The Untouchables - Season 1: Volumes 1 and 2[DVD][1959]

It's nearly fifty years since the Untouchables first hit the TV screens, but it still stands up well as exciting drama. The show ran from 1959 to 1963 on American TV and I remember watching it in the mid sixties here in the UK - a highlight of late night ITV. Altogether there were 118 50 minute episodes, mostly set in the early thirties, and were based on the book by Elliot Ness. This collection contains the complete first series of 28 episodes plus an additional feature length introduction called "The Scarface Mob" which combines the two part pilot into a film version. There is also an episode of "The Lucy Show", in which Lucy plays a Moll, as a bonus feature - the programmes were made by Lucy's Desilu Productions.

The material was previously issued in two volumes which is why this complete season 1 release is called volumes 1 and 2. The black and white prints have been beautifully restored and look fresh and vibrant; the mono sound limits the impact a bit but still sounds good for its age.

The Scarface Mob sets the scene and sees the final days of Al Capone in Chicago and the formation of the Untouchables. Later episodes introduce us to characters such as Dutch Schultz, Vinnie "Mad Dog" Coll and George "Bugs" Moran. There are also early appearances of actors such as Jack Lord and Lee Van Cleef - many other famous personalities appear in later series.

The semi-documentary style is enhanced by news man Walter Winchell's narration, and any time a bar mirror or shop window appears you can bet a burst of Tommy Gun fire will follow shortly to reduce it to fragments! Although there is quite a lot of violence it is very stylised and less graphic in black and white, hence the "12" rating.

Series two is now also available in the U.S. in Region 1 and will hopefully be released in the U.K. in 2009. Meanwhile, enjoy the complete first series of this classic gangster show in this good looking release. There is a useful summary of each of these episodes on Wikipedia if you check The Untouchables (1959 TV series).

Until recently, only Series 1 and 2 were available as legitimate releases. I'm afraid I got conned by one of those awful US "complete series" box sets ads under Sponsored Links and instead got cheap dvd transfers of someone's own home videotape recordings, many not even complete episodes. They get away with this, BTW, by claiming that these are "in the public domain"!

My favorite crime series as a kid but, although still gripping on viewing again for the first time more than 40 years on, the thing that most strikes you is the utter stupidity of the gangsters when shooting it out with the feds i.e. don't stay where you're safe, move out into the open to become sitting ducks! The good guys are also surprisingly unsympathetic and show very little humanity or emotion throughout.

Excellent series, just as one remembers it. Acting and scenes quite believable, a good idea of how it was in the 20's & 30's. Now - when are the rest of the 118 episodes to be released (there were four series originally). Compulsive viewing for this era of U.S history.