The Untouchables (1959–1963): Season 2, Episode 31 - The Nick Acropolis Story - full transcript
Nick Acropolis has created a vast network of bookies and is the king of the numbers racket in the greater Chicago area. His problems start when he discovers that Louis Manzak, his wife's brother and the manager of one his betting parlors, has skimmed $200,000 of the proceeds. Were it not for the family relationship, Nick would have had him killed but rather he gives Louis 48 hours to come with $50,000 as a down payment on what he owes. His sister lends him half of that amount but his attempt to borrow the rest from someone else leads to disaster. The dispute also brings Acropolis into a dispute with Frank Nitti while Nick's enforcer, Frankie Fershman, decides the time has come for him to move up in the organization.
Can I help you?
We're looking for Frank Nitti.
In the last chair.
Thanks.
Mr. Nitti?
We got something for
you from Nick Acropolis.
Tonight's episode...
Starring Robert
Stack as Eliot Ness.
Co-starring Bruce Gordon,
Constance Ford,
and Johnny Seven.
With special guest
star Lee Marvin.
And narrated by Walter Winchell.
In the late summer of 1931,
while the Capone organization
reaped a golden harvest
through the sale of
illegal beer and booze
in a hundred
Chicago speakeasies,
an obscure bookmaker,
whose headquarters
was a small flower shop
on the west side of the city,
was quietly developing
into a new underworld titan.
In 18 months he had organized
the bookmakers of Illinois,
and half a dozen surrounding
states, into a mammoth combine,
which brought him
a gross business
of over $2 million a month.
It also brought his
interstate organization
into the jurisdiction of Eliot
Ness and the Untouchables.
By the end of August,
in an attempt to
discover the identity
of this new underworld power,
Eliot Ness had two of the
largest bookmaking parlors
under surveillance
and Ness succeeded in
tapping the phone lines of a third.
How's business?
Listen to this.
Now you tell Charlie I'll
take 50,000 of his action,
but that's all I can handle
'cause I'm already carrying
200 Gs out of Wisconsin.
And, listen, if you
want to lay off any more,
I think you'd
better call the boss.
Not exactly penny ante, is it?
And it's like this all the time.
They must be covering
five or six states.
And it's not just horses.
It's fights, ball games, dogs.
They're even taking
money on the cockfights
out of Tennessee.
Anything on who the big man is?
No, nothing yet.
Stick with it.
- How's business?
- Great.
47 people have gone
in there since 2:00.
Just 29 have came out.
Well, they can't all be winners.
Well, what have we here?
They've got a wealthy clientele.
Recognize anybody?
Not yet.
Stay put.
I'll see how Hobson's doing.
Louis!
Mr. Acropolis.
Where's my brother-in-law?
Wh-Why, he's in
the office, Mister...
Nick.
Nick, I, uh... I don't
understand, Nick.
N... Nick?
F-Frankie?
Frankie...?
Frankie... Please,
please, Frankie.
Nick! Nick! Nick
Frankie.
Frankie, please.
Please, Frankie.
Fr... Fr... Frankie!
What-What'd you
have to hit me for?
Nick, what have I done?
I'll tell you what you done.
You lost 200 Gs of my money.
Wha... huh... no...!
Where are your books?
Stella checked the
books, last month.
It's this month
I'm interested in.
Where are the books?
They're right
here, Mr. Acropolis.
Put them on the desk.
You lost it on the
fights, didn't you?
Well-Well, Nick,
who-who'd have thought that Lox
would lose a decision to Max Baer.
I'm gonna tell you
something, Louis.
Smart bartenders don't drink
and smart pushers
don't carry no monkeys.
And smart bookies don't make
no side bets with my money.
All right, it was... it
was all a mistake.
Mr. Acropolis? Yeah?
You were right, these books
have been tampered with.
For how much?
I'm not sure yet, but
it runs to big figures.
When did it start?
Right after your
wife's last audit.
You stole that money, Louis,
now you're gonna pay it back.
Sure, Nick, sure.
I-I never meant to keep it.
I... I was just
playing for time.
You got time. One month
from today... 200 Gs.
One month.
And 48 hours for
the other 50,000.
What 50?
The interest rates, Louis,
you know the interest rates.
$200,000... one month.
50,000 buck... 48 hours.
Nick...
I... I'm you own
brother-in-law, Nick.
Hello?
Stella.
Oh, hello, Louis.
Stella, I'm in trouble.
What is it this time?
N-Nick was just here.
He had Harry Krafton
go over my books.
How much, Lou?
I gotta get 50
grand in 48 hours.
Stella, if I don't get it,
Nick's gonna kill me.
I can't raise that kind of money
in 48 hours, you know that.
Stella, you-you
can talk to Nick.
You can get around him.
It's too late for that now.
Look, maybe I can
raise some of the money,
like 20, 25,000, but
you gotta find the rest.
When?
Well, I can't get it to you
before tomorrow night...
if I can get it.
I'll meet you at my apartment.
All right.
All I did is rough
him up a little, Stella.
That is all. That's all?
What do you mean that's all?
I'll tell you what I
should've done...
I should've killed
him and I may yet.
Now you listen to me, Nick.
Maybe you had a
right to scare him...
Stella, 200,000 bucks he stole!
200,000?
That's right.
And that don't add up to
no "maybe" in my book.
All right, Nick,
you had a right to work him over
but he's still my brother,
and if you kill him, you
and I are through for good.
Okay, so I don't kill him.
But if he don't come up
with that 50 Gs in 48 hours,
he ain't going to be
very pretty to look at,
and you better get used
to livin' with that, baby.
Or else you can get
your hat right now.
All right, Nick.
You still my girl?
I'm still your girl.
That's the way
it's gotta be, Stella.
It's open.
What is it, Louis?
I, uh... come to ask
you a favor, Sully.
Anything within reason, Louis.
Just so long as it ain't money.
What do you mean, so
long as it ain't money?
Louis, you don't seem
to understand me.
I'm a gambler, I'm
not a money lender.
Where there's no
risk, there's no fun.
P-Please, Sully...
I need 25 grand.
I need it!
Bad, Sully, please.
Well, Louis... why
don't you go to Nick?
He's your brother-in-law.
I want that money, Sully.
Louis... there's
$42,000 on this desk.
That's more than you asked for.
Don't touch it!
