The Untouchables (1959–1963): Season 3, Episode 14 - Silent Partner - full transcript
When Wallace Laughton is killed by Federal Agents, a mysterious man known only as The Partner orders that the agent responsible be eliminated. The Partner is a mysterious man whose identity is known to only a very few. He is reputedly the top man in organized crime. Lee Hobson is the agent responsible for shooting Laughton but when Eliot Ness gets wind of the contract, he claims responsibility and makes a point of telling the Press. Lee is taken aback with Eliot's moves and resents what he sees as his boss taking all the glory. When the contract killers kidnap Lee as bait to lure Ness into a trap, he learns exactly what his good friend is doing.
What do I do for the next
two days... chase butterflies?
If you're tired, you could
start your leave today
if you want.
Just steal the next
two days, huh?
Who's looking?
Look, Eliot, I don't want
you to twist any rules for me.
Not for you or anybody.
Your leave starts
today, effective at once.
You're the boss.
Go on, get out of here.
Tonight's episode...
Starring Robert
Stack as Eliot Ness.
Costarring Allyn
Joslyn, Dyan Cannon,
Bert Convy.
With special guest
star Charles McGraw.
And narrated by Walter Winchell.
Through most of the
violent Prohibition years,
the hottest spot in Chicago
and a must to anybody who was
anybody was the Club Tunisian,
a rendezvous where
the leaders of society
and the lords of crime rubbed
elbows in mutual admiration
and paid a king's ransom
to see and be seen.
I feel like I'm on
vacation already.
That's right, you
start your leave Friday.
What are you going to do, Lee?
Sleep.
Eddie Paris.
I hear he's real good.
He must be.
They say he's the only comic
who can bounce a
joke off the big boys
and get himself a
laugh instead of a slug.
Well, we'll never
prove it out here.
So the wife looks up at
her husband and says,
"That's the chance
you'll have to take."
Owner of the Club
Tunisian was Pete Kalik.
He had built it from a
tiny backroom speak,
impartially cheating
both high world and low.
Kalik played host every
night at his own table,
entertaining the
social extremes,
from a prominent lawyer
to a hand-tailored hoodlum
who lived by his gun.
On the night of March
2, 1932, however,
the appearance of Eliot
Ness was one extreme
Kalik had not counted on.
Ness had been brought
to the Club Tunisian
by an anonymous telephone call.
Did somebody pay
you to louse me up?
What, are you working
for the competition?
And now here's something
else you never got in school...
Miss Mavis Carroll.
She's going to sing
the kind of music
that makes you forget.
Forget what you're paying
to hear that kind of music.
Mavis, honey.
Uh, got a match?
Yeah, sure.
♪ Take me in your arms ♪
♪ Before you take
your love away... ♪
Thanks, chum.
Oh, I... I almost
took your matches.
Now, you see, that proves it.
Never, ever trust a stranger.
♪ Let me thrill again... ♪
One thing, he
sure draws a crowd.
Light a cigarette, Lee.
I just put one out.
Oh, yeah, sure.
♪ My hungry heart ♪
♪ One hour of gladness... ♪
There's something
written on the inside cover.
What is it?
♪ That we knew in the past... ♪
"Denton Street Wharf
after the last show."
Put them away, eh?
♪ Until it be the last ♪
♪ Hold me fast ♪
♪ Blind me with your charms ♪
♪ With every stardust ♪
♪ In the sky... ♪
Ness?
You're kidding.
I would have needled him.
You did.
Ah, it don't look like
they're here on business.
Probably just dropped
in for a couple of laughs.
They'd better be careful.
It's habit-forming.
Oh, you know Mr. Lawton.
Oh, yeah, sure. How are you?
Eddie, sit down,
I'll buy you a drink.
Uh, no, thanks, Mr. Lawton.
I've got another show to do.
I'd better go back
and wring myself out.
Thanks just the same.
Oh, Eddie, uh...
you got a match?
Oh, yeah, sure thing.
Here, keep 'em.
Compliments of
the house. Thanks.
See you.
♪ Blind me with your charms ♪
♪ With all the stardust... ♪
I've got to talk to you.
♪ In the sky. ♪
I can help you, Mr. Ness.
What do you want?
Kalik.
I want him dead.
I'll settle for 20 to life.
Why?
It's personal.
Listen, Kalik's working
on something big, real big.
What?
I'm not sure.
Alky, I think.
Who with?
I've heard talk.
Say it.
The Partner.
I know, I know, you think
I'm talking through my hat.
You're going to tell me there
ain't no such animal, right?
Can you prove there is?
Well, who backed Torrio?
Who backed Capone?
You take my word
for it, Mr. Ness.
He's so big,
the cops and the
papers will not touch him.
Well, look, he's
in a spot right now.
You put him there yourself.
Capone is gone.
He's got to find somebody else.
All right, pick up
anything you can
and call me at the
office tomorrow night.
After the second show too late?
We work for the
government, remember?
We'll wait for your call.
Be careful.
Like a high school
girl on her first date.
Eddie Paris had
underestimated his audience.
30 minutes after
he left the wharf,
his performance was
reported to the man at the top.
As always, the message
was carried by Wallace Lawton,
contact for the most
powerful man in the underworld
and the least known.
Only three top gangsters
had ever met him.
Only a handful of
others knew he existed...
A nameless, faceless
somebody known only by rumor,
only as The Partner.
Tell Kalik I want something
done about Eddie Paris.
But Eddie's like his own son.
I don't know if he'll buy it.
He's one bullet away
from a partnership.
He'll buy it.
You've been with me
for almost 15 years.
We work very closely together.
Now, with the big fella gone,
I'm carrying a double load.
I'm counting on you, Wallace.
They'd have kept me all night.
You got a lot of big butter
and egg men out there, Pete.
Spenders.
Well, now, what's the matter?
You, you don't want to
hear the treasurer's report?
I got some bad
news for you, Eddie.
