The Untouchables (TV Series) Murder Under Glass (1961) User Reviews

Adler Fun To Watch As Narcotics Crook

[ccthemovieman-1 · 8/10 · 24 November 2011]

Luther Adler once again shines in a guest-starring role, playing the debonair-but-deadly "Emile Bouchard".

There were several main crooks in this story: the aforementioned "Bouchard," "Pete Konitz" (Carl Milletaire), "Gil Haller" (Dennis Patrick) and "Frank Nitti," played effectively (as always) by Bruce Gordon. Not only are their multiple criminals involved, Elliott Ness and the boys do some traveling down south to New Orleans to solve this narcotics case.

Bouchard winds up being caught in the middle and it turns very dicey for him as both Nitti and Ness are watching him closely. It gets very tense.

On the cutting edge of crime

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 28 July 2012]

As Walter Winchell points out to us at the beginning, the promised repeal of Prohibition has forced the Capone mob, minus Capone to rethink