"The Untouchables" (1959) TV series 1959-1963

User Rating:

8.3/10   

Writer:

Paul Monash (writer)

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Release Date:

15 October 1959 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama

Plot:

Special Agent Eliot Ness and his elite team of incorruptable agents battle organized crime in 1930s Chicago.

Plot Keywords:

Organized Crime | Mafia | Federal Agent | US Treasury Agents | Cult Favorite

Awards:

Won 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 7 nominations

Cast

Robert Stack	...	Eliot Ness (118 episodes, 1959-1963)
Walter Winchell	...	Narrator (118 episodes, 1959-1963)
Nicholas Georgiade	...	Agent Enrico Rossi / ... (105 episodes, 1959-1963)
Paul Picerni	...	Agent Lee Hobson / ... (83 episodes, 1960-1963)
Abel Fernandez	...	Agent William Youngfellow / ... (81 episodes, 1959-1963)
Steve London	...	Agent Jack Rossman / ... (65 episodes, 1959-1963)

(more)

Series Directed by
Walter Grauman		(21 episodes, 1959-1963)
Stuart Rosenberg		(16 episodes, 1960-1962)
Paul Wendkos		(12 episodes, 1961-1963)
John Peyser		(10 episodes, 1959-1961)
Robert Butler		(7 episodes, 1962-1963)
Bernard L. Kowalski		(7 episodes, 1962)
Howard W. Koch		(4 episodes, 1960)
Tay Garnett		(3 episodes, 1959-1960)
Roger Kay		(3 episodes, 1959-1960)
Don Medford		(3 episodes, 1961)
Ida Lupino		(3 episodes, 1962-1963)
Alex March		(3 episodes, 1962-1963)
Vincent McEveety		(3 episodes, 1962-1963)
Allen Reisner		(3 episodes, 1963)
Joe Parker		(2 episodes, 1959)
Robert Gist		(2 episodes, 1962-1963)
Abner Biberman		(2 episodes, 1962)
Paul Stanley		(2 episodes, 1962)
Leonard Horn		(2 episodes, 1963)

Series Writing credits
Oscar Fraley		(87 episodes, 1959-1963)
Eliot Ness		(86 episodes, 1959-1963)
Harry Kronman		(17 episodes, 1960-1963)
John Mantley		(12 episodes, 1960-1963)
George Eckstein		(9 episodes, 1961-1963)
Leonard Kantor		(8 episodes, 1959-1962)
David Zelag Goodman		(8 episodes, 1960-1963)
Joseph Petracca		(7 episodes, 1959-1961)
Harry Essex		(6 episodes, 1959-1961)
Robert C. Dennis		(6 episodes, 1959-1960)
William Spier		(4 episodes, 1960-1961)
Harold Gast		(4 episodes, 1962-1963)
Herman Groves		(4 episodes, 1962-1963)
Jerome Ross		(3 episodes, 1959-1960)
Charles O'Neal		(3 episodes, 1960-1961)
Sy Salkowitz		(3 episodes, 1961-1962)
John D.F. Black		(3 episodes, 1962-1963)
David Karp		(2 episodes, 1959)
Ben Maddow		(2 episodes, 1960)
Robert Libott		(2 episodes, 1962-1963)
Gilbert Ralston		(2 episodes, 1962-1963)
Carey Wilber		(2 episodes, 1962-1963)
Tony Barrett		(2 episodes, 1963)
Paul Monash		(unknown episodes)

Series Produced by
Lloyd Richards	....	associate producer / producer (49 episodes, 1960-1963)
Alan A. Armer	....	executive producer / producer (35 episodes, 1960-1963)
Jerry Thorpe	....	executive producer (32 episodes, 1960-1961)
Quinn Martin	....	executive producer (28 episodes, 1959-1960)
Josef Shaftel	....	producer (25 episodes, 1959-1961)
Vincent McEveety	....	associate producer / producer (24 episodes, 1961-1962)
Del Reisman	....	associate producer / producer (20 episodes, 1961-1963)
Alvin Cooperman	....	producer (10 episodes, 1962-1963)
Charles Russell	....	producer (7 episodes, 1959-1960)
Leonard Freeman	....	executive producer (7 episodes, 1962-1963)
Sidney Marshall	....	producer (4 episodes, 1959-1960)
Walter Grauman	....	producer (3 episodes, 1960-1961)
Desi Arnaz	....	executive producer (3 episodes, 1961-1962)
Stuart Rosenberg	....	producer (3 episodes, 1961-1962)
Paul Harrison	....	producer (2 episodes, 1959-1960)
Norman Retchin	....	producer (2 episodes, 1959)
Herman Hoffman	....	producer (2 episodes, 1960-1961)
Bert Granet	....	producer (unknown episodes)

