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The Untouchables

 The Untouchables
type
TVTItem
 The Untouchables
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The Untouchables
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TheUntouchables
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A live-action crime series, produced by Desilu Studios and airing on ABC from 1959–63, based on the exploits of (Real Life) 1920s Chicago Prohibition agent Eliot Ness and his group of loyal agents, nicknamed "The Untouchables" because of their refusal to be bribed or intimidated by the Mob as many others were at the time. Most notable for pursuing bootleggers and gangster Al Capone (and eventually arresting him — on tax evasion charges).Later adapted as a 1987 feature film, which itself inspired a second television series in 1993, starring Tom Amandes as Ness.
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2023-10-19T13:47:07Z
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2023-10-19T13:47:07Z
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Dropped link to CleanUpTheTown: Not a Feature - ITEM
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Dropped link to CopShow: Not a Feature - IGNORE
 The Untouchables
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DBTropes
 The Untouchables / int_13c1fec8
type
Dragon-in-Chief
 The Untouchables / int_13c1fec8
comment
Dragon-in-Chief: Nitti, who runs The Syndicate in Capone's absence and appears in way more episodes than his boss. (28 total, while Capone is only in 2 two-part episodes.)
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The Untouchables / int_13c1fec8
 The Untouchables / int_1e1afc1b
type
Framing Device
 The Untouchables / int_1e1afc1b
comment
Framing Device: Winchell's narration often gives the impression of watching a visual interpretation of a printed newspaper article.
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The Untouchables / int_1e1afc1b
 The Untouchables / int_289008dc
type
Incorruptible Pure Pureness
 The Untouchables / int_289008dc
comment
Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Naturally. Played totally without irony in the series. Doesn't stop the criminals from making routine offers, though.
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The Untouchables / int_289008dc
 The Untouchables / int_319e4a2f
type
Even Evil Has Standards
 The Untouchables / int_319e4a2f
comment
Even Evil Has Standards: "A Tale of Two Fathers" sees Ness searching for a Serial Killer who targets children. This is also beyond the pale for Capone, who promptly sends his boys out on the street to hunt the man down.
 The Untouchables / int_319e4a2f
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The Untouchables / int_319e4a2f
 The Untouchables / int_3e086ab9
type
Misplaced Accent
 The Untouchables / int_3e086ab9
comment
Misplaced Accent: Capone speaks in a heavy Italian accent, despite the fact that the real Capone was born in Brooklyn and spent his entire life in the United States.
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The Untouchables / int_3e086ab9
 The Untouchables / int_44f5d199
type
Pretty in Mink
 The Untouchables / int_44f5d199
comment
Pretty in Mink: One episode involves a stolen sable coat.
 The Untouchables / int_44f5d199
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The Untouchables / int_44f5d199
 The Untouchables / int_4e4ea654
type
Workaholic
 The Untouchables / int_4e4ea654
comment
Workaholic: Implied. Although we see the criminal of the week's personal lives, the show never follows the Untouchables home. Judging by the late-night hours Ness pulls, he certainly is one (not to mention the real Ness).
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 The Untouchables / int_51640e80
type
Bond One-Liner
 The Untouchables / int_51640e80
comment
Bond One-Liner: Delivered in typical hardboiled fashion, Ness uses these with enough subtlety to avoid narm.
 The Untouchables / int_51640e80
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The Untouchables / int_51640e80
 The Untouchables / int_52989fee
type
Narrator
 The Untouchables / int_52989fee
comment
Narrator: Each episode is narrated by gossip columnist Walter Winchell.
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 The Untouchables / int_548bd053
type
Guns Akimbo
 The Untouchables / int_548bd053
comment
Guns Akimbo: Subverted when the senior member confronts a villain who framed him. The villain tries to resist with twin tommy guns. However, the idiot doesn't realize that given how heavy the gun type is, he can't even keep them level and so doesn't do much more than shoot up the floor in front of him with a lot of noise. For his part, the Untouchable simply shoots the villain with two carefully aimed pistol shots.
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The Untouchables / int_548bd053
 The Untouchables / int_60ea2a89
type
Starter Villain
 The Untouchables / int_60ea2a89
comment
Starter Villain: The Pilot Movie was about Al Capone's arrest.
 The Untouchables / int_60ea2a89
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The Untouchables / int_60ea2a89
 The Untouchables / int_6439de78
type
Heroic Sacrifice
 The Untouchables / int_6439de78
comment
Heroic Sacrifice: Cam dies saving Ness in "The Frank Nitti Story".
 The Untouchables / int_6439de78
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The Untouchables / int_6439de78
 The Untouchables / int_6c275297
type
The Fettered
 The Untouchables / int_6c275297
comment
The Fettered: Ness.
 The Untouchables / int_6c275297
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The Untouchables / int_6c275297
 The Untouchables / int_6de71c57
type
Disc-One Final Boss
 The Untouchables / int_6de71c57
comment
Disc-One Final Boss: Al Capone in the two-part pilot "The Scarface Mob".
