to tell us much,
just where you got the stuff.
My name is Benny Kroll.
I work on the docks...
Your name is junkie!
You work to support
a bunch of rats!
You live anyplace you
can... They live at the Trianon!
Governor's Suite!
150 bucks a day!
You live with a
monkey on your back!
Every time his claws dig
in, you pay their room rent!
Smarten up, Mr. Benny Kroll.
A man was killed last night.
A man named Davis.
Hugger Davis?
He was running in
dope when he was killed.
And a few hours later
you're all hopped up.
I never seen Hugger!
Not last night!
Try to sell that to a jury.
Unless you can prove you
got the stuff someplace else.
This town's pretty touchy
about the Mardi Gras.
It hates to have
anybody spoil the fun.
And a killer...
Benny, you could be the goat.
What do you want?
Konitz had been
conducting his own inquiry.
Since early morning
he had been digging
into dark and secret corners
of the New Orleans underworld.
And finally, he was
close to some answers.
Who?
Uh, stop.
Please. Stop.
Mendez!
The foot of Dumaine Street!
He's got a boat.
The Jolly Fox.
Mendez?
Mendez!
Come on up here, Mendez!
Pete?
Konitz looks like
he lost his mother.
Mother?!
They found him under a rock.
Stay with 'em, Rico.
♪ ♪
Pardon me, gentlemen,
I didn't hear you knock.
We didn't knock.
We found out who
had some of the stuff.
Who?
We tailed it to a fishing boat.
To a fishing captain.
Name of Mendez.
Did you face him with it?
What did he say?
He didn't say nothing.
He's dead.
Like his fish.
Dead.
We found something
else on the boat.
It's got your name on it.
Well, sure it has.
You'll find tags like this on a
hundred boats in the harbor.
Supplying boats,
that's my business.
Aren't you being
a little suspicious?
That's my business.
Our business.
You know what I think?
You need a little something
to steady your nerves.
How about some brandy?
I know it's a little
early in the day,
but we'll make an exception.
'Cause this is Napoleon brandy.
It's been in our cellar
for a hundred years now.
I don't like brandy.
Now, look here, Mr. Konitz,
am I getting the impression
you think I had a hand
in stealin' that shipment?
Maybe.
But why?
Why in the world would
I do a thing like that?
The stuff's mine, isn't it?
Until I deliver it.
Why should I steal what
already belongs to me?
That's plain nonsense,
just downright nonsense.
Maybe.
Mr. Konitz, you
better start trustin' me,
because I got just as much
to lose here as you have.
Maybe.
Here's your key.
Locker 1024.
What did Konitz want?
He's got some kind of wild
idea that I stole that shipment.
That would involve
you, of course.
You know, I say a man has to
be a fool to steal from himself.
A plain fool.
Or else, very, very, smart.
No, honestly, Gil,
do you think we're
a couple of fools?
I think we're very, very smart.
Oh, Gil, get rid of your shoes.
They smell of fish.
And now back to...
On the second day after
their arrival in New Orleans,
the Untouchables still were
facing a high, blank wall,
until a telephone message
took them to Rossi.
Konitz sure knows
his way around.
He just went in
that back entrance
to the warehouse.
Bouchard.
You know him?
He was at the
morgue this morning.
He identified
Hugger Davis' body.
I'll tell you something else,
I walked by that shed.
You know what he's
building in there?
A bulletproof car!
You better stay with him.
Let's get an address
on Mrs. Davis.
Hugger?
He was a louse.
Platinum on top of 14-karat.
A louse!
Mrs. Davis, I don't understand.
You didn't like your
husband much alive,
but you were too upset
to look at him dead.
You had to ask
Mr. Bouchard to identify him.
Mr. who?
Bouchard.
Didn't you send
him to the morgue?
Send him?
I don't even know him!
Thanks a lot.
I'm Eliot Ness.
We almost met this morning.
That's right, Mr. Ness,
at the morgue.
We just talked to Mrs. Davis.
She says she didn't ask
you to identify her husband.
She says she doesn't
even know you.
She knows me, Mr. Ness.
She knows me.
She has a woman's pride.
She's just too proud to admit
I've been helping her out
with a few dollars now and then.
You saw the kind
of woman she is.
Would you be willing to
take her word against mine?
Who are you?
Mr. Ness, do I
have to remind you
that you're a
guest in this office?
This is Mr. Haller,
and he's in my employ.
Yeah.
Mr. Ness...
what precisely
are you looking for?
Narcotics.
A smuggled shipment
that was hijacked last night
worth maybe
several million dollars.
You don't rate me very
intelligent, do you, sir?
If I were involved in
such a fantastic enterprise,
do you imagine
I'd be fool enough
to leave the stuff here?
Now, do you?
Of course, you're
welcome to look,
but it's taken about 150
years to build up this stock.
It could take you almost
that long to go through it.
He's lying.
Either he or Mrs.
Davis, one of 'em.
Not Mrs. Davis.
Why?
She hasn't got any pride.
