The Untouchables (1959–1963): Season 2, Episode 8 - Kiss of Death Girl - full transcript
Having had three boyfriends killed in the last 18 months, Francie West has earned her nickname, the kiss of death girl. She is a blackjack dealer in Phil Corbin's speakeasy and has been dating a minor mobster in Lou Scalese organization named Whitey Barrows. Corbin has plans to move into the big time and with Whitey's help, hijacks four truckloads of liquor belonging to Scalese. Corbin kills Whitey when the job is done and Eliot Ness tries to get Francie to help him out on the case. She's not too keen, initially refusing to accept that her latest boyfriend is dead. When she realizes that Corbin was involved and that her own life is in danger, she reconsiders.
Hit me.
Again. Don't bother.
All of a sudden,
you got a big head.
Tonight's episode...
Starring Robert
Stack as Eliot Ness.
Co-starring Mickey Shaughnessy,
Robert H. Harris,
and David J. Stewart.
With special guest
star Jan Sterling.
And narrated by Walter Winchell.
On The night of
September 8, 1932,
four trucks crossed
the Canadian border
at a remote spot, and
headed for Chicago.
They carried a thousand
cases of scotch, the McCoy.
Value: over $100,000.
Acting on word from
a Canadian agent,
Eliot Ness and the Untouchables
were covering the highway
outside of town.
And seven or eight
miles up ahead of Ness,
someone else was waiting.
Phil Corbin, owner of
Chicago's Club Continental.
A man with ambition.
Tonight, he was
expanding his operation.
In charge of the convoy
was a small-time mobster,
Whitey Barrows,
running the whiskey
in for his boss,
Lou "The Rooster" Scalisi.
Scalisi was a new
power in Chicago.
During the past year,
he had cut himself a juicy slice
of what used to be
Capone's personal pie.
That's them!
Looks like Feds.
Go get them!
Don't try nothing!
Climb down!
Climb down.
Talk about easy, Phil.
Four beautiful truckloads
and nobody even gave us a sniff!
Nice work, boy!
And Scalisi's gotta
blame the Feds!
You and me make a
pretty good team, huh, Phil?
Why, sure.
Now you get over
there with them.
With them?
You don't need to
worry about Scalisi.
Over there.
Hey, you're a little mixed up,
ain't you, Phil?
Oh, we got a deal.
We're gonna cut this
together, ain't we?
Well, ain't we?!
It's a cross, huh?
Why, you louse!
We go into town
from the other side.
There's a cutoff half
a mile up the road.
Okay, boys.
Ness first learned that
something had gone wrong
when an ambulance raced up,
summoned by a farmer
who had heard the shooting.
A few minutes later,
he was at the scene.
Four union cards and a gun.
Four honest guys trying
to make an easy 20.
Eliot...
Whitey Barrows.
I've seen him around.
He's strictly small-time.
I think he works for Scalisi.
Neat job of hijacking.
Four drivers.
Four trucks.
That could be seven,
eight hundred cases.
Even for Scalisi,
that's a big loss.
Maybe he's insured.
What I'm saying is,
they're sitting up
there in Canada
with 60 good grand of my dough,
and I don't see one
sign of the trucks!
They left on time.
I called them, Lou.
They said the goods had
passed the checkpoint.
So, what are you trying to say?
I'm saying we got hijacked.
We lost the shipment.
A hijack, huh?
It's gotta be.
How?
Nobody knows what
road they're coming on.
Whitey, he's the only one.
Maybe Whitey ain't
working for you no more.
Why do you say that?
You holding something
back from me, huh?
Why should I keep
something back?
You gotta trust me, Lou.
Nobody!
I don't trust nobody no more.
I think maybe we'd
better go ask Whitey.
Whitey ain't around.
Francey is.
Shake it.
Lou!
Good to see you.
Hello, Vito.
Hey, Lou how about
them ten cases of scotch?
I'm pretty low.
I'm gonna call you
tomorrow, huh? Okay.
Francey in the back, huh?
At the Blackjack Table.
Help yourself.
Lou Scalisi.
All right, let her
roll, let her roll.
All right, folks, get
some confidence down.
Number five's the point.
Get your bets down, folks.
When was the last
time you saw Whitey?
This afternoon.
We had breakfast together.
Where?
Where?!
None of your business!
It's Lou's!
Now, where?!
Lay off of him!
He was just doing his job.
Go on, get out of
here, you big dumb ox.
You'll get yourself killed.
Go on, get out of here! Beat it!
Lou lost a big shipment tonight.
A thousand cases of scotch.
You know what that comes to?
I don't count past 21.
Francey, we got everything
covered pretty good.
So, if there's a hijack,
somebody crossed us.
I don't know what
you're talking about.
About Whitey.
He's got a new boss, huh?
I wouldn't know.
Maybe you got a notion.
I told you! Nothing!
You got questions, go find
Whitey and ask him direct!
I got questions.
A hundred grand worth!
Whitey Barrows's has been
with Scalisi about a year.
For the past three months, he's been
going around with Francey McKay.
The Kiss Of Death Girl.
I guess she takes what
she can get these days.
There's more in the files
on her than there is on him.
She's earned it.
Three boyfriends killed
in the past 18 months.
Maybe there is something
to that Kiss-Of-Death stuff.
Why?
She just lost another.
Maybe he earned it.
She still work at the Club
Continental? That's right.
We can make it
before they close.
Francey?
Give yourself a treat.
It's special.
I imported that myself.
It's real good.
I gotta go.
What's your hurry? It's early.
Whitey's waiting for
me down the street.
I'm going to meet him
in an all-night movie.
All-night movie?
Well, that's for
drunks and hopheads
and bums that can't
afford a two-bit flop.
It keeps me off my feet.
I guess Whitey was
working tonight, huh?
I always meet him in the
movie when he's working.
You know, in case somebody asks.
Yeah... uh...
Francey, you're a fool,
wasting your time
on a zero like him.
A girl that used
to be at the top.
Shut up, hmm?
You could be at the top again.
Clothes, furs, a
nice apartment...
You name it, I got it.
And I'm gonna have more.
I'm gonna be big,
well, I mean big...
I'm gonna own this town.
I'm gonna hang it on my key
chain and wear it for laughs.
Big!
