.... but probably golden sepia, it looked odd but dazzling. This was quite an unusual find on "Best of TV Detectives". Obviously made hoping to compete with the hugely successful "The Untouchables", it almost succeeded, lasting 45 episodes and it copied the more famous show in naming the episodes - "The Cutie Jaffe Story", "The Poison Ivy Story" etc. It starred James Gregory who played Barney Ruditsky, head of the FBI's Gangster Squad in the 1920s - the lawless years. He also played a big part in breaking up Murder Incorporated and was a technical adviser on the show.
The problem for me was with the half hour episodes the show was over before it got started and there was no detail of characterization. Typical was "The Dutch Schultz Story" - he was in a couple of scenes but the main story was about the mob's plan to ambush crime crusader Thomas E. Dewey and how it came unstuck. The time line was off too - everything was supposed to have happened in 1929 but this particular event really happened in the mid 1930s. Another episode, "Lucky Silva" told how the Mafia tried to gain prominence in the mid 1920s. Martin Landau had the title role (obviously derived from Lucky Luciano). It was not a series where you will find many later stars in smaller roles.
Two of the better episodes, I thought, were "The Morrison Story", about a corrupt judge wanting to make amends and "The Poison Ivy Story" about a gang of young punks who terrorized Brooklyn in the mid 1920s by holding up little delis. Worth a look.
The problem for me was with the half hour episodes the show was over before it got started and there was no detail of characterization. Typical was "The Dutch Schultz Story" - he was in a couple of scenes but the main story was about the mob's plan to ambush crime crusader Thomas E. Dewey and how it came unstuck. The time line was off too - everything was supposed to have happened in 1929 but this particular event really happened in the mid 1930s. Another episode, "Lucky Silva" told how the Mafia tried to gain prominence in the mid 1920s. Martin Landau had the title role (obviously derived from Lucky Luciano). It was not a series where you will find many later stars in smaller roles.
Two of the better episodes, I thought, were "The Morrison Story", about a corrupt judge wanting to make amends and "The Poison Ivy Story" about a gang of young punks who terrorized Brooklyn in the mid 1920s by holding up little delis. Worth a look.