Look, they got my prints
in Michigan and Oklahoma.
I don't want no Fed on my back.
I want out.
I'm afraid that's
impossible at the moment.
We don't dare go
near that locker now.
Besides, we have
nothing really to fear.
You got nothing to fear.
They pick you up,
it's a narcotics rap.
They pick me up, it's murder.
I just killed a man.
Two.
You killed two.
If you're sure, why don't we
bring him in and sweat him?
He won't sweat.
He's a gentleman.
He's had six
generations of practice.
It's not enough to take him,
we want that shipment, too.
We want to take them
both out of circulation.
Here it is, the Jolly Fox,
commercial fishing
boat, number 201776.
The registered owner,
Mr. Emile Bouchard.
Is he trying to sell? Why?
Well, you're the second
one that's checked
in the last 30 minutes.
Put 'em on.
Put 'em on!
Please!
Don't! It better not fit.
You were on that fish boat, huh?
You took the stuff.
Where is it?
I don't know.
I think maybe you don't hear.
I'm gonna ask again.
Where is it?
I don't know!
You got me wrong, honest,
you got me all wrong!
It don't make no
difference to a shoe.
Now, for the last
time, where's the stuff?
I don't know.
Honest, I don't know!
He's telling the truth.
I'm the one who
knows, the only one.
I had it figured, but
I let you talk me out.
I couldn't see you
grabbing from yourself.
Then you couldn't see me
creating a shortage, either.
One that would make my
price seem more realistic.
So that's the play, a squeeze.
I haven't heard no price.
Ten percent of the operation.
The whole operation?
Whiskey, drugs, the
houses... Everything.
Ten percent?
You're a piker.
Why don't you grab
the whole works?
I'm giving it my most
serious consideration.
I just hope your friends
got dark suits for a funeral.
And yours?
By the way, sir,
when you call
Chicago... Who says I'm
calling anywhere?
You won't forget
to give my warmest
regards to Mr. Nitti.
I'm pulling out.
Let's settle up.
You mean now?
Right this minute?
You know I don't have
that kind of cash in hand.
Well, I'll take it in goods
out of the shipment.
And bust the market wide open?
Is that what you want?
Look, I want my cut!
I'm not asking, I'm taking!
Well, you're more than welcome,
if you can find the locker.
I'll find it, I...
You moved it.
That's where you've been.
You moved the stuff.
You had it figured all along.
You never meant to cut me in.
You figured me dumb!
Smart man.
Gil... Smartest
man in the world.
Riding around in
a bulletproof car.
You, riding, me, walking.
You lousy, stinki"
double-crossing...
Now, now, Gil...
Give me the key!
You're just imagining things...
Give me that key
before I slice you to bits!
Think, boy, think. We-we
were so close to winning.
The key!
Now, Gil, stop that.
You and I are friends.
We can talk like real friends
over a glass of Napoleon.
You fool.
An 18th-century weapon
and a sixth-century mind.
Why shouldn't you crawl...
when you've just come
down out of the trees?
I could destroy you.
One little word to
Ness, and I can do it.
Now, if you'd just
like to apologize,
I just might accept it.
Louder, boy, I didn't hear you.
I'm sorry.
Pick it up!
Now will you please put
that back where you found it?
Get out of here!
Mr. Haller, I was
getting rid of these...
I was getting rid of these
in the alley when this man...
Oh, don't wave those
shoes in my face!
They smell.
Bury them.
Yes, sir.
"When you call
Chicago," he says.
"When you talk to Nitti."
And we can't touch
him till we find the stuff!
He could sit there
laughing for a whole year.
And we ain't got a year!
Ten percent.
You know what Frank'll do.
He'll ship a dozen
guns down here.
And not for Bouchard.
I want a deal.
Ness and Hobson had spent
several hours
in the police files.
Finding no local records
for either Bouchard or Haller,
they had called Chicago
and instructed their office
to check federal files.
Returning to the hotel,
they found Rossi waiting.
He had just come
from Bouchard's.
There's no doubt about it.
There's something
funny going on.
Konitz came out real mad.
And a few minutes later,
this other guy came out.
I never saw him before.
About 35, 5'11", 165, dark hair.
That's Haller.
He works for Bouchard.
He was mad, too.
So I stayed with him.
He went into four different
bars on Bourbon Street
and then here. Here?
He just came in.
Asked for Konitz's
room and went upstairs.
Mr. Ness?
Operator, would you
hold that call just a minute?
The Governor's Suite just
put through a call to Chicago.
Person to person
to Mr. Frank Nitti.
Haller must've lit
a fire under them.
Give us time to get
upstairs, will you?
Go ahead. I'm on it.
Hello, sir?
Ready on your call to Chicago.
Go ahead, please.
Hello, operator?
Hello, operator?
Stopped on one flank,
Ness attacked on the other.
He obtained a search warrant
and moved on
Bouchard and Company,
where he found something
more than he had expected.
Less than 15 feet
from the bulletproof car
he had just finished building
lay the nearly lifeless
body of Sully McIver.