Series Original Music by
Nelson Riddle		(3 episodes, 1960)
Pete Rugolo		(2 episodes, 1962)
Jack Cookerly		(unknown episodes)
William Loose		(unknown episodes)

Series Cinematography by
Charles Straumer		(92 episodes, 1959-1963)
Glen MacWilliams		(6 episodes, 1962-1963)
Robert B. Hauser		(4 episodes, 1960)

Series Film Editing by
Ben Ray		(33 episodes, 1959-1963)
Robert L. Swanson		(23 episodes, 1959-1962)
Robert Watts		(12 episodes, 1961-1963)
Elmo Veron		(10 episodes, 1960-1961)
William B. Murphy		(8 episodes, 1960-1961)
George Jay Nicholson		(4 episodes, 1959-1960)
Axel Hubert Sr.		(4 episodes, 1962-1963)
John M. Foley		(3 episodes, 1959-1961)

Series Casting by
James Lister		(54 episodes, 1960-1963)
Lynn Stalmaster		(54 episodes, 1960-1963)
Kerwin Coughlin		(14 episodes, 1959-1960)

Series Art Direction by
Rolland M. Brooks		(72 episodes, 1959-1963)
Ralph Berger		(47 episodes, 1959-1961)
Howard Hollander		(43 episodes, 1961-1963)
Frank T. Smith		(29 episodes, 1959-1961)
William Glasgow		(9 episodes, 1961)
James Hulsey		(2 episodes, 1962)

Series Set Decoration by
Sandy Grace		(57 episodes, 1959-1961)
Harry Gordon		(39 episodes, 1961-1963)

Series Costume Design by
Frank Delmar		(10 episodes, 1959-1962)

Series Makeup Department
Kiva Hoffman	....	makeup artist / make-up (95 episodes, 1959-1963)
Irene Beshon	....	hair stylist (47 episodes, 1959-1961)
Anna Malin	....	hair stylist (7 episodes, 1961-1962)
Jane Chabra	....	hair stylist (7 episodes, 1962-1963)
Jean Udko	....	hair stylist (5 episodes, 1961-1962)
Beth Langston	....	hair stylist (3 episodes, 1961-1962)
David Newell	....	makeup artist (2 episodes, 1959-1962)
Merle Reeves	....	hair stylist (2 episodes, 1961-1963)
Lorraine Roberson	....	hair stylist / makeup artist (2 episodes, 1962)

Series Production Management
Marvin Stuart	....	production manager (65 episodes, 1960-1963)
Argyle Nelson	....	production supervisor (60 episodes, 1959-1961)
Jerry Thorpe	....	executive in charge of production (41 episodes, 1961-1963)
James Paisley	....	production supervisor (34 episodes, 1961-1963)
Lloyd Richards	....	production manager (28 episodes, 1959-1960)

Series Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Vincent McEveety	....	assistant director (28 episodes, 1959-1961)
Sergei Petschnikoff	....	assistant director (23 episodes, 1959-1961)
Ted Schilz	....	assistant director (20 episodes, 1961-1963)
Bud Grace	....	assistant director (17 episodes, 1960-1963)
Russ Haverick	....	assistant director (4 episodes, 1960-1963)
Marvin Stuart	....	assistant director (2 episodes, 1960)
Lou Watt	....	second assistant director (unknown episodes)

