The Untouchables (1959–1963): Season 3, Episode 22 - Downfall - full transcript
Joseph December is a legitimate businessman and the scion of a wealthy family who own the Great Lakes Pacific railroad which, by all accounts, is on its last legs. With Eliot Ness receiving...
The letter... The
one you sent Capone.
Where is it?
You'd hardly expect
me to tell you that.
Get it.
I'm afraid not, Pete;
that wouldn't be safe.
You don't, you're dead!
And if I do?
Tonight's episode...
Starring Robert
Stack as Eliot Ness.
Co-starring Simon Oakland,
Stefan Schnabel
and Milton Selzer.
With special guest
star Steven Hill.
And narrated by Walter Winchell.
Oh, yowzer, yowzer, yowzer!
Greetings and
salutations, my friends
and a happy heavyweight
Wednesday to you all.
This is Sidestep
Bernie the Bold Bomber.
Mr. Ness?
That's right. Special delivery.
Thanks.
Step out of there
with your hands up!
All right, come on, come on.
Get over there.
That's the fourth
time since Christmas.
Kalmisky really must be hurting.
I'd sure like to know
who's tipping us.
So would I.
Who and Why?
The next day, high
above Chicago's loop,
a former bodyguard for Al Capone
invaded strange territory.
His name Pete, "The
Persuader", Kalmisky.
With him Alan Sitkin,
business manager
for the Syndicate.
Confronted by 80
years of tradition,
they awaited an appointment
with the president of
December Enterprises,
the heir to a great
railroad dynasty,
Joseph December, Jr.
At the age of 23,
Joey December
had inherited control
of the Great Lakes Pacific.
At 42, he was
still in control...
Of a rusting,
debt-ridden railroad
that the experts declared
to be on a one-way trip
to the junkyard.
I just talked to the bank, Joey.
They're gonna turn us down.
Yes, well, then we
go somewhere else.
There is nowhere else.
In the name of humanity,
Joey, let's get out!
I can file a petition for
bankruptcy court today.
That's right, Henry,
you get on the phone
while I jump out the window,
since it seems to be
the fashionable thing
to do these days.
Joey, Joey.
I'm serious.
Yes, Henry, of course you are.
We've got stockholders,
employees...
Hundreds of people
to think about.
Yes?
- A - Mr. Sitkin and
Mr. Kalmisky to see you.
Fine.
Now, Henry, I've got just
two people to think about.
They're on their way in.
Joey... Now,
later, Henry, later.
Henry Grunther, Comptroller.
Mr. December, Mr. Kalmisky.
Your servant, sir.
Sure.
Sit down, gentlemen, please.
You've come in
regard to the proposition
that, uh, Mr. Sitkin
and I discussed.
Yeah, that's right.
I must say, it's
a tempting offer.
We've made a check on the car
loadings of the Red Lake Route,
and, uh, you were right.
Cargo between Canada and
Chicago simply isn't sufficient
to cover expenses.
There'll be plenty of
cargo when we get rolling.
Our operation
covers five states now,
all the way from
the border to Cairo.
Fine.
Now, we come
to the painful part.
What's on your mind?
Say, 20% off the top?
I figure that's too
unreasonable, is it?
What do you say, Al?
We in business?
Mr. December?
We are indeed.
The Red Lake Route is yours...
Lock, rolling stock and barrel,
and any GLP
facilities you may need.
Uh, one thing, Mr. December.
When we deal with our own kind,
we know where we stand.
They stay in line.
They've got to.
You get my point?
It's quite sharp
enough, Mr. Kalmisky.
As a business man, I'd be a fool
to annoy a goose that lays
such extremely large golden eggs.
Okay.
Just so we
understand each other.
I think we do... partner.
When do we start?
The sooner, the better.
I like you, Joey.
You talk my language.
Money talks
everybody's language.
Yeah!
You won't regret
this, Mr. December.
Yes, I know.
Oh.
This what you had in mind?
I told you I'd bring him in.
Any trouble? Some.
But I can handle him.
Sure about that?
He's under control.
Will he stay that way?
He does what I tell him to do.
He'll keep on doing it.
He has to.
You have some
interesting methods
of persuasion, Mr. Sitkin.
Uh, what's your secret?
Well, you might say
I've got him under lock and key.
A hundred thousand dollars.
That's right, isn't it?
It's right.
And 10,000 shares
of Canada Central
at ten dollars a share.
Three weeks the market will
hit 50 and no reason to hesitate.
No.
No, I guess not.
And this is only the
beginning, Mr. Sitkin.
I won't be needing
these anymore.
Neither will I.
The manipulations of
Joey December paid off fast.
Within two weeks, the
"Booze Express" was running
with the regularity of the
5:10 commuters special.
Liquor loaded in Manitoba
into boxcars were shunted
onto the main row by the
shore of Lake Superior,
stored in sealed
boxcars scattered
through the great
railroad yards of Chicago.
Whiskey.
Hey!
What are you doing here?
Dog and me are taking a walk.
Well, dog and you'd
better keep on walking.
Sure.
I didn't mean to be any trouble.
Uh, dog thinks this hunk
of track belongs to him.
Look, Pop...
you take this mutt
and keep going!
Sure.
You don't have to tell
me more than once.
'Night.
It's locked.
We'll get it, Tiger.
Ah, what'd I tell ya, Tiger?
Central?
I want to talk to the
Prohibition people.
Federal Building.
Good evening.
Hello? Hello?
Federal Building.
Hello?
At 11:45 on the
night of February 16,
Eliot Ness and the
Untouchables were called
to a Great Lakes
Pacific railroad spur
on the outskirts of Chicago.
Reason: Police
authorities were convinced
that the killing of the
railroad man was connected
with a badly concealed
case of bootleg booze.
That look familiar?
Yeah, Kalmisky's brand.
We smashed his
trucking operation.
Maybe he switched.
To the railroad?