Waiter found it on table 16
when he was cleaning up.
Never saw the party before.
Is somebody fingering me?
No.
Oh, maybe somebody
was just kidding around.
I don't think it
means very much.
Maybe some wise guy
was trying to have some fun,
but you-you'd better stick
around after the last show.
Don't go home alone, huh?
You look lousy.
Why don't you have
yourself a drink?
If it's a dame, we
can wait outside.
The boss thinks you
ought to have a bodyguard.
Hello.
Don't count on a dame.
No answer, you dirty...
Hello, hello?
Hello?
Melding 100 aces.
What, again?
I had to catch you on
a night when you're hot.
Hey, come on, it's time to
give the suckers
their last show.
Is the star quite ready?
In a minute.
I need the money.
It's his lucky night.
Okay, see you on the floor.
I think I'll go count the house.
See you, Eddie.
Yeah.
Let's see, that's a 220 count.
You, uh, want to finish
the hand after the show?
Yeah, sure, why not?
Hang around.
Federal Building, fast.
Hey, hey, faster.
Sure, Eddie.
Anything you say.
In the early morning
hours of March 6, 1932,
a caravan of 16 trucks
carrying 8,000 gallons of alcohol
roared through the
Midwest en route to Chicago.
This was the alky
that comedian Eddie Paris
had mentioned to Eliot Ness,
alky consigned to Pete
Kalik of the Club Tunisian
and paid for by The Partner,
alky which had cost
Eddie Paris his life.
I seen 'em... and
that's a fact... Last night.
I was trucking
in a load of eggs.
What time?
Uh, about 3:00.
I like to hit the
market about 4:00.
See, I was driving
down the road.
I saw this car stopped
on the other side,
so I pulled up and walked
across the road and I said,
"Got trouble,
mister, can I help?"
He says, "Yes, you can help.
Get going and fast."
And all of a sudden
he's got a gun in his hand.
So you got going fast.
Yeah. I never looked
into a gun before.
You didn't report
it to the police.
Well, I, I was gonna.
I was thinking that...
I know, you were scared.
That's what they count on...
Decent people getting scared.
Well, I, I never really
seen anything, you know.
The man with the gun... You
think you'd recognize him?
Sure.
Lights of the truck
and the car was on.
I could see good.
Would you come back to
town and look at some pictures?
Anytime you say.
Right now... I'll
drive back with you.
Nothing in the papers...
His name, anything.
If they ask, we got
a witness, that's all.
Hmm?
The search of Eddie's apartment
yielded no clue that would lead
the Untouchables to Pete Kalik.
All that Ness found
was a photograph.
Lee?
I found this in Eddie's
dresser drawer.
Yeah, that was a long time ago.
That was over two years ago.
It was the only
picture in the place.
What happened?
Did Kalik move Eddie out?
You tell me, Mr. Ness.
You know it all. Not all.
If Eddie wanted Kalik dead
he must have had a reason.
The reason wasn't me.
A better one?
Pretty nice.
Must've cost somebody a fortune.
It cost me; I work.
I've got a job, Mr. Ness.
I know, I heard you last night.
You didn't pick this up
in a bargain basement.
You must've hooked
Kalik on a pretty good deal.
Never heard him complain.
Ever hear Eddie complain?
No, I didn't, not about me.
About what?
Why don't you ask me about
George White's Scandals?
The biggest Broadway
show in ten years,
and Eddie could
have starred in it.
The Scandals wanted him?
They called again
last week for him,
but Pete turned it down cold.
Wouldn't let him go.
That's the reason Eddie
wanted Pete out of the way.
But that is the only reason.
Eddie came to me the
night before he was killed.
Yes...
Yes, I can give you
the whole routine.
The boyish charm,
the real pitch,
so serious, just
like it meant his life.
And then the play-off with
the cute little gag at the end.
Eddie Paris, the
best act in town!
I didn't think it was an act.
Move over, sucker.
You see, Eddie and I were going
together when he got his break.
I even went along with
him on his interview.
He could see the way
that Pete was looking at me,
and he practically just
stuck me right in his lap.
Well, why not?
I mean, there was only
one job like that around,
and there was just one
person that counted.
Eddie Paris.
He was a louse.
And you loved him.
I still do.
Then help me prove it was
Kalik who had him killed.
We think Kalik's in on some
sort of deal, may be big.
Do you know about it?
No.
All right, then tell me this.
If he were bringing
in a shipment of alky,
where do you
think he'd store it?
Eddie kept this.
It must have meant something.
Try the garage.
Where?
400 Carson Street.
Thanks.
"Neither police
nor federal officers
"would release the
name of the witness
"who is being held
in protective custody.
"But both agencies state
"that he can make an
absolute identification
of the man who killed
Eddie Paris last night."
Stupid fools.
On a public road.
For the first blundering
idiot who comes along.
Suppose Ness does
get an identification.
He can't.
Woody has no picture in
the local files, no record.
He's only been here four months.
Ness won't find him.
I'd bet my right arm.
I intend to make sure.
What's the last report
on our shipment?
The trucks left St.
Louis early this morning.
They passed the checkpoint
near Lincoln at, uh, 10:45.
Hold them at Lexington.
Kalik's expecting
that alcohol tonight.
He'll get it when he can tell
you Woody Lubek is dead.
I'm holding you responsible.
When?
Just now, a couple
of minutes ago.
Practically right
in front of the club.
Where are you now?
The garage.
Could be a dozen guns outside.
Better get over here, Pete.
Stay put.
He's at the garage.
We can't afford another miss.
What do you think?
I think if we keep
working these hours
I'm gonna need that vacation.
It's pretty dark, Eliot.
Not much action.
It's picking up.
Stay with the car, Rico.
Woody?
Pete?
Wallace Lawton.
Now, wait.
Give me a break, will you?
Will you?!
Hold it!
Save it.
Try to locate the switch.
Right.
Eliot?
Don't try it!
Thanks, Lee.