Eliot Ness and Lee Hobson
accompanied the old
man to the parish hospital.
They kept an all-night vigil,
in the hope that he would
eventually be able to throw
some light upon the
identity of his attackers.
Here he comes.
Gentlemen, I'm sorry
we have to meet here,
but I couldn't very well
invite you to my office.
You see, Mr. Ness
made a thorough search
of my office last night.
Mr. Nitti, how was your flight?
I told you I don't
like to travel.
All right.
I'll lay it out again.
You got it, we need it.
We're ready to buy.
As simple as that?
And no hard feelings?
We run a business.
We got no time for "feelings."
We figure anybody
can make a mistake.
One mistake.
You can wipe
yours off the books.
Just deliver that shipment
like you promised.
I'm sorry, I thought
you understood.
Didn't Konitz here tell you?
He told me.
You go for broke,
you can come out bare.
I know where the
stuff is, Bouchard.
That's right.
I told him.
I'll put 20 guns
around that station.
We'll go through them
lockers one at a time.
Thorough.
And a thorough waste of time.
It ain't there?
Mr. Nitti, did you really think
I'd leave myself
wide open like that?
No, it "ain't" there.
I'm the only one who
knows where it is.
And if you want it,
you can't touch me.
Can you?
All right.
You hold the ace.
But I'm running the game.
No percentage, that's out!
But we'll double the price.
You take that, or
you take a bullet.
The Celeste Street Wharf.
I'll send them over.
We'll take delivery tonight.
I'm supposed to ride
in the parade tonight.
What time?
It starts at 7:00.
Meet them at 6:30, then.
6:30?
Bouchard?
Be there!
Suppose he don't deliver?
Well, like I promised,
you can knock him off.
And if he does?
Same thing.
At 5:45 p.m.,
Sully had recovered
consciousness and was able
to give the Untouchables
sufficient information
to lead them back to
Bouchard and Company.
Well, the car is gone.
He's left for the parade.
Where do they start?
Calliope Street.
Close to 7:00.
He ain't gonna show.
7:00, Mr. Bouchard.
Be in front of the
auditorium at the finish.
Wait there.
♪ ♪
Wait a minute, and
follow along on foot.
Buy a favor for the lady!
Buy a favor for the lady!
Get a mask! Get a mask!
And for your friends.
They're fun at the party!
Buy a lady favor for the lady!
Keep going.
You're holding up the parade.
♪ ♪
They always take the
same route, Lieutenant?
It's traditional.
Along Canal, down Royal
to the French Quarter,
turn left on Orleans
to the auditorium.
Mr. Ness asked me that, too.
Why didn't you tell
me you liked parades?
I could have arranged
a place for you
on one of the balconies.
I'd rather see it from here.
Well, they're sure
boisterous, aren't they?
Yeah, and maybe dangerous
if a man has enemies.
Any one of those
masks might hide a killer.
Is that why you dropped in?
'Cause somebody
wants to kill me?
Who wants to kill me, Mr. Ness?
Gil Haller.
He's a fool.
The Capone mob.
Mr. Ness, you insist
on underrating me.
You happen to be
ridin' in a bulletproof car.
Just like Big Al, huh?
Why not?
I have a large regard
for Mr. Capone.
I had this car
built just like his.
12-gauge steel on the body.
Tempered and
laminated glass all around.
Have you any idea, Mr. Ness,
just what it would take to
smash through this glass?
The old man.
That's why I couldn't
find him today.
He's in the hospital.
He went back to
check last night,
and saw somebody
tampering with the car,
tried to stop him, got
his head laid open.
He saw who it was,
and what he was doing.
Who?
Haller.
He was putting back
the original glass.
He was setting you up.
He knew you'd ride
in the parade tonight.
They could be
anywhere out there.
You're a sitting duck, Bouchard.
A bird under glass.
You're lucky, Bouchard,
you're carrying insurance.
They won't hit you
while I'm in the car.
It's bad luck killing
a federal officer.
Trouble is...
that I'm getting off
at the next corner.
You can't... You can't get out!
They'll kill me!
They'll kill me!
Keep me here. Start talking.
He wasn't there.
He must be in the parade, then.
Get Haller!
I want that shipment,
Bouchard, the whole bundle!
But-But what if I don't have it?
You've got it.
Or they wouldn't have
let you live this long.
You're wrong.
You're entirely wrong!
They tried to force
me, but I refused!
They wanted to use
my name, my position!
A friend of yours, I think.
♪ ♪
Nitti won't do it himself.
He's too big.
But he'll watch.
The others must be pretty close.
300 feet to the
corner, Bouchard.
That's where I get out.
Yippee!
I'm a citizen.
I've a right to be protected!
Ask the police in the morning.
Don't bother to stop.
No, wait, wait!
Wait.
The back of the car.
Underneath the seat.
It doesn't make sense.
You're smart.
You couldn't live
in a bulletproof car.
They'd be after you tomorrow.
Uh, I wouldn't have
been here tomorrow!
Got my own private yacht.