Companies wouldn't stand for it.
If they knew about it.
Fresh oil.
Can't have been here
more than a few hours.
Eliot.
Finally got the
district manager.
Had to drag him out
of bed. What'd he say?
What time did that last
train get through here?
It didn't. According to him,
there hasn't been a
train through his crossing
in about 12 years.
Faced with the task of tracing
shipments of bootleg booze
through thousands
of miles of track,
the Untouchables
spent the next week
contacting minor
officials of the GLP.
In each case, they were told
that no train had been scheduled
through the Ivor Street siding.
Each official assured them
that the claim was impossible.
Finally, at the
demand of Eliot Ness,
manager Dell Regan took him
to the office of GLP President,
Joseph December, Jr.
Mr. Ness, Mr. Hobson.
They told me you were coming up.
Thank you, Dell.
Any help that you can give
Mr. Ness will be appreciated.
I'll be in touch.
Make yourselves
comfortable, gentlemen, please.
Thank you.
Now, Mr. Ness,
what's on your mind?
We believe that one
of your trains stopped
at the Ivor Street
Siding about a week ago
and unloaded some
bootleg whiskey.
One of your former employees
apparently saw what was going on
and was killed.
Yes, I read about
it in the papers.
I was shocked.
Mr. Ness, if any
bootleggers are making use
of the facilities of this
railroad, I assure you that
I will see to it that it's
rooted out and stopped.
Oh, excuse me, gentlemen.
Come in, Henry.
I think you ought
to hear about this.
Mr. Ness, Mr. Hobson,
my right arm, Henry Grunther.
How do you do?
These gentlemen are from
the federal government, Henry.
They suspect that our
road's been involved
in shipments of bootleg whiskey.
Well, gentlemen, that's...
that's next to impossible.
I'll go on record.
Our employees are top
caliber, entirely reputable.
Many of them have been with
us since the time of Joey's...
uh, Mr. December's father.
I'm afraid you
misunderstand, Mr. Grunther.
We never claimed that railroad
employees were involved.
Either way, Mr. Ness, I repeat.
If any bootlegging is taking
place on our road, I assure you
it will be stopped.
Then you won't object
if we spot-check a
few of your sidings,
say for the next few weeks.
No objection at all.
My railroad is yours.
Better yet, since I know
how busy you people must be,
what if I put some of my
own men to work on it?
We've quite a staff of
railroad police detectives.
Thanks, but I'd sooner
use my own men.
They've been trained
for this sort of work.
Of course.
I appreciate you letting me
know about this, Mr. Ness.
Anything we can do
to help, anything at all,
please feel free to call on us.
Thank you, Mr. December.
We don't often get
such willing cooperation.
Mr. Grunther.
Mr. Ness.
The red carpet treatment, huh?
He's a nice guy.
Yeah, but he
drinks strong coffee.
I wish you'd cleared
it with me, Eliot.
December's top level,
not some hood you
can roust around.
We didn't roust him, Beecher.
We talked to him.
For maybe five minutes
with kid gloves on.
Look, Eliot, I've been friendly
with the December
family for almost 20 years.
Your pressuring Joey puts me
in a kind of an
embarrassing position.
I told you, Beecher,
I didn't pressure him.
How'd you know I was there?
He called me. He
explained... Called you?!
Yes, he called me.
He explained his road is
in a precarious position.
The depression
hit GLP pretty hard.
If it folds,
thousands of its employees
will be on the bread lines.
He's under a terrific strain.
He'd like to avoid more.
So he asked you
to call off the dogs.
Not at all.
But Joey has a responsibility
to the community, and so do we.
He's fighting to keep
from going under.
Now, I'm suggesting
that we don't put
any further pressures
on him without proof.
Not right now.
His job's tough enough.
Look, I need your help.
You're the only
one I can turn to.
That bad, hmm?
That stock you sold me...
That Canada Central,
10,000 shares at ten.
You said it would
hit 50 in three weeks.
Did I? It's over two months.
Well, perhaps I was
being a little optimistic.
It closed at three
and an eighth.
I wouldn't worry about it, Alan.
These things happen.
Just hang on.
You'll be all right.
I can't hang on, not anymore!
Well, I suppose
you'll have to sell.
That won't help!
It's not enough.
I've got to have the
full hundred thousand.
Right away!
Man shouldn't take risks
he can't afford, Sitkin,
not in business, not anywhere.
Oh, look, it wasn't my money.
It belonged to the organization.
I see.
I covered every way I
could, but they're suspicious.
If...
If I don't come up
with the money,
all of it, by tomorrow night...
I thought you had
Kalmisky under lock and key.
Yes, I do, but it...
it's just one vote!
Isn't he the boss?
Not on a thing like this.
The others would
go over his head
if he tried to stop 'em.
Straight to Capone.
You are in trouble,
Alan, aren't you?
Well, I suppose there's
nothing for me to do
except... lend you the money.
You would?
You would do that?
I swear to you
I-I'd never forget.
Oh, I'd do it all right.
Of course, one good
turn deserves another.
Anything. Anything at all.
Say a lock and a key.
Huh?
You've got something
on Kalmisky, Alan.
Since you're alive and in
reasonably good health,
I'd assume it's something
tangible and in a safe place.
You hand it to
me, it'll still be safe.
He'd kill me.
If he found out
I didn't have it.
And you'd tell him.
No.
Not if I don't have to.
He'd kill me.
He'd be thrilled to kill
me after all these years.
Like stepping on a cockroach.
And tomorrow night,
when the Syndicate meets,
what happens, then?
No, I'm afraid, Alan,
you're not a very good
insurance risk, either way.
Mr. December?
Yes, Alan?
You figured this from the start,
didn't you?
Well, thanks for the
ride on the Ferris wheel.
The view was great.
So long, Mr. December.
Alan?
I'm sorry.
What's the matter
with your friend?
Ain't he feeling well?
He'll be all right.