What happened here?
I'll give you what I can.
Oh, come on. Try, will you?
The city desk is waiting.
Eliot, the switchboard's
got a call for you.
It's urgent and private.
It's always private!
Come on, Eliot.
Aw, come on, give us a break!
Hello. Ness.
Just a moment, sir.
Mr. Ness?
That's right.
You have cost me a
great deal of money,
but I have never borne you a
personal grudge until tonight.
Who is this?
I believe you know
me as The Partner.
Oh, look, Lee, he knows
we've got deadlines!
Come on! Relax, will ya?
He'll be right with
you. Oh, come on, Lee!
Well, I hope! If I
miss that last edition...
Aw, listen, there's nothing
he's covering up, is there?
Of course not,
not a thing. Oh...
Here, ask him yourself.
I will. All right, fellas.
How about it, Eliot?
It's late, I'll make
it short and sweet.
We had a tip on a garage.
We were watching it
when Lawton went in.
Lawton, Lawton?
He's been identified
as Wallace Lawton.
Wallace Lawton, the attorney?!
Wow! Whoa-whee!
We were outside when
we heard the shots,
went in fast and
saw Lawton running.
I called, warned him to stop.
Instead he turned
and fired at me.
He missed.
And you didn't?
I didn't.
You fired and killed him?
I fired and killed him.
REPORTERS Whoa, wow!
Let me go... Let's go!
And now, back to
The Untouchables.
Hobson was back
at the office early.
He had had only a
few short hours of sleep.
Rossi hadn't had much more.
Is this a private party or
can close friends mooch?
Help yourself. Thanks.
Papers sure went
to town on Lawton.
Yeah, they sure did.
Nice for Eliot.
Real nice.
It's nice for all of us.
That's what they
call public relations.
It's better if one
man takes the bows.
Lee, he takes the raps, too.
Yeah, sure.
Morning.
Morning, Eliot.
Get any sleep, Lee?
Enough.
Bill in yet?
He's typing his
report on Lawton.
I'll get him.
Bill?
Sorry, Eliot, I came up empty.
Society lawyer.
Specialized in
estate management.
No connection with the mobs.
He had a connection with Kalik.
He wasn't in that
garage by accident.
He didn't kill a man for fun.
He was a lawyer.
Maybe one of his clients.
Maybe.
We'll have to check them out.
Well, it shouldn't take us long
with the three of us on it.
Two's enough.
I'll go with you.
Bill, you stay with Kalik.
If he's in the alky
deal he's got to move.
I want him double-teamed
around the clock.
Get Rossman and anyone
else you need, hmm?
Right.
His office should be open.
Want to get the car, Rico?
Sure.
What about me?
You're going on leave.
I still have 48 hours.
Not enough.
You'd just be getting into it.
What do I do for
the next two days,
chase butterflies?
It's the off-season.
You're tired, you could
start your leave
today if you want.
Just steal the next
two days, huh?
Who's looking?
Look, Eliot, I don't want you
to twist any rules for me.
Not for you or anybody.
It's a matter of administration.
You're tired... A tired
man is no good to me.
Your leave starts
today, effective at once.
Go on, get out of here.
You're the boss.
Lee?
Have a good rest, huh?
Yeah, thanks.
On the morning of March 4, 1932,
Pete Kalik received a phone
call he had been waiting for,
instructing him to
go to a barbershop
at 709 North Varney Street.
You sure no one's asked for me?
My name is Kalik.
Oh, no, I wouldn't
forget anything like that.
That's my wife.
Ten times a day, she
calls up to ask how I feel.
Is that your phone?
Yeah, it's in the back room.
If it's up here, everybody
and his brother...
Excuse me.
You wanted to talk, Mr. Kalik.
Leave them.
Don't try to look at me.
You're still being watched.
That's better.
Now, then...
what's troubling you, Mr. Kalik?
Plenty.
All this talk about alky,
and I haven't seen
a drop of it yet.
The trucks didn't start
moving until this morning.
The delay should
be understandable.
I've just lost my right arm.
I took some losses myself.
A stupid hoodlum and
a second-rate clown.
Lawton was worth 20 like them.
I want his death paid for.
You don't pay off a fed.
You can't hit Ness.
You can if you've
promised it to him.
You promised Ness?
I called him.
I told him I'd finish the
man who killed Lawton.
I expect your cooperation.
I don't know.
Not Ness.
Oh, that's too bad.
Lawton had great hopes for you.
Close to $200,000
on this first run alone.
And with Capone gone...
What do you want?
On the night of March 5, 1932,
the Blackhawks, Chicago's
professional hockey team,
axed the New York
Americans six to one,
clinching second
place in the standings
and sending 7,000
fans into a happy frenzy.
Hobson was at the
coliseum that night.
He didn't stay to the end.
He wasn't in the mood.
Uh, hello, this is Lee Hobson.
Is Eliot around?
No, no, thanks.
Just personal.
Wasn't too important.
Don't turn around.
Come on.
Back up.
There.
Don't get cute.
Just head for the door.
At the time that Agent
Hobson was being abducted,
Eliot Ness and Enrico Rossi
were following their only lead:
the business affairs
of Wallace Lawton
and his partner, L.R. Barnes.
We've been at it all
day, Mr. Ness. It's late.
Why can't we continue
tomorrow morning?
On our side of the
law, Mr. Barnes,
tomorrow morning
may be too late.
Too late for what?
Lawton's dead...
You can't change that.
Might be able to
change the destination
of his shipment
of illegal alcohol.
You have no reason to
believe my partner was involved.
Have reason to
believe I'll find a reason.
Stay if you wish.
I've had enough.
If you need me, I'll
be here in the morning.
What about you, Rico?
You had enough?
I can go a couple more rounds.
Heard from Lee
since this morning?
I called him when
we broke for dinner.
Said he was taking in
a hockey game tonight.
That's a nice way
to start a vacation.
The lucky stiff.