You can stand right
along side of me!
Grow a couple of inches, hmm?
Don't try that
again, little man.
You know what
Whitey would do to you.
Whitey ain't doing nothing
to nobody! Whitey's dead!
You want to change your mind?
Miss McKay?
Government agents.
We'd like to talk to
you, Miss McKay,
about Whitey Barrows.
I know. He's dead.
You want to tell me he's dead.
But he isn't.
He's waiting for me right
now, right down the street.
He's waiting for me right now.
Hiya, boys.
Hello, Mabel.
Are those tickets for me?
Nope. I gotta give some
of the other girls a break.
You know what they call me?
Yeah, big-hearted Kessel. Right.
♪ ♪
Hello, Jenna.
Hello.
Hi, Jonah. Hi, Red.
Miss McKay, my name's Ness.
Go away.
Just go away.
I'm afraid I've got to
ask you something first.
How did you know
Whitey was dead?
He had to be.
The first minute
he looked at me,
he had to be dead.
But you knew he was
killed tonight. Who told you?
Miss McKay, you can help us.
No sale.
Whitey was murdered.
Doesn't that mean
anything to you?
Just a few extra
hours in the day.
All right, so he
didn't mean anything!
Why don't you ask me
what I meant to him?
Or any of them?
I was just a girl with a shape
and a good-looking face.
Somebody they could buy
like a new suit of clothes.
When did any of them ever say,
"Francey, just be my girl.
Just be my girl."?
I'm not talking.
Not gonna find me
floating in the lake.
Not for Whitey Barrows.
He wasn't worth it.
Make a better showing than
that, or you'll lose your job.
Call me if you change your mind.
No one has to know.
We can meet right here.
I worked there an
awfully long time.
Here, maybe these'll help.
Oh, thanks. I-I couldn't
accept all your tickets.
Ah, forget it.
Got to dance with someone.
Might as well be you.
The funeral was small.
If flowers were the measure
of gangland importance,
Whitey Barrows had
lost very little in dying.
His parents were
there and a few others,
each with his own
special interest in Whitey.
Francey was there, too.
Dirt!
You dirt!
You made him to be killed!
Mrs. Barrows... I've told him,
but he would not listen!
You have the mark on you!
I'd better see she gets home.
Francey, how about
a statement, Francey?
How about Whitey? Did he
know anything about the jinx?
Come on, honey. What
about the boyfriend?
Got another boyfriend, Francey?
Ah, come on, honey,
give us a story!
Leave me alone!
Oh, come on, honey,
just a little bit of a story.
Give her a break, will you?
Give her a break, will you?
You want a story,
come to the club.
You might pick up a free
meal at the same time.
Uh, no liquor, though.
It's against the law.
I got the car here.
Let me take you home.
I'm gonna take the El.
Oh, Francey... Don't touch me.
Just let me alone!
Mr. Corbin?
Yeah?
Mr. Ness wants to talk to you.
Funny kind of place to
be looking for whiskey.
I'm not looking for whiskey.
You wouldn't take four
truckloads of genuine Scotch?
I'd rather have the
man who hijacked them
and killed five
people in cold blood.
Where do I come in?
The night Whitey was killed,
somebody told Francey about it.
Now we think it must
have been at the club.
Well, that could
make it anybody.
I get a big play.
Oh, you wouldn't
know that, Mr. Ness.
You and the boys
never dropped in.
We will. We just
figured it was too small.
Yeah.
I guess I am pretty
small... right now.
But you try me again
in six months, a year,
I'll be too big for
even you to touch.
That's pretty big.
That's how big I'll be.
Lee?
You mean you ain't
staying for the services?
Trouble is, you got
no respect for the dead.
Sometimes even
less for the living.
But you said to me,
"Morrie, they'll
be gone in a day."
And it's already three days,
and they're still sitting here.
Anybody could come in and...
Hold your horses, will you?
Nobody's gonna
find those trucks.
Look, Mr. Corbin, I never
had no trouble before.
Well, you won't
have no trouble now!
Don't worry. I'll move them!
Sure, but when?
Don't pin me down! I
told you I'll move them.
I can't give you the exact
hour! Look, I'm late now.
I'm going to the ball game.
I'll call you tomorrow night.
Okay.
Whew. It's hot.
Did you have to
pick the bleachers?
It's safer.
Ten rows back...
Who could spot us?
The Sox... they stink.
I'm a Cub fan myself.
You called me.
Yeah. I want in.
In what?
Four truckloads of scotch.
That shortstop's a bum.
You hijacked them.
Can you prove it?
Maybe.
You could be bluffing.
Call me.
All I got to do is
start Scalisi thinking.
You're Scalisi's top boy, now.
You selling him out?
Just making a little
on the side for myself.
Then you haven't told him, hmm?
Not yet.
Trouble is, I got a big mouth.
It's gonna take five
grand to keep it closed.
Why don't you come
by the club tonight?
You got such a big
mouth... Come for dinner.
It could be Corbin.
Francey works at the club.
Whitey must have
been around a lot.
He could have dropped a word
about bringing those trucks in.
I don't know, Vito's the
one that sticks in my craw.
Vito? He could be in on it, too.
Corbin's too ambitious.
He wouldn't take in a partner.
Unless he had to.
He's a small potato.
They were all small
potatoes to start,
Capone... all of them.
Don't play Corbin short.
So what do we do?
Bring Vito in.
We're gonna have a big
time tonight, huh, baby?
Hey, Phil.
Everything all right?
Yeah, pretty good.
These prices are
pretty good, too.
If I wasn't a guest
I couldn't afford it.
You can afford it.
You got five grand. Where?
You get your hat
from the check girl...
Look in the sweatband.
Hey, when you invite somebody,
you don't fool around, huh?
After what this dinner cost
me, the champagne is nothing.
Well, enjoy yourself.
Hey, take it easy... easy.
This ain't water.
You drink this stuff,
you gotta make a toast.
Yeah... yeah, a toast.
To Phil Corbin, a
real five-grand pal.
Celebrating, huh?
With champagne.
What put me on, Lou,
the check girl found
this dough in his hat.
Five grand.
Five grand?
Yeah... and this fella was
talking to him for a while.
Who? I don't know.
I'd never seen him before.