Hey, mister, you
forgot your book.
Let me through,
please. I'm a friend.
Let me through, please.
Too late.
Nothing we can do for him now.
Nothing at all.
And now back to...
The death of Alan
Sitkin, a known associate
of Pete "The
Persuader" Kalmisky,
brought Eliot Ness
to the El platform
on Lake Street.
Sitkin's effects produced
a personal memo.
You can use this
room, Mr. Sitkin.
I missed the name.
Ness.
No, the man who died, the
one you called me about.
My hearing on the phone.
Alan Sitkin, a known
associate of Kalmisky's.
You ever met him?
No.
We go to different clubs.
I thought you might
have run into him.
He's so close to Mr. December.
Is he?
Sitkin met December
just before the accident.
There are eyewitnesses.
Bookshop owner, a
newsboy on the El platform.
Circumstantial nonsense.
Mr. Ness,
a man in Mr. December's
position meets lots of people,
lots of places.
I wouldn't be surprised
if Joey met Al
Capone once or twice,
but that doesn't mean
they're planning a new
crime wave, does it now?
Is it possible you
don't know everything
about the December operations?
Maybe whiskey moving
over a spur line wouldn't come
to your attention.
No, that is not possible.
I see.
I thought you might
want to cooperate.
If you change your mind,
you can reach me at
the Federal Building.
Uh, Mr. Ness?
You're in another world now.
A world where men are
familiar with police harassment.
With libel and slander laws.
With innuendo.
You're not in the jungle
anymore, Mr. Ness.
You are in the clearing.
The Federal
Building, Mr. Grunther.
Mr. Kalmisky,
I thought it best we
arrive at different times.
No offense.
What do you want?
You look naked.
I don't think I've
ever seen you before
without Alan Sitkin.
Oh, lots of bright
boys around Chicago.
I'll get me another one.
But Sitkin isn't
the only thing I lost.
The boys checked his books.
No, thanks.
They're short...
a hundred grand.
I don't understand.
Sitkin was a rich man.
What do you mean, rich?
A fortune in a box...
A safe deposit box.
Yeah.
You got into, uh,
Sitkin's safe deposit box?
As I said, a fortune.
Cash?
Just an envelope
addressed to some
place in Florida.
Palm Island,
Florida, if I remember.
You read it?
Not much of a letter.
More like a story.
A true story.
An eyewitness
account of a betrayal.
"Fingering" is the
term used, I think,
for one Johnny Torrio.
As I understand it,
this Torrio was a
friend of Mr. Al Capone,
his best friend.
Patron. Mentor.
Almost like a father.
True?
Yeah, sure.
It seems that this
Torrio didn't care much
for some of Capone's associates.
One of his
bodyguards, especially.
Apparently, the
feeling was mutual.
♪ I can be happy... ♪
Mr. Capone would pay
a great deal for that letter.
But I have a feeling
that it'd be worth even
more to someone else.
How much?!
Say 51%.
I get the letter?
No, no, I couldn't do that.
Still, neither will Mr. Capone.
I think that's fair value.
♪ It all depends on you ♪
♪ I can save money ♪
♪ Or spend it ♪
♪ Go right on living ♪
♪ Or end it ♪
♪ You're to blame, honey ♪
♪ For what I do ♪
♪ Believe me... ♪
Lovely girl.
Perhaps you could introduce me.
♪ I can be humble ♪
♪ Any old thing... ♪
Yeah, sure.
♪ It all depends on you ♪
♪ I can save money ♪
♪ Or spend it ♪
♪ Go right on living ♪
♪ Or end it ♪
♪ You're to blame, honey ♪
♪ For what I do... ♪
Joey, you are
crawling in the gutter
and taking your
father's name with you!
Henry, am I getting
a lecture on morality?
51% is ours.
I've saved the company.
By making a deal
with a gangster?
By making a deal
with fresh capital.
Henry, it's gonna
be like the old days...
like I used to
operate, full control.
You are not in control, Joey.
You're on a runaway.
Can't you see that?
You got to get off now,
while you still can.
Henry, we've got a ticket to
the end of the line... first-class.
Here.
A little indiscretion
on the part of our minority
partner, Mr. Kalmisky.
Stop a train at this speed,
somebody'll get hurt.
You wouldn't want that.
And neither
should I, old friend.
Neither should I.
Mr. Grunther.
Mr. Ness.
Good of you to come.
You sounded urgent on the phone.
Mr. Ness, suppose I were to...
hand over certain
information to you.
Would it be
possible for you to...
give a degree of...
well, immunity in exchange?
Depends on the information.
It's not impossible.
No, no, Mr. Ness.
You-you don't quite understand.
This immunity would
not be for myself.
Suppose...
Suppose a man
picks up a runaway kid
out of an orphanage.
Say he sends him to school,
to-to college...
gives him a job,
a position, a career.
If somehow he
could help that man...
he'd do it, wouldn't he?
Depends on the kid.
Well... I'm the kid.
The other man?
Joseph December.
Joseph December, Sr.
He'd never let me pay him back.
Not a cent.
Now, maybe... I can
help to save his son.
From the law?
No.
From himself.
Sorry, Mr. Grunther,
I can't make that
kind of a deal.
I understand.
If you really want to
help Joey December,
you'll give us what you've
got without any strings.
A federal
penitentiary's no picnic,
but it's better than
a sack of cement
at the bottom of Lake Michigan.
Yes... maybe you're right.
I have to think it over.
Sure, I can wait.
Can Joey?!
Mr. Ness... thank you.
Elaine, would you ask
Mr. Grunther to come in here, please?
He isn't here, Mr. December.
He left late this afternoon.
Did he say where he was
going, when he was coming back?
He didn't tell me, Mr. December.
He said, uh, something
about having to stop a train.
I guess he meant he
had to catch a train.
Yes, I guess so.
Would you like some more coffee,
Mr. December?
No, thank you.
Good evening.
