History Buffs: The Untouchables

"You want to know how to beat Capone? He pulls a knife you pull a gun, he puts one of yours in hospital, you put one of his in the morgue"

Capone is always thought of as some older guy when in reality he was only in his 20's while running the mob.

Little known fact: Al Capone's 21st Birthday was January 17th, 1920. Prohibition officially started January 17th, 1920 - Al Capone's 21st birthday was the day prohibition went into effect.. So, Capone was 21-34 years old during prohibition era. He looks like an old guy in all the photos and when portrayed in movies, but he was younger than most people think he was. Also, just imagine losing the right to drink on your 21st birthday - that just had to suck.

RIP Maestro Ennio Morricone for such a beautiful score in this movie

You might be interested to know that Al Capone's long-lost brother Vincenzo was a Prohibition agent in Nebraska. I wrote a book about him called Two Gun Hart. (I'm working on getting it made into a movie, so hopefully you'll review it one day.)

One more minor historic inaccuracy... Near the end is a scene where Ness holds up his badge flanked by crates of bootleg whiskey featuring a bright red 10-point maple leaf, the symbol of Canada. Unfortunately that symbol was designed in the 60s. That red maple leaf design didn't exist until 1965 when Canada adopted the new flag. You're welcome.

My aunt was married to an enforcer. A Jewish gang under Capone’s control. She was an accountant for a Chicago hospital, also did the gang’s books. She met Capone many times, said he was a very nice man. Usually liked to act as a host in his clubs. Her husband Isidore Goldberg was killed cause he switched to another gangland accountant. She gave up her books to law enforcement. A contract was put out on her life to. They hid her for 2 weeks then got her out of town. Even in the late 60’s she was still scared about the gang.

R.I.P. Sean Connery

My favorite line from "The Untouchables": There are 106 miles to Chicago, we have a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses.

The entire Prohibition era, from conception to end, is one of the most fascinating and transparent examples of people being misdirected and happily swallowing it in history. It deserves far more attention an analysis than it's gotten.

I’ve always know The Untouchables wasn’t an accurate movie, but Kevin Costner, Sean Connery and a KILLER soundtrack make it a must have disc! ❤

That score for the untouchable movie is really dope..

The fact that you can recommend the movie, even tho it is so historically inaccurate is fantastic.

During my citizenship ceremony to add Canadian to English, we had a talk from a Canadian veteran. He mentioned that Southern Ontario (closest bordering Chicago) was dry during prohibition. He said how one could go into the local Chinese restaurant in his hometown and ask for tea in a specific way and get a beer. The story surprised me.

I have fond memories of seeing this film at the Esquire Theater in Chicago with my then-fiancé, a judge. At the suspenseful moment when the juries are switched, as the audience held its breath, he blurted out, “You can’t do that!” I tried to hide under my seat! Great memory.

I’m from Chicago. My great-grandfather was the very first cop on scene at the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.

5:29 Man: "Prohibition!" Woman in Crowd: Pops bottle of champagne

I remember an interview with Dan Ackroyd about The Untouchables. He mentioned a relative of his, an uncle I believe, was a member of the RCMP and said, "The Untouchable was a great movie, but the idea that the RCMP would ever lead a cavalry charge across a bridge is ludicrous."

"Without beer, prohibition doesn't work!" Homer Simpson

My uncle was a truck driver for Al Capone during the latter part of Prohibition. He did the gin runs from Chicago to Canada and back. Capone didn't like Black people but hired men like my uncle because he saw Black men as trustworthy. He also owned two Thompson. 45 submachine guns for protection against attacks on the road.