Could be out of New York.
We've been friends
a long time, Lou.
And the word is, you
took a big loss this week.
I figured maybe
you'd want to know.
Champagne, huh?
Imported.
Give him all he wants...
and charge it to me.
Vito, open up.
Want to give a sucker a break?
It's your money.
Hit me.
Again.
Don't bother.
Your hat, Vito.
Must be too small for you, huh?
All of a sudden,
you got a big head.
Now, Lou, wait a minute.
You got it wrong.
I can explain...!
You were, uh... you
were right in their line.
That's for you.
You earned it.
And now back to
The Untouchables.
At 1:00 p.m. on the
night of September 13,
Vito's body was discovered
submerged in his car
at an isolated pier
on the lakefront.
After investigation, Eliot
Ness was able to establish
that Vito had last been
seen at Phil Corbin's club.
The following morning,
Ness decided to
take direct action.
What's the idea?
I like to look at a man
when I'm talking to him.
So? Don't look at me.
We got nothing to
talk about, Mr. Ness.
We got Corbin to talk about.
Tell me something, Lou,
did Corbin set Vito up for you?
I don't know what you mean.
It's a hard thing
for me to lose Vito.
He was my top boy.
Maybe Corbin's, too, huh?
What are you talking about?
Corbin and Vito.
They went to the ball
game the other day.
So, everybody goes
to the ball game.
I go to the ball game, too.
And sit out in a hot sun?
Out in the cheap bleacher
seats where no one will see them?
My men were sitting
right behind them.
They say that Corbin and Vito
didn't see much of the ballgame.
They were too busy talking.
About what?
Ooh, maybe four
truckloads of whiskey.
You think Corbin's been
holding both ends of the stick?
Look, I'm trying to get a shave.
Go away, huh?
You're making Mario nervous.
That's right.
A razor, you got to be careful.
I make one little slip...
You'd get the Carnegie Medal.
You didn't think he'd talk?
Not to me.
♪ ♪
Hey, you getting fat, huh?
We're going to give
you some more work.
Come on.
Hey, nice place you got here.
I'm gonna fix it up.
Hey, you like it, huh?
My whole life, all I
wanted to be was a farmer.
You'd have to raise
better birds than that.
If I tried to serve them
that lean at the club...
Yeah, you'd go broke, huh?
This fella cost me $800.
One of my best fighting birds.
It's a funny thing.
You put two of them in there,
one of them's gotta
come out dead.
Maybe both.
Only the one who puts them
in there, he don't get hurt.
That's how you do
to me and Vito, huh?
What are you talking about, Lou?
I'm going to ask you a question.
Straight out!
Have you got one
thousand cases of scotch?
You asked me straight
out, I'll tell you straight out.
I got a thousand
cases of scotch.
Maybe somebody
put you in the pit, huh?
Maybe you don't
come out this time.
Like him.
Like he don't come out.
You kill me, you're gonna
lose that scotch for sure.
Ness'll find them trucks
before you even come close.
I've got to hand
it to you, Phil.
Maybe we do some business, huh?
All I want is 25 grand.
In advance.
Advance?! That's a lot of money.
Suppose you cross me
like you crossed Vito?
Well, you know where to find me.
And don't you figure
to do any crossing.
I know where to find you.
I'm building an
organization, Lou.
Can't you hit them straight?
Keep your shirt on.
I saw where it went.
Gosh!
Oh!
Four truckloads of whiskey
safe as if they're in bond.
Suddenly somebody
hands them to us. Why?
Oh, you mean the junk
man was killed just for that?
I mean what's there to
steal in a dump like this
except the trucks?
He never touched them,
whoever it was. Corbin?
Maybe. I don't know.
I thought Scalisi
might break him in two.
I tailed him out
there and back, Eliot.
He must have talked Scalisi
into some kind of a deal.
Well, if he did, why would
he toss all this dough away?
Maybe he figures on making more.
Let's run it down.
Corbin knows I want the
man who hijacked these trucks.
He knows I'd rather have
him than the trucks themselves.
So he figures you'll
leave them here
and wait for somebody
to pick them up.
It's a thought.
He won't pick them up
if he knows we're waiting.
I don't expect him to.
I'm not even sure
what he's up to.
All I can do is play along.
Leave the trucks here.
We'll stake the place out.
It's pretty late.
You shouldn't have
to work this hard.
Not with what you've got.
You done any thinking about us?
I told you big.
I mean big.
You know what's in there?
25 grand for one night's work.
If I was you, I'd
grab what I could.
You ain't gonna have
too many chances.
Not after what you
done to Whitey. Shut up!
You're cyanide.
Look around.
Who wants you anymore?
Shut up!
You've had it.
You're over the hill.
You're yesterday's breakfast!
Yesterday's breakfast.
They wouldn't dish you up
to the bums on State Street.
Get out.
Get out, you pig! You get out!
Everything's locked up.
Fine.
Is there something
wrong, Francey?
I just wish I had some
quitting money, that's all.
Well, I mean, if it's money, I
mean, if that's what you need,
I've got a couple of grand.
All right, go on, say it.
"Say it"?
You "got a couple of grand."
And I can have it if I what?
Well, nothing.
If you need it, you can have it.
You mean, I can just
have it, and that's all?
Well, sure.
I mean, you don't have
to be ashamed about it.
I mean, everybody
gets in a spot sometime.
Before you say no,
let's talk it over, huh?
It's pretty hot outside,
and you can't sleep anyway.
I know a little place
down by the lake.
You want to go down
and talk it over, Francey?
I haven't been to the lake,
I bet, in about five years.
You'll like it. It's nice.
Then they made me
all-city fullback
in my senior year,
and I got a
scholarship to Michigan.
To college?
Yeah.
I lasted two months.
I just couldn't learn
to hit the books.
So I came back
here and I got a job.
I used to be the doorman
at the old Sundown Club,
before the Feds hit it.
No fooling.
Yeah, that's where
I first saw you.
You shouldn't
remember that far back.
Seems like it was
only yesterday.
I thought you was the
prettiest girl in town.
You used to come
in with Corky Farrell.
And Corky got killed.
Look, Francey.
Corky got killed.
And Marty Schaeffer got killed.
And Buzz Colino got killed.
And Whitey Barrows.