Federal Building.
Hello?
Sorry to be late.
That's all right, Joey.
I-I just got here.
Forgive me for bringing you down
this time of night.
It's all right, Joey.
But I wanted to make
a study of the report
before the London
Exchange opens.
That's all right.
Many thanks, old friend.
Did you, uh, make
your train on time?
Train?
Elaine mentioned
something about one.
Perhaps she misunderstood.
Come on, Henry, I'll
take you to a speakeasy
where even a respectable
corporation comptroller
can have a nightcap
for auld lang syne.
All right, if... if
you'd like me to.
Yes, I would, Henry.
I would.
For auld lang syne, my lad ♪
♪ For auld lang syne ♪
♪ We'll take a cup... ♪
You know, Henry,
not always so hot
being a boy genius.
At first, everything comes easy,
perhaps too easy.
You're at the top of the
tower, the world's at your feet.
Your friends call it genius...
your enemies say it's just luck.
You're not sure.
Afterward, it gets harder.
You're still a big gun, but
you're out of ammunition.
No luck.
No genius. No friends.
Almost none.
But the world is still there,
looking up waiting for
you to topple off the tower
and smash into a million pieces.
Well, it's not going to...
happen to me, Henry.
Not to me.
Joey, what are you afraid of?
Self-preservation.
That's the first law of
nature, isn't it, old friend?
For animals, it is.
No, we're all just
animals, Henry.
Poor hairless apes with
overdeveloped craniums.
Nothing more. None of us.
There is something else, Joey.
Maybe, occasionally,
some of these "poor apes"...
have a soul, Joey.
Oh, good Lord, I
forgot the Paris cables.
Left it on my desk.
You go on ahead,
Henry. Grab a taxi.
I'll meet you in
front of the building.
Maybe occasionally,
some of these poor apes...
But not many, old friend...
not many.
The police report
of the elevator crash
brought Eliot Ness and his
superior, Beecher Asbury,
to a midtown skyscraper.
Ness had insisted
on Asbury's presence,
knowing he would again
confront the president
of December Enterprises.
Examination of the elevator
in which Henry Grunther
plunged to his death
quickly determined
the cause of the crash.
A malfunction of the
electrical shunt field.
It could have been an accident.
Inside coat pocket.
Poor Henry.
I don't believe it, Beecher.
I saw it happen, heard
it, but I don't believe it.
If it hadn't been for
those cablegrams,
there'd be two
stretchers for the morgue.
Ought to feel something.
Relief, gratitude, something.
You were lucky, Joey.
Was I?
Maybe it's the other way around.
Maybe Henry's the lucky one.
Boy geniuses don't
need luck, do they, Joey?
They make their own.
That's right, Mr. Ness.
That's what people say.
What do you say?
Eliot, I don't
understand what you...
I suspect, Beecher, that
what Mr. Ness is trying
to say is that he thinks
that I killed Henry.
Did you?
Yes, I'm afraid I did.
I think it's time that I...
What's the phrase in
your business, Mr. Ness?
Come clean?
That'll do. Let's hear it.
Recently, I had some dealings
with some unsavory characters.
Dealings?
I handled some stock
transactions for them.
Are these unsavory characters
happened to be named Kalmisky?
No names, if you don't mind.
It's not safe.
I learned that the
hard way tonight.
These people wanted
some additional services.
I refused.
Obviously, that elevator ride
wasn't meant for Henry at all.
It was meant for me.
He died my death.
So, in a way, I killed him.
So you see, Beecher,
Mr. Ness is quite correct.
I am the real murderer
of my old friend,
Henry... Grunther.
I'm tired, gentlemen.
I think I'd better go home.
That is...
if I'm still free.
You're free.
It's not such a
bad story at that.
If we work at it, we
can make it come true.
Come on, what does the car cost?
An entire Pierce-Arrow?
Strings and all.
Having fun, Kalmisky?
I was.
Save it for later.
I want to talk.
Beat it, Ness.
Maybe you'd rather have
me write you a letter...
like Alan Sitkin.
Um, leave us alone, baby.
But, mister... Get lost!
You got anything
to tell me, Ness?
Just a little friendly advice.
Oh, that's a funny thing.
I never knew you was my friend.
Sometimes it's hard to tell.
Take Joey December.
I thought he was
a friend of yours.
Who says so?
Well, I guess I was wrong.
A friend wouldn't
have sent that letter
to Big Al, now, would he?
What letter?
Something about...
Johnny Torrio, wasn't it?
I don't know what
you're talking about.
Yes, you do.
Who told you?
We get around.
You're lying.
He wouldn't.
He wouldn't do that.
Joe wouldn't do
a thing like that!
Wouldn't he?
Hello, Pete.
Got your call.
What seems to be...?
Funny how frightening
a gun can look,
even though I know
you've no intention of using it.
Don't bet on it.
I don't think
you'd be that foolish,
Pete, not even you.
What's the matter?
Wasn't 51% enough for you?
I'm afraid you're not
getting through to me.
The letter... The
one you sent Capone.
Why would I do
a thing like that?
Yeah.
Why?
Get up!
It's not true, Pete.
I promise you, it's not true.
That's not what Ness tells me.
Very clever man, Ness.
Quite an active
imagination, but it's not true.
You didn't mail that letter?
I did not.
Where is it?
In a safe place.
Here?
You'd hardly expect
me to tell you that.
Get it.
I'm afraid not, Pete.
That wouldn't be safe.
You don't, you're dead!
And if I do?
Get the letter!
Now, Pete, don't be... Get it!
All right, we'll...
play it your way.
Henry.
Come on, quit stalling!
Here it is, Pete.
Joey?
The service elevator.
Put the gun down, Joey!
Mr. Ness. Put it down!
Sorry, Mr. Ness,
I'm going to use it.
On myself.
It's too late, Joey.
You've been dead for years.
Joseph December, Jr...
