‘The Untouchables’ Is a Killer Thriller, however It Actually Messes Up the Lore for Kevin Costner’s Eliot Ness

True crime media has sensationalized the lives and misdeeds of a large number of horrible folks, from organized crime bosses to outright serial killers, however one of the well-known figures to rise in stature due to Hollywood’s obsession with crime fought on the opposite aspect of the regulation. Eliot Ness was a lawman and eventual head of Chicago’s Prohibition Bureau, on the identical time and place as famed prison Al Capone’s reign over town’s prison enterprises.

Since his passing in 1957, Ness has develop into codified as a neo-Western icon of regulation enforcement, morality, and heroism, largely due to the posthumous launch of his memoir, in addition to a tv collection and, finally, a movie by Brian De Palma, which took the identify of this guide: The Untouchables. The 1987 movie noticed Ness being portrayed by Kevin Costner, a film star whose persona match completely with the picture that had been crafted of this legendary crime fighter. However how correct are these fictionalized portrayals of Ness, and particularly his position in bringing down Al Capone?

How Correct Is Kevin Costner’s Portrayal in Brian De Palma’s ‘The Untouchables’?

Al Capone performs a significant position in De Palma’s movie adaptation of The Untouchables. Capone is portrayed by Robert De Niro, who De Palma had beforehand solid in a few of his earliest roles. De Niro’s Capone hardly ever interacts with Costner’s Ness face-to-face, however the two are always engaged in a cat-and-mouse hunt as Ness and his crew of “Untouchable” lawmen shut in on Chicago’s underground. The identify “Untouchables” comes from the reputations of those males as incorruptible and morally upstanding, not like many ethically compromised officers who would settle for bribes.

Very similar to in actual life, Capone was unable to be pinned down for any of his violent prison exercise. Bringing fees for Capone’s varied, extra severe crimes proved tough, due to the next burden of proof and much much less proof. The Untouchables resolve to go after him for tax fraud, after discovering he had not paid earnings taxes in years. Ness is ready to put collectively a case that ends in a showy trial and a conviction. Capone is sentenced to over a decade in jail.

All of this occurred in actual life, except Ness was not a part of it. It’s true that Ness investigated Capone throughout his time in Chicago. Ness was the pinnacle of the squad that racked up piles and piles of proof of Capone’s extra heinous crimes, and particularly his bootlegging empire. Nonetheless, the case that introduced Capone down was built by attorneys and IRS agents. Ness and Capone knew of one another, and should have even met, however Ness’ position in placing him behind bars has been vastly overstated on this movie. Tax regulation might be not as thrilling as watching Costner shoot dangerous guys, unless your accountant is played by Ben Affleck.

Brian De Palma’s Tackle Eliot Ness Turned Kevin Costner’s Character Right into a Legend

The Untouchables provides Ness an arc that sees him rise to legendary standing throughout the native regulation enforcement group. In actuality, since Ness was largely faraway from the precise work that put Capone away, he didn’t depart behind such a legacy in Chicago. After Prohibition ended, Ness was shuffled from state to state till touchdown in Cleveland, Ohio, the place he would spend most of his remaining profession. In Cleveland, Ness had a tertiary role in the investigations into the still-unsolved “Torso Murders” and unsuccessfully ran for Mayor in 1947.

All through Ness’s final ten years, he didn’t keep regular work in authorities or regulation enforcement. He passed away in 1957 with little recognition and no fortune. However just some months later, The Untouchables (co-written with sportswriter Oscar Fraley) was revealed. By 1959, the guide had already impressed a profitable tv collection of the identical identify. De Palma’s movie solely catapulted the legend of Eliot Ness additional into the general public consciousness due to the all-star solid (Sean Connery gained an Oscar for his position), stellar compositions by Ennio Morricone, and De Palma’s masterful filmmaking. The prepare station shootout, which is an specific homage to the Odesa Steps sequence in Battleship Potemkin, is certainly one of De Palma’s biggest set-pieces, and it frames Costner’s Ness as a triumphant hero.

At this time, numerous collection and movies proceed to revere Ness with outright portrayals or homages that depict him as a mythic determine of American regulation enforcement. An episode of Supernatural sees Dean Winchester journey by means of time and remedy a case with Ness. Jimmy Woo, the fan-favorite FBI Agent featured in a wide range of Marvel Cinematic Universe tales, mentions Ness as a hero of his. The Untouchables was remade into one other collection just a few years after De Palma’s movie, though with a lot much less success. Ness has additionally been featured in comic books and video video games, namedropped in hip-hop songs, and was the topic of performs.

Perhaps Ness wasn’t the hero that the flicks have made him out to be. The Canadian border shootout in De Palma’s movie by no means occurred, nor did the prepare station shootout. Ness didn’t kill Capone’s bodyguard throughout his trial (actually, Frank Nitti died by suicide many years later). However Hollywood has all the time been about mythmaking, and The Untouchables makes for a rattling good story.