Look, you shouldn't
talk like that.
It's all wrong
to talk like that.
I mean, those guys
were in a rough business.
They figured they
had to get knocked off.
That was nothing to do with you.
Get smart.
Start looking the other way.
I'm not looking.
I know I'm not
even in your league.
But you shouldn't
think about those guys.
I mean, it was
them, it wasn't you.
I mean, things would've
been different if you,
you know, if you were
going with somebody else.
Like, if you were
going with a guy
that was out of the rackets.
Like if you...
were married to a guy
that only owned a store.
What kind of store?
Cleaning and dyeing.
It's a hundred bucks a week net.
And I can get the place
for five grand, maybe less.
I know I'm not much
for a gal like you.
I'd take good care
of you, Francey.
I'd be nice to you.
You ape.
You mean it.
You big ape.
Come on, sweethearts.
It's time to go home.
We... we didn't, we weren't...
Then you shouldn't
be here anyway.
Now, go on, beat it.
Hey, got a light?
Nothing yet, Rico.
Thanks.
Hi.
Hi.
You're late.
That's not much of a
compliment to a lady to oversleep.
Oh, I didn't oversleep.
I've been up for three hours.
Corbin called me.
Corbin?
We got it made!
I was talking to
the guy at the store,
and we can steal the place!
A note for 15 hundred
and three grand in cash!
But you've only got 23 hundred.
Yeah, but I'll have
the rest of it tonight.
That's what I'm saying.
Corbin called me,
and he's got a job
for me driving a truck.
You know what I'm
gonna get? One grand!
For one night's
work... one grand!
And I've been figuring...
With the grand,
that makes it $3,300,
so there's $300 left over.
Maybe I could get a
ring for you, Francey.
Would you like a ring?
Get lost.
How can a lame-brain like you
come up with such fancy ideas?
Well, I thought... Why?
Because I was nice to you?
Because I felt sorry for you?
300 bucks for a ring!
Listen, Corky used to pay
that much for our dinner!
I-I know.
I-I didn't mean...
When I walk into a place,
I walk in with the best,
or I don't walk into
that place at all!
Look, Francey, I-I
just thought that...
Beat it!
I'm expecting
someone for breakfast.
Hello. Ness.
Hello, Mr. Ness?
This is Francey McKay.
Have you seen any
good movies lately?
Ness was waiting
at the all-night movie
when Francey arrived.
The picture was
entitled, Frisco Waterfront
starring Ben Lyon,
Helen Twelvetrees and Rod Laroc.
Neither Ness nor
Francey heard a word of it.
I want a deal.
I don't make deals.
You can make this one.
Isn't for me.
It's for Henny Coombs.
He works at the club.
He's big and ugly and stupid.
He's an ox.
I don't want him to die.
What have you got?
The night that
Whitey was killed.
You asked me who told me.
Corbin.
Corbin. How'd he know?
Maybe he was there
when it happened.
Might be hard to prove.
I think you can prove that
he hijacked the whiskey.
Come on!
I think he's moving it tonight.
How do you know?
He gave Henny a grand
to drive one of the trucks.
Maybe I can find out
where the trucks are.
I know where they are.
Then there's no deal.
I haven't helped you much.
You've helped me a lot.
Maybe Henny, too.
What do you mean
you changed your mind?
I don't need the money anymore.
Look, Mr. Beefo,
I got commitments,
and if I don't keep them,
a certain party's gonna be mad.
And if he's mad at me,
I'm gonna be mad at you,
and you ain't
gonna like that a lot!
Now, we close up tonight.
You hustle over to that
junkyard and wait for me.
Here.
I never carried a gun before.
That's just in case.
You said there wasn't
a chance of any trouble.
One chance in a million.
That's pretty good
odds for a grand.
Now, look,
you try to pull out now, a
lot of things could happen.
Maybe to Francey.
You wouldn't want nothing
to happen to Francey.
Now, just remember one thing.
Anybody but me comes in
that yard, don't ask no questions.
That's why you got the gun.
That's Scalisi's garage.
He uses it when he's
got business here in town.
Scalisi and Corbin.
Where does that take us?
To Corbin.
We start with Corbin,
we end with Corbin.
Okay. We know he ran the
hijacking and killed Whitey.
He probably arranged
for Vito to get it, too.
Scalisi's two top men.
Stepping stones.
Maybe now he's after the
man in that garage, the Boss.
Scalisi? How?
Maybe he's making
a deal with Scalisi.
Telling him where
to pick up the trucks.
Knowing we've got
the place staked out.
That's how little potatoes
get to be big potatoes.
All right.
I pick up the trucks tonight.
What time?
Well, it ought to be late, Lou.
Less chance of trouble.
How about 2:30?
Where?
I'll call you later
and let you know. Tell me now.
Oh, come on, Lou.
Give me some credit, will you?
Sure, I could tell you now.
Except I want to
walk out of here alive.
I think I'd better tell
you over the phone.
When?
Well, we close at 2:00.
I'll call you sharp
at a quarter past.
You bring your own drivers, hmm?
Yeah?
Hello, is Phil Corbin there?
Corbin? No, he ain't here.
Are you sure? When
I called the club,
they told me he
left this number.
He ain't here.
He was, but he's gone.
Oh. Well, if you see
him, will you tell him
I answered his
call? It's important.
"Important"?
He'll know what it is.
This is Eliot Ness.
Ness?
Now, look, operator,
I dialed the number.
I been dialing it
for 20 minutes!
I told you, I get a ring,
but I don't get no answer.
And I know there's somebody
there, he's got to be there!
Will you hang up and
dial again, please?
We were in the neighborhood.
We're going to go
get that whiskey, huh?
Sure.
Why not?
Say, look, Lou, I can
tell you where it is.
You can go right
over and pick it up.
No reason for me to go along.
Some reason you
don't want to go?
No reason at all. Honest, Lou.
You go along, then.
I like your company.
The next street, huh?
Yeah, you turn left.
And cut your lights.
Here?
The trucks are in the back.
All four of them.
You can walk right in
and drive them away.
Get out!
You can walk right in
and drive them away.
So walk.
Walk!
Lights!
Henny?
Henny?
Henny?
Henny?
Corbin?
Give me your rod.