Now, you say when.
Hmm?
Come on... get up.
You had enough, huh?
Huh, you going to
play along with us now?
Okay.
He can't talk with
that sticker on.
Give him a chance.
Sure.
Now you can talk.
Are you going to tell him?
Come on!
What's the matter
with you anyway?
Huh?
You could make it real easy.
Look, Ness is going
to be dead anyway.
Anyway you play it,
he's going to be dead.
That wasn't no two-bit
punk he knocked off.
It was Wallace Lawton.
Yeah, real close up to the top.
You think he killed Lawton, huh?
Was in all the papers.
Ness give out the story himself.
That doesn't mean...
You want to talk?
You do it on the phone.
Now, come on.
Come on, come on!
Come on!
Come on, say you've had enough.
Say it! Okay, okay.
You going to play along?
Yeah.
That's better.
Yeah.
That's smart.
Real smart.
Now, you listen.
You know what to say.
Don't forget I'll be
listening both ways.
Don't try to be cute.
Hello... Ness.
Hello, Eliot.
Lee.
Lee, I was hoping you'd
call. Where are you?
I'm on my way out
to the Coverly Road.
Can you meet me there?
The Warrington Cross.
I got a tip on some action.
About 1:00?
Got it?
I'm in kind of a rush, Eliot.
Warrington Cross, 1:00.
On the Kalik thing?
I'm still digging,
just like you ordered.
Lee?
Hello, Lee... Lee?
Is he gone?
Said he was digging,
just like I ordered.
You didn't.
You ordered him to start his...
Think he was trying
to tell you something?
Think he's under
pressure, maybe?
I know we are till we find out.
12:10 a.m., March 6, 1932.
A minute and a half after the
phone call from Lee Hobson.
Deeply concerned for his safety
and convinced that
he was in trouble,
Eliot Ness and Rico
Rossi headed across town.
Yeah?
Listen, Nails, I
just got the word.
Stuff's coming in tonight.
Tonight?
Yeah, look, look, I'm bringing
some boys over
to help me unload.
Just don't want you to get
itchy and blast those trucks.
We'll treat them
nice and friendly.
Now, look, if they ain't
there, don't wait for them.
I want you out in the
road with the others.
All right, Pete, we got
all the time in the world.
Less than ten minutes
to Coverly Road.
He made the call?
You got him all set up?
He's all set up.
And the other
one, did you, uh...
you get rid of him?
Uh-uh... not yet.
Figure we'd take care
of that on the way out.
No sense in carrying him
when we can make him walk.
Well, just so you're on
the road with the others!
You talk any louder, Pete,
we won't need a phone.
We'll be there.
We'll see you later.
Yeah.
Smart guy, Mr. Ness...
to make such a big mistake.
You're making the mistake.
He didn't kill Lawton.
Suppose you're going
to tell me you did, huh?
Come on, what's the
matter with you guys?
When are you
going to stop trying?
They pay you more
just to be a hero?
I'm no hero.
You're going to kill me anyway.
Yeah... so you're trying
to take the heat off Ness.
It's no use.
He ain't worth it.
He done it to
himself, you know that.
Trying to grab off a
few lousy headlines.
He could have
ducked the whole play.
He had the word.
What word?
Yeah.
Yeah, we got it
straight from Kalik.
The big guy called
Ness, and he told him.
Told him what?
He told him whoever killed
Lawton was going to be dead.
See?
He could have
ducked the whole deal.
Kind of hits you where
you live, doesn't it?
I know what a
guy like that will do
just to keep his
name in the papers.
Should have asked me.
I would have told you.
Ness is a big chump.
Where is Hobson?
I ain't hiring any acts tonight.
Get out.
John Doe warrant.
Good for one ride downtown.
Are you kidding?
Try resisting a federal officer.
Left on Walker and straight out.
Right.
That ain't the way downtown.
Sure, it is.
We're going by way
of the Coverly Road.
No sign of them.
We ain't got no
more time to wait.
Let's get him fixed up.
Come on. Up you go.
That'll hold.
He ain't going anywhere,
anyway. Come on.
Can I ask you a favor, Nails?
Nails?
A tough place to find
a back road like this.
That's what makes it so good.
How come there's
only two of you?
Eight more coming.
We like to run four
or five miles apart.
Then there ain't no questions.
Our boys are on the way
out to help unload now.
You want to save some time?
Turn around and back it in now.
Might as well. Line me up, huh?
All right.
We got to get going.
You'd better go get him.
Now one peep out of you,
and I'll blow your brains out.
Now you move.
Quietly. Move.
Welcome to the club.
Okay. That's great!
If I ever need a chauffeur,
I'll give you a ring.
Hey, Les?
Les, come on!
Les?
Come on.
Les, what the...?
You cut him loose.
Come on!
I'll ask you once more.
Where's Hobson?
I told you... Talk about
something I know.
How many hoods you got
planted on the Coverly Road?
The Coverly Road?
Where's that?
All right, Rico.
Get out.
What is this?
What are you gonna do?
Get out!
Put it on.
What for?
What are you gonna do?
You sure there's nobody
on the Coverly Road, huh?
Nobody.
Then it won't matter if
they think you're Eliot Ness.
Get in.
Up front.
You're going to drive.
It's almost time.
Nails and Keever
should have been here.
That's the Warrington
Cross about 300 yards ahead.
Pull up right at the crossroad.
Remember, you'll be
under a couple of guns.
Okay, okay, you win.
He's here.
Where?
Over there in that scrap pile.
The boys picked him
up a little while ago.
Get him out.
Come on!
Good luck.
Billy, don't!
Kalik!
Lee?
Eliot?
Throw him in the back.
Eliot, I... That's quite
an eye you've got.
Gonna take a week's
salary in beefsteak.
Sorry, sir. You'll
have to pull around.
Accident?
Not quite. We're
federal officers.
You killed three of 'em.
You had a good night.
He did.
You can read about it in
the papers in the morning.