You lousy little worm.
Did you really think
I was gonna let you
walk in here and hold me up?
I'll kill you, Sully!
You?
Louis, you couldn't kill a fly.
He's gonna kill me.
What are you doing?
What do you think
I'm doing, pretty boy.
I'm calling Nick.
Hang up.
Hang up, I tell ya!
I... I told you.
I told you!
Hello. Ness.
Hello, Eliot?
You better get down
here right away.
Yeah, my pigeon has just
been pumped full of holes.
Less than 15 minutes
after Rossi's phone call
from the office of Sully Hinds,
Eliot Ness and
the Chicago police
were on the scene of the murder.
The motive's clear
enough: robbery.
Looks that way.
Anything? No.
They're too
smudged to be useful.
Mind if I borrow
this for a few days?
Help yourself.
You might as well pull
the phone tap, Rico.
It's no good now. Right.
Well, I'm finished, Captain.
Okay, Casey, let 'em in.
Sully Hinds.
Ain't he one of Nick
Acropolis' boys?
Yeah, he run a
parlor on 14th Street...
One of the big ones.
That's what I thought.
I want to see Acropolis.
I think it's time
we had a little talk.
Okay, Frank.
What was his take?
$11,000 a day.
That's too bad; that
was a nice handle.
We got an alternate location?
There's a print shop
three blocks away.
Okay, set it up.
Tell Smitty to take over
till I can find a manager.
What's the matter with me?
When we want you for
a manager, we'll tell you.
Ah, it was just an idea.
You got a lot of ideas, Frankie.
Big ideas.
What are you jumping on
me for? What did I do now?
Save it.
Yeah?
Mr. Acropolis?
Yeah.
Mr. Nitti sent us.
He wants to see you.
Well, what do you know?
Well, you can tell Mr. Nitti
I'll be glad to
see him any time.
He wants to see you
now, Mr. Acropolis.
Now!
What's your name, punk?
Pete Konitz.
I'm going to tell you
something, Pete Konitz.
I don't like your manners.
All right now, get up.
Get up!
Frank knows me a long time.
He knows better
than to send anybody
to pick up Nick Acropolis.
Now you tell him that,
huh? You ain't coming?
I come in when I get
good and ready, not before.
Now, get out!
Maybe you shouldn't
have done that, Nick.
Why not? Nitti wants something.
It's better he knows
I don't scare, huh?
I'll drop in on him tonight.
In the meantime,
I got things to do.
You want me to
go with you, Nick?
No, but I want to talk to
you a minute outside, huh?
Frankie, I don't trust Louis.
If he can't come
up with the dough,
he's liable to take off, so
I want you to stick around
and see which way
the wind's blowing.
It'll be a pleasure.
Now, don't get anxious.
Don't touch him till
the 48 hours is up.
Nick, would I do
anything like that
without consulting you first?
I'll tell you
something, Frankie.
I'm not quite sure what you'd do
without checking with me first.
You been listening
to Stella again?
That's right, Frankie.
She don't trust you,
and she ain't often wrong.
One of these days,
Nick, I'm going to prove
I'm with you, 100%.
By 6:00 p.m., Eliot
Ness had discovered
that the cane left at
the scene of the murder
had been purchased at a
small, exclusive men's shop
just off the Chicago Loop.
That cane was purchased
by one of our regular customers:
Mrs. Acropolis.
Are you sure?
Why, of course I'm sure.
There's the entry.
They're all custom-made, sir.
No two are alike.
You get the address?
Yes. We delivered it
to her place of business:
92 Chestnut Avenue.
Thank you.
Yeah?
Okay.
He's here.
Nick, how are you?
How've you been, huh?
You're looking good, Nick.
Ah, you're looking pretty
good yourself, you know?
Hey, you was kind of rough
on my boys, wasn't you?
No rougher than you would've
been on my boys, right?
Still the same old Nick, huh?
I want you to meet
my associates.
Yeager, Urcel, Carlson.
How do you do, boys?
Me and Nick went to the same
school together in Brooklyn.
Him and me, we could lick
any ten kids in the
joint, right, Nick?
That's right, Frank, only we
never could lick each other.
So after a couple of
years we quit trying, right?
Sit down, sit down.
Here.
The real stuff.
I drink it myself.
Nick, you're getting to be
pretty important around town.
The word is you're pulling down
a couple million of month, huh?
It's a living.
Well, it's a good
living, real good.
So good the Feds are
starting to snoop around.
Eliot Ness. I read it, Frank.
One of your best boys.
Yeah, it happens.
Now, Nick, maybe
with somebody else
I play footsy, but
not with you, huh?
Because we're old friends,
I persuaded Al and the boys
to let you alone, you
know what I mean?
You was always
very generous, Frank.
But there's an
end to everything.
You're big business now.
We can't afford to look
the other way no more.
How much?
50 percent.
What are you shaking
your head, Nick?
50% is standard.
But not for me, Frank.
Remember, we're old friends.
Friendship's got
nothing to do with this.
This is business.
And business says we take 50%.
My business says
you take 15 percent.
Fifteen?!
What's the matter
with you, Nick?
You gone soft in the
head or something?
You don't bargain
with the organization.
We tell you 50%,
it's 50% and that's it!
Not this time, Frank.
Then we wipe you out.
You think you can fight us?
I been fighting
all my life, Frank.
I don't quit just 'cause you
got the odds on your side.
But you can't win. Maybe not!
But you'll lose a lot of men
trying... 30, 40 at the least.
This town will have a war
like it's never seen before.
St. Valentine's Day will look
like a Sunday School picnic
compared to what'll happen
when I tangle with you!
He's a madman.
Only you, only
Nick Acropolis could
think of a squeeze like this.
Sit down. Sit down.
Hey... what if we kill
you right now, huh?
What if I told a couple
of guys where I was going
and who to call if I
didn't come back?
Did you?
No.
I don't believe you.
You weren't supposed to.
35 percent.
Twenty. Impossible.
Maybe we come down to
30, but that's the last stop.
You come down to 25%,
I'll have another
drink with you.
To our partnership.
To friendly discussion.
Looks like
someone's still inside.
Yeah.
What is it?
Federal officers.
Are you Mrs. Acropolis?
Why, yes, but, uh,
I can't imagine what
I could've done to upset
the Federal government.