South America, I could
have built an empire!
I've got the name, the
contacts, the organization!
Could have reached all the way
to Chicago and made them crawl!
I could have made them
forget their Mr. Capone!
I could tell the boys.
I want to do it myself.
With company. Forget it.
Spillin' the news
to Ness like he said.
Fixing me to burn.
Cut it!
You don't take a
chance with a fed!
Haller!
♪ ♪
Six generations to
make a gentleman.
What a waste.
The stuff's in back.
All right, men, let's
get the parade moving.
Line up here!
Bouchard had hijacked
two shipments of heroin.
The Untouchables recovered both.
Total value...
Close to $6 million.
It would be months
before the Capone mob
recovered from the blow.
But this was Mardi Gras.
The parade recovered
in a minute and a half.
boisterous, aren't they?
Yeah, and maybe dangerous
if a man has enemies.
Any one of those
masks might hide a killer.
Mr. Ness,
you happen to be
ridin' in a bulletproof car.
Tempered and
laminated glass all around.
Have you any idea, Mr. Ness,
just what it would take to
smash through this glass?
Tonight's episode...
Starring Robert
Stack as Eliot Ness.
Co-starring Bruce
Gordon, Carl Milletaire
and Dennis Patrick.
With special guest
star Luther Adler.
And narrated by Walter Winchell.
The presidential
campaign of 1932
was loaded with dynamite
for the underworld.
Roosevelt had pledged
himself to end Prohibition.
The Capone mob,
however, was unconcerned.
For over a year,
it had been shifting its
operations away from booze.
By November 1932,
its empire rested on
a new foundation...
Narcotics.
But suddenly, the new
foundation was shaken.
Suddenly, in mid-December,
narcotics were in short supply.
And one month later, the
problem had become acute.
Mr. Nitti?
Beat it, bum.
It's okay, Pete.
I ain't had a jolt
in three days.
I'm dry.
You got the stuff.
You've got plenty of it.
You're just holding it
back to kick up the price.
So hand some
over, Mr. Nitti, fast,
or I'm gonna burn you like
you been burnin' me!
That's enough.
You don't want to kill him.
He's a customer.
Bouchard still ain't
shipped that stuff.
Maybe we go down
there and ask him why.
Determined to end
the narcotics famine,
Frank Nitti and his
lieutenant, Pete Konitz,
flew south the next morning.
They reached New
Orleans at 4:40 p.m.
on the afternoon of February 20.
Their arrival did
not go unnoticed.
At 5:00 that afternoon,
Nitti and Konitz moved into
the plush Governor's Suite
at the Hotel Trianon.
The rate... $150 per night.
Check the bedrooms.
Good. I'll let you know. Thanks.
That was Lieutenant
Willard, New Orleans Police.
Nitti and Konitz just blew in.
New Orleans? What for?
Maybe they're taking
over the Mardi Gras.
Narcotics, you think?
I could make an educated guess.
They're short. They've
been in a squeezer for weeks.
They've got to make
some kind of move.
I wonder what made
'em pick New Orleans.
Let's try to figure it
out on the way down.
Lee, will you pick
up three tickets
on the next flight?
Call me. I'll be home packing.
Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.
If there's anything
you need, sir, don't...
Get out.
Yes, sir.
That ain't too bad, Frank.
Stinks!
Just so we arrange for
the stuff and pull out fast.
Maybe we should
have called Bouchard,
tell him we were comin' down.
No, it's better to give
him a little surprise.
We got to find out if
Bouchard is levelin',
so, we drop in on
him sudden-like.
Don't give him a
chance to set himself.
Hmm.
"Welcome to Mardi Gras.
Emile Bouchard."
Go ahead, Mr. Bouchard!
Go ahead, shoot!
Go on. You'll see.
Won't nothin' happen!
Why, Sully... That's wonderful!
That's-That's just wonderful!
Like I told you,
it'd take a cannon
to smash that glass.
Well, thank you, Sully.
Mr. Bouchard?
Here, you take this.
Somehow it suits you better.
Why, Mr. Nitti.
Welcome to our city.
Pete Konitz.
My pleasure.
I trust Mr. Capone
is feelin' well?
He'll feel better
if we get somethi"
set down here.
Oh, we'll see
to that, all right.
I have the deepest
regard for Mr. Capone.
You knew that we were comin' in.
Mr. Nitti,
you know a man of your
prominence can't travel
without bein' observed.
So, I don't travel
unless I have to.
All right, I'll lay it
out for you plain,
on the line, no trimmings.
We need the stuff,
and we need it bad.
I understand perfectly.
Nothing. You don't
understand nothin'.
Now, just one moment
there, Mr. Nitti...
The punks... they
operate hit and run, not us.
We got a business, Bouchard.
We make promises,
we got to keep 'em.
We can't keep 'em
when you run out on us!
Now, look here, Mr. Nitti...
and just hold on, everybody,
and let us be reasonable.
Now gentlemen, we're
all aware of the fact
that the shipment
was stolen, aren't we?
Last December.