 The Untouchables / int_6de71c57
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The Untouchables / int_6de71c57
 The Untouchables / int_75e2bf23
type
Chiaroscuro
 The Untouchables / int_75e2bf23
comment
Chiaroscuro
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The Untouchables / int_75e2bf23
 The Untouchables / int_7abd339f
type
Black-and-White Morality
 The Untouchables / int_7abd339f
comment
Black-and-White Morality: The brave, heroic Untouchables vs. the murderous mobsters.
 The Untouchables / int_7abd339f
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The Untouchables / int_7abd339f
 The Untouchables / int_8288929a
type
Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves
 The Untouchables / int_8288929a
comment
Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: Mobsters who betray or sell out who they work for tend to be paid off in this way by their new employers, because if they turned so easily against their former bosses then it's likely they'd eventually do so with them as soon as a better offer came along.
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The Untouchables / int_8288929a
 The Untouchables / int_85537320
type
Police Procedural
 The Untouchables / int_85537320
comment
Police Procedural: Somewhere between this and Cop Show.
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The Untouchables / int_85537320
 The Untouchables / int_89b3c0d4
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So Once Again, the Day Is Saved
 The Untouchables / int_89b3c0d4
comment
So Once Again, the Day Is Saved: The basic gist of Winchell's voiceover.
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The Untouchables / int_89b3c0d4
 The Untouchables / int_8b6e8d7
type
Anachronic Order
 The Untouchables / int_8b6e8d7
comment
Anachronic Order: Each episode jumps around back and forth between the years 1929 through 1934, as explained by Narrator Walter Winchell. The best example is Dragon-in-Chief Frank Nitti who appeared in 28 episodes through all 4 seasons despite being Killed Off for Real near the end of the first season in an episode set in 1934. In all his remaining episodes, the date is set before his death.
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The Untouchables / int_8b6e8d7
 The Untouchables / int_8cb4ea46
type
By-the-Book Cop
 The Untouchables / int_8cb4ea46
comment
By-the-Book Cop: No antiheroes here.
 The Untouchables / int_8cb4ea46
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The Untouchables / int_8cb4ea46
 The Untouchables / int_928ca2cc
type
You Have Outlived Your Usefulness
 The Untouchables / int_928ca2cc
comment
You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Done by several gangsters against each other (usually to not have to share), but most often Nitti's favorite way to pay off people. Unsurprisingly, Nitti himself falls victim to this in "The Frank Nitti Story".
 The Untouchables / int_928ca2cc
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The Untouchables / int_928ca2cc
 The Untouchables / int_970c790a
type
Big Bad
 The Untouchables / int_970c790a
comment
Big Bad: Capone, even after he is incarcerated, remains the puppet master.
 The Untouchables / int_970c790a
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 The Untouchables / int_9aeabf25
type
The Family That Slays Together
 The Untouchables / int_9aeabf25
comment
The Family That Slays Together: "Ma Barker and Her Boys" pits Federal Agent Eliot Ness against the Barker clan, and depicts Ness as leading the assault on Ma Barker and her sons at their Florida hide-out. In this version, Lloyd, Fred and Doc are all present at the final shootout.
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The Untouchables / int_9aeabf25
 The Untouchables / int_a5f998ea
type
Stockholm Syndrome
 The Untouchables / int_a5f998ea
comment
Stockholm Syndrome: An interesting reverse case in "Arsenal". A mobster comes to feel for his captives after they treat him as more than an animal, going so far later on as to try and save them when he's ordered by Nitti to execute them. He very quickly dies in the attempt, at the hand of the Untouchables no less.
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 The Untouchables / int_a65288e2
type
Ascended Extra
 The Untouchables / int_a65288e2
comment
Ascended Extra: Frank Nitti. He appeared infrequently in the first season and was presented as a Big Bad Wannabe who had very little actual influence or power compared to those above him (notably in the season finale, where he's marked for death and then killed off). Later seasons have him appear far more often, and he's seemingly in charge and the decision maker above everyone else in Chicago.
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 The Untouchables / int_a9483a5c
type
Meek Townsman
 The Untouchables / int_a9483a5c
comment
Meek Townsman: An episode in which the Untouchables and some of Capone's men go to Kansas, and the mayor is the Meek Townsman. He makes a speech, talking as if he's saying something noble, but he's telling his townspeople not to help Eliot Ness and co. fight the gangsters: "live to farm another day. To father, another day."
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The Untouchables / int_a9483a5c
 The Untouchables / int_aed65980
type
All for Nothing
 The Untouchables / int_aed65980
comment
All for Nothing: The two-part "The Unhired Assassin" ends with the man Ness was protecting being murdered anyway, only minutes after stopping another assassin from killing him. What rubs it in more is that he wasn't the intended target, because the second shooter was aiming for Roosevelt and missed.
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The Untouchables / int_aed65980
 The Untouchables / int_b034d333
type
Film Noir
 The Untouchables / int_b034d333
comment
Film Noir: Or television noir, more accurately.
