Episode
The Untouchables: The Big Train (1)
Overview
Movie: ""The Alcatraz Express"" (Disclaimer shown on screen) ""The events portrayed in this film are fictitious. The Federal Prison guards portrayed do not represent any actual persons, living or dead. ""Nothing herein is intended to reflect unfavorably on the courageous and responsible prison guards who supervised Capone during his internment in the Federal Penitentiary in Atlanta and during his transfer from Atlanta to Alcatraz.
Details
- Series
- The Untouchables
- Season
- Season 2
- Episode
- Episode 12
- Air date
- 1961-01-05
- Runtime
- 60 min
Episode context
The Big Train (1) is Episode 12 in Season 2 of The Untouchables. It aired on 1961-01-05. The runtime is 60 min.
Previous / Next
Episode 11: The Tommy Karpeles Story
May 8, 1931. The special U.S. mail train, coming from Rock Island, is stopped by emergency flares on the tracks in Hillsdale, Illinois. Gangsters wearing Army gas masks lob tear gas grenades into the train; they shoot a postal clerk and make off with a million dollars in negotiable securities. 3 months later, ""Tough"" Tommy Karpeles, former big-time Chicago hoodlum, is arrested for complicity in the case; his 2 accomplices were not caught.
Episode 13: The Big Train (2)
Movie: ""The Alcatraz Express"" (continued)
Sunday, August 19, 1934. At 2:30 a.m., the Big Train is backed into the prison yard of the State Pen in Atlanta. 54 hardened criminals, including Al Capone and Tony Diaz, are handcuffed and loaded onto the train. On board are prison guards armed with machine-guns. Once seated, the prisoners are additionally given leg shackles and told to put them on. Then, at 5:00 a.m., the Big Train pulls out-- right on schedule.
More episodes from this season
Episode 10: The Otto Frick Story
The night of May 3rd, 1934. A traveling carnival is at the Midway, 35 miles outside of Cleveland. There are half a dozen bellydancers on stage, as the barker goes, ""Hurry, hurry, hurry,"" and a sign reads: ""One dime shows you the best hootchy koochy show in the world!"" Hans Eberhardt, twice convicted for armed robbery and dope peddling, spots Ness and his Untouchables and the local police about to pull a raid; he runs to the office trailer of carny Otto Frick.
Episode 14: The Masterpiece
Chicago, December 1931. With Al Capone in prison, the bootlegging part of his empire was split in 2. One of Capone's lieutenants, Mayer Wartel, acquired the speakeasies; another lieutenant, Karl Positan, acquired the breweries and distilleries. In an attempt to take over the entire operation, Positan withholds his whiskey and beer; the number of speaks flourishing drops to an all-time Prohibition low. Eliot Ness and his men keep an eye on the situation.
Nitti's plenty sore.
Episode 9: The Larry Fay Story
New York, April 1931. Gangster Larry Fay, a former student of Al Capone, has his greasy fists firmly in the milk racket: he's organized milk companies into a monopoly. The price of milk was 10 cents a quart* (this was during the Depression when many people made 30 cents an hour); he increases the price 3 cents a quart-- with 2 cents going directly into Larry Fay's pockets.
Episode 15: The Organization
Chicago. November 9, 1932. Al Capone was in prison, and Frank Nitti was running his Organization. But other crime overlords were ready to take over; the biggest was Joe Kulak, from St. Louis. Joe Kulak was called ""The Teacher"" because he had trained so many Underworld bigshots, and given them their start. Eliot Ness and his men keep tabs on Kulak from the moment he arrives in the Windy City.
Episode 8: Kiss of Death Girl
Chicago, September 8, 1932. That night, a convoy of 4 trucks, which had crossed the Canadian border, are driving towards Chicago; they are hauling 1,000 cases of Canadian scotch, valued at over $100,000. Ness and his Untouchables have set up a roadblock just outside of town. 7-8 miles up ahead of Ness there is another roadblock, set up by gangster Phil Corbin, owner of Chicago's Club Continental; he's waiting with his boys to hijack the convoy.
Episode 16: The Jamaica Ginger Story
On the night of May 25, 1931, 2 trucks are rolling into K.C., carrying $1-million worth of Jamaica Ginger rotgut, also known as ""Ginger Jake."" The trucks are owned by Rafael Torrez, gangster and race horse trainer, who has a monopoly on the Jamaica Ginger. Rival crime boss Jerry LaCarver, wanting in on the enormous profits, is ready to hijack the trucks, along with his gang of 5 hoods: the 2 notorious Roth brothers, Andy Bello (alias Louis Belmont), Richie Peters and Wally Heilman. They hijack the trucks with dynamite and shotguns.
Episode 7: The Purple Gang
Detroit, August 1932. The notorious Purple Gang-- long synonymous with terror in beer, booze, labor and prostitution-- gets into a new racket: kidnapping. They specialize in snatching other members of the underworld, since they can't go to the police for help. So far, they've kidnapped 9 hoods (the latest mug is Rocky Garver), for a total of 100 grand.
Episode 17: Augie The Banker Ciamino
Summer 1931, Chicago. Eliot Ness and his Untouchables had smashed most of the big breweries owned by the mobsters. But racketeers, taking advantage of the poverty and desperation of many immigrants, forced them to make a gallon of whiskey a day in small stills in their homes-- makeshift stills which could be put together for less than $3. The absolute boss of Little Italy is Augie ""The Banker"" Ciamino, and with whiskey pouring out of 1,000 tenement stills, he was cancelling the gains that Ness had made.
Episode 6: A Seat on the Fence
Chicago, late Summer 1932. Eliot Ness and his men had stemmed the supply of narcotics coming into the Windy City from Asia and southern Europe. Now the Underworld was using new ways to supply the city's 5,000 dope addicts. The Syndicate was robbing drugstores, doctors' offices, wholesale drug houses-- any place which kept a supply of painkilling drugs.
Episode 18: The Underground Court
September 8, 1934. A cruise ship from Cuba to New Jersey has caught fire. There are over 300 passengers on board; some of the passengers and crew are jumping overboard to avoid the flames. Ness and his men, on assignment in New Jersey, speed to get there when the ship docks; Ness has an arrest warrant for Valentine Ferrar, racketeer and founder of the Big Syndicate. Valentine Ferrar had been in Cuba, picking up a million bucks collection money for the Syndicate.