You had eight
weeks to find out who.
Somebody's been peddlin' it.
No one! Not an ounce!
Whoever grabbed that
shipment is holdin' on to it.
When's the new stuff comin' in?
Maybe today, tomorrow.
I never know exactly.
We have to wait for some word.
You make sure you get it.
Now, I got to get back.
I got work to do.
But you hear me good.
He'll be around and them.
I'd kind of... keep
that in mind, huh?
Nitti left for Chicago
the following day,
unaware that just
an hour before,
the rooms directly across
from the Governor's Suite
had been occupied by new guests.
Konitz was unaware of it, too.
Hello, Konitz.
You take a wrong turn?
This is New Orleans.
You looking for
something, Mr. Ness?
Same thing you're looking for.
Maybe I ain't
lookin' for nothin'.
Maybe I just come
for the Mardi Gras.
Forget it.
You're not the type.
Lobby, gentlemen.
Just one lousy minute!
I got some advice for you.
Go home.
You hang around
down here too long,
and Nitti'll have Chicago
in his back pocket.
Out, please.
406, please.
Lee?
They're gone.
You can tear their
suite apart now. Right.
Gentlemen!
I thought you'd like a little
taste of Bourbon Street.
Have you met the owner yet?
He's a close, a
personal friend of mine.
You're late.
On Bourbon Street,
we don't count time.
Except when Eliot
Ness is nosing around.
Ness? Here?
Well, that's too bad.
I was hoping to
save it for dinner.
To go with the dessert.
You got the word?
15 minutes ago, a radiogram.
"Grandma arriving tonight."
This time, no mistakes.
Nothing to worry about. I'm
sending my best two men.
To our mutual success.
To you, to me, to Mr. Capone.
To Grandma!
Over here.
"317-BL-5."
That's the one.
Be careful.
They said it'd be right on top.
Oh...
Watch it.
I think I nicked it a little.
Well, that's it.
Almost three pounds of pure,
uncut heroin had disappeared.
A critical loss.
A loss that could disrupt
the entire Capone operation.
Liar!
You're a dirty liar!
Honest, it was just like I said.
There must have
been five or six of them!
You didn't hear nothin'?
Nothin'! They come up so fast!
It was dark. There was a fog.
They come right out of the dark!
My best two men.
We tried to fight 'em off!
Honest, we tried!
And then they started blazin',
and Hugger got it, and I run.
Maybe you ain't gonna stop.
Hello?
Get me long distance.
Yes, sir?
Operator, I want Chicago.
Mr. Frank Nitti.
Wabash, 1-0-9-8
Mr. Bouchard... Get out.
Go on, get out of here.
Okay, make it fast, huh?
Hello, Frank?
Yeah?
Pete.
Well, what's the matter, Pete?
You don't sound so good.
Frank, I got some bad news.
Something happened.
The stuff ain't comin' in.
No, it come in... We
got hijacked, Frank.
You're right, Pete.
That's real bad news.
That's gonna hit the boys
real hard when I tell 'em.
Listen, Frank...
So, maybe I tell 'em
you're lookin', huh?
I tell 'em you promised
you're gonna find it.
And I tell you
something, too, Pete.
Like an old friend, huh?
Yeah, Frank?
Find it.
Well?
What'd he say?
Nothin'!
Early the next morning,
Eliot Ness was called
to the parish morgue to
meet Lieutenant Willard.
Someone else, however,
was there before him.
Emile Bouchard.
He's Bouchard and Company,
one of our oldest firms.
Made the legal identification.
No family?
The wife was too upset.
She asked Bouchard
to do it for her.
Davis used to work for him.
Hugger Davis.
The watchman found him
down on the wharf last night
in one of the sheds.
I thought you might
like to see the lab report.
"Trace of white powder on coat.
"Heroin.
Pure crystal form. Uncut."
You think Davis
was running it in?
I'd say.
Know what happened to the stuff?
Some of it.
Been practically none
around till last night.
Davis was killed around 11:30.
He was picked up about 3:00.
High as 11 eagles,
twice as mean.
You able to talk?
My name is Benny Kroll.
I work on the docks.
I live around, anyplace I can.
We want to help you, Benny.
You can help us.
My name is Benny Kroll.
I work on the docks.
I live around, anyplace I can.
You don't have to tell us much,
just where you got the stuff.
My name is Benny Kroll.
I work on the docks...
Your name is junkie!
You work to support
a bunch of rats!
You live anyplace you
can... They live at the Trianon!
Governor's Suite!
150 bucks a day!
You live with a
monkey on your back!
Every time his claws dig
in, you pay their room rent!
Smarten up, Mr. Benny Kroll.
A man was killed last night.
A man named Davis.
Hugger Davis?
He was running in
dope when he was killed.
And a few hours later
you're all hopped up.
I never seen Hugger!
Not last night!
Try to sell that to a jury.
Unless you can prove you
got the stuff someplace else.
This town's pretty touchy
about the Mardi Gras.
It hates to have
anybody spoil the fun.
And a killer...