We just want to
ask a few questions.
Of course.
You bought a cane at
Armand's Men's Shop?
Yes, I did... About
six weeks ago.
You mind telling us
who you bought it for?
Why, no.
I bought it for my husband.
Where's your husband now?
He's downtown.
But if you're looking for
the cane, he hasn't got it.
Why not?
It was stolen from our car
two days after I bought it.
"Stolen"?
Yes, you see, uh,
we were out for dinner
and, well, my husband
wasn't used to carrying a cane,
and he left it in the car.
When we got back
to the car, it was gone.
Thank you, Mrs. Acropolis.
Please, can't you tell me
what the trouble is?
Your cane gets
around, Mrs. Acropolis.
Last night it was found
at the scene of a murder.
Good night.
♪ ♪
Who is it?
Stella.
Wha... what's
the matter, Stella?
This. This is the matter!
Well, I... I-I don't understand.
Don't lie to me!
The Feds just left
the flower shop.
The Feds?!
What's that got to do with me?
You shot Sully,
and you left the cane
I gave you behind, and
the Feds traced it to me!
Stella, it was self-defense.
Shut up!
I ought to wash my hands of you.
I ought to let them crucify you.
But Stell, you...
Stell, you, you've
been looking after me
ever since we were kids
You can't stop
now. You just can't!
No, I can't.
God help me, I can't.
L-Listen, Stell, I...
I gotta get away.
We could go together, Stell.
Huh? You and me?
It could be like it was...
before Nick come around.
What'll we use for money?
You got the keys to
Nick's safety deposit boxes.
He must have a
million in cold cash.
You could get it
tomorrow morning.
Stell...
you never hit me
like that before.
Never.
Not in your whole life, Stell.
You take this money,
and you pay Nick back tomorrow,
and then you get out, Lou.
You get out of my
life, and out of Nick's.
Hello, Louis.
Come here.
Come on!
Relax, Louis.
All I want from you
is a little cooperation.
What kind of cooperation?
You know, I would
have come to you before,
only I never figured you
had the nerve to kill anybody.
But now... now
things have changed.
What do you want, Frankie?
I want you to kill Nick.
Oh, no!
Yes. But I can't!
But you can!
And I'm gonna tell you how.
We're gonna do it together.
Why?!
He don't trust me.
Now, if he don't trust me,
how am I gonna get
anywhere in this business, huh?
Oh, no.
No, no, uh-uh, I won't do it.
You want me to call
Nick, tell him you're the guy
that knocked off one
of his top bookies,
led the cops to Stella?
He's very fond of her.
I don't think he'd be
very happy with you.
We'll never get away with it!
We can't miss.
All I gotta do is tell
him you got the 50 Gs,
but you want to give it to him
personally, just like he asked.
Only when you
give him the money,
you also give him
something else.
Understand?
When?
Tomorrow night, 8:00.
We'll look for you
at the south entrance
to Grovner Park.
You will be there... won't you?
Through the park, Frankie.
Frankie says
you got something for me, Louis.
Look out, Nick!
I been watching
him in the mirror.
I had a feeling he
might try something.
Where to, Nick?
The office.
What for?
If you want to be
a big man, Frankie,
you got to start by knowing
how the business works.
Now back to The Untouchables.
The body of Louis Manzak
was discovered two hours later
and taken to the
Cook County morgue.
In response to a phone call
from Captain Hale Johnson
of the homicide squad,
Eliot Ness and Lee
Hobson were on hand
less than an hour later.
Sorry to bring you
out at this hour, Eliot,
but we found a body
in the park tonight.
A guy by the name
of Louis Manzak.
Had a minor record, but
what's more interesting,
his last two arrests
were for bookmaking.
How was he killed?
Same as Sully Hinds,
shot at close range.
You can take a look at the body
as soon as the
coroner's through with it.
They doing the autopsy? Not yet.
We found a relative.
She's making a formal
identification of the body now.
Thank you.
Stella Manzak.
Well, that's a coincidence.
Why?
Stella Manzak is
Mrs. Nick Acropolis.
Only the amount's
100 times greater
than what I got
down here, you got it?
Sure, sure. Pretty smooth.
Then even if somebody
figured out the code,
they'd have a
tough time proving it.
Yeah, that's the point, Frankie.
Now let me show you how
Stella enters the daily take.
Yeah?
Just happened to be in
the neighborhood, Nick.
Go on, sit down.
What's on your mind?
I hate to be coming down
here with complaints, Nick,
especially since we only been
in business together
since yesterday...
Go on, complain.
The word's around...
There's been another killing.
Keep talking.
Who's he?
He's okay.
Frankie Fershman...
He's one of my partners.
All right, I'll
lay it out, Nick.
We went for that
25% instead of the 50
because we didn't want
any more killings, right?
So we got the killings anyway.
It's like a shooting
gallery down here.
Two stiffs in 48 hours!
And with Ness snooping around,
that could be bad
for our business.
Very bad.
I had a problem.
We ain't interested
in your problems, Nick.
We're only
interested in results.
Now there's been a
meeting, and this is the word.
No more murders.
No more trouble, huh?
We want our cut off a
nice, smooth operation.
Suppose it don't
work out that way?
Well, then, you're gonna have
that war you was talking about,
and you're gonna
be the first casualty.
That was a good pitch
you made yesterday, Nick.
Don't let it go to your head.
That's Nitti.
Yeah.
What would he be
doing in this part of town?
He's dead.
Louis's dead.
Sit down.
Here.
He looked so small.
He was a big man,
and he looked small.
Honey, drink this.
They found him in the park.
I know.
Stella, I made you a
promise about Louis.
I tried to keep it.
You killed him?!
No! I... I mean...
I don't know what I mean.
What he means is,
he had no choice.
You killed him? Shut up!
Stella! No, Stella. You
gave me your promise.
Stella, listen to me!
And you killed him!
Listen to me, Stella!
Stop it! Listen to me!
You murdered
my brother! Stop it!
You murdered my brother!
I was hoping I
wouldn't have to tell you,
but now I got no choice.
I didn't kill Louis.
He tried to kill me.
I'll make a deal with you.
You stay out of my life,
and I'll stay out of yours.
Who needs you?!
Shall I stay with her?
We can pick her up any time.
Right now, I'm much more
interested in the flower shop.
Yeah?