Thank you.
I will.
That ought to make us even.
The captured hoodlum
was quite willing to talk.
The entire shipment of
alcohol was picked up.
As for the partner,
he had lost his
taste for partnership.
The risks were too great, and
there were no more Capones.
He was never active
again after that night,
retiring still unknown,
as, in fact, he is to this day.
two days... chase butterflies?
If you're tired, you could
start your leave today
if you want.
Just steal the next
two days, huh?
Who's looking?
Look, Eliot, I don't want
you to twist any rules for me.
Not for you or anybody.
Your leave starts
today, effective at once.
You're the boss.
Go on, get out of here.
Tonight's episode...
Starring Robert
Stack as Eliot Ness.
Costarring Allyn
Joslyn, Dyan Cannon,
Bert Convy.
With special guest
star Charles McGraw.
And narrated by Walter Winchell.
Through most of the
violent Prohibition years,
the hottest spot in Chicago
and a must to anybody who was
anybody was the Club Tunisian,
a rendezvous where
the leaders of society
and the lords of crime rubbed
elbows in mutual admiration
and paid a king's ransom
to see and be seen.
I feel like I'm on
vacation already.
That's right, you
start your leave Friday.
What are you going to do, Lee?
Sleep.
Eddie Paris.
I hear he's real good.
He must be.
They say he's the only comic
who can bounce a
joke off the big boys
and get himself a
laugh instead of a slug.
Well, we'll never
prove it out here.
So the wife looks up at
her husband and says,
"That's the chance
you'll have to take."
Owner of the Club
Tunisian was Pete Kalik.
He had built it from a
tiny backroom speak,
impartially cheating
both high world and low.
Kalik played host every
night at his own table,
entertaining the
social extremes,
from a prominent lawyer
to a hand-tailored hoodlum
who lived by his gun.
On the night of March
2, 1932, however,
the appearance of Eliot
Ness was one extreme
Kalik had not counted on.
Ness had been brought
to the Club Tunisian
by an anonymous telephone call.
Did somebody pay
you to louse me up?
What, are you working
for the competition?
And now here's something
else you never got in school...
Miss Mavis Carroll.
She's going to sing
the kind of music
that makes you forget.
Forget what you're paying
to hear that kind of music.
Mavis, honey.
Uh, got a match?
Yeah, sure.
♪ Take me in your arms ♪
♪ Before you take
your love away... ♪
Thanks, chum.
Oh, I... I almost
took your matches.
Now, you see, that proves it.
Never, ever trust a stranger.
♪ Let me thrill again... ♪
One thing, he
sure draws a crowd.
Light a cigarette, Lee.
I just put one out.
Oh, yeah, sure.
♪ My hungry heart ♪
♪ One hour of gladness... ♪
There's something
written on the inside cover.
What is it?
♪ That we knew in the past... ♪
"Denton Street Wharf
after the last show."
Put them away, eh?
♪ Until it be the last ♪
♪ Hold me fast ♪
♪ Blind me with your charms ♪
♪ With every stardust ♪
♪ In the sky... ♪
Ness?
You're kidding.
I would have needled him.
You did.
Ah, it don't look like
they're here on business.
Probably just dropped
in for a couple of laughs.
They'd better be careful.
It's habit-forming.
Oh, you know Mr. Lawton.
Oh, yeah, sure. How are you?
Eddie, sit down,
I'll buy you a drink.
Uh, no, thanks, Mr. Lawton.
I've got another show to do.
I'd better go back
and wring myself out.
Thanks just the same.
Oh, Eddie, uh...
you got a match?
Oh, yeah, sure thing.
Here, keep 'em.
Compliments of
the house. Thanks.
See you.
♪ Blind me with your charms ♪
♪ With all the stardust... ♪
I've got to talk to you.
♪ In the sky. ♪
I can help you, Mr. Ness.
What do you want?
Kalik.
I want him dead.
I'll settle for 20 to life.
Why?
It's personal.
Listen, Kalik's working
on something big, real big.
What?
I'm not sure.
Alky, I think.
Who with?
I've heard talk.
Say it.
The Partner.
I know, I know, you think
I'm talking through my hat.
You're going to tell me there
ain't no such animal, right?
Can you prove there is?
Well, who backed Torrio?
Who backed Capone?
You take my word
for it, Mr. Ness.
He's so big,
the cops and the
papers will not touch him.
Well, look, he's
in a spot right now.
You put him there yourself.
Capone is gone.
He's got to find somebody else.
All right, pick up
anything you can
and call me at the
office tomorrow night.
After the second show too late?
We work for the
government, remember?
We'll wait for your call.
Be careful.
Like a high school
girl on her first date.
Eddie Paris had
underestimated his audience.
30 minutes after
he left the wharf,
his performance was
reported to the man at the top.
As always, the message
was carried by Wallace Lawton,
contact for the most
powerful man in the underworld
and the least known.
Only three top gangsters
had ever met him.
Only a handful of
others knew he existed...
A nameless, faceless
somebody known only by rumor,
only as The Partner.
Tell Kalik I want something
done about Eddie Paris.
But Eddie's like his own son.
I don't know if he'll buy it.
He's one bullet away
from a partnership.
He'll buy it.
You've been with me
for almost 15 years.
We work very closely together.
Now, with the big fella gone,
I'm carrying a double load.
I'm counting on you, Wallace.
They'd have kept me all night.
You got a lot of big butter
and egg men out there, Pete.
Spenders.
Well, now, what's the matter?
You, you don't want to
hear the treasurer's report?
I got some bad
news for you, Eddie.
Waiter found it on table 16
when he was cleaning up.
Never saw the party before.
Is somebody fingering me?
No.
Oh, maybe somebody
was just kidding around.
I don't think it
means very much.
Maybe some wise guy
was trying to have some fun,
but you-you'd better stick
around after the last show.
Don't go home alone, huh?
You look lousy.
Why don't you have
yourself a drink?
