Where to watch The Untouchables (1987)

Trivia & production notes

• Playwright David Mamet wrote the original screenplay, with director Brian De Palma making minor rewrites during production, including relocating the Union Station shootout scene to replace a hospital sequence.
• The iconic Union Station shootout was designed as a homage to the Odessa Steps sequence from Sergei Eisenstein's 1925 film Battleship Potemkin.
• Robert De Niro wanted to gain 30 pounds to play Al Capone and was so concerned about how his face would appear that director De Palma contacted his original tailors to create identical suits and silk underwear for authenticity.
• De Palma paid Bob Hoskins £20,000 with a thank-you note after deciding to go with Robert De Niro for the role of Al Capone, prompting Hoskins to humorously ask if there were other films De Palma didn't want him in.
• Six major actors turned down the role of Eliot Ness before Kevin Costner was cast, including Don Johnson (De Palma's first choice), Mickey Rourke, Jeff Bridges, William Hurt, Harrison Ford, and Michael Douglas.
• Kevin Costner met with former FBI agent Al 'Wallpaper' Wolff at his home in Lincolnwood to research Ness's mannerisms and gain historical context for the role.
• Principal photography took place over several months starting in August 1986, with the Montana border crossing sequence filmed at the Hardy Bridge near Cascade, requiring the bridge to be closed for two weeks and 600 trees to be planted in a day and a half.
• The Lexington Hotel, Capone's actual residence, had been closed since 1980, so three different Chicago locations were used to portray it: Roosevelt University for the exterior, and the Chicago Theatre's upper foyer for Capone's suite.
• The character of IRS agent Oscar Wallace was partially based on real IRS investigator Frank J. Wilson, though unlike the film version, Wilson survived the investigation and later became involved in the Lindbergh kidnapping case.
• Patricia Clarkson made her film debut playing Ness's wife Catherine, and a young John Barrowman appeared uncredited as a street person.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article The Untouchables (film), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Rewritten for StreamShack; errors are ours — tell us about them.