"You fellows are untouchable, is that the thing?"

Rating: 8/10 (1 March 2018)

There are two great sit-up-and-take notice moments in "The Untouchables", and if you've seen the movie you know what they are. The first is when Robert De Niro's Al Capone decides to take batting practice on one of the members of his Chicago mob. I guess the guy wasn't a team player. The other occurred in the latter half of the story, usually described as the baby carriage scene, and which may itself have been inspired by the 1925 silent film, "Battleship Potemkin". What I find incredible is that I've just watched these two movies back to back, and am constantly amazed when my viewing experience offers moments of cosmic serendipity like this kind of coincidence. For the reader who might not know what I'm talking about, you'll recognize the events if you see both films, and you don't have to do it the way I did. The scenes stand out in a way that makes them memorable whenever you watch the films.
If I was casting this picture, I wouldn't have chosen Charles Martin Smith to play Agent Oscar Wallace. Smith has the type of face and demeanor that calls for roles like the ones he's portrayed in "American Graffiti" and "The Buddy Holly Story". Be that as it may, he did a credible job as part of the Untouchables team. Another scene that's a grabber occurred when beat-cop Jim Malone (Sean Connery) 'killed' a dead man to convince a potential snitch that he should testify against Boss Capone. That was a daring ploy that worked pretty well.
The one thing I wish film makers and script writers would avoid is denying historical facts when coming up with a story line. Here I'm thinking about the death of Frank Nitti (Billy Drago) as established in the movie, a major departure from the real event. Nitti actually committed suicide, despondent over indictments handed down for extorting the Hollywood film industry to avoid union problems while filming. The 'accidental' death of Nitti shown in the film may have added to the drama of a dedicated Eliott Ness (Kevin Costner), but if you know the real story, something like that only makes you groan.