Drop it, Corbin! You knew?
You crossed me! You knew!
Corbin's dead.
They're taking Scalisi downtown.
What about Henny?
Will he make it?
He'll make it.
He's got something to prove.
Henny Coombs did make it.
Two months later,
he was well enough
to open a small cleaning
establishment with Francey.
Francey McKay,
who used to be called
"The Kiss of Death Girl."
Again. Don't bother.
All of a sudden,
you got a big head.
Tonight's episode...
Starring Robert
Stack as Eliot Ness.
Co-starring Mickey Shaughnessy,
Robert H. Harris,
and David J. Stewart.
With special guest
star Jan Sterling.
And narrated by Walter Winchell.
On The night of
September 8, 1932,
four trucks crossed
the Canadian border
at a remote spot, and
headed for Chicago.
They carried a thousand
cases of scotch, the McCoy.
Value: over $100,000.
Acting on word from
a Canadian agent,
Eliot Ness and the Untouchables
were covering the highway
outside of town.
And seven or eight
miles up ahead of Ness,
someone else was waiting.
Phil Corbin, owner of
Chicago's Club Continental.
A man with ambition.
Tonight, he was
expanding his operation.
In charge of the convoy
was a small-time mobster,
Whitey Barrows,
running the whiskey
in for his boss,
Lou "The Rooster" Scalisi.
Scalisi was a new
power in Chicago.
During the past year,
he had cut himself a juicy slice
of what used to be
Capone's personal pie.
That's them!
Looks like Feds.
Go get them!
Don't try nothing!
Climb down!
Climb down.
Talk about easy, Phil.
Four beautiful truckloads
and nobody even gave us a sniff!
Nice work, boy!
And Scalisi's gotta
blame the Feds!
You and me make a
pretty good team, huh, Phil?
Why, sure.
Now you get over
there with them.
With them?
You don't need to
worry about Scalisi.
Over there.
Hey, you're a little mixed up,
ain't you, Phil?
Oh, we got a deal.
We're gonna cut this
together, ain't we?
Well, ain't we?!
It's a cross, huh?
Why, you louse!
We go into town
from the other side.
There's a cutoff half
a mile up the road.
Okay, boys.
Ness first learned that
something had gone wrong
when an ambulance raced up,
summoned by a farmer
who had heard the shooting.
A few minutes later,
he was at the scene.
Four union cards and a gun.
Four honest guys trying
to make an easy 20.
Eliot...
Whitey Barrows.
I've seen him around.
He's strictly small-time.
I think he works for Scalisi.
Neat job of hijacking.
Four drivers.
Four trucks.
That could be seven,
eight hundred cases.
Even for Scalisi,
that's a big loss.
Maybe he's insured.
What I'm saying is,
they're sitting up
there in Canada
with 60 good grand of my dough,
and I don't see one
sign of the trucks!
They left on time.
I called them, Lou.
They said the goods had
passed the checkpoint.
So, what are you trying to say?
I'm saying we got hijacked.
We lost the shipment.
A hijack, huh?
It's gotta be.
How?
Nobody knows what
road they're coming on.
Whitey, he's the only one.
Maybe Whitey ain't
working for you no more.
Why do you say that?
You holding something
back from me, huh?
Why should I keep
something back?
You gotta trust me, Lou.
Nobody!
I don't trust nobody no more.
I think maybe we'd
better go ask Whitey.
Whitey ain't around.
Francey is.
Shake it.
Lou!
Good to see you.
Hello, Vito.
Hey, Lou how about
them ten cases of scotch?
I'm pretty low.
I'm gonna call you
tomorrow, huh? Okay.
Francey in the back, huh?
At the Blackjack Table.
Help yourself.
Lou Scalisi.
All right, let her
roll, let her roll.
All right, folks, get
some confidence down.
Number five's the point.
Get your bets down, folks.
When was the last
time you saw Whitey?
This afternoon.
We had breakfast together.
Where?
Where?!
None of your business!
It's Lou's!
Now, where?!
Lay off of him!
He was just doing his job.
Go on, get out of
here, you big dumb ox.
You'll get yourself killed.
Go on, get out of here! Beat it!
Lou lost a big shipment tonight.
A thousand cases of scotch.
You know what that comes to?
I don't count past 21.
Francey, we got everything
covered pretty good.
So, if there's a hijack,
somebody crossed us.
I don't know what
you're talking about.
About Whitey.
He's got a new boss, huh?
I wouldn't know.
Maybe you got a notion.
I told you! Nothing!
You got questions, go find
Whitey and ask him direct!
I got questions.
A hundred grand worth!
Whitey Barrows's has been
with Scalisi about a year.
For the past three months, he's been
going around with Francey McKay.
The Kiss Of Death Girl.
I guess she takes what
she can get these days.
There's more in the files
on her than there is on him.
She's earned it.
Three boyfriends killed
in the past 18 months.
Maybe there is something
to that Kiss-Of-Death stuff.
Why?
She just lost another.
Maybe he earned it.
She still work at the Club
Continental? That's right.
We can make it
before they close.
Francey?
Give yourself a treat.
It's special.
I imported that myself.
It's real good.
I gotta go.
What's your hurry? It's early.
Whitey's waiting for
me down the street.
I'm going to meet him
in an all-night movie.
All-night movie?
Well, that's for
drunks and hopheads
and bums that can't
afford a two-bit flop.
It keeps me off my feet.
I guess Whitey was
working tonight, huh?
I always meet him in the
movie when he's working.
You know, in case somebody asks.
Yeah... uh...
Francey, you're a fool,
wasting your time
on a zero like him.
A girl that used
to be at the top.
Shut up, hmm?
You could be at the top again.
Clothes, furs, a
nice apartment...
You name it, I got it.
And I'm gonna have more.
I'm gonna be big,
well, I mean big...
I'm gonna own this town.
I'm gonna hang it on my key
chain and wear it for laughs.
Big!
You can stand right
along side of me!
Grow a couple of inches, hmm?
Don't try that
again, little man.
You know what
Whitey would do to you.
Whitey ain't doing nothing
to nobody! Whitey's dead!
You want to change your mind?
Miss McKay?
Government agents.
We'd like to talk to
you, Miss McKay,
about Whitey Barrows.
I know. He's dead.
