The Untouchables(1987)

R
1h 59m

Release Date: Jun 5, 1987 | Wide

83%
89%
A-
7.8

During Prohibition, Treasury agent Eliot Ness sets out to stop ruthless Chicago gangster Al Capone, and assembles a small, incorruptible team to help him.

Releases

Original Release | Jun 5, 1987

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Box Office Results

Updated as of Jul 27, 2026 08:19 PM ET

Results

Opening Weekend US & Canada:
$10,023,094
Total US & Canada:
$76,270,454
Total Worldwide:
$76,272,360

Current Showtimes

Your Location or

(U.S. Only)

Director & Top Cast

Brian De Palma
Director

Kevin Costner
Eliot Ness

Sean Connery
Jim Malone

Robert De Niro
Al Capone

Charles Martin Smith
Oscar Wallace

Andy Garcia
George Stone

Richard Bradford

Mike

Jack Kehoe

Payne

Brad Sullivan

George

Billy Drago

Nitti

Patricia Clarkson

Ness' Wife

Vito D’Ambrosio

Bowtie Driver

Steven Goldstein

Scoop

Peter Aylward

Lt. Anderson

Don Harvey

Preseuski

Robert Swan

Mountie Captain

John J. Walsh

Bartender

Del Close

Alderman

Technical Specifications

Sound Mix: Dolby Atmos

Aspect Ratio: 2.35 : 1

Other Details

Country of Origin: United States

Language: English

Summaries

Plot Summary

Prohibition in the United States has led to an organized crime wave in the 1920s and early 1930s. Various gangs bootleg vast amounts of alcohol. The problem is most serious in Chicago, where gang leader Al Capone (Robert De Niro) has almost the whole city (even the Mayor of Chicago) under his control and supplies poor-quality liquor at high prices. Treasury Department agent Eliot Ness (Kevin Costner) is put in charge of leading the crusade against Capone and his empire. Ness's initial strategy is to conduct raids using a large squad of uniformed officers, but his first attempt fails when he breaks into a warehouse storing parasols (Capone had been tipped off by one or more corrupt officers).Feeling dejected after the failed raid, Ness has a chance encounter with Jimmy Malone (Sean Connery), an incorruptible Irish beat cop who understands the way Capone does business and decides to ask for his help. Malone urges Ness to become as ruthless as the gangsters he wants to take down: "He pulls a knife; you pull a gun." Malone suggests that Ness recruit directly from the police academy in order to find team members who have not yet had a chance to come under Capone's influence. Italian American trainee George Stone, formerly Giuseppe Petri (Andy García), is enlisted for his superior marksmanship. Joined by Treasury accountant Oscar Wallace (Charles Martin Smith), detailed to Chicago from Washington to aide Ness, Ness has built an incorruptible team, capable of combating Capone.Their first raid takes place in a local post office whose storeroom is used to house Capone's illegal liquor. The raid succeeds without incident, though Capone later kills the man who had been in charge of that operation with a baseball bat at a large banquet of his top men. As the four pick up steam and become noted by the press, Wallace begins to probe the finances of the Capone organization. He believes that a feasible method of prosecution is through a tax evasion charge. At one point, Ness is visited by a Chicago alderman who is also under Capone's control. The alderman tries to bribe Ness into dropping the investigation, but Ness angrily rejects the offer and throws him out in full view of the team. As he leaves, he mockingly refers to them as "untouchable" and says that Capone, who is known as a cop-killer, can get to anyone he chooses, one way or another.The alderman's words prove to be true when Capone's chief hit man, Frank Nitti (Billy Drago), makes veiled threats toward Ness and his family outside his house, and drives off before Ness can capture him. Realizing that Capone has targeted him, Ness orders his wife and daughter moved to a safer place; Malone and Stone then bring word of a large whiskey shipment coming in from Canada, and the team flies north to set up a raid at the border.The team waits for some time for any sign of the shipment, coordinating their operation with a large squad of Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers During the raid, Ness's team attacks from the American side of the border while the Mounties, who launch their attack early, raid from Canada. The operation is still a success, intercepting the shipment and arresting or killing everyone involved. Stone is taken out of the action early one when he's shot in the shoulder but his injury seems to inspire Wallace, who vigorously takes down several of Capone's thugs and successfully charges one when his shotgun runs out of ammunition.Off the main road, Malone captures one of Capones bookkeepers, George (Brad Sullivan), and the team tries to persuade him to provide evidence against Capone. George initially refuses to cooperate, even after Malone assaults him. However, he changes his mind once Malone shoots a thug (who was actually already shot dead by Ness himself) in the mouth to frighten him. Enraged even further, Capone orders his men to hunt down and kill Ness (even Ness' family), knowing that with Ness dead, the Untouchables will be finished. Ness's wife, meanwhile, has just given birth to their second child, a boy they name John with a middle name of James, after Jimmy Malone.At the police station, where the Untouchables are being congratulated, Wallace prepares to escort George into protective custody. They both board a service elevator, however, they are both shot and killed by Nitti, disguised as the policeman operating the elevator; when the bodies are found, the word "TOUCHABLE" has been written on the wall in their blood. Ness is left with insufficient evidence to press charges.Malone tells Ness to stall the district attorney from dropping the case while he searches for information regarding Walter Payne, another of Capone's bookkeepers. A subpoena is issued for Payne, prompting Capone's men to make plans to get him out of town. After a brutal fistfight with Mike Dorsett, the corrupt police chief who sold out Wallace and George, Malone learns of the intended escape. Returning home and calling Ness to arrange a meeting, Malone is stalked by a knife-wielding thug, but quickly drives him out the back door at gunpoint. The stalker proves to have been bait for an ambush by Nitti, who shoots Malone with a barrage from a Tommy gun. He is barely alive when Ness and Stone find him, and he shows Ness which train Payne will be taking before dying in his arms.Ness and Stone arrive at Union Station and wait for Payne and his escorts. While Stone stalks off to check the rest of the station, Ness remains at the entrance. Ness watches from the top of a staircase and spots a woman with a baby carriage. She struggles with the carriage and suitcase on the stairs, several people passing her and not offering to help. Ness helps her reach the top of the stairs just as Capone's men and Payne arrive, prompting a fierce and bloody shootout. Ness inadvertently pushes the carriage down the stairs. Stone rushes back to assist and the two kill all of Capone's thugs except one and save the baby in the carriage. Only one of Capone's men is still alive and holds Payne hostage. Refusing to surrender, he's viciously shot through the mouth by Stone and Payne is captured.Payne testifies in court against Capone, admitting his role in channeling money to Capone over the last three years. Ness, however, notices Capone relaxed and even smiling, despite the probability of serving a long prison sentence, and also sees Nitti, who, while leaning forward to hand Capone a document, is carrying a concealed pistol in court. He takes Nitti out of the courtroom with the bailiff and discovers that Nitti has permission from the corrupt mayor of Chicago to carry the weapon. Ness then identifies Nitti as Malone's murderer after finding Malone's address on a matchbook in Nitti's pocket.Panicking, Nitti shoots the bailiff and runs up to the roof, exchanging gunfire with Ness all the way. Eventually, Ness gets Nitti in his sights, but cannot bring himself to shoot the man in cold blood. Nitti gives himself up to Ness, Ness telling him that he'll see him burn because he murdered Malone. Taunting Ness, Nitti tells Ness that Malone died "screaming like a stuck Irish pig" and that Ness should remember that when Nitti is set free. Ness becomes enraged and shoves Nitti off the roof. As Nitti plummets to the street, Ness shouts to the screaming thug, "DID HE SOUND ANYTHING LIKE THAT??" before smashes through the roof of a parked car, killing him.Back inside the courthouse, Stone shows Ness the document that Nitti had given to Capone in court. It shows bribes paid to the jurors, explaining Capone's relaxed mood. The judge has no intention of using it as evidence and is fully prepared to let Capone go free, inadvertently revealing his own corruption or fear of the crime boss. In a last-ditch effort, Ness talks the judge into doing the right thing, bluffing him into believing that the judge's name is among those in the bookkeeper's ledger of payoffs. As a result, the judge decides to switch the bribed jury with the one in another courtroom. Before the trial can continue, Capone's lawyer changes the plea of "not guilty" to one of "guilty" without Capone's consent. Capone is sentenced to 11 years in prison. Ness taunts Capone, who pretends not to hear as he is taken into custody.As he packs up his office, Ness contemplates the Saint Jude medallion that Malone had carried with him for many years (linked to his call box key), and which Malone had given to him before dying. Ness gives the medallion to Stone, reasoning that since Jude is the patron saint of police officers, Malone would have wanted him to have it. Out on the street, a reporter wishes to have a word from Ness, but Ness modestly downplays his role in the showdown. When the reporter mentions that Prohibition is due to be repealed and asks what Ness might do then, Ness responds, "I think I'll have a drink."