What is this, Grand
Central Station?
Eliot Ness?
What do you want?
First of all, we'd like
to know who you are.
The name's Acropolis.
Nick Acropolis.
Oh, you're the man
whose cane was stolen.
Cane?
From your apartment,
wasn't it, about a year ago?
Oh, I don't know.
I don't have a good memory.
Well, maybe we can
refresh your memory.
Your wife gave you the cane.
It was black with
a silver handle.
It was found at the scene
of the Sully Hinds' murder.
Oh, yeah, I remember now.
Yeah, that's
right, it was stolen.
About a year ago?
I don't remember the exact day.
You been in the flower business
a long time, Mr. Acropolis?
Eight years.
Those your books?
Yeah.
Would you object to
having them audited?
Not at all.
What was Frank Nitti
doing in your office tonight?
Frank Nitti?
Your memory failing
you again, Mr. Acropolis?
Nitti and two of
his boys left here
just before your wife got
back from the morgue.
Do you have a search
warrant, Mr. Ness?
No.
And I've had a
bad day. I'm tired.
I'll be glad to talk to
you boys tomorrow.
There's my books. If you
want 'em, help yourself.
Thank you.
Don't leave town, Mr. Acropolis.
We'll look forward to
talking to you again.
I'm very interested to hear
about your relationship
with Frank Nitti.
Convinced by Frank
Nitti's visit to the flower shop
that Nick Acropolis
was the power
behind the bookmaking
combine, Ness had moved swiftly
to gather all available
evidence against him.
For seven hours, he had had
top code experts and accountants
examining the books he had taken
from Acropolis' office.
In the meantime,
Frankie Fershman,
armed with the authority
of his new partnership,
was about to
take the final steps
in a carefully conceived plan.
At 8:15 p.m.,
two of Nick's top enforcers
appeared at the flower shop
in response to
Fershman's summons.
You were looking for us, Frank?
Yeah, I want you to
take this to Frank Nitti.
Nitti? You heard me.
You'll find him
in the barbershop
around the corner
from the Montmartre
about an hour
before the club opens.
When's that? 9:00.
You got 45 minutes.
All right.
Wait a minute.
Wear these, just so there
won't be any mistake, huh?
Yeah?
Hello. I want to give a
message to Frank Nitti.
It's urgent.
Sure.
Tell him Frankie
Fershman called.
Fershman... we met at
Nick's office last night.
And?
Tell him Nick didn't
like his attitude.
He didn't like it so much,
he sent two of his
boys to get Frank.
Where?
They figure to nail him
in the barbershop tonight.
They should be there
in about 40 minutes.
How do we know you're leveling?
If I'm wrong, you
know where to find me.
If I'm right, I'd like
to be remembered.
We haven't
checked it yet, Eliot,
but there's a definite
pattern emerging.
Anything we can nail 'em on?
I'd feel a lot more
sure of a conviction
if we could get our
hands on some hard cash
that these books don't show.
That's what we're
doing right now.
We sent photos of Nick to
all the banks this morning.
We got tentative makes on
five men who resemble Acropolis
and who own
safety deposit boxes.
But you can't even get a
court order to open them
unless you've got
positive identification.
That's what's holding us up.
We're lifting prints
from all the boxes.
If Acropolis does
own one of them,
we ought to know
within the hour.
Can I help you?
We're looking for Frank Nitti.
In the last chair.
Thanks.
Mr. Nitti?
We got something for
you from Nick Acropolis.
They're Nick's boys, all right.
Never figured that
Greek to be so dumb.
Hello?
Stella, Nick.
Where you been?
I been trying to
get you all day.
At my brother's funeral.
Stella, I didn't mean
what I said last night.
I know, Nick.
I got to see you, Stella.
Not now, Nick, not now.
It's important, honey.
Ness got the books. I...
He told me about the cane.
I couldn't cover.
Stella, honey, we gotta
get out before it's too late.
Come and talk to me, Nick.
I'll be right there.
Hello. Ness.
I got it, Eliot.
$1,222,000 in cash
and negotiable securities
registered to a Daniel Alden.
Are you sure it
belongs to Acropolis?
Positive.
His fingerprints
are all over the box.
Nice going, Rico.
Rico found it. Let's move.
Nick!
He's not here.
Where is he?
I don't know.
Ow! Oh!
All right, all right, all right!
He's downtown.
We've been to the flower shop.
He ain't there.
He's at the fights.
Stella, you better be leveling.
Welcome home, Nick.
What's this all about?
I'll tell you what
this is all about.
You're dead.
Get her outta here.
Like I was saying,
Nick, you're dead.
But before we finish
you off, I got to know
why you pulled such
a bonehead play.
I'm gonna tell you
something, loudmouth.
I don't know what
you're talking about.
Oh, you don't know?
You don't know your
boys come looking for me.
Frank, you known me
all my life! I ain't no liar!
I didn't send my boys after you.
They were your boys.
If you didn't send 'em, who did?
Fershman.
Fershman?
Oh, don't lay it on him, Nick.
He's the one who tipped us off.
Frank, I ain't gonna crawl,
but I'm asking
you for two hours.
Just a couple of hours.
I got a little unfinished
business in the flower shop.
It ain't too much to ask
from an old friend, Frank.
Oh, so you can set up a
army and start that war?
Ah, sorry, Nick.
You're going for a little ride.
Who is it?
Federal officers. Open up!
Oh, I always said you was born
with a horseshoe in your mouth.
They just bought
you your two hours.
Thanks, Frank.
Open up, or we break it in!
Well, what are you doing here?
I might ask you
the same question.
We're waiting for Nick.
What for?
Social visit.
Me and him are old friends.
I'll remember that
when Nick comes up for trial.
Who is it?
Who's there?
That you, Harry?
No.
Nick.
What's the matter, Frank?
You sound like a ghost.
I don't know what
you mean, Nick.
Stella was right.
Stella's always right.
Nick, what are you talking?
You're finished, smart boy.
You're all washed up.
Nick, talk sense.
I'm through talking, Frankie.
Now I'm gonna kill you.
You make a good
target with that light
behind you, Frankie.
That's six, Frankie.
That's all she wrote.
I'm gonna cut your
heart out, Frankie.
No... No, Nick, you stay away.
Where'd you get to, Frankie?
You're awful quiet.
