Federal agent Eliot Ness (Robert Stack) and his team target more mobsters, largely in Chicago in the 1930s.

CRITIQUE

This collection consists of the 14 episodes (which run 50 minutes each) that made up the second-half of the 28-episode first season of The Untouchables; these particular episodes originally aired from January 21, 1960 to April 28, 1960.  The resulting black and white tales have a dated feel, but the result is still very solid, involving tales that generally make up for their lack of big production with some good writing.

As with the earlier 14 episodes, the emphasis here is often on the bad guys, and despite the fact that Al Capone was imprisoned early in the series, there are more than enough villains to draw from.  Chicago in the early 1930s a fertile ground for mobsters, many trying to get bigger now that Capone is out of the picture; mobsters can be caught every week, and there is still a large well to draw from.  As the episodes go on here, and Prohibition is repealed, there is also more emphasis on the other crimes that the mob was getting into, particularly extortion and protection rackets.

Robert Stack is still very vivid as Eliot Ness, though he still doesn’t have a whole lot to do here; there aren’t any scenes of his private life, and he is rather one-note heroic throughout.  Still, there is something comforting about the basic predictability of Ness’ firmness and the crooks getting nabbed by the end.  The bad guys (who often get more screen time in the episodes) are generally vividly realized, as well as often nicely humanize; several episodes center on mobsters caught in the middle, or who decide to do the right thing along the way, while the agents are often given clever moments of undercover work or other trickery to nab the mobsters.

This collection also ventures out of Chicago for some episodes with scope, particularly the two-part “The Unhired Assassin”.  In this tale, Ness’ managing to save the mayor of Chicago from being killed by the Mob several times intersects with the story of a deranged man determined to kill President Franklin Roosevelt, with both tales simultaneously climaxing in Miami.

There are a slew of familiar faces who turn up in guest roles along the way, from Jim Backus to Peter Falk, Leslie Neilsen, Dick York, Claude Akins and Anne Francis.  Certain mobsters are recurring characters as well, particularly Frank Nitti (played by Bruce Gordon), whose story finally comes to a head at the end of the season.  Ultimately, this is very much of its time, but the result hangs together pretty well.

THE VIDEO

The transfer here is generally fairly good; the picture is always pretty clear, and the black and white is generally crisp enough. 

THE AUDIO

The Untouchables is presented in English in Dolby Digital Mono.  Dialogue, music and sound effects come through clear.  There is a Spanish Mono soundtrack, as well as English, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese subtitles.

THE EXTRAS

The only extra here is an episode of The Lucy Show from 1966, in which Robert Stack appears as an unnamed FBI agent who gets Lucy to pose as a showgirl (also played by Lucille Ball) to help bust a mobster, played by Bruce Gordon.  The episode brings the music and narration in from The Untouchables, and Stack has fun winking at the character he played; the result is a nice capper to the DVD.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Though the series is dated in some respects, the stories are still involving, and the writing is good throughout.  Worth checking out.