Le Retour d'Eliot Ness

Robert Stack returns to his most famous role in this return of (the fictional) Eliot Ness.

Being a fan who has the entire early 60's TV series, I can state that Robert Stack does a good job of bringing back his no-nonsense crime-buster characterization. True, Stack appears a bit stiff, and he has of course, aged...But then the story takes place in 1947, so Ness himself has aged since his early 1930's Chicago days.

The plot involves Ness returning to Chicago for the funeral of an old friend and former "Untouchable" who has been shot dead and is now reputed to be corrupt. Ness objects and begins to investigate, uncovering a twisting trail filled with old foes and young mobsters who think that Ness is Over The Hill.

Of course, Ness proves to be far from a fossil and it's good to see Robert Stack with a Fedora and a Tommy Gun again.

I would recommend this for any fan of The Untouchables, if only as a good sentimental "final chapter" to the series' 118 episodes. The television Ness has a style that's extremely enjoyable, even though the REAL Eliot Ness was not the man that Stack portrayed (the real Ness has yet to see Justice done him in any form besides noted author/historian Max Allan Collins' excellent series of Eliot Ness Mysteries)...

"The Untouchables" series stands as the finest sustained example of Film Noir ever done, and "The Return Of Eliot Ness" is...His Last Case.

"The Return of Eliot Ness" is a made for TV film that appears to be trying to possibly revive the old TV series. This isn't all htat surprising since in 1987, the movie version of "The Untouchables" scored big at the box office.

The story picks up about 15 years after the original TV series. Ness (still Robert Stack) has retired from the Treasury Department but he feels compelled back into investigating crime after an old partner of his is murdered. The killers made it look like the dick was on the take...but Ness knows better. So, he teams up with the dead man's son and begins to cause waves....hoping to learn more about the dead man's death.

So is it any good? Well, it's okay...but doesn't quite capture the original look and spirit of the old show. I think filming it in black & white, using some of the original music, and having a narrator who is reminscent of Walter Winchell would have really helped. As a result, it's interesting but nothing special...and I can see why a series never followed.

By the way, it shouldn't affect how much you enjoy the film but pretty much everything from the TV show and various movies is fictional. The real Ness wrote a book, "The Untouchables", but the various versions of his life strayed far and wide from the truth.

Good try for us Untouchables Fans. I loved the cars! But every single vehicle looked like it just rolled out of the showroom! Not a bad plot! I was totally engaged, and was thrilled that Robert Stack hadn't lost his deadpan portrayal of Elliot Ness. Too bad Walter Winchell wasn't around to narrate.