Benny, you could be the goat.
What do you want?
Konitz had been
conducting his own inquiry.
Since early morning
he had been digging
into dark and secret corners
of the New Orleans underworld.
And finally, he was
close to some answers.
Who?
Uh, stop.
Please. Stop.
Mendez!
The foot of Dumaine Street!
He's got a boat.
The Jolly Fox.
Mendez?
Mendez!
Come on up here, Mendez!
Pete?
Konitz looks like
he lost his mother.
Mother?!
They found him under a rock.
Stay with 'em, Rico.
♪ ♪
Pardon me, gentlemen,
I didn't hear you knock.
We didn't knock.
We found out who
had some of the stuff.
Who?
We tailed it to a fishing boat.
To a fishing captain.
Name of Mendez.
Did you face him with it?
What did he say?
He didn't say nothing.
He's dead.
Like his fish.
Dead.
We found something
else on the boat.
It's got your name on it.
Well, sure it has.
You'll find tags like this on a
hundred boats in the harbor.
Supplying boats,
that's my business.
Aren't you being
a little suspicious?
That's my business.
Our business.
You know what I think?
You need a little something
to steady your nerves.
How about some brandy?
I know it's a little
early in the day,
but we'll make an exception.
'Cause this is Napoleon brandy.
It's been in our cellar
for a hundred years now.
I don't like brandy.
Now, look here, Mr. Konitz,
am I getting the impression
you think I had a hand
in stealin' that shipment?
Maybe.
But why?
Why in the world would
I do a thing like that?
The stuff's mine, isn't it?
Until I deliver it.
Why should I steal what
already belongs to me?
That's plain nonsense,
just downright nonsense.
Maybe.
Mr. Konitz, you
better start trustin' me,
because I got just as much
to lose here as you have.
Maybe.
Here's your key.
Locker 1024.
What did Konitz want?
He's got some kind of wild
idea that I stole that shipment.
That would involve
you, of course.
You know, I say a man has to
be a fool to steal from himself.
A plain fool.
Or else, very, very, smart.
No, honestly, Gil,
do you think we're
a couple of fools?
I think we're very, very smart.
Oh, Gil, get rid of your shoes.
They smell of fish.
And now back to...
On the second day after
their arrival in New Orleans,
the Untouchables still were
facing a high, blank wall,
until a telephone message
took them to Rossi.
Konitz sure knows
his way around.
He just went in
that back entrance
to the warehouse.
Bouchard.
You know him?
He was at the
morgue this morning.
He identified
Hugger Davis' body.
I'll tell you something else,
I walked by that shed.
You know what he's
building in there?
A bulletproof car!
You better stay with him.
Let's get an address
on Mrs. Davis.
Hugger?
He was a louse.
Platinum on top of 14-karat.
A louse!
Mrs. Davis, I don't understand.
You didn't like your
husband much alive,
but you were too upset
to look at him dead.
You had to ask
Mr. Bouchard to identify him.
Mr. who?
Bouchard.
Didn't you send
him to the morgue?
Send him?
I don't even know him!
Thanks a lot.
I'm Eliot Ness.
We almost met this morning.
That's right, Mr. Ness,
at the morgue.
We just talked to Mrs. Davis.
She says she didn't ask
you to identify her husband.
She says she doesn't
even know you.
She knows me, Mr. Ness.
She knows me.
She has a woman's pride.
She's just too proud to admit
I've been helping her out
with a few dollars now and then.
You saw the kind
of woman she is.
Would you be willing to
take her word against mine?
Who are you?
Mr. Ness, do I
have to remind you
that you're a
guest in this office?
This is Mr. Haller,
and he's in my employ.
Yeah.
Mr. Ness...
what precisely
are you looking for?
Narcotics.
A smuggled shipment
that was hijacked last night
worth maybe
several million dollars.
You don't rate me very
intelligent, do you, sir?
If I were involved in
such a fantastic enterprise,
do you imagine
I'd be fool enough
to leave the stuff here?
Now, do you?
Of course, you're
welcome to look,
but it's taken about 150
years to build up this stock.
It could take you almost
that long to go through it.
He's lying.
Either he or Mrs.
Davis, one of 'em.
Not Mrs. Davis.
Why?
She hasn't got any pride.
Look, they got my prints
in Michigan and Oklahoma.
I don't want no Fed on my back.
I want out.
I'm afraid that's
impossible at the moment.
We don't dare go
near that locker now.
Besides, we have
nothing really to fear.
You got nothing to fear.
They pick you up,
it's a narcotics rap.
They pick me up, it's murder.
I just killed a man.
Two.
You killed two.
If you're sure, why don't we
bring him in and sweat him?
He won't sweat.
He's a gentleman.
He's had six
generations of practice.
It's not enough to take him,
we want that shipment, too.
We want to take them
both out of circulation.
Here it is, the Jolly Fox,
commercial fishing
boat, number 201776.
The registered owner,
Mr. Emile Bouchard.
Is he trying to sell? Why?
Well, you're the second
one that's checked
in the last 30 minutes.