Nick Acropolis,
big-time racketeer,
had a unique distinction
among men of his kind.
He was deeply and truly loved,
which was attested
to by the fact
that his marriage
survived a conviction
for income tax evasion,
and the 12 years he spent
in a Federal penitentiary.
He was released
on March 4, 1942,
and he outlived both Frank Nitti
and the Capone empire
which had tried to destroy him.
We're looking for Frank Nitti.
In the last chair.
Thanks.
Mr. Nitti?
We got something for
you from Nick Acropolis.
Tonight's episode...
Starring Robert
Stack as Eliot Ness.
Co-starring Bruce Gordon,
Constance Ford,
and Johnny Seven.
With special guest
star Lee Marvin.
And narrated by Walter Winchell.
In the late summer of 1931,
while the Capone organization
reaped a golden harvest
through the sale of
illegal beer and booze
in a hundred
Chicago speakeasies,
an obscure bookmaker,
whose headquarters
was a small flower shop
on the west side of the city,
was quietly developing
into a new underworld titan.
In 18 months he had organized
the bookmakers of Illinois,
and half a dozen surrounding
states, into a mammoth combine,
which brought him
a gross business
of over $2 million a month.
It also brought his
interstate organization
into the jurisdiction of Eliot
Ness and the Untouchables.
By the end of August,
in an attempt to
discover the identity
of this new underworld power,
Eliot Ness had two of the
largest bookmaking parlors
under surveillance
and Ness succeeded in
tapping the phone lines of a third.
How's business?
Listen to this.
Now you tell Charlie I'll
take 50,000 of his action,
but that's all I can handle
'cause I'm already carrying
200 Gs out of Wisconsin.
And, listen, if you
want to lay off any more,
I think you'd
better call the boss.
Not exactly penny ante, is it?
And it's like this all the time.
They must be covering
five or six states.
And it's not just horses.
It's fights, ball games, dogs.
They're even taking
money on the cockfights
out of Tennessee.
Anything on who the big man is?
No, nothing yet.
Stick with it.
- How's business?
- Great.
47 people have gone
in there since 2:00.
Just 29 have came out.
Well, they can't all be winners.
Well, what have we here?
They've got a wealthy clientele.
Recognize anybody?
Not yet.
Stay put.
I'll see how Hobson's doing.
Louis!
Mr. Acropolis.
Where's my brother-in-law?
Wh-Why, he's in
the office, Mister...
Nick.
Nick, I, uh... I don't
understand, Nick.
N... Nick?
F-Frankie?
Frankie...?
Frankie... Please,
please, Frankie.
Nick! Nick! Nick
Frankie.
Frankie, please.
Please, Frankie.
Fr... Fr... Frankie!
What-What'd you
have to hit me for?
Nick, what have I done?
I'll tell you what you done.
You lost 200 Gs of my money.
Wha... huh... no...!
Where are your books?
Stella checked the
books, last month.
It's this month
I'm interested in.
Where are the books?
They're right
here, Mr. Acropolis.
Put them on the desk.
You lost it on the
fights, didn't you?
Well-Well, Nick,
who-who'd have thought that Lox
would lose a decision to Max Baer.
I'm gonna tell you
something, Louis.
Smart bartenders don't drink
and smart pushers
don't carry no monkeys.
And smart bookies don't make
no side bets with my money.
All right, it was... it
was all a mistake.
Mr. Acropolis? Yeah?
You were right, these books
have been tampered with.
For how much?
I'm not sure yet, but
it runs to big figures.
When did it start?
Right after your
wife's last audit.
You stole that money, Louis,
now you're gonna pay it back.
Sure, Nick, sure.
I-I never meant to keep it.
I... I was just
playing for time.
You got time. One month
from today... 200 Gs.
One month.
And 48 hours for
the other 50,000.
What 50?
The interest rates, Louis,
you know the interest rates.
$200,000... one month.
50,000 buck... 48 hours.
Nick...
I... I'm you own
brother-in-law, Nick.
Hello?
Stella.
Oh, hello, Louis.
Stella, I'm in trouble.
What is it this time?
N-Nick was just here.
He had Harry Krafton
go over my books.
How much, Lou?
I gotta get 50
grand in 48 hours.
Stella, if I don't get it,
Nick's gonna kill me.
I can't raise that kind of money
in 48 hours, you know that.
Stella, you-you
can talk to Nick.
You can get around him.
It's too late for that now.
Look, maybe I can
raise some of the money,
like 20, 25,000, but
you gotta find the rest.
When?
Well, I can't get it to you
before tomorrow night...
if I can get it.
I'll meet you at my apartment.
All right.
All I did is rough
him up a little, Stella.
That is all. That's all?
What do you mean that's all?
I'll tell you what I
should've done...
I should've killed
him and I may yet.
Now you listen to me, Nick.
Maybe you had a
right to scare him...
Stella, 200,000 bucks he stole!
200,000?
That's right.
And that don't add up to
no "maybe" in my book.
All right, Nick,
you had a right to work him over
but he's still my brother,
and if you kill him, you
and I are through for good.
Okay, so I don't kill him.
But if he don't come up
with that 50 Gs in 48 hours,
he ain't going to be
very pretty to look at,
and you better get used
to livin' with that, baby.
Or else you can get
your hat right now.
All right, Nick.
You still my girl?
I'm still your girl.
That's the way
it's gotta be, Stella.
It's open.
What is it, Louis?
I, uh... come to ask
you a favor, Sully.
Anything within reason, Louis.
Just so long as it ain't money.
What do you mean, so
long as it ain't money?
Louis, you don't seem
to understand me.
I'm a gambler, I'm
not a money lender.
Where there's no
risk, there's no fun.
P-Please, Sully...
I need 25 grand.
I need it!
Bad, Sully, please.
Well, Louis... why
don't you go to Nick?
He's your brother-in-law.
I want that money, Sully.
Louis... there's
$42,000 on this desk.
That's more than you asked for.
Don't touch it!
You lousy little worm.
Did you really think
I was gonna let you
walk in here and hold me up?
I'll kill you, Sully!
You?
Louis, you couldn't kill a fly.
He's gonna kill me.
What are you doing?
What do you think
I'm doing, pretty boy.
I'm calling Nick.
Hang up.
Hang up, I tell ya!
I... I told you.
I told you!