 The Untouchables / int_b034d333
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The Untouchables / int_b034d333
 The Untouchables / int_b9af5ef3
type
The Film of the Book
 The Untouchables / int_b9af5ef3
comment
The Show of the Book: Based on Ness's semi-fictional memoir.
 The Untouchables / int_b9af5ef3
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The Untouchables / int_b9af5ef3
 The Untouchables / int_d3f16712
type
Dramatization
 The Untouchables / int_d3f16712
comment
Dramatization: Several episodes would, in their credits, run the (dis)claimer: Tonight's Episode was based on the book by Elliot Ness & Oscar Fraley, although some events were fictionalized.
 The Untouchables / int_d3f16712
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 The Untouchables / int_e2d7b14c
type
Made of Explodium
 The Untouchables / int_e2d7b14c
comment
Made of Explodium: If there is a car crash, it's going to explode. No exceptions, no matter how minor the accident is.
 The Untouchables / int_e2d7b14c
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The Untouchables / int_e2d7b14c
 The Untouchables / int_e4b69188
type
Very Loosely Based on a True Story
 The Untouchables / int_e4b69188
comment
Very Loosely Based on a True Story: Most of the episodes do involve Real Life criminals and crimes of the period...the overwhelming majority of which Ness had nothing to do with.
 The Untouchables / int_e4b69188
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The Untouchables / int_e4b69188
 The Untouchables / int_eb8f64a6
type
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
 The Untouchables / int_eb8f64a6
comment
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: In "The Unhired Assassin", the husband and owner of a dry cleaning shop gives a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown to the hoodlum responsible for collecting protection money in that area (at that time he was just bothering his wife, though). Said hoodlum doesn't go away but just comes back a few days later and murders him, and by using a kid to do so at that. The only saving grace is that he's immediately caught and will more than likely be sentenced to death in one way or another, whether by prison or Nitti.
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The Untouchables / int_eb8f64a6
 The Untouchables / int_f5e6ed44
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No Sense of Humor
 The Untouchables / int_f5e6ed44
comment
No Sense of Humor: "Don't you ever smile, Mr. Ness?"
 The Untouchables / int_f5e6ed44
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The Untouchables / int_f5e6ed44
 The Untouchables / int_f6698528
type
Vigilante Execution
 The Untouchables / int_f6698528
comment
Vigilante Execution: Averted, because the plots of many episodes would be resolved in a matter of minutes if anyone had the nerve to just wipe out whatever set of gangsters is causing problems. It's generally always Ness and Co. that take them down, but not before they've caused a lot of damage. In the remake Capone sends his men to catch a child killer, fully intending to kill him rather than hand him over to the police. Of course, he gets the wrong man while Ness and his team find the right one.
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 The Untouchables / int_f6b30338
type
Murder Is the Best Solution
 The Untouchables / int_f6b30338
comment
Murder Is the Best Solution: The Tri-State Gang kills everyone they hijack to keep anyone from identifying them. What's cruel is that they trick the drivers into thinking they'll let them live by covering their faces with a hood and chaining them to a tree, only to shoot them dead before they leave. What eventually leads to their downfall is that, in one case, they were too quick to leave the scene to check whether the driver was actually dead so he was able to give the license plate of the gang's truck later.
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The Untouchables

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 AudieMurphy
seeAlso
The Untouchables
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hasFeature
Chronic Hero Syndrome / int_111c48dd
 The Untouchables
hasFeature
Conspicuous Trenchcoat / int_111c48dd
 The Untouchables
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Damn, It Feels Good to Be a Gangster! / int_111c48dd
 The Untouchables
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Definite Article Title / int_111c48dd
 The Untouchables
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Dramatization / int_111c48dd
 The Untouchables
hasFeature
Gangster Fiction / int_111c48dd
 The Untouchables
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Generic Ethnic Crime Gang / int_111c48dd
 The Untouchables
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Good Cop/Bad Cop / int_111c48dd
 The Untouchables
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Guns Akimbo / int_111c48dd
 HyndenWalch
seeAlso
The Untouchables
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Lost Him in a Card Game / int_111c48dd
 The Untouchables
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Meek Townsman / int_111c48dd
 The Untouchables
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Model Scam / int_111c48dd
 The Untouchables
hasFeature
Narrator / int_111c48dd
 The Untouchables
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Pilot Movie / int_111c48dd
 The Untouchables
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Plays Great Ethnics / int_111c48dd
 The Untouchables
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Screw the Money, I Have Rules! / int_111c48dd
 The Untouchables
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Series of the 1950s / int_111c48dd
 The Untouchables
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Team Title / int_111c48dd
 The Untouchables
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The '50s / int_111c48dd
 The Untouchables
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The Big Board / int_111c48dd
 The Untouchables
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The Family That Slays Together / int_111c48dd
 The Untouchables
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The Hyena / int_111c48dd
 The Untouchables
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Unintentional Period Piece / int_111c48dd
 The Untouchables
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Unspecified Role Credit / int_111c48dd
 The Untouchables
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Working on the Chain Gang / int_111c48dd