The Untouchables (1987) - Quotes

Preparedness in the Face of Challenge

Taglines: What are you prepared to do?

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The Chicago Dream is Ambitious and Vast

Taglines: The Chicago Dream is that big.

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The Rise and Fall of Al Capone

Taglines: AL CAPONE. He ruled Chicago with absolute power. No one could touch him. No one could stop him. - Until Eliot Ness and a small force of men swore they'd bring him down.

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Perseverance in the Face of Adversity

Taglines: Never stop fighting till the fight is done

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Reactions to the Possible Repeal of Prohibition

Reporter: They say they're going to repeal Prohibition soon. What will you do then?

Ness: Very likely, I'll do the same thing everybody else will do...I'll go out for a drink.

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Perseverance in the Face of Adversity

Ness: Never stop-- Never stop fighting till the fight is done.

Capone: What'd he say? What'd you say?

Ness: I said, "Never stop fighting till the fight is done"!

Capone: What?

Ness: You heard me, Capone. It's over!

Capone: C'mon! You're nothing but a lot of talk and a badge!

Ness: Here endeth the lesson.

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Confrontation Fueled by Grief and Anger

Ness: [referring to Malone] I'm going to see you burn, you son of a bitch, because you killed my friend!

Nitti: He died like a pig.

Ness: What did you say?

Nitti: [Walks off, combing his hair. Ness, enraged, grabs him and pushes him off the roof; he falls, screaming] I said that your friend died screaming like a stuck Irish pig! Now you think about that when I beat the rap. Hey! HEY!

Ness: DID HE SOUND ANYTHING LIKE THAT?!

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Confrontation Over Indifference to Violence

Thug: Something you want here?

Ness: My friend was killed today.

Thug: I don't care.

Ness: You don't care?

Ness: [to Capone] Now he does. Come on here, Capone! You want to fight? You and me, right here?! That's it, come on! What's the matter? You afraid to come out from behind your men, you afraid to stand up for yourself?!

Capone: You want to do it now?! You want to go to the mat now?!

Ness: Yeah! Come on, you Guinea son-of-a-bitch!

Capone: What?!

Thug: Easy!

Capone: You talk to me like that in front of my son?! Fuck you and your family!

Ness: Fu--

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Clashing Perspectives on Law Enforcement Methods

Mountie Captain: Mr. Ness! I do not approve of your methods.

Ness: Yeah? Well, you're not from Chicago.

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The Weight of Life and Death

Ness: I had to kill him.

Malone: Oh, yeah. He's as dead as Julius Caesar.

Malone: Would you rather it was you?

Ness: No, I would not.

Malone: Well, then, you've done your duty. Go home and sleep well tonight.

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Confusion over a call box key

Ness: What is that?

Malone: [surprised] What is that?

Ness: Yes, what is it?

Malone: [shows medallion, with a key on the chain] God, I'm with the heathen. That is my call box key, and that is St. Jude.

Stone: Santo Jude. He's the patron saint of the lost causes.

Malone: And policemen.

Ness: Patron saint of policemen?

Malone: Everybody needs a friend.

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Federal Officers Conduct a Raid

Malone: [Enters and fires into the air] Federal officers!

Ness: Get your hands in the air! Nobody move!

Malone: This is a raid!

Ness: Everybody into the center of the room!

Hood: What are you doing here?

Malone: All this stuff is impounded! You're all under arrest!

Hood: Hey, this isn't right! Hey, this is no good! You got a warrant?

Malone: [Punches him twice in the stomach. He collapses] Sure, here's my warrant! How do you think he feels now? Better? Or worse?

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Planning a Liquor Raid

Malone: [at the post office] Well, here we are.

Ness: What are we doing here?

Malone: Liquor raid.

Ness: [looking at the police station across the street] Here?

Malone: Mr. Ness, everybody knows where the booze is. The problem isn't finding it, the problem is who wants to cross Capone.

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Identity and Origins in The Untouchables

Malone: [piercingly] Where are you from, Stone?

Stone: [smiling] From the South Side.

Malone: Stone?" "George Stone?" That's your name? What's your real name?

Stone: That is my real name.

Malone: Nah, what was it before you changed it?

Stone: [his smile fading] Giuseppe Petri.

Malone: Geez, I knew it! That's all you need, one thievin Wop on the team!

Stone: [offended] What's that you say?

Malone: I said that you're a lyin member of a no-good race!

Stone: [coldly] It's much better than you, you stinkin Irish pig.

Malone: [to Ness] Oh, I like him.

Ness: Yeah, I like him too.

Malone: You just joined the Treasury Department, son.

Stone: [smiles] Yeah, okay.

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Determining Commitment in the Pursuit of Justice

Malone: [Ness nods; pause] You said you wanted to know how to get Capone. Do you really want to get him? You see what I'm saying? What are you prepared to do?

Ness: Everything within the law.

Malone: And then what are you prepared to do? If you open the ball on these people, Mr. Ness, you must be prepared to go all the way. Because they won't give up the fight, until one of you is dead.

Ness: I want to get Capone. I don't know how to get him.

Malone: You want to get Capone? Here's how you get him. He pulls a knife? You pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital? You send one of his to the morgue! That's the Chicago way, and that's how you get Capone! Now, do you want to do that? Are you ready to do that? I'm making you a deal. Do you want this deal?

Ness: I have sworn to put this man away with any and all legal means at my disposal, and I will do so.

Malone: [shakes Ness' hand] Well, the Lord hates a coward. Do you know what a blood oath is, Mr. Ness?

Ness: Yes.

Malone: Good, because you just took one.

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Alderman's Congratulations to Ness

Ness: We have several operations in the works, so we're rather busy, Alderman. What can we do for you?