Hello. Ness.
Hello, Eliot?
You better get down
here right away.
Yeah, my pigeon has just
been pumped full of holes.
Less than 15 minutes
after Rossi's phone call
from the office of Sully Hinds,
Eliot Ness and
the Chicago police
were on the scene of the murder.
The motive's clear
enough: robbery.
Looks that way.
Anything? No.
They're too
smudged to be useful.
Mind if I borrow
this for a few days?
Help yourself.
You might as well pull
the phone tap, Rico.
It's no good now. Right.
Well, I'm finished, Captain.
Okay, Casey, let 'em in.
Sully Hinds.
Ain't he one of Nick
Acropolis' boys?
Yeah, he run a
parlor on 14th Street...
One of the big ones.
That's what I thought.
I want to see Acropolis.
I think it's time
we had a little talk.
Okay, Frank.
What was his take?
$11,000 a day.
That's too bad; that
was a nice handle.
We got an alternate location?
There's a print shop
three blocks away.
Okay, set it up.
Tell Smitty to take over
till I can find a manager.
What's the matter with me?
When we want you for
a manager, we'll tell you.
Ah, it was just an idea.
You got a lot of ideas, Frankie.
Big ideas.
What are you jumping on
me for? What did I do now?
Save it.
Yeah?
Mr. Acropolis?
Yeah.
Mr. Nitti sent us.
He wants to see you.
Well, what do you know?
Well, you can tell Mr. Nitti
I'll be glad to
see him any time.
He wants to see you
now, Mr. Acropolis.
Now!
What's your name, punk?
Pete Konitz.
I'm going to tell you
something, Pete Konitz.
I don't like your manners.
All right now, get up.
Get up!
Frank knows me a long time.
He knows better
than to send anybody
to pick up Nick Acropolis.
Now you tell him that,
huh? You ain't coming?
I come in when I get
good and ready, not before.
Now, get out!
Maybe you shouldn't
have done that, Nick.
Why not? Nitti wants something.
It's better he knows
I don't scare, huh?
I'll drop in on him tonight.
In the meantime,
I got things to do.
You want me to
go with you, Nick?
No, but I want to talk to
you a minute outside, huh?
Frankie, I don't trust Louis.
If he can't come
up with the dough,
he's liable to take off, so
I want you to stick around
and see which way
the wind's blowing.
It'll be a pleasure.
Now, don't get anxious.
Don't touch him till
the 48 hours is up.
Nick, would I do
anything like that
without consulting you first?
I'll tell you
something, Frankie.
I'm not quite sure what you'd do
without checking with me first.
You been listening
to Stella again?
That's right, Frankie.
She don't trust you,
and she ain't often wrong.
One of these days,
Nick, I'm going to prove
I'm with you, 100%.
By 6:00 p.m., Eliot
Ness had discovered
that the cane left at
the scene of the murder
had been purchased at a
small, exclusive men's shop
just off the Chicago Loop.
That cane was purchased
by one of our regular customers:
Mrs. Acropolis.
Are you sure?
Why, of course I'm sure.
There's the entry.
They're all custom-made, sir.
No two are alike.
You get the address?
Yes. We delivered it
to her place of business:
92 Chestnut Avenue.
Thank you.
Yeah?
Okay.
He's here.
Nick, how are you?
How've you been, huh?
You're looking good, Nick.
Ah, you're looking pretty
good yourself, you know?
Hey, you was kind of rough
on my boys, wasn't you?
No rougher than you would've
been on my boys, right?
Still the same old Nick, huh?
I want you to meet
my associates.
Yeager, Urcel, Carlson.
How do you do, boys?
Me and Nick went to the same
school together in Brooklyn.
Him and me, we could lick
any ten kids in the
joint, right, Nick?
That's right, Frank, only we
never could lick each other.
So after a couple of
years we quit trying, right?
Sit down, sit down.
Here.
The real stuff.
I drink it myself.
Nick, you're getting to be
pretty important around town.
The word is you're pulling down
a couple million of month, huh?
It's a living.
Well, it's a good
living, real good.
So good the Feds are
starting to snoop around.
Eliot Ness. I read it, Frank.
One of your best boys.
Yeah, it happens.
Now, Nick, maybe
with somebody else
I play footsy, but
not with you, huh?
Because we're old friends,
I persuaded Al and the boys
to let you alone, you
know what I mean?
You was always
very generous, Frank.
But there's an
end to everything.
You're big business now.
We can't afford to look
the other way no more.
How much?
50 percent.
What are you shaking
your head, Nick?
50% is standard.
But not for me, Frank.
Remember, we're old friends.
Friendship's got
nothing to do with this.
This is business.
And business says we take 50%.
My business says
you take 15 percent.
Fifteen?!
What's the matter
with you, Nick?
You gone soft in the
head or something?
You don't bargain
with the organization.
We tell you 50%,
it's 50% and that's it!
Not this time, Frank.
Then we wipe you out.
You think you can fight us?
I been fighting
all my life, Frank.
I don't quit just 'cause you
got the odds on your side.
But you can't win. Maybe not!
But you'll lose a lot of men
trying... 30, 40 at the least.
This town will have a war
like it's never seen before.
St. Valentine's Day will look
like a Sunday School picnic
compared to what'll happen
when I tangle with you!
He's a madman.
Only you, only
Nick Acropolis could
think of a squeeze like this.
Sit down. Sit down.
Hey... what if we kill
you right now, huh?
What if I told a couple
of guys where I was going
and who to call if I
didn't come back?
Did you?
No.
I don't believe you.
You weren't supposed to.
35 percent.
Twenty. Impossible.
Maybe we come down to
30, but that's the last stop.
You come down to 25%,
I'll have another
drink with you.
To our partnership.
To friendly discussion.
Looks like
someone's still inside.
Yeah.
What is it?
Federal officers.
Are you Mrs. Acropolis?
Why, yes, but, uh,
I can't imagine what
I could've done to upset
the Federal government.
We just want to
ask a few questions.
Of course.
You bought a cane at
Armand's Men's Shop?
Yes, I did... About
six weeks ago.
You mind telling us
who you bought it for?
Why, no.
I bought it for my husband.
Where's your husband now?
He's downtown.
But if you're looking for
the cane, he hasn't got it.
Why not?
It was stolen from our car
two days after I bought it.
