The Untouchables The Dutch Schultz Story (1959–1963) Online

If anyone saw the movie "Billy Bathgate," starring Dustin Hoffman and Nicole Kidman, you know a little bit about "Dutch Schultz" (real name: Arthur Flegenheimer," as pointed out in this episode.) I probably saw this episode when it was aired 48 years ago but it was too long ago for me to remember it.

However, from the movie I remember the story of Schultz having his trial moved from New York City to a small town in upstate New York, where Schultz tried to schmooze his way with the locals to get a sympathetic jury.

This episode also was informative (how true it was, I can't say) regarding Dutch's rivalry with upstart gangster Charles "Lucky" Luciano, who took over from Schultz.

Elliott Ness and the Untouchables wind up playing both crooks against each other, and trying to nab Schultz on the same charge they got Al Capone: tax evasion.

Overall, this was a good episode because it had enough action, interesting characters and a very surprising ending.

Real life mobsters were often portrayed on "The Untouchables". However, the stories really have taken a lot of liberties with the actual criminals' lives and this one, like the Ma Barker and other episodes, is far from reality when it features Arthur Flegenheimer...otherwise known as Dutch Schultz.

In this episode, Ness wants to get Dutch Schultz. So, he decides that they need a man inside his organization, so Agent Flaherty (Jerry Paris) goes undercover and infiltrates the mob. Additionally, after he infiltrates, he tries to add fuel to a feud between Schultz and Lucky Luciano. Using evidence that they are able to obtain based on this contact, Ness and the Untouchables get evidence that will convict Schultz of tax evasion. However, after getting a change of venues to a small town, Schultz and his gang work hard to make a lot of friends in the city in order to get the jury to see him as a swell guy. And, when that doesn't work, he resorts to some dirty tricks...but Luciano is NOT pleased. Enjoyable and with some grains of truth but nothing more.

By the way, in real life Schultz was indicted for tax evasion. Instead, he ticked off other mobsters when he planned on killing Thomas Dewey, a federal prosecutor. He was murdered...found dead in a restaurant at age 34.

Hearing Walter Winchell's narrative of this story all I could think was that Winchell who was on the scene in New York when Dutch Schultz and Lucky Luciano were battling it out must have had a chuckle or three since he covered the real story in his column and it never included The Untouchables.

Both in Portrait Of A Mobster and Billy Bathgate where Vic Morrown and Dustin Hoffman play Schultz respectively you get the same story better and more elaborately told.

The main point of this story is the change of venue asked for by Schultz and his attorney for a fairer trial. The fictional town of Clearview was in reality Malone, New York, county seat of Franklin County near the Canadian border which up to that time best known for being the home of one of our more obscure Vice Presidents William A. Wheeler. What happened there as far as Schultz was concerned is as this episode and those two feature films show, he essentially bought the good will of the town and gained an acquittal.

However Lucky Luciano settled the rivalry permanently in his own way.

Lawrence Dobkin made the second of two appearances as Dutch Schultz who Robert Stack and his agents never had anything to do with his demise.