You want to tell me he's dead.
But he isn't.
He's waiting for me right
now, right down the street.
He's waiting for me right now.
Hiya, boys.
Hello, Mabel.
Are those tickets for me?
Nope. I gotta give some
of the other girls a break.
You know what they call me?
Yeah, big-hearted Kessel. Right.
♪ ♪
Hello, Jenna.
Hello.
Hi, Jonah. Hi, Red.
Miss McKay, my name's Ness.
Go away.
Just go away.
I'm afraid I've got to
ask you something first.
How did you know
Whitey was dead?
He had to be.
The first minute
he looked at me,
he had to be dead.
But you knew he was
killed tonight. Who told you?
Miss McKay, you can help us.
No sale.
Whitey was murdered.
Doesn't that mean
anything to you?
Just a few extra
hours in the day.
All right, so he
didn't mean anything!
Why don't you ask me
what I meant to him?
Or any of them?
I was just a girl with a shape
and a good-looking face.
Somebody they could buy
like a new suit of clothes.
When did any of them ever say,
"Francey, just be my girl.
Just be my girl."?
I'm not talking.
Not gonna find me
floating in the lake.
Not for Whitey Barrows.
He wasn't worth it.
Make a better showing than
that, or you'll lose your job.
Call me if you change your mind.
No one has to know.
We can meet right here.
I worked there an
awfully long time.
Here, maybe these'll help.
Oh, thanks. I-I couldn't
accept all your tickets.
Ah, forget it.
Got to dance with someone.
Might as well be you.
The funeral was small.
If flowers were the measure
of gangland importance,
Whitey Barrows had
lost very little in dying.
His parents were
there and a few others,
each with his own
special interest in Whitey.
Francey was there, too.
Dirt!
You dirt!
You made him to be killed!
Mrs. Barrows... I've told him,
but he would not listen!
You have the mark on you!
I'd better see she gets home.
Francey, how about
a statement, Francey?
How about Whitey? Did he
know anything about the jinx?
Come on, honey. What
about the boyfriend?
Got another boyfriend, Francey?
Ah, come on, honey,
give us a story!
Leave me alone!
Oh, come on, honey,
just a little bit of a story.
Give her a break, will you?
Give her a break, will you?
You want a story,
come to the club.
You might pick up a free
meal at the same time.
Uh, no liquor, though.
It's against the law.
I got the car here.
Let me take you home.
I'm gonna take the El.
Oh, Francey... Don't touch me.
Just let me alone!
Mr. Corbin?
Yeah?
Mr. Ness wants to talk to you.
Funny kind of place to
be looking for whiskey.
I'm not looking for whiskey.
You wouldn't take four
truckloads of genuine Scotch?
I'd rather have the
man who hijacked them
and killed five
people in cold blood.
Where do I come in?
The night Whitey was killed,
somebody told Francey about it.
Now we think it must
have been at the club.
Well, that could
make it anybody.
I get a big play.
Oh, you wouldn't
know that, Mr. Ness.
You and the boys
never dropped in.
We will. We just
figured it was too small.
Yeah.
I guess I am pretty
small... right now.
But you try me again
in six months, a year,
I'll be too big for
even you to touch.
That's pretty big.
That's how big I'll be.
Lee?
You mean you ain't
staying for the services?
Trouble is, you got
no respect for the dead.
Sometimes even
less for the living.
But you said to me,
"Morrie, they'll
be gone in a day."
And it's already three days,
and they're still sitting here.
Anybody could come in and...
Hold your horses, will you?
Nobody's gonna
find those trucks.
Look, Mr. Corbin, I never
had no trouble before.
Well, you won't
have no trouble now!
Don't worry. I'll move them!
Sure, but when?
Don't pin me down! I
told you I'll move them.
I can't give you the exact
hour! Look, I'm late now.
I'm going to the ball game.
I'll call you tomorrow night.
Okay.
Whew. It's hot.
Did you have to
pick the bleachers?
It's safer.
Ten rows back...
Who could spot us?
The Sox... they stink.
I'm a Cub fan myself.
You called me.
Yeah. I want in.
In what?
Four truckloads of scotch.
That shortstop's a bum.
You hijacked them.
Can you prove it?
Maybe.
You could be bluffing.
Call me.
All I got to do is
start Scalisi thinking.
You're Scalisi's top boy, now.
You selling him out?
Just making a little
on the side for myself.
Then you haven't told him, hmm?
Not yet.
Trouble is, I got a big mouth.
It's gonna take five
grand to keep it closed.
Why don't you come
by the club tonight?
You got such a big
mouth... Come for dinner.
It could be Corbin.
Francey works at the club.
Whitey must have
been around a lot.
He could have dropped a word
about bringing those trucks in.
I don't know, Vito's the
one that sticks in my craw.
Vito? He could be in on it, too.
Corbin's too ambitious.
He wouldn't take in a partner.
Unless he had to.
He's a small potato.
They were all small
potatoes to start,
Capone... all of them.
Don't play Corbin short.
So what do we do?
Bring Vito in.
We're gonna have a big
time tonight, huh, baby?
Hey, Phil.
Everything all right?
Yeah, pretty good.
These prices are
pretty good, too.
If I wasn't a guest
I couldn't afford it.
You can afford it.
You got five grand. Where?
You get your hat
from the check girl...
Look in the sweatband.
Hey, when you invite somebody,
you don't fool around, huh?
After what this dinner cost
me, the champagne is nothing.
Well, enjoy yourself.
Hey, take it easy... easy.
This ain't water.
You drink this stuff,
you gotta make a toast.
Yeah... yeah, a toast.
To Phil Corbin, a
real five-grand pal.
Celebrating, huh?
With champagne.
What put me on, Lou,
the check girl found
this dough in his hat.
Five grand.
Five grand?
Yeah... and this fella was
talking to him for a while.
Who? I don't know.
I'd never seen him before.
Could be out of New York.
We've been friends
a long time, Lou.
And the word is, you
took a big loss this week.
I figured maybe
you'd want to know.
Champagne, huh?
Imported.
Give him all he wants...
and charge it to me.
Vito, open up.
Want to give a sucker a break?
It's your money.
Hit me.
Again.
Don't bother.
Your hat, Vito.