If it's a dame, we
can wait outside.
The boss thinks you
ought to have a bodyguard.
Hello.
Don't count on a dame.
No answer, you dirty...
Hello, hello?
Hello?
Melding 100 aces.
What, again?
I had to catch you on
a night when you're hot.
Hey, come on, it's time to
give the suckers
their last show.
Is the star quite ready?
In a minute.
I need the money.
It's his lucky night.
Okay, see you on the floor.
I think I'll go count the house.
See you, Eddie.
Yeah.
Let's see, that's a 220 count.
You, uh, want to finish
the hand after the show?
Yeah, sure, why not?
Hang around.
Federal Building, fast.
Hey, hey, faster.
Sure, Eddie.
Anything you say.
In the early morning
hours of March 6, 1932,
a caravan of 16 trucks
carrying 8,000 gallons of alcohol
roared through the
Midwest en route to Chicago.
This was the alky
that comedian Eddie Paris
had mentioned to Eliot Ness,
alky consigned to Pete
Kalik of the Club Tunisian
and paid for by The Partner,
alky which had cost
Eddie Paris his life.
I seen 'em... and
that's a fact... Last night.
I was trucking
in a load of eggs.
What time?
Uh, about 3:00.
I like to hit the
market about 4:00.
See, I was driving
down the road.
I saw this car stopped
on the other side,
so I pulled up and walked
across the road and I said,
"Got trouble,
mister, can I help?"
He says, "Yes, you can help.
Get going and fast."
And all of a sudden
he's got a gun in his hand.
So you got going fast.
Yeah. I never looked
into a gun before.
You didn't report
it to the police.
Well, I, I was gonna.
I was thinking that...
I know, you were scared.
That's what they count on...
Decent people getting scared.
Well, I, I never really
seen anything, you know.
The man with the gun... You
think you'd recognize him?
Sure.
Lights of the truck
and the car was on.
I could see good.
Would you come back to
town and look at some pictures?
Anytime you say.
Right now... I'll
drive back with you.
Nothing in the papers...
His name, anything.
If they ask, we got
a witness, that's all.
Hmm?
The search of Eddie's apartment
yielded no clue that would lead
the Untouchables to Pete Kalik.
All that Ness found
was a photograph.
Lee?
I found this in Eddie's
dresser drawer.
Yeah, that was a long time ago.
That was over two years ago.
It was the only
picture in the place.
What happened?
Did Kalik move Eddie out?
You tell me, Mr. Ness.
You know it all. Not all.
If Eddie wanted Kalik dead
he must have had a reason.
The reason wasn't me.
A better one?
Pretty nice.
Must've cost somebody a fortune.
It cost me; I work.
I've got a job, Mr. Ness.
I know, I heard you last night.
You didn't pick this up
in a bargain basement.
You must've hooked
Kalik on a pretty good deal.
Never heard him complain.
Ever hear Eddie complain?
No, I didn't, not about me.
About what?
Why don't you ask me about
George White's Scandals?
The biggest Broadway
show in ten years,
and Eddie could
have starred in it.
The Scandals wanted him?
They called again
last week for him,
but Pete turned it down cold.
Wouldn't let him go.
That's the reason Eddie
wanted Pete out of the way.
But that is the only reason.
Eddie came to me the
night before he was killed.
Yes...
Yes, I can give you
the whole routine.
The boyish charm,
the real pitch,
so serious, just
like it meant his life.
And then the play-off with
the cute little gag at the end.
Eddie Paris, the
best act in town!
I didn't think it was an act.
Move over, sucker.
You see, Eddie and I were going
together when he got his break.
I even went along with
him on his interview.
He could see the way
that Pete was looking at me,
and he practically just
stuck me right in his lap.
Well, why not?
I mean, there was only
one job like that around,
and there was just one
person that counted.
Eddie Paris.
He was a louse.
And you loved him.
I still do.
Then help me prove it was
Kalik who had him killed.
We think Kalik's in on some
sort of deal, may be big.
Do you know about it?
No.
All right, then tell me this.
If he were bringing
in a shipment of alky,
where do you
think he'd store it?
Eddie kept this.
It must have meant something.
Try the garage.
Where?
400 Carson Street.
Thanks.
"Neither police
nor federal officers
"would release the
name of the witness
"who is being held
in protective custody.
"But both agencies state
"that he can make an
absolute identification
of the man who killed
Eddie Paris last night."
Stupid fools.
On a public road.
For the first blundering
idiot who comes along.
Suppose Ness does
get an identification.
He can't.
Woody has no picture in
the local files, no record.
He's only been here four months.
Ness won't find him.
I'd bet my right arm.
I intend to make sure.
What's the last report
on our shipment?
The trucks left St.
Louis early this morning.
They passed the checkpoint
near Lincoln at, uh, 10:45.
Hold them at Lexington.
Kalik's expecting
that alcohol tonight.
He'll get it when he can tell
you Woody Lubek is dead.
I'm holding you responsible.
When?
Just now, a couple
of minutes ago.
Practically right
in front of the club.
Where are you now?
The garage.
Could be a dozen guns outside.
Better get over here, Pete.
Stay put.
He's at the garage.
We can't afford another miss.
What do you think?
I think if we keep
working these hours
I'm gonna need that vacation.
It's pretty dark, Eliot.
Not much action.
It's picking up.
Stay with the car, Rico.
Woody?
Pete?
Wallace Lawton.
Now, wait.
Give me a break, will you?
Will you?!
Hold it!
Save it.
Try to locate the switch.
Right.
Eliot?
Don't try it!
Thanks, Lee.
What happened here?
I'll give you what I can.
Oh, come on. Try, will you?
The city desk is waiting.
Eliot, the switchboard's
got a call for you.
It's urgent and private.
It's always private!
Come on, Eliot.
Aw, come on, give us a break!
Hello. Ness.
Just a moment, sir.
Mr. Ness?
That's right.