"Stolen"?
Yes, you see, uh,
we were out for dinner
and, well, my husband
wasn't used to carrying a cane,
and he left it in the car.
When we got back
to the car, it was gone.
Thank you, Mrs. Acropolis.
Please, can't you tell me
what the trouble is?
Your cane gets
around, Mrs. Acropolis.
Last night it was found
at the scene of a murder.
Good night.
♪ ♪
Who is it?
Stella.
Wha... what's
the matter, Stella?
This. This is the matter!
Well, I... I-I don't understand.
Don't lie to me!
The Feds just left
the flower shop.
The Feds?!
What's that got to do with me?
You shot Sully,
and you left the cane
I gave you behind, and
the Feds traced it to me!
Stella, it was self-defense.
Shut up!
I ought to wash my hands of you.
I ought to let them crucify you.
But Stell, you...
Stell, you, you've
been looking after me
ever since we were kids
You can't stop
now. You just can't!
No, I can't.
God help me, I can't.
L-Listen, Stell, I...
I gotta get away.
We could go together, Stell.
Huh? You and me?
It could be like it was...
before Nick come around.
What'll we use for money?
You got the keys to
Nick's safety deposit boxes.
He must have a
million in cold cash.
You could get it
tomorrow morning.
Stell...
you never hit me
like that before.
Never.
Not in your whole life, Stell.
You take this money,
and you pay Nick back tomorrow,
and then you get out, Lou.
You get out of my
life, and out of Nick's.
Hello, Louis.
Come here.
Come on!
Relax, Louis.
All I want from you
is a little cooperation.
What kind of cooperation?
You know, I would
have come to you before,
only I never figured you
had the nerve to kill anybody.
But now... now
things have changed.
What do you want, Frankie?
I want you to kill Nick.
Oh, no!
Yes. But I can't!
But you can!
And I'm gonna tell you how.
We're gonna do it together.
Why?!
He don't trust me.
Now, if he don't trust me,
how am I gonna get
anywhere in this business, huh?
Oh, no.
No, no, uh-uh, I won't do it.
You want me to call
Nick, tell him you're the guy
that knocked off one
of his top bookies,
led the cops to Stella?
He's very fond of her.
I don't think he'd be
very happy with you.
We'll never get away with it!
We can't miss.
All I gotta do is tell
him you got the 50 Gs,
but you want to give it to him
personally, just like he asked.
Only when you
give him the money,
you also give him
something else.
Understand?
When?
Tomorrow night, 8:00.
We'll look for you
at the south entrance
to Grovner Park.
You will be there... won't you?
Through the park, Frankie.
Frankie says
you got something for me, Louis.
Look out, Nick!
I been watching
him in the mirror.
I had a feeling he
might try something.
Where to, Nick?
The office.
What for?
If you want to be
a big man, Frankie,
you got to start by knowing
how the business works.
Now back to The Untouchables.
The body of Louis Manzak
was discovered two hours later
and taken to the
Cook County morgue.
In response to a phone call
from Captain Hale Johnson
of the homicide squad,
Eliot Ness and Lee
Hobson were on hand
less than an hour later.
Sorry to bring you
out at this hour, Eliot,
but we found a body
in the park tonight.
A guy by the name
of Louis Manzak.
Had a minor record, but
what's more interesting,
his last two arrests
were for bookmaking.
How was he killed?
Same as Sully Hinds,
shot at close range.
You can take a look at the body
as soon as the
coroner's through with it.
They doing the autopsy? Not yet.
We found a relative.
She's making a formal
identification of the body now.
Thank you.
Stella Manzak.
Well, that's a coincidence.
Why?
Stella Manzak is
Mrs. Nick Acropolis.
Only the amount's
100 times greater
than what I got
down here, you got it?
Sure, sure. Pretty smooth.
Then even if somebody
figured out the code,
they'd have a
tough time proving it.
Yeah, that's the point, Frankie.
Now let me show you how
Stella enters the daily take.
Yeah?
Just happened to be in
the neighborhood, Nick.
Go on, sit down.
What's on your mind?
I hate to be coming down
here with complaints, Nick,
especially since we only been
in business together
since yesterday...
Go on, complain.
The word's around...
There's been another killing.
Keep talking.
Who's he?
He's okay.
Frankie Fershman...
He's one of my partners.
All right, I'll
lay it out, Nick.
We went for that
25% instead of the 50
because we didn't want
any more killings, right?
So we got the killings anyway.
It's like a shooting
gallery down here.
Two stiffs in 48 hours!
And with Ness snooping around,
that could be bad
for our business.
Very bad.
I had a problem.
We ain't interested
in your problems, Nick.
We're only
interested in results.
Now there's been a
meeting, and this is the word.
No more murders.
No more trouble, huh?
We want our cut off a
nice, smooth operation.
Suppose it don't
work out that way?
Well, then, you're gonna have
that war you was talking about,
and you're gonna
be the first casualty.
That was a good pitch
you made yesterday, Nick.
Don't let it go to your head.
That's Nitti.
Yeah.
What would he be
doing in this part of town?
He's dead.
Louis's dead.
Sit down.
Here.
He looked so small.
He was a big man,
and he looked small.
Honey, drink this.
They found him in the park.
I know.
Stella, I made you a
promise about Louis.
I tried to keep it.
You killed him?!
No! I... I mean...
I don't know what I mean.
What he means is,
he had no choice.
You killed him? Shut up!
Stella! No, Stella. You
gave me your promise.
Stella, listen to me!
And you killed him!
Listen to me, Stella!
Stop it! Listen to me!
You murdered
my brother! Stop it!
You murdered my brother!
I was hoping I
wouldn't have to tell you,
but now I got no choice.
I didn't kill Louis.
He tried to kill me.
I'll make a deal with you.
You stay out of my life,
and I'll stay out of yours.
Who needs you?!
Shall I stay with her?
We can pick her up any time.
Right now, I'm much more
interested in the flower shop.
Yeah?
What is this, Grand
Central Station?
Eliot Ness?
What do you want?
First of all, we'd like
to know who you are.
The name's Acropolis.
Nick Acropolis.
Oh, you're the man
whose cane was stolen.
Cane?
From your apartment,
wasn't it, about a year ago?
Oh, I don't know.
I don't have a good memory.
Well, maybe we can
refresh your memory.