Must be too small for you, huh?
All of a sudden,
you got a big head.
Now, Lou, wait a minute.
You got it wrong.
I can explain...!
You were, uh... you
were right in their line.
That's for you.
You earned it.
And now back to
The Untouchables.
At 1:00 p.m. on the
night of September 13,
Vito's body was discovered
submerged in his car
at an isolated pier
on the lakefront.
After investigation, Eliot
Ness was able to establish
that Vito had last been
seen at Phil Corbin's club.
The following morning,
Ness decided to
take direct action.
What's the idea?
I like to look at a man
when I'm talking to him.
So? Don't look at me.
We got nothing to
talk about, Mr. Ness.
We got Corbin to talk about.
Tell me something, Lou,
did Corbin set Vito up for you?
I don't know what you mean.
It's a hard thing
for me to lose Vito.
He was my top boy.
Maybe Corbin's, too, huh?
What are you talking about?
Corbin and Vito.
They went to the ball
game the other day.
So, everybody goes
to the ball game.
I go to the ball game, too.
And sit out in a hot sun?
Out in the cheap bleacher
seats where no one will see them?
My men were sitting
right behind them.
They say that Corbin and Vito
didn't see much of the ballgame.
They were too busy talking.
About what?
Ooh, maybe four
truckloads of whiskey.
You think Corbin's been
holding both ends of the stick?
Look, I'm trying to get a shave.
Go away, huh?
You're making Mario nervous.
That's right.
A razor, you got to be careful.
I make one little slip...
You'd get the Carnegie Medal.
You didn't think he'd talk?
Not to me.
♪ ♪
Hey, you getting fat, huh?
We're going to give
you some more work.
Come on.
Hey, nice place you got here.
I'm gonna fix it up.
Hey, you like it, huh?
My whole life, all I
wanted to be was a farmer.
You'd have to raise
better birds than that.
If I tried to serve them
that lean at the club...
Yeah, you'd go broke, huh?
This fella cost me $800.
One of my best fighting birds.
It's a funny thing.
You put two of them in there,
one of them's gotta
come out dead.
Maybe both.
Only the one who puts them
in there, he don't get hurt.
That's how you do
to me and Vito, huh?
What are you talking about, Lou?
I'm going to ask you a question.
Straight out!
Have you got one
thousand cases of scotch?
You asked me straight
out, I'll tell you straight out.
I got a thousand
cases of scotch.
Maybe somebody
put you in the pit, huh?
Maybe you don't
come out this time.
Like him.
Like he don't come out.
You kill me, you're gonna
lose that scotch for sure.
Ness'll find them trucks
before you even come close.
I've got to hand
it to you, Phil.
Maybe we do some business, huh?
All I want is 25 grand.
In advance.
Advance?! That's a lot of money.
Suppose you cross me
like you crossed Vito?
Well, you know where to find me.
And don't you figure
to do any crossing.
I know where to find you.
I'm building an
organization, Lou.
Can't you hit them straight?
Keep your shirt on.
I saw where it went.
Gosh!
Oh!
Four truckloads of whiskey
safe as if they're in bond.
Suddenly somebody
hands them to us. Why?
Oh, you mean the junk
man was killed just for that?
I mean what's there to
steal in a dump like this
except the trucks?
He never touched them,
whoever it was. Corbin?
Maybe. I don't know.
I thought Scalisi
might break him in two.
I tailed him out
there and back, Eliot.
He must have talked Scalisi
into some kind of a deal.
Well, if he did, why would
he toss all this dough away?
Maybe he figures on making more.
Let's run it down.
Corbin knows I want the
man who hijacked these trucks.
He knows I'd rather have
him than the trucks themselves.
So he figures you'll
leave them here
and wait for somebody
to pick them up.
It's a thought.
He won't pick them up
if he knows we're waiting.
I don't expect him to.
I'm not even sure
what he's up to.
All I can do is play along.
Leave the trucks here.
We'll stake the place out.
It's pretty late.
You shouldn't have
to work this hard.
Not with what you've got.
You done any thinking about us?
I told you big.
I mean big.
You know what's in there?
25 grand for one night's work.
If I was you, I'd
grab what I could.
You ain't gonna have
too many chances.
Not after what you
done to Whitey. Shut up!
You're cyanide.
Look around.
Who wants you anymore?
Shut up!
You've had it.
You're over the hill.
You're yesterday's breakfast!
Yesterday's breakfast.
They wouldn't dish you up
to the bums on State Street.
Get out.
Get out, you pig! You get out!
Everything's locked up.
Fine.
Is there something
wrong, Francey?
I just wish I had some
quitting money, that's all.
Well, I mean, if it's money, I
mean, if that's what you need,
I've got a couple of grand.
All right, go on, say it.
"Say it"?
You "got a couple of grand."
And I can have it if I what?
Well, nothing.
If you need it, you can have it.
You mean, I can just
have it, and that's all?
Well, sure.
I mean, you don't have
to be ashamed about it.
I mean, everybody
gets in a spot sometime.
Before you say no,
let's talk it over, huh?
It's pretty hot outside,
and you can't sleep anyway.
I know a little place
down by the lake.
You want to go down
and talk it over, Francey?
I haven't been to the lake,
I bet, in about five years.
You'll like it. It's nice.
Then they made me
all-city fullback
in my senior year,
and I got a
scholarship to Michigan.
To college?
Yeah.
I lasted two months.
I just couldn't learn
to hit the books.
So I came back
here and I got a job.
I used to be the doorman
at the old Sundown Club,
before the Feds hit it.
No fooling.
Yeah, that's where
I first saw you.
You shouldn't
remember that far back.
Seems like it was
only yesterday.
I thought you was the
prettiest girl in town.
You used to come
in with Corky Farrell.
And Corky got killed.
Look, Francey.
Corky got killed.
And Marty Schaeffer got killed.
And Buzz Colino got killed.
And Whitey Barrows.
Look, you shouldn't
talk like that.
It's all wrong
to talk like that.
I mean, those guys
were in a rough business.
They figured they
had to get knocked off.
That was nothing to do with you.
Get smart.
Start looking the other way.
I'm not looking.
I know I'm not
even in your league.
But you shouldn't
think about those guys.
I mean, it was
them, it wasn't you.