Put 'em on.
Put 'em on!
Please!
Don't! It better not fit.
You were on that fish boat, huh?
You took the stuff.
Where is it?
I don't know.
I think maybe you don't hear.
I'm gonna ask again.
Where is it?
I don't know!
You got me wrong, honest,
you got me all wrong!
It don't make no
difference to a shoe.
Now, for the last
time, where's the stuff?
I don't know.
Honest, I don't know!
He's telling the truth.
I'm the one who
knows, the only one.
I had it figured, but
I let you talk me out.
I couldn't see you
grabbing from yourself.
Then you couldn't see me
creating a shortage, either.
One that would make my
price seem more realistic.
So that's the play, a squeeze.
I haven't heard no price.
Ten percent of the operation.
The whole operation?
Whiskey, drugs, the
houses... Everything.
Ten percent?
You're a piker.
Why don't you grab
the whole works?
I'm giving it my most
serious consideration.
I just hope your friends
got dark suits for a funeral.
And yours?
By the way, sir,
when you call
Chicago... Who says I'm
calling anywhere?
You won't forget
to give my warmest
regards to Mr. Nitti.
I'm pulling out.
Let's settle up.
You mean now?
Right this minute?
You know I don't have
that kind of cash in hand.
Well, I'll take it in goods
out of the shipment.
And bust the market wide open?
Is that what you want?
Look, I want my cut!
I'm not asking, I'm taking!
Well, you're more than welcome,
if you can find the locker.
I'll find it, I...
You moved it.
That's where you've been.
You moved the stuff.
You had it figured all along.
You never meant to cut me in.
You figured me dumb!
Smart man.
Gil... Smartest
man in the world.
Riding around in
a bulletproof car.
You, riding, me, walking.
You lousy, stinki"
double-crossing...
Now, now, Gil...
Give me the key!
You're just imagining things...
Give me that key
before I slice you to bits!
Think, boy, think. We-we
were so close to winning.
The key!
Now, Gil, stop that.
You and I are friends.
We can talk like real friends
over a glass of Napoleon.
You fool.
An 18th-century weapon
and a sixth-century mind.
Why shouldn't you crawl...
when you've just come
down out of the trees?
I could destroy you.
One little word to
Ness, and I can do it.
Now, if you'd just
like to apologize,
I just might accept it.
Louder, boy, I didn't hear you.
I'm sorry.
Pick it up!
Now will you please put
that back where you found it?
Get out of here!
Mr. Haller, I was
getting rid of these...
I was getting rid of these
in the alley when this man...
Oh, don't wave those
shoes in my face!
They smell.
Bury them.
Yes, sir.
"When you call
Chicago," he says.
"When you talk to Nitti."
And we can't touch
him till we find the stuff!
He could sit there
laughing for a whole year.
And we ain't got a year!
Ten percent.
You know what Frank'll do.
He'll ship a dozen
guns down here.
And not for Bouchard.
I want a deal.
Ness and Hobson had spent
several hours
in the police files.
Finding no local records
for either Bouchard or Haller,
they had called Chicago
and instructed their office
to check federal files.
Returning to the hotel,
they found Rossi waiting.
He had just come
from Bouchard's.
There's no doubt about it.
There's something
funny going on.
Konitz came out real mad.
And a few minutes later,
this other guy came out.
I never saw him before.
About 35, 5'11", 165, dark hair.
That's Haller.
He works for Bouchard.
He was mad, too.
So I stayed with him.
He went into four different
bars on Bourbon Street
and then here. Here?
He just came in.
Asked for Konitz's
room and went upstairs.
Mr. Ness?
Operator, would you
hold that call just a minute?
The Governor's Suite just
put through a call to Chicago.
Person to person
to Mr. Frank Nitti.
Haller must've lit
a fire under them.
Give us time to get
upstairs, will you?
Go ahead. I'm on it.
Hello, sir?
Ready on your call to Chicago.
Go ahead, please.
Hello, operator?
Hello, operator?
Stopped on one flank,
Ness attacked on the other.
He obtained a search warrant
and moved on
Bouchard and Company,
where he found something
more than he had expected.
Less than 15 feet
from the bulletproof car
he had just finished building
lay the nearly lifeless
body of Sully McIver.
Eliot Ness and Lee Hobson
accompanied the old
man to the parish hospital.
They kept an all-night vigil,
in the hope that he would
eventually be able to throw
some light upon the
identity of his attackers.
Here he comes.
Gentlemen, I'm sorry
we have to meet here,
but I couldn't very well
invite you to my office.
You see, Mr. Ness
made a thorough search
of my office last night.
Mr. Nitti, how was your flight?
I told you I don't
like to travel.
All right.
I'll lay it out again.
You got it, we need it.
We're ready to buy.
As simple as that?
And no hard feelings?
We run a business.
We got no time for "feelings."
We figure anybody
can make a mistake.
One mistake.
You can wipe
yours off the books.
Just deliver that shipment
like you promised.
I'm sorry, I thought
you understood.