Storyline

Eliot Ness sets out to stop ruthless Chicago gangster Al Capone , and assembles a small, incorruptible team to help him. After building an empire with bootleg alcohol, legendary crime boss Al Capone rules Chicago with an iron fist. Though Prohibition Agent Eliot Ness attempts to take Capone down, even his best efforts fail due to widespread corruption within the Windy City's police force. Recruiting an elite group of lawmen who won't be swayed by bribes or fear, including Irish-American cop Jimmy Malone, Ness renews his determination to bring Capone to justice. — Jwelch5742 1920's prohibition Chicago is corrupt from the judges downward. So in going up against Al Capone, Treasury Agent Eliot Ness picks just two cops to help him and his accountant colleague. One is a sharp-shooting rookie, the other a seen-it-all beat man. The four of them are ready to battle Capone and his empire, but it could just be that guns are not the best way to get him. — Jeremy Perkins {J-26} A depiction of the mob warlord who ruled Prohibition-era Chicago, and the law enforcer who vowed to bring him down. Stars Kevin Costner as Eliot Ness, Robert De Niro as gangland kingpin Al Capone, Andy Garcia as officer George Stone, and Sir Sean Connery as Malone, the cop who teaches Ness how to beat the mob: shoot fast and shoot first. — Robert Lynch <docrlynch@yahoo.com> Young Treasury Agent Elliot Ness arrives in Chicago and is deternimed to take down Al Capone, but he learns that it's not going to be easy, because Capone has the police in his pocket. But Ness meets Jimmy Malone, a veteran patrolman and probably the most honorable one on the force. He asks Malone to help him get Capone, but Malone warns him that if he goes after Capone, he is going to war. They recruit academy cadet George Stone and Treasury Agent Oscar Wallace, who is also an accountant, who wants to prosecute Capone for tax evasion. When they make headway, Capone tries to get them, but they are untouchable. — rcs0411@yahoo.com