Boy genius, financial
wizard, railroad czar.
Born July 7, 1888.
Executed May 30, 1930.
Date of death:
some years before.
The Untouchables.
one you sent Capone.
Where is it?
You'd hardly expect
me to tell you that.
Get it.
I'm afraid not, Pete;
that wouldn't be safe.
You don't, you're dead!
And if I do?
Tonight's episode...
Starring Robert
Stack as Eliot Ness.
Co-starring Simon Oakland,
Stefan Schnabel
and Milton Selzer.
With special guest
star Steven Hill.
And narrated by Walter Winchell.
Oh, yowzer, yowzer, yowzer!
Greetings and
salutations, my friends
and a happy heavyweight
Wednesday to you all.
This is Sidestep
Bernie the Bold Bomber.
Mr. Ness?
That's right. Special delivery.
Thanks.
Step out of there
with your hands up!
All right, come on, come on.
Get over there.
That's the fourth
time since Christmas.
Kalmisky really must be hurting.
I'd sure like to know
who's tipping us.
So would I.
Who and Why?
The next day, high
above Chicago's loop,
a former bodyguard for Al Capone
invaded strange territory.
His name Pete, "The
Persuader", Kalmisky.
With him Alan Sitkin,
business manager
for the Syndicate.
Confronted by 80
years of tradition,
they awaited an appointment
with the president of
December Enterprises,
the heir to a great
railroad dynasty,
Joseph December, Jr.
At the age of 23,
Joey December
had inherited control
of the Great Lakes Pacific.
At 42, he was
still in control...
Of a rusting,
debt-ridden railroad
that the experts declared
to be on a one-way trip
to the junkyard.
I just talked to the bank, Joey.
They're gonna turn us down.
Yes, well, then we
go somewhere else.
There is nowhere else.
In the name of humanity,
Joey, let's get out!
I can file a petition for
bankruptcy court today.
That's right, Henry,
you get on the phone
while I jump out the window,
since it seems to be
the fashionable thing
to do these days.
Joey, Joey.
I'm serious.
Yes, Henry, of course you are.
We've got stockholders,
employees...
Hundreds of people
to think about.
Yes?
- A - Mr. Sitkin and
Mr. Kalmisky to see you.
Fine.
Now, Henry, I've got just
two people to think about.
They're on their way in.
Joey... Now,
later, Henry, later.
Henry Grunther, Comptroller.
Mr. December, Mr. Kalmisky.
Your servant, sir.
Sure.
Sit down, gentlemen, please.
You've come in
regard to the proposition
that, uh, Mr. Sitkin
and I discussed.
Yeah, that's right.
I must say, it's
a tempting offer.
We've made a check on the car
loadings of the Red Lake Route,
and, uh, you were right.
Cargo between Canada and
Chicago simply isn't sufficient
to cover expenses.
There'll be plenty of
cargo when we get rolling.
Our operation
covers five states now,
all the way from
the border to Cairo.
Fine.
Now, we come
to the painful part.
What's on your mind?
Say, 20% off the top?
I figure that's too
unreasonable, is it?
What do you say, Al?
We in business?
Mr. December?
We are indeed.
The Red Lake Route is yours...
Lock, rolling stock and barrel,
and any GLP
facilities you may need.
Uh, one thing, Mr. December.
When we deal with our own kind,
we know where we stand.
They stay in line.
They've got to.
You get my point?
It's quite sharp
enough, Mr. Kalmisky.
As a business man, I'd be a fool
to annoy a goose that lays
such extremely large golden eggs.
Okay.
Just so we
understand each other.
I think we do... partner.
When do we start?
The sooner, the better.
I like you, Joey.
You talk my language.
Money talks
everybody's language.
Yeah!
You won't regret
this, Mr. December.
Yes, I know.
Oh.
This what you had in mind?
I told you I'd bring him in.
Any trouble? Some.
But I can handle him.
Sure about that?
He's under control.
Will he stay that way?
He does what I tell him to do.
He'll keep on doing it.
He has to.
You have some
interesting methods
of persuasion, Mr. Sitkin.
Uh, what's your secret?
Well, you might say
I've got him under lock and key.
A hundred thousand dollars.
That's right, isn't it?
It's right.
And 10,000 shares
of Canada Central
at ten dollars a share.
Three weeks the market will
hit 50 and no reason to hesitate.
No.
No, I guess not.
And this is only the
beginning, Mr. Sitkin.
I won't be needing
these anymore.
Neither will I.
The manipulations of
Joey December paid off fast.
Within two weeks, the
"Booze Express" was running
with the regularity of the
5:10 commuters special.
Liquor loaded in Manitoba
into boxcars were shunted
onto the main row by the
shore of Lake Superior,
stored in sealed
boxcars scattered
through the great
railroad yards of Chicago.
Whiskey.
Hey!
What are you doing here?
Dog and me are taking a walk.
Well, dog and you'd
better keep on walking.
Sure.
I didn't mean to be any trouble.
Uh, dog thinks this hunk
of track belongs to him.
Look, Pop...
you take this mutt
and keep going!
Sure.
You don't have to tell
me more than once.
'Night.
It's locked.
We'll get it, Tiger.
Ah, what'd I tell ya, Tiger?
Central?
I want to talk to the
Prohibition people.
Federal Building.
Good evening.
Hello? Hello?
Federal Building.
Hello?
At 11:45 on the
night of February 16,
Eliot Ness and the
Untouchables were called
to a Great Lakes
Pacific railroad spur
on the outskirts of Chicago.
Reason: Police
authorities were convinced
that the killing of the
railroad man was connected
with a badly concealed
case of bootleg booze.
That look familiar?
Yeah, Kalmisky's brand.
We smashed his
trucking operation.
Maybe he switched.
To the railroad?
Companies wouldn't stand for it.
If they knew about it.
Fresh oil.
Can't have been here
more than a few hours.
Eliot.
Finally got the
district manager.