Didn't Konitz here tell you?
He told me.
You go for broke,
you can come out bare.
I know where the
stuff is, Bouchard.
That's right.
I told him.
I'll put 20 guns
around that station.
We'll go through them
lockers one at a time.
Thorough.
And a thorough waste of time.
It ain't there?
Mr. Nitti, did you really think
I'd leave myself
wide open like that?
No, it "ain't" there.
I'm the only one who
knows where it is.
And if you want it,
you can't touch me.
Can you?
All right.
You hold the ace.
But I'm running the game.
No percentage, that's out!
But we'll double the price.
You take that, or
you take a bullet.
The Celeste Street Wharf.
I'll send them over.
We'll take delivery tonight.
I'm supposed to ride
in the parade tonight.
What time?
It starts at 7:00.
Meet them at 6:30, then.
6:30?
Bouchard?
Be there!
Suppose he don't deliver?
Well, like I promised,
you can knock him off.
And if he does?
Same thing.
At 5:45 p.m.,
Sully had recovered
consciousness and was able
to give the Untouchables
sufficient information
to lead them back to
Bouchard and Company.
Well, the car is gone.
He's left for the parade.
Where do they start?
Calliope Street.
Close to 7:00.
He ain't gonna show.
7:00, Mr. Bouchard.
Be in front of the
auditorium at the finish.
Wait there.
♪ ♪
Wait a minute, and
follow along on foot.
Buy a favor for the lady!
Buy a favor for the lady!
Get a mask! Get a mask!
And for your friends.
They're fun at the party!
Buy a lady favor for the lady!
Keep going.
You're holding up the parade.
♪ ♪
They always take the
same route, Lieutenant?
It's traditional.
Along Canal, down Royal
to the French Quarter,
turn left on Orleans
to the auditorium.
Mr. Ness asked me that, too.
Why didn't you tell
me you liked parades?
I could have arranged
a place for you
on one of the balconies.
I'd rather see it from here.
Well, they're sure
boisterous, aren't they?
Yeah, and maybe dangerous
if a man has enemies.
Any one of those
masks might hide a killer.
Is that why you dropped in?
'Cause somebody
wants to kill me?
Who wants to kill me, Mr. Ness?
Gil Haller.
He's a fool.
The Capone mob.
Mr. Ness, you insist
on underrating me.
You happen to be
ridin' in a bulletproof car.
Just like Big Al, huh?
Why not?
I have a large regard
for Mr. Capone.
I had this car
built just like his.
12-gauge steel on the body.
Tempered and
laminated glass all around.
Have you any idea, Mr. Ness,
just what it would take to
smash through this glass?
The old man.
That's why I couldn't
find him today.
He's in the hospital.
He went back to
check last night,
and saw somebody
tampering with the car,
tried to stop him, got
his head laid open.
He saw who it was,
and what he was doing.
Who?
Haller.
He was putting back
the original glass.
He was setting you up.
He knew you'd ride
in the parade tonight.
They could be
anywhere out there.
You're a sitting duck, Bouchard.
A bird under glass.
You're lucky, Bouchard,
you're carrying insurance.
They won't hit you
while I'm in the car.
It's bad luck killing
a federal officer.
Trouble is...
that I'm getting off
at the next corner.
You can't... You can't get out!
They'll kill me!
They'll kill me!
Keep me here. Start talking.
He wasn't there.
He must be in the parade, then.
Get Haller!
I want that shipment,
Bouchard, the whole bundle!
But-But what if I don't have it?
You've got it.
Or they wouldn't have
let you live this long.
You're wrong.
You're entirely wrong!
They tried to force
me, but I refused!
They wanted to use
my name, my position!
A friend of yours, I think.
♪ ♪
Nitti won't do it himself.
He's too big.
But he'll watch.
The others must be pretty close.
300 feet to the
corner, Bouchard.
That's where I get out.
Yippee!
I'm a citizen.
I've a right to be protected!
Ask the police in the morning.
Don't bother to stop.
No, wait, wait!
Wait.
The back of the car.
Underneath the seat.
It doesn't make sense.
You're smart.
You couldn't live
in a bulletproof car.
They'd be after you tomorrow.
Uh, I wouldn't have
been here tomorrow!
Got my own private yacht.
South America, I could
have built an empire!
I've got the name, the
contacts, the organization!
Could have reached all the way
to Chicago and made them crawl!
I could have made them
forget their Mr. Capone!
I could tell the boys.
I want to do it myself.
With company. Forget it.
Spillin' the news
to Ness like he said.
Fixing me to burn.
Cut it!
You don't take a
chance with a fed!
Haller!
♪ ♪
Six generations to
make a gentleman.
What a waste.
The stuff's in back.
All right, men, let's
get the parade moving.
Line up here!
Bouchard had hijacked
two shipments of heroin.
The Untouchables recovered both.
Total value...
Close to $6 million.
It would be months
before the Capone mob
recovered from the blow.
But this was Mardi Gras.
The parade recovered
in a minute and a half.