Series Art Department
Alan Levine	....	property master (39 episodes, 1959-1963)
Irving A. Feinberg	....	property master (30 episodes, 1959-1962)
Kenneth L. Westcott	....	property master (9 episodes, 1961-1962)
Don Smith	....	property master (7 episodes, 1959-1963)
Charles West	....	property master (3 episodes, 1959-1960)
Al Joyce	....	property master (2 episodes, 1959)

Series Sound Department
Joseph G. Sorokin	....	sound editor / supervising sound editor (54 episodes, 1959-1963)
T.T. Triplett	....	sound engineer (47 episodes, 1959-1961)
S.G. Haughton	....	sound engineer (36 episodes, 1961-1963)
Ross Taylor	....	sound editor (21 episodes, 1961-1963)
Josef von Stroheim	....	sound editor / supervising sound editor (16 episodes, 1959-1960)
Cam McCulloch	....	sound engineer (7 episodes, 1959-1962)
Wayne Fury	....	sound editor (7 episodes, 1961)
Karl Zint	....	sound engineer (6 episodes, 1959)
John Post	....	sound editor (2 episodes, 1961)

Series Special Effects by
A.D. Flowers	....	special effects (unknown episodes)
A. Paul Pollard	....	special effects (unknown episodes)

Series Stunts
Charlie Picerni	....	stunts (52 episodes, 1961-1963)
Carol Daniels	....	stunt double: Barbara Luna (2 episodes, 1959-1962)

Series Casting Department
Kerwin Coughlin	....	casting (14 episodes, 1960)

Series Costume and Wardrobe Department
Frank Delmar	....	costumer / wardrobe / ... (88 episodes, 1959-1963)
Byron Munson	....	costumer (2 episodes, 1960)

Series Editorial Department
Bill Heath	....	editorial supervisor / supervising editor (93 episodes, 1959-1963)

Series Music Department
Nelson Riddle	....	composer: theme music / composer: themes / ... (92 episodes, 1959-1963)
Robert H. Raff	....	music supervisor / music editor (65 episodes, 1960-1963)
Ted Roberts	....	music supervisor (28 episodes, 1959-1960)
Wilbur Hatch	....	music supervisor (16 episodes, 1960-1963)
Julian Davidson	....	music coordinator (12 episodes, 1962-1963)

Series Other crew
Harry Fried	....	story editor (60 episodes, 1959-1961)
Kellam de Forest	....	researcher (36 episodes, 1961-1963)
Arthur Fellows	....	assistant to executive producer (27 episodes, 1959-1960)
Del Reisman	....	story editor (19 episodes, 1961-1962)

Production Companies

• Desilu Productions
• Langford Productions

Distributors

• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1959-1963) (USA) (TV)
• CBS Paramount Domestic Television (2006) (USA) (TV)
• CBS Paramount International Television (2004) (Non-USA) (TV)
• Desilu Studios
• Paramount Pictures
• Super! Drama TV (2006) (Japan) (TV)

Other Companies

• Glen Glenn Sound  sound (as Glen Glenn Sound Co.)
• Howard Anderson Company, The  photographic effects (as Howard Anderson Co.)
• Stalmaster-Lister Co.  casting

Runtime:

60 min (118 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Desilu Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Desilu Productions

Trivia:

Walter Winchell received a reported $25,000 per episode for his narration on this series. With his signature machine gun dialog delivery, he could apparently rack up almost 200 words per minute.

Quotes:

Police Officer: There is nothing in that area... except an old abandoned warehouse.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Apartment (1960)

Characters frozen in time.

Seeing an excerpt from 'Untouchables' on satellite TV recently brought back some memories of forty years ago, when I looked forward in eager anticipation to seeing the weekly appearance of Eliot Ness and his associates. To see them again was to see characters apparently frozen in time, operating in a mythical world where the differences between good and evil were clearly delineated and the 'bad guys' got their just deserts. Notwithstanding the fact that Capone and Ness never met, that Ness had little, if anything, to do with putting Capone behind bars, the programmes were quite well directed and acted, even though some of the supporting characters had little,if anything, to say - I can remember often waiting for some considerable time for 'Rico' (Georgiade)to say his only line ! Enjoyable,nevertheless, as cinematic curiosities, well crafted, but so far removed from historical reality as to be a rather threadbare tapestry of the events which the series purported to represent.