Had to drag him out
of bed. What'd he say?
What time did that last
train get through here?
It didn't. According to him,
there hasn't been a
train through his crossing
in about 12 years.
Faced with the task of tracing
shipments of bootleg booze
through thousands
of miles of track,
the Untouchables
spent the next week
contacting minor
officials of the GLP.
In each case, they were told
that no train had been scheduled
through the Ivor Street siding.
Each official assured them
that the claim was impossible.
Finally, at the
demand of Eliot Ness,
manager Dell Regan took him
to the office of GLP President,
Joseph December, Jr.
Mr. Ness, Mr. Hobson.
They told me you were coming up.
Thank you, Dell.
Any help that you can give
Mr. Ness will be appreciated.
I'll be in touch.
Make yourselves
comfortable, gentlemen, please.
Thank you.
Now, Mr. Ness,
what's on your mind?
We believe that one
of your trains stopped
at the Ivor Street
Siding about a week ago
and unloaded some
bootleg whiskey.
One of your former employees
apparently saw what was going on
and was killed.
Yes, I read about
it in the papers.
I was shocked.
Mr. Ness, if any
bootleggers are making use
of the facilities of this
railroad, I assure you that
I will see to it that it's
rooted out and stopped.
Oh, excuse me, gentlemen.
Come in, Henry.
I think you ought
to hear about this.
Mr. Ness, Mr. Hobson,
my right arm, Henry Grunther.
How do you do?
These gentlemen are from
the federal government, Henry.
They suspect that our
road's been involved
in shipments of bootleg whiskey.
Well, gentlemen, that's...
that's next to impossible.
I'll go on record.
Our employees are top
caliber, entirely reputable.
Many of them have been with
us since the time of Joey's...
uh, Mr. December's father.
I'm afraid you
misunderstand, Mr. Grunther.
We never claimed that railroad
employees were involved.
Either way, Mr. Ness, I repeat.
If any bootlegging is taking
place on our road, I assure you
it will be stopped.
Then you won't object
if we spot-check a
few of your sidings,
say for the next few weeks.
No objection at all.
My railroad is yours.
Better yet, since I know
how busy you people must be,
what if I put some of my
own men to work on it?
We've quite a staff of
railroad police detectives.
Thanks, but I'd sooner
use my own men.
They've been trained
for this sort of work.
Of course.
I appreciate you letting me
know about this, Mr. Ness.
Anything we can do
to help, anything at all,
please feel free to call on us.
Thank you, Mr. December.
We don't often get
such willing cooperation.
Mr. Grunther.
Mr. Ness.
The red carpet treatment, huh?
He's a nice guy.
Yeah, but he
drinks strong coffee.
I wish you'd cleared
it with me, Eliot.
December's top level,
not some hood you
can roust around.
We didn't roust him, Beecher.
We talked to him.
For maybe five minutes
with kid gloves on.
Look, Eliot, I've been friendly
with the December
family for almost 20 years.
Your pressuring Joey puts me
in a kind of an
embarrassing position.
I told you, Beecher,
I didn't pressure him.
How'd you know I was there?
He called me. He
explained... Called you?!
Yes, he called me.
He explained his road is
in a precarious position.
The depression
hit GLP pretty hard.
If it folds,
thousands of its employees
will be on the bread lines.
He's under a terrific strain.
He'd like to avoid more.
So he asked you
to call off the dogs.
Not at all.
But Joey has a responsibility
to the community, and so do we.
He's fighting to keep
from going under.
Now, I'm suggesting
that we don't put
any further pressures
on him without proof.
Not right now.
His job's tough enough.
Look, I need your help.
You're the only
one I can turn to.
That bad, hmm?
That stock you sold me...
That Canada Central,
10,000 shares at ten.
You said it would
hit 50 in three weeks.
Did I? It's over two months.
Well, perhaps I was
being a little optimistic.
It closed at three
and an eighth.
I wouldn't worry about it, Alan.
These things happen.
Just hang on.
You'll be all right.
I can't hang on, not anymore!
Well, I suppose
you'll have to sell.
That won't help!
It's not enough.
I've got to have the
full hundred thousand.
Right away!
Man shouldn't take risks
he can't afford, Sitkin,
not in business, not anywhere.
Oh, look, it wasn't my money.
It belonged to the organization.
I see.
I covered every way I
could, but they're suspicious.
If...
If I don't come up
with the money,
all of it, by tomorrow night...
I thought you had
Kalmisky under lock and key.
Yes, I do, but it...
it's just one vote!
Isn't he the boss?
Not on a thing like this.
The others would
go over his head
if he tried to stop 'em.
Straight to Capone.
You are in trouble,
Alan, aren't you?
Well, I suppose there's
nothing for me to do
except... lend you the money.
You would?
You would do that?
I swear to you
I-I'd never forget.
Oh, I'd do it all right.
Of course, one good
turn deserves another.
Anything. Anything at all.
Say a lock and a key.
Huh?
You've got something
on Kalmisky, Alan.
Since you're alive and in
reasonably good health,
I'd assume it's something
tangible and in a safe place.
You hand it to
me, it'll still be safe.
He'd kill me.
If he found out
I didn't have it.
And you'd tell him.
No.
Not if I don't have to.
He'd kill me.
He'd be thrilled to kill
me after all these years.
Like stepping on a cockroach.
And tomorrow night,
when the Syndicate meets,
what happens, then?
No, I'm afraid, Alan,
you're not a very good
insurance risk, either way.
Mr. December?
Yes, Alan?
You figured this from the start,
didn't you?
Well, thanks for the
ride on the Ferris wheel.
The view was great.
So long, Mr. December.
Alan?
I'm sorry.
What's the matter
with your friend?
Ain't he feeling well?
He'll be all right.
Hey, mister, you
forgot your book.
Let me through,
please. I'm a friend.
Let me through, please.
Too late.
Nothing we can do for him now.