I mean, things would've
been different if you,
you know, if you were
going with somebody else.
Like, if you were
going with a guy
that was out of the rackets.
Like if you...
were married to a guy
that only owned a store.
What kind of store?
Cleaning and dyeing.
It's a hundred bucks a week net.
And I can get the place
for five grand, maybe less.
I know I'm not much
for a gal like you.
I'd take good care
of you, Francey.
I'd be nice to you.
You ape.
You mean it.
You big ape.
Come on, sweethearts.
It's time to go home.
We... we didn't, we weren't...
Then you shouldn't
be here anyway.
Now, go on, beat it.
Hey, got a light?
Nothing yet, Rico.
Thanks.
Hi.
Hi.
You're late.
That's not much of a
compliment to a lady to oversleep.
Oh, I didn't oversleep.
I've been up for three hours.
Corbin called me.
Corbin?
We got it made!
I was talking to
the guy at the store,
and we can steal the place!
A note for 15 hundred
and three grand in cash!
But you've only got 23 hundred.
Yeah, but I'll have
the rest of it tonight.
That's what I'm saying.
Corbin called me,
and he's got a job
for me driving a truck.
You know what I'm
gonna get? One grand!
For one night's
work... one grand!
And I've been figuring...
With the grand,
that makes it $3,300,
so there's $300 left over.
Maybe I could get a
ring for you, Francey.
Would you like a ring?
Get lost.
How can a lame-brain like you
come up with such fancy ideas?
Well, I thought... Why?
Because I was nice to you?
Because I felt sorry for you?
300 bucks for a ring!
Listen, Corky used to pay
that much for our dinner!
I-I know.
I-I didn't mean...
When I walk into a place,
I walk in with the best,
or I don't walk into
that place at all!
Look, Francey, I-I
just thought that...
Beat it!
I'm expecting
someone for breakfast.
Hello. Ness.
Hello, Mr. Ness?
This is Francey McKay.
Have you seen any
good movies lately?
Ness was waiting
at the all-night movie
when Francey arrived.
The picture was
entitled, Frisco Waterfront
starring Ben Lyon,
Helen Twelvetrees and Rod Laroc.
Neither Ness nor
Francey heard a word of it.
I want a deal.
I don't make deals.
You can make this one.
Isn't for me.
It's for Henny Coombs.
He works at the club.
He's big and ugly and stupid.
He's an ox.
I don't want him to die.
What have you got?
The night that
Whitey was killed.
You asked me who told me.
Corbin.
Corbin. How'd he know?
Maybe he was there
when it happened.
Might be hard to prove.
I think you can prove that
he hijacked the whiskey.
Come on!
I think he's moving it tonight.
How do you know?
He gave Henny a grand
to drive one of the trucks.
Maybe I can find out
where the trucks are.
I know where they are.
Then there's no deal.
I haven't helped you much.
You've helped me a lot.
Maybe Henny, too.
What do you mean
you changed your mind?
I don't need the money anymore.
Look, Mr. Beefo,
I got commitments,
and if I don't keep them,
a certain party's gonna be mad.
And if he's mad at me,
I'm gonna be mad at you,
and you ain't
gonna like that a lot!
Now, we close up tonight.
You hustle over to that
junkyard and wait for me.
Here.
I never carried a gun before.
That's just in case.
You said there wasn't
a chance of any trouble.
One chance in a million.
That's pretty good
odds for a grand.
Now, look,
you try to pull out now, a
lot of things could happen.
Maybe to Francey.
You wouldn't want nothing
to happen to Francey.
Now, just remember one thing.
Anybody but me comes in
that yard, don't ask no questions.
That's why you got the gun.
That's Scalisi's garage.
He uses it when he's
got business here in town.
Scalisi and Corbin.
Where does that take us?
To Corbin.
We start with Corbin,
we end with Corbin.
Okay. We know he ran the
hijacking and killed Whitey.
He probably arranged
for Vito to get it, too.
Scalisi's two top men.
Stepping stones.
Maybe now he's after the
man in that garage, the Boss.
Scalisi? How?
Maybe he's making
a deal with Scalisi.
Telling him where
to pick up the trucks.
Knowing we've got
the place staked out.
That's how little potatoes
get to be big potatoes.
All right.
I pick up the trucks tonight.
What time?
Well, it ought to be late, Lou.
Less chance of trouble.
How about 2:30?
Where?
I'll call you later
and let you know. Tell me now.
Oh, come on, Lou.
Give me some credit, will you?
Sure, I could tell you now.
Except I want to
walk out of here alive.
I think I'd better tell
you over the phone.
When?
Well, we close at 2:00.
I'll call you sharp
at a quarter past.
You bring your own drivers, hmm?
Yeah?
Hello, is Phil Corbin there?
Corbin? No, he ain't here.
Are you sure? When
I called the club,
they told me he
left this number.
He ain't here.
He was, but he's gone.
Oh. Well, if you see
him, will you tell him
I answered his
call? It's important.
"Important"?
He'll know what it is.
This is Eliot Ness.
Ness?
Now, look, operator,
I dialed the number.
I been dialing it
for 20 minutes!
I told you, I get a ring,
but I don't get no answer.
And I know there's somebody
there, he's got to be there!
Will you hang up and
dial again, please?
We were in the neighborhood.
We're going to go
get that whiskey, huh?
Sure.
Why not?
Say, look, Lou, I can
tell you where it is.
You can go right
over and pick it up.
No reason for me to go along.
Some reason you
don't want to go?
No reason at all. Honest, Lou.
You go along, then.
I like your company.
The next street, huh?
Yeah, you turn left.
And cut your lights.
Here?
The trucks are in the back.
All four of them.
You can walk right in
and drive them away.
Get out!
You can walk right in
and drive them away.
So walk.
Walk!
Lights!
Henny?
Henny?
Henny?
Henny?
Corbin?
Give me your rod.
Drop it, Corbin! You knew?
You crossed me! You knew!
Corbin's dead.
They're taking Scalisi downtown.
What about Henny?
Will he make it?
He'll make it.
He's got something to prove.
Henny Coombs did make it.
Two months later,
he was well enough
to open a small cleaning
establishment with Francey.
Francey McKay,
who used to be called
"The Kiss of Death Girl."