Your wife gave you the cane.
It was black with
a silver handle.
It was found at the scene
of the Sully Hinds' murder.
Oh, yeah, I remember now.
Yeah, that's
right, it was stolen.
About a year ago?
I don't remember the exact day.
You been in the flower business
a long time, Mr. Acropolis?
Eight years.
Those your books?
Yeah.
Would you object to
having them audited?
Not at all.
What was Frank Nitti
doing in your office tonight?
Frank Nitti?
Your memory failing
you again, Mr. Acropolis?
Nitti and two of
his boys left here
just before your wife got
back from the morgue.
Do you have a search
warrant, Mr. Ness?
No.
And I've had a
bad day. I'm tired.
I'll be glad to talk to
you boys tomorrow.
There's my books. If you
want 'em, help yourself.
Thank you.
Don't leave town, Mr. Acropolis.
We'll look forward to
talking to you again.
I'm very interested to hear
about your relationship
with Frank Nitti.
Convinced by Frank
Nitti's visit to the flower shop
that Nick Acropolis
was the power
behind the bookmaking
combine, Ness had moved swiftly
to gather all available
evidence against him.
For seven hours, he had had
top code experts and accountants
examining the books he had taken
from Acropolis' office.
In the meantime,
Frankie Fershman,
armed with the authority
of his new partnership,
was about to
take the final steps
in a carefully conceived plan.
At 8:15 p.m.,
two of Nick's top enforcers
appeared at the flower shop
in response to
Fershman's summons.
You were looking for us, Frank?
Yeah, I want you to
take this to Frank Nitti.
Nitti? You heard me.
You'll find him
in the barbershop
around the corner
from the Montmartre
about an hour
before the club opens.
When's that? 9:00.
You got 45 minutes.
All right.
Wait a minute.
Wear these, just so there
won't be any mistake, huh?
Yeah?
Hello. I want to give a
message to Frank Nitti.
It's urgent.
Sure.
Tell him Frankie
Fershman called.
Fershman... we met at
Nick's office last night.
And?
Tell him Nick didn't
like his attitude.
He didn't like it so much,
he sent two of his
boys to get Frank.
Where?
They figure to nail him
in the barbershop tonight.
They should be there
in about 40 minutes.
How do we know you're leveling?
If I'm wrong, you
know where to find me.
If I'm right, I'd like
to be remembered.
We haven't
checked it yet, Eliot,
but there's a definite
pattern emerging.
Anything we can nail 'em on?
I'd feel a lot more
sure of a conviction
if we could get our
hands on some hard cash
that these books don't show.
That's what we're
doing right now.
We sent photos of Nick to
all the banks this morning.
We got tentative makes on
five men who resemble Acropolis
and who own
safety deposit boxes.
But you can't even get a
court order to open them
unless you've got
positive identification.
That's what's holding us up.
We're lifting prints
from all the boxes.
If Acropolis does
own one of them,
we ought to know
within the hour.
Can I help you?
We're looking for Frank Nitti.
In the last chair.
Thanks.
Mr. Nitti?
We got something for
you from Nick Acropolis.
They're Nick's boys, all right.
Never figured that
Greek to be so dumb.
Hello?
Stella, Nick.
Where you been?
I been trying to
get you all day.
At my brother's funeral.
Stella, I didn't mean
what I said last night.
I know, Nick.
I got to see you, Stella.
Not now, Nick, not now.
It's important, honey.
Ness got the books. I...
He told me about the cane.
I couldn't cover.
Stella, honey, we gotta
get out before it's too late.
Come and talk to me, Nick.
I'll be right there.
Hello. Ness.
I got it, Eliot.
$1,222,000 in cash
and negotiable securities
registered to a Daniel Alden.
Are you sure it
belongs to Acropolis?
Positive.
His fingerprints
are all over the box.
Nice going, Rico.
Rico found it. Let's move.
Nick!
He's not here.
Where is he?
I don't know.
Ow! Oh!
All right, all right, all right!
He's downtown.
We've been to the flower shop.
He ain't there.
He's at the fights.
Stella, you better be leveling.
Welcome home, Nick.
What's this all about?
I'll tell you what
this is all about.
You're dead.
Get her outta here.
Like I was saying,
Nick, you're dead.
But before we finish
you off, I got to know
why you pulled such
a bonehead play.
I'm gonna tell you
something, loudmouth.
I don't know what
you're talking about.
Oh, you don't know?
You don't know your
boys come looking for me.
Frank, you known me
all my life! I ain't no liar!
I didn't send my boys after you.
They were your boys.
If you didn't send 'em, who did?
Fershman.
Fershman?
Oh, don't lay it on him, Nick.
He's the one who tipped us off.
Frank, I ain't gonna crawl,
but I'm asking
you for two hours.
Just a couple of hours.
I got a little unfinished
business in the flower shop.
It ain't too much to ask
from an old friend, Frank.
Oh, so you can set up a
army and start that war?
Ah, sorry, Nick.
You're going for a little ride.
Who is it?
Federal officers. Open up!
Oh, I always said you was born
with a horseshoe in your mouth.
They just bought
you your two hours.
Thanks, Frank.
Open up, or we break it in!
Well, what are you doing here?
I might ask you
the same question.
We're waiting for Nick.
What for?
Social visit.
Me and him are old friends.
I'll remember that
when Nick comes up for trial.
Who is it?
Who's there?
That you, Harry?
No.
Nick.
What's the matter, Frank?
You sound like a ghost.
I don't know what
you mean, Nick.
Stella was right.
Stella's always right.
Nick, what are you talking?
You're finished, smart boy.
You're all washed up.
Nick, talk sense.
I'm through talking, Frankie.
Now I'm gonna kill you.
You make a good
target with that light
behind you, Frankie.
That's six, Frankie.
That's all she wrote.
I'm gonna cut your
heart out, Frankie.
No... No, Nick, you stay away.
Where'd you get to, Frankie?
You're awful quiet.
Nick Acropolis,
big-time racketeer,
had a unique distinction
among men of his kind.
He was deeply and truly loved,
which was attested
to by the fact
that his marriage
survived a conviction
for income tax evasion,
and the 12 years he spent
in a Federal penitentiary.
He was released
on March 4, 1942,
and he outlived both Frank Nitti
and the Capone empire
which had tried to destroy him.