1959

The Untouchables - two-part pilot
Desilu Playhouse (CBS)
Phil Karlson, director
Vincent McEveety, assistant director

The pilot for The Untouchables series, which ran on ABC from 1959 to 1963, was this two-part, two-hour Quinn Martin production airing on 4/20/59 and 4/27/59 on Desilu Playhouse. It introduced Robert Stack in the role that later won him the Emmy Award for best actor in a series: rackets-busting U.S. Treasury agent Eliot Ness. It also featured Neville Brand as Chicago mob kingpin Al Capone, Bruce Gordon as Capone henchman Frank Nitti, Keenan Wynn and Barbara Nichols. Considered ultra-violent for 1959 tastes, this opener finds Ness and his minions bent on taking 1920s Chicago back from the grip of racketeers.