Alderman: I came up to congratulate you on a job well done. Share your good fortune on such a lovely day.

Ness: What's that?

Ness: What is that?

Alderman: Mr. Ness, you're an educated man. Let me pay you the compliment of being blunt. There's a large, a large and popular business that you are causing dismay. Why don't you just cross the street and let things take their course?

Ness: [Summoning the team; as the team enters; picking up the bribe and throwing it at the Alderman] Would you come in here please? In Roman times, when a fellow was convicted of trying to bribe a public official, they would cut off his nose, and sew him in a bag with a wild animal, and throw that bag in the river. You tell your master that we must agree to disagree!

Alderman: You're making a mistake.

Ness: Yeah I know, well I've made them before I'm beginning to enjoy them.

Alderman: You fellows are untouchable, is that the thing? No one can get to you? Hey, everyone can be gotten to.

Ness: You tell Capone, that I'll see him in hell.

Capone's Perspective on Power and Public Will

Reporter: An article, which I believe appeared in a newspaper, asked why, since you are, or it would seem that you are, in effect, the mayor of Chicago, you've not simply been appointed to that position.

Capone: Well, I'll tell ya, you know, it's touching. Like a lot of things in life, we laugh because it's funny and we laugh because it's true. Now, some people will say - reformers, they'll say, Put that man in jail! What does he think he is doing? Well, what I hope I'm doing, and here's where your English paper's got a point, is - I'm responding to the will of the people.

Al Capone's Assertion of Power and Threat

Al Capone: [to Ness] You got nothing. You're nothing but a lot of talk and a badge! You hear me? Cause you got nothing! You got nothing in court, you don't got the bookkeeper, you got NOTHING! NOTHING! And if you were a man, you would've done it now! You don't got a thing, you punk!

Consequences of Betrayal and Respect

Al Capone: [to reporters] I'm gonna tell you something. Somebody messes with me? I'm gonna mess with him. Somebody steals from me? I'm gonna say you stole, not talk to him for spittin on the sidewalk. Y'understand? Now, I have done nothing to hurt these people, but they're angered at me, so what do they do? Doctor up some "income tax", for which they got no case. To annoy me. To speak to me like men? No. To harass a peaceful man. I pray to God if I ever had a grievance I would have just a little more self respect. I'll tell you one more thing. You got an all-out prizefight? You wait until the fight is over, one guy's left standing, and that's how you know who won.

Al Capone's Intense Demand for Revenge

Al Capone: I want you to get this fuck where he breathes! I want you to find this Nancy-boy Eliot Ness, I want him dead! I want his family dead! I want his house burned to the ground! I wanna go there in the middle of the night and I wanna piss on his ashes!

The Balance of Individualism and Teamwork

Al Capone: [grabs a baseball bat; Beats his henchman to death with his bat] Life goes on. A man becomes preeminent, he's expected to have enthusiasms. Enthusiasms... Enthusiasms... What are mine? What draws my admiration? What is that which gives me joy? Baseball! A man stands alone at the plate. This is the time for what? For individual achievement. There he stands alone. But in the field, what? Part of a team. Teamwork.... Looks, throws, catches, hustles - part of one big team. Bats himself the live-long day, Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, and so on. If his team don't field... what is he? You follow me? No one! Sunny day, the stands are full of fans. What does he have to say? "I'm goin out there for myself. But... I get nowhere unless the team wins.

Power and Reputation in Tough Environments

Al Capone: I grew up in a tough neighborhood. And we used to say, "You can get further with a kind word and a gun than you can with just a kind word." And in that neighborhood, it might've been true. And sometimes a reputation follows you. There is violence in Chicago, of course. But not by me, and not by anybody who works for me, and I'll tell you why: because it's not good business.

The Perspective of a Businessman

Al Capone: [after being told about an article describing him as the mayor of Chicago in all but name] Well, I tell you, you know, it's touching. Like a lot of things in life, we laugh because it's funny, and we laugh because it's true. Some people say, reformers here say, "Put that man in jail, what does he think he is doing?" Well, what I hope I'm doing, and here's where your English paper's got a point, is I'm responding to the will of the people. People are gonna drink! You know that, I know that, we all know that, and all I do is act on that. And all this talk of bootlegging - what is bootlegging? On a boat, it's bootlegging. On Lake Shore Drive, it's hospitality. I'm a businessman!

Cultural Tensions in a Heated Confrontation

Jim Malone: [chasing a knife-armed thug out of his house with a shotgun] Isn't that just like a Wop? Brings a knife to a gunfight! Get outta here, you Dago bastard! Go on, get your ass outta here!

Patience and Observation in the Job

Jim Malone: [to Ness, preparing for the liquor raid at the border] Take it easy...take it easy! It'll all happen in time. This is the job. Don't wait for it to happen. Don't even want it to happen. Just watch what does happen.

Family Loyalty in Difficult Times

Jim Malone: [When asked about if a cop is trustworthy] Well, he'd better be - he's my cousin.

Caution Against Risky Choices

Jim Malone: [about finding a team member not under Capone's influence] If you're afraid of getting a rotten apple, don't go to the barrel. Get it off the tree.

Secrets and Police Work Rules

Jim Malone: That's the second rule of police work. If you want to keep a secret, don't tell the boss.

The First Rule of Law Enforcement

Jim Malone: You just fulfilled the first rule of law enforcement: Make sure when your shift is over, you go home alive.

Chicago's Unpleasant Atmosphere Described by Malone

Jim Malone: [to Ness] Welcome to Chicago. This town stinks like a whorehouse at low tide.

A Personal Reckoning of Morality and Justice

Eliot Ness: I have foresworn myself. I have broken every law I have sworn to uphold, I have become what I beheld and I am content that I have done right!