The Untouchables ***** (1987, Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Andy Garcia, Robert De Niro, Charles Martin Smith, Richard Bradford, Billy Drago) – Classic Movie Review 1236

Written by David Mamet, director Brian De Palma’s 1987 untouchable gangster movie outing The Untouchables is set in a beautifully realised 1930s Chicago. It showcases a feast of acting from Kevin Costner as real-life government agent FBI lawman Eliot Ness, Best Supporting Actor Oscar-winning Sean Connery as the Irish-American street cop officer Jimmy Malone, Andy Garcia as Italian-American trainee George Stone and Robert De Niro as the infamous real-life mobster and gang leader Al Capone.

Malone is based on the real-life agent and member of the Untouchables, Irish-American Marty Lahart. The film follows Ness’s autobiographical account of his efforts with the Untouchables to bring Capone to justice during the era of Prohibition.

It is a traditional gangster tale of heroes versus villains, but told with huge imagination, loving care and immaculate attention to detail – for example De Niro tracked down all Capone’s original tailors and had them make him some identical clothing for the movie – and outstanding action set-pieces, most notably De Palma’s homage to the Odessa Steps sequence from Battleship Potemkin, with a baby carriage running out of control on the Chicago Union Station staircase. 

In fact, De Niro’s silk boxer shorts came from Capone’s tailor even though they would never be seen on camera. The set for Capone’s barbershop at the Lexington Hotel included a number of small items such as cologne bottles and shaving brushes that actually belonged to Capone.

Using some of some of De Palma’s ideas, Mamet’s boisterous, action-filled screenplay, based on the book by Oscar Fraley and Paul Robsky, and De Palma’s controlled, stylish direction bolster the sort of escapist old-style Hollywood classic that people said in 1987 wasn’t made any more.

Ennio Morricone’s quality, Grammy Award-winning score and Stephen H Burum’s classy, sometimes startling, cinematography and William A Elliott, Patrizia Von Brandenstein and Hal Gausman’s gorgeous production designs are all enormous assets. They make lovely use of the actual historical Chicago locations that are featured in the movie. Charles Martin Smith also impresses as accountant Oscar Wallace, assigned to the Untouchables from Washington DC. But Connery is the most outstanding of the performers, fully deserving his Oscar.

The Untouchables was a huge hit. On a $20 million budget, it earned $106 million.

De Palma met Bob Hoskins to discuss the role of Capone in case first choice De Niro turned it down. When De Niro took the part, De Palma sent Hoskins a cheque for £20,000 with a Thank You note. Hoskins phoned De Palma to ask him if there were any more movies he didn’t want him to be in!

Albert H Wolff, the last survivor of the real-life Untouchables, was a consultant to the film and helped Costner with his portrayal of Ness.

Also in the cast are Charles Martin Smith, Andy Garcia, Richard Bradford, Jack Kehoe, Brad Sullivan, Billy Drago, Patricia Clarkson, Vito D’Ambrosio, Steve Goldstein, Peter Aylward, Don Harvey, Robert Swan, John J Walsh, Del Close, Colleen Bade, Greg Noonan, Sean Grennan and Kevin Michael Doyle.

Billy Drago (1945–2019).

Billy Drago, who plays Al Capone’s henchman Frank Nitti, died on 24 June 2019 in Los Angeles of complications from a stroke, aged 73. He often played the charming villain role and appeared also in Clint Eastwood’s Pale Rider.

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© Derek Winnert 2014 Classic Movie Review 1236

Link to Derek Winnert’s home page for more film reviews: http://derekwinnert.com/

Sean Connery fully deserving his Oscar.