Eliot Ness put a lethal bullet in Mr. Spock. That’s right. He took down the half-Vulcan that the Klingons, Romulans and Khan couldn’t touch. Eliot Ness (Robert Stack) busted Al Capone and ventilated Mr. Spock to prove he’s the toughest cop in the universe. He didn’t care about your home planet. You were a target for Ness’ service revolver when you brought vice into Chicago. The Untouchables: Season 3, Volume 2 gives another 12 riveting crime tales with familiar faces being shot down before the prime of their career.
“Takeover” shocks with Mr. Spock’s death. Although since Nimoy’s role of Packy isn’t more than an elaborate cameo so I’m not spoiling the episodes. John Banner (Hogan’s Heroes‘ Sgt Schultz) is a Chicago brewer who is forced to barrel up non-alcoholic beer. It hurts his soul to remove the love from the lager. He gets busted by Ness for making the real stuff. He’s bailed out by Robert Loggia (The Sopranos). He’s get a great new scam for putting the alcohol back in the near beer. Things get messy when there’s a battle for control of the speakeasy scene. This is when Nimoy arrives with his hired gun. However he gets beamed into a cold grave by Ness. “The Styrker Brothers” gives us the first of two appearances by Frank Sutton (Gomer Pyle: U.S.M.C.‘s Sgt. Carter) as two different outlaws. Sutton is the youngest brother of the Strykers. They’re crack unit at robbing trains. Capone wants them to be a part of his empire. However a crack appears when Sutton doesn’t get rid of a piece the evidence after a heist. Ness dishes out justice family style. “Element of Danger” gives you the great Lee Marvin (The Big Red One). He’s running an opium empire. He’s dangerous when Ness pursues him. This one could have been made into a movie. Marvin is in his element as the gangster.
“The Maggie Storm Story” has Patricia Neal as the title character in a post-prohibition tale. With the booze freely pouring, the underworld wants to get America wasted on dope. Neal runs a nightclub that isn’t part of the mobster universe. Vic Morrow is sent to town to make her join the syndicate. She wants to be clean and independent, but Vic ain’t taking no for an answer. “Man in the Middle” brings the one-armed bandits back to town. Future Mary Tyler Moore Show castmates Cloris Leachman and Gavin MacLeod pull on the slots as Ness attempted to ring up three lemons on the mobsters. Simon Oakwood (Kolchak: The Night Stalker) returns in “Downfall.” He’s an ex-bodyguard for Al Capone. He’s in a bad business deal with Steven Hill (Mission: Impossible).
“The Case Against Eliot Ness” lets Sid Haig (The Devil’s Rejects) play Augie the Hood. He’s going to be trouble for Ness along with Joe Turkel (The Shining). “The Contract” lets Frank Sutton be reincarnated as “Smiley” Barris. He’s a low level mobster with high level connections. He hides out with his pal Harry Guardino. Harry’s a gambler who is a bit legit in Los Angeles. But the mob wants Smiley buried. Can he whack a friend to save his empire? “Pressure” lets the heroin flow in the post prohibition time with Warren Oates (The Wild Bunch) in the fix. It wouldn’t be a season without an appearance from Claude Akins (Sheriff Lobo). He pops up in “The Monkey Wrench” where immigrants become the new supplier of mobster booze.
The Untouchables: Season 3, Volume 2 keeps the gangster action at the forefront of each episode. Eliot Ness and his crew rarely get involved in office politics. Most of the time, they show up to mop up gangster politics. The gangsters are in control of the narrative. They keep wanting to outdo each other for control of turf, booze or dope. While they put out the front that it was organized crime, most of the mobsters were independent operators. This works in Ness’ favor. How else do you think a humble law enforcement agent could kill Mr. Spock?
The Episodes
“Takeover,” “The Stryker Brothers,” “Element of Danger,” “The Maggie Storm Story,” “Man in the Middle,” “Downfall,” “The Case Against Eliot Ness,” “The Ginnie Littlesmith Story,” “The Contract,” “Pressure,” “Arsenal” and “The Monkey Wrench.”
The video is 1.33:1 full frame. The black and white transfers are clean. They look like classic gangster film with the shadowy scenes of shadowy actions. The audio is Dolby Digital mono. You’ll feel the bullet that takes out Mr. Spock. There’s also a mono Spanish dub. The subtitles are in English, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese.
None.
The Untouchables: Season 3, Volume 2 lets Eliot Ness stomp down crime. The dozen episodes are intense crime dramas thanks to a variety of familiar faces. Lee Marvin’s performance should be viewed with his finest of cinema efforts. Fans of mobster entertainment will be pleased even though the bad guys never have a chance to win.
CBS DVD presents The Untouchables: Season 3, Volume 2. Starring: Robert Stack, Paul Picerni, Nicholas Georgiade, Abel Fernandez and Walter Winchell. Boxset contents: 12 episodes on 3 DVDs. Released on DVD: November 10, 2009. Available at Amazon.com.