You have cost me a
great deal of money,
but I have never borne you a
personal grudge until tonight.
Who is this?
I believe you know
me as The Partner.
Oh, look, Lee, he knows
we've got deadlines!
Come on! Relax, will ya?
He'll be right with
you. Oh, come on, Lee!
Well, I hope! If I
miss that last edition...
Aw, listen, there's nothing
he's covering up, is there?
Of course not,
not a thing. Oh...
Here, ask him yourself.
I will. All right, fellas.
How about it, Eliot?
It's late, I'll make
it short and sweet.
We had a tip on a garage.
We were watching it
when Lawton went in.
Lawton, Lawton?
He's been identified
as Wallace Lawton.
Wallace Lawton, the attorney?!
Wow! Whoa-whee!
We were outside when
we heard the shots,
went in fast and
saw Lawton running.
I called, warned him to stop.
Instead he turned
and fired at me.
He missed.
And you didn't?
I didn't.
You fired and killed him?
I fired and killed him.
REPORTERS Whoa, wow!
Let me go... Let's go!
And now, back to
The Untouchables.
Hobson was back
at the office early.
He had had only a
few short hours of sleep.
Rossi hadn't had much more.
Is this a private party or
can close friends mooch?
Help yourself. Thanks.
Papers sure went
to town on Lawton.
Yeah, they sure did.
Nice for Eliot.
Real nice.
It's nice for all of us.
That's what they
call public relations.
It's better if one
man takes the bows.
Lee, he takes the raps, too.
Yeah, sure.
Morning.
Morning, Eliot.
Get any sleep, Lee?
Enough.
Bill in yet?
He's typing his
report on Lawton.
I'll get him.
Bill?
Sorry, Eliot, I came up empty.
Society lawyer.
Specialized in
estate management.
No connection with the mobs.
He had a connection with Kalik.
He wasn't in that
garage by accident.
He didn't kill a man for fun.
He was a lawyer.
Maybe one of his clients.
Maybe.
We'll have to check them out.
Well, it shouldn't take us long
with the three of us on it.
Two's enough.
I'll go with you.
Bill, you stay with Kalik.
If he's in the alky
deal he's got to move.
I want him double-teamed
around the clock.
Get Rossman and anyone
else you need, hmm?
Right.
His office should be open.
Want to get the car, Rico?
Sure.
What about me?
You're going on leave.
I still have 48 hours.
Not enough.
You'd just be getting into it.
What do I do for
the next two days,
chase butterflies?
It's the off-season.
You're tired, you could
start your leave
today if you want.
Just steal the next
two days, huh?
Who's looking?
Look, Eliot, I don't want you
to twist any rules for me.
Not for you or anybody.
It's a matter of administration.
You're tired... A tired
man is no good to me.
Your leave starts
today, effective at once.
Go on, get out of here.
You're the boss.
Lee?
Have a good rest, huh?
Yeah, thanks.
On the morning of March 4, 1932,
Pete Kalik received a phone
call he had been waiting for,
instructing him to
go to a barbershop
at 709 North Varney Street.
You sure no one's asked for me?
My name is Kalik.
Oh, no, I wouldn't
forget anything like that.
That's my wife.
Ten times a day, she
calls up to ask how I feel.
Is that your phone?
Yeah, it's in the back room.
If it's up here, everybody
and his brother...
Excuse me.
You wanted to talk, Mr. Kalik.
Leave them.
Don't try to look at me.
You're still being watched.
That's better.
Now, then...
what's troubling you, Mr. Kalik?
Plenty.
All this talk about alky,
and I haven't seen
a drop of it yet.
The trucks didn't start
moving until this morning.
The delay should
be understandable.
I've just lost my right arm.
I took some losses myself.
A stupid hoodlum and
a second-rate clown.
Lawton was worth 20 like them.
I want his death paid for.
You don't pay off a fed.
You can't hit Ness.
You can if you've
promised it to him.
You promised Ness?
I called him.
I told him I'd finish the
man who killed Lawton.
I expect your cooperation.
I don't know.
Not Ness.
Oh, that's too bad.
Lawton had great hopes for you.
Close to $200,000
on this first run alone.
And with Capone gone...
What do you want?
On the night of March 5, 1932,
the Blackhawks, Chicago's
professional hockey team,
axed the New York
Americans six to one,
clinching second
place in the standings
and sending 7,000
fans into a happy frenzy.
Hobson was at the
coliseum that night.
He didn't stay to the end.
He wasn't in the mood.
Uh, hello, this is Lee Hobson.
Is Eliot around?
No, no, thanks.
Just personal.
Wasn't too important.
Don't turn around.
Come on.
Back up.
There.
Don't get cute.
Just head for the door.
At the time that Agent
Hobson was being abducted,
Eliot Ness and Enrico Rossi
were following their only lead:
the business affairs
of Wallace Lawton
and his partner, L.R. Barnes.
We've been at it all
day, Mr. Ness. It's late.
Why can't we continue
tomorrow morning?
On our side of the
law, Mr. Barnes,
tomorrow morning
may be too late.
Too late for what?
Lawton's dead...
You can't change that.
Might be able to
change the destination
of his shipment
of illegal alcohol.
You have no reason to
believe my partner was involved.
Have reason to
believe I'll find a reason.
Stay if you wish.
I've had enough.
If you need me, I'll
be here in the morning.
What about you, Rico?
You had enough?
I can go a couple more rounds.
Heard from Lee
since this morning?
I called him when
we broke for dinner.
Said he was taking in
a hockey game tonight.
That's a nice way
to start a vacation.
The lucky stiff.
Now, you say when.
Hmm?
Come on... get up.
You had enough, huh?
Huh, you going to
play along with us now?
Okay.
He can't talk with
that sticker on.
Give him a chance.
Sure.
Now you can talk.
Are you going to tell him?
Come on!
What's the matter
with you anyway?
Huh?
You could make it real easy.