Nothing at all.
And now back to...
The death of Alan
Sitkin, a known associate
of Pete "The
Persuader" Kalmisky,
brought Eliot Ness
to the El platform
on Lake Street.
Sitkin's effects produced
a personal memo.
You can use this
room, Mr. Sitkin.
I missed the name.
Ness.
No, the man who died, the
one you called me about.
My hearing on the phone.
Alan Sitkin, a known
associate of Kalmisky's.
You ever met him?
No.
We go to different clubs.
I thought you might
have run into him.
He's so close to Mr. December.
Is he?
Sitkin met December
just before the accident.
There are eyewitnesses.
Bookshop owner, a
newsboy on the El platform.
Circumstantial nonsense.
Mr. Ness,
a man in Mr. December's
position meets lots of people,
lots of places.
I wouldn't be surprised
if Joey met Al
Capone once or twice,
but that doesn't mean
they're planning a new
crime wave, does it now?
Is it possible you
don't know everything
about the December operations?
Maybe whiskey moving
over a spur line wouldn't come
to your attention.
No, that is not possible.
I see.
I thought you might
want to cooperate.
If you change your mind,
you can reach me at
the Federal Building.
Uh, Mr. Ness?
You're in another world now.
A world where men are
familiar with police harassment.
With libel and slander laws.
With innuendo.
You're not in the jungle
anymore, Mr. Ness.
You are in the clearing.
The Federal
Building, Mr. Grunther.
Mr. Kalmisky,
I thought it best we
arrive at different times.
No offense.
What do you want?
You look naked.
I don't think I've
ever seen you before
without Alan Sitkin.
Oh, lots of bright
boys around Chicago.
I'll get me another one.
But Sitkin isn't
the only thing I lost.
The boys checked his books.
No, thanks.
They're short...
a hundred grand.
I don't understand.
Sitkin was a rich man.
What do you mean, rich?
A fortune in a box...
A safe deposit box.
Yeah.
You got into, uh,
Sitkin's safe deposit box?
As I said, a fortune.
Cash?
Just an envelope
addressed to some
place in Florida.
Palm Island,
Florida, if I remember.
You read it?
Not much of a letter.
More like a story.
A true story.
An eyewitness
account of a betrayal.
"Fingering" is the
term used, I think,
for one Johnny Torrio.
As I understand it,
this Torrio was a
friend of Mr. Al Capone,
his best friend.
Patron. Mentor.
Almost like a father.
True?
Yeah, sure.
It seems that this
Torrio didn't care much
for some of Capone's associates.
One of his
bodyguards, especially.
Apparently, the
feeling was mutual.
♪ I can be happy... ♪
Mr. Capone would pay
a great deal for that letter.
But I have a feeling
that it'd be worth even
more to someone else.
How much?!
Say 51%.
I get the letter?
No, no, I couldn't do that.
Still, neither will Mr. Capone.
I think that's fair value.
♪ It all depends on you ♪
♪ I can save money ♪
♪ Or spend it ♪
♪ Go right on living ♪
♪ Or end it ♪
♪ You're to blame, honey ♪
♪ For what I do ♪
♪ Believe me... ♪
Lovely girl.
Perhaps you could introduce me.
♪ I can be humble ♪
♪ Any old thing... ♪
Yeah, sure.
♪ It all depends on you ♪
♪ I can save money ♪
♪ Or spend it ♪
♪ Go right on living ♪
♪ Or end it ♪
♪ You're to blame, honey ♪
♪ For what I do... ♪
Joey, you are
crawling in the gutter
and taking your
father's name with you!
Henry, am I getting
a lecture on morality?
51% is ours.
I've saved the company.
By making a deal
with a gangster?
By making a deal
with fresh capital.
Henry, it's gonna
be like the old days...
like I used to
operate, full control.
You are not in control, Joey.
You're on a runaway.
Can't you see that?
You got to get off now,
while you still can.
Henry, we've got a ticket to
the end of the line... first-class.
Here.
A little indiscretion
on the part of our minority
partner, Mr. Kalmisky.
Stop a train at this speed,
somebody'll get hurt.
You wouldn't want that.
And neither
should I, old friend.
Neither should I.
Mr. Grunther.
Mr. Ness.
Good of you to come.
You sounded urgent on the phone.
Mr. Ness, suppose I were to...
hand over certain
information to you.
Would it be
possible for you to...
give a degree of...
well, immunity in exchange?
Depends on the information.
It's not impossible.
No, no, Mr. Ness.
You-you don't quite understand.
This immunity would
not be for myself.
Suppose...
Suppose a man
picks up a runaway kid
out of an orphanage.
Say he sends him to school,
to-to college...
gives him a job,
a position, a career.
If somehow he
could help that man...
he'd do it, wouldn't he?
Depends on the kid.
Well... I'm the kid.
The other man?
Joseph December.
Joseph December, Sr.
He'd never let me pay him back.
Not a cent.
Now, maybe... I can
help to save his son.
From the law?
No.
From himself.
Sorry, Mr. Grunther,
I can't make that
kind of a deal.
I understand.
If you really want to
help Joey December,
you'll give us what you've
got without any strings.
A federal
penitentiary's no picnic,
but it's better than
a sack of cement
at the bottom of Lake Michigan.
Yes... maybe you're right.
I have to think it over.
Sure, I can wait.
Can Joey?!
Mr. Ness... thank you.
Elaine, would you ask
Mr. Grunther to come in here, please?
He isn't here, Mr. December.
He left late this afternoon.
Did he say where he was
going, when he was coming back?
He didn't tell me, Mr. December.
He said, uh, something
about having to stop a train.
I guess he meant he
had to catch a train.
Yes, I guess so.
Would you like some more coffee,
Mr. December?
No, thank you.
Good evening.
Federal Building.
Hello?
Sorry to be late.
That's all right, Joey.
I-I just got here.
Forgive me for bringing you down
this time of night.
