Directed by: Brian De Palma
Starring: Robert De Niro, Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Andy Garcia
Revealing mistake: When they are on the bridge between USA and Canada one of Capone's men is shot (in the breast) by the rail of the bridge. Seen from outside the bridge you can clearly see that the stuntman is not falling, but he is jumping off the bridge.
Revealing mistake: When Malone is shot in the alley, he turns around and a square bulgy thing protrudes underneath his shirt, obviously the blood squib.
Continuity mistake: When Eliot Ness is at Jim Malone's house for the first time, Malone's collar is opened, then buttoned, then open again.
Elliot Ness: I have one more thing to say. I know that many of you take a drink. What you've done before today is not my concern. But now we must be pure and I want you to stop. It's not a question of whether or not it's a harmless drink, it may very well be, but it's against the law, gentlemen, and as we are going to enforce the law, we must do first by example.
Trivia: As the stroller is going down the stairs in the train station it is a reference to the staircase scene in "Battleship Potemkin" in which a stroller similarly falls down a flight of steps while the horrified mother looks on.
Question: How accurate is the portrayal of the Untouchables, when it comes to names and numbers? Were there actually only four of them? Do Garcia, Connery and Smith play actual people or fictive ones?
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Answer: It's about 50% truth and 50% fiction. Ness, Al Capone, and Frank Nitty are real, of course, but the characters played by Connery, Garcia, and Smith are fictional. Ness started out with 50 candidates for his 'Untouchables' force. This was whittled down to 15 finalists and from that he selected 9 agents (none of which has the same name as the characters played by Connery, Garcia, and Smith). It's true that Capone was convicted for tax evasion. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison, but received an early release because he was in the last stages of syphilis. He died shortly after being released from prison.
raywest ★
Capone lived for 8 years upon his release from prison. The 8 years being slightly longer than the actual prison time he served, which was just over 7 years. He died, having the mental capabilities of a 12-year-old.