Look, Ness is going
to be dead anyway.
Anyway you play it,
he's going to be dead.
That wasn't no two-bit
punk he knocked off.
It was Wallace Lawton.
Yeah, real close up to the top.
You think he killed Lawton, huh?
Was in all the papers.
Ness give out the story himself.
That doesn't mean...
You want to talk?
You do it on the phone.
Now, come on.
Come on, come on!
Come on!
Come on, say you've had enough.
Say it! Okay, okay.
You going to play along?
Yeah.
That's better.
Yeah.
That's smart.
Real smart.
Now, you listen.
You know what to say.
Don't forget I'll be
listening both ways.
Don't try to be cute.
Hello... Ness.
Hello, Eliot.
Lee.
Lee, I was hoping you'd
call. Where are you?
I'm on my way out
to the Coverly Road.
Can you meet me there?
The Warrington Cross.
I got a tip on some action.
About 1:00?
Got it?
I'm in kind of a rush, Eliot.
Warrington Cross, 1:00.
On the Kalik thing?
I'm still digging,
just like you ordered.
Lee?
Hello, Lee... Lee?
Is he gone?
Said he was digging,
just like I ordered.
You didn't.
You ordered him to start his...
Think he was trying
to tell you something?
Think he's under
pressure, maybe?
I know we are till we find out.
12:10 a.m., March 6, 1932.
A minute and a half after the
phone call from Lee Hobson.
Deeply concerned for his safety
and convinced that
he was in trouble,
Eliot Ness and Rico
Rossi headed across town.
Yeah?
Listen, Nails, I
just got the word.
Stuff's coming in tonight.
Tonight?
Yeah, look, look, I'm bringing
some boys over
to help me unload.
Just don't want you to get
itchy and blast those trucks.
We'll treat them
nice and friendly.
Now, look, if they ain't
there, don't wait for them.
I want you out in the
road with the others.
All right, Pete, we got
all the time in the world.
Less than ten minutes
to Coverly Road.
He made the call?
You got him all set up?
He's all set up.
And the other
one, did you, uh...
you get rid of him?
Uh-uh... not yet.
Figure we'd take care
of that on the way out.
No sense in carrying him
when we can make him walk.
Well, just so you're on
the road with the others!
You talk any louder, Pete,
we won't need a phone.
We'll be there.
We'll see you later.
Yeah.
Smart guy, Mr. Ness...
to make such a big mistake.
You're making the mistake.
He didn't kill Lawton.
Suppose you're going
to tell me you did, huh?
Come on, what's the
matter with you guys?
When are you
going to stop trying?
They pay you more
just to be a hero?
I'm no hero.
You're going to kill me anyway.
Yeah... so you're trying
to take the heat off Ness.
It's no use.
He ain't worth it.
He done it to
himself, you know that.
Trying to grab off a
few lousy headlines.
He could have
ducked the whole play.
He had the word.
What word?
Yeah.
Yeah, we got it
straight from Kalik.
The big guy called
Ness, and he told him.
Told him what?
He told him whoever killed
Lawton was going to be dead.
See?
He could have
ducked the whole deal.
Kind of hits you where
you live, doesn't it?
I know what a
guy like that will do
just to keep his
name in the papers.
Should have asked me.
I would have told you.
Ness is a big chump.
Where is Hobson?
I ain't hiring any acts tonight.
Get out.
John Doe warrant.
Good for one ride downtown.
Are you kidding?
Try resisting a federal officer.
Left on Walker and straight out.
Right.
That ain't the way downtown.
Sure, it is.
We're going by way
of the Coverly Road.
No sign of them.
We ain't got no
more time to wait.
Let's get him fixed up.
Come on. Up you go.
That'll hold.
He ain't going anywhere,
anyway. Come on.
Can I ask you a favor, Nails?
Nails?
A tough place to find
a back road like this.
That's what makes it so good.
How come there's
only two of you?
Eight more coming.
We like to run four
or five miles apart.
Then there ain't no questions.
Our boys are on the way
out to help unload now.
You want to save some time?
Turn around and back it in now.
Might as well. Line me up, huh?
All right.
We got to get going.
You'd better go get him.
Now one peep out of you,
and I'll blow your brains out.
Now you move.
Quietly. Move.
Welcome to the club.
Okay. That's great!
If I ever need a chauffeur,
I'll give you a ring.
Hey, Les?
Les, come on!
Les?
Come on.
Les, what the...?
You cut him loose.
Come on!
I'll ask you once more.
Where's Hobson?
I told you... Talk about
something I know.
How many hoods you got
planted on the Coverly Road?
The Coverly Road?
Where's that?
All right, Rico.
Get out.
What is this?
What are you gonna do?
Get out!
Put it on.
What for?
What are you gonna do?
You sure there's nobody
on the Coverly Road, huh?
Nobody.
Then it won't matter if
they think you're Eliot Ness.
Get in.
Up front.
You're going to drive.
It's almost time.
Nails and Keever
should have been here.
That's the Warrington
Cross about 300 yards ahead.
Pull up right at the crossroad.
Remember, you'll be
under a couple of guns.
Okay, okay, you win.
He's here.
Where?
Over there in that scrap pile.
The boys picked him
up a little while ago.
Get him out.
Come on!
Good luck.
Billy, don't!
Kalik!
Lee?
Eliot?
Throw him in the back.
Eliot, I... That's quite
an eye you've got.
Gonna take a week's
salary in beefsteak.
Sorry, sir. You'll
have to pull around.
Accident?
Not quite. We're
federal officers.
You killed three of 'em.
You had a good night.
He did.
You can read about it in
the papers in the morning.
Thank you.
I will.
That ought to make us even.
The captured hoodlum
was quite willing to talk.
The entire shipment of
alcohol was picked up.
As for the partner,
he had lost his
taste for partnership.
The risks were too great, and
there were no more Capones.
He was never active
again after that night,
retiring still unknown,
as, in fact, he is to this day.