It's all right, Joey.
But I wanted to make
a study of the report
before the London
Exchange opens.
That's all right.
Many thanks, old friend.
Did you, uh, make
your train on time?
Train?
Elaine mentioned
something about one.
Perhaps she misunderstood.
Come on, Henry, I'll
take you to a speakeasy
where even a respectable
corporation comptroller
can have a nightcap
for auld lang syne.
All right, if... if
you'd like me to.
Yes, I would, Henry.
I would.
For auld lang syne, my lad ♪
♪ For auld lang syne ♪
♪ We'll take a cup... ♪
You know, Henry,
not always so hot
being a boy genius.
At first, everything comes easy,
perhaps too easy.
You're at the top of the
tower, the world's at your feet.
Your friends call it genius...
your enemies say it's just luck.
You're not sure.
Afterward, it gets harder.
You're still a big gun, but
you're out of ammunition.
No luck.
No genius. No friends.
Almost none.
But the world is still there,
looking up waiting for
you to topple off the tower
and smash into a million pieces.
Well, it's not going to...
happen to me, Henry.
Not to me.
Joey, what are you afraid of?
Self-preservation.
That's the first law of
nature, isn't it, old friend?
For animals, it is.
No, we're all just
animals, Henry.
Poor hairless apes with
overdeveloped craniums.
Nothing more. None of us.
There is something else, Joey.
Maybe, occasionally,
some of these "poor apes"...
have a soul, Joey.
Oh, good Lord, I
forgot the Paris cables.
Left it on my desk.
You go on ahead,
Henry. Grab a taxi.
I'll meet you in
front of the building.
Maybe occasionally,
some of these poor apes...
But not many, old friend...
not many.
The police report
of the elevator crash
brought Eliot Ness and his
superior, Beecher Asbury,
to a midtown skyscraper.
Ness had insisted
on Asbury's presence,
knowing he would again
confront the president
of December Enterprises.
Examination of the elevator
in which Henry Grunther
plunged to his death
quickly determined
the cause of the crash.
A malfunction of the
electrical shunt field.
It could have been an accident.
Inside coat pocket.
Poor Henry.
I don't believe it, Beecher.
I saw it happen, heard
it, but I don't believe it.
If it hadn't been for
those cablegrams,
there'd be two
stretchers for the morgue.
Ought to feel something.
Relief, gratitude, something.
You were lucky, Joey.
Was I?
Maybe it's the other way around.
Maybe Henry's the lucky one.
Boy geniuses don't
need luck, do they, Joey?
They make their own.
That's right, Mr. Ness.
That's what people say.
What do you say?
Eliot, I don't
understand what you...
I suspect, Beecher, that
what Mr. Ness is trying
to say is that he thinks
that I killed Henry.
Did you?
Yes, I'm afraid I did.
I think it's time that I...
What's the phrase in
your business, Mr. Ness?
Come clean?
That'll do. Let's hear it.
Recently, I had some dealings
with some unsavory characters.
Dealings?
I handled some stock
transactions for them.
Are these unsavory characters
happened to be named Kalmisky?
No names, if you don't mind.
It's not safe.
I learned that the
hard way tonight.
These people wanted
some additional services.
I refused.
Obviously, that elevator ride
wasn't meant for Henry at all.
It was meant for me.
He died my death.
So, in a way, I killed him.
So you see, Beecher,
Mr. Ness is quite correct.
I am the real murderer
of my old friend,
Henry... Grunther.
I'm tired, gentlemen.
I think I'd better go home.
That is...
if I'm still free.
You're free.
It's not such a
bad story at that.
If we work at it, we
can make it come true.
Come on, what does the car cost?
An entire Pierce-Arrow?
Strings and all.
Having fun, Kalmisky?
I was.
Save it for later.
I want to talk.
Beat it, Ness.
Maybe you'd rather have
me write you a letter...
like Alan Sitkin.
Um, leave us alone, baby.
But, mister... Get lost!
You got anything
to tell me, Ness?
Just a little friendly advice.
Oh, that's a funny thing.
I never knew you was my friend.
Sometimes it's hard to tell.
Take Joey December.
I thought he was
a friend of yours.
Who says so?
Well, I guess I was wrong.
A friend wouldn't
have sent that letter
to Big Al, now, would he?
What letter?
Something about...
Johnny Torrio, wasn't it?
I don't know what
you're talking about.
Yes, you do.
Who told you?
We get around.
You're lying.
He wouldn't.
He wouldn't do that.
Joe wouldn't do
a thing like that!
Wouldn't he?
Hello, Pete.
Got your call.
What seems to be...?
Funny how frightening
a gun can look,
even though I know
you've no intention of using it.
Don't bet on it.
I don't think
you'd be that foolish,
Pete, not even you.
What's the matter?
Wasn't 51% enough for you?
I'm afraid you're not
getting through to me.
The letter... The
one you sent Capone.
Why would I do
a thing like that?
Yeah.
Why?
Get up!
It's not true, Pete.
I promise you, it's not true.
That's not what Ness tells me.
Very clever man, Ness.
Quite an active
imagination, but it's not true.
You didn't mail that letter?
I did not.
Where is it?
In a safe place.
Here?
You'd hardly expect
me to tell you that.
Get it.
I'm afraid not, Pete.
That wouldn't be safe.
You don't, you're dead!
And if I do?
Get the letter!
Now, Pete, don't be... Get it!
All right, we'll...
play it your way.
Henry.
Come on, quit stalling!
Here it is, Pete.
Joey?
The service elevator.
Put the gun down, Joey!
Mr. Ness. Put it down!
Sorry, Mr. Ness,
I'm going to use it.
On myself.
It's too late, Joey.
You've been dead for years.
Joseph December, Jr...
Boy genius, financial
wizard, railroad czar.
Born July 7, 1888.
Executed May 30, 1930.
Date of death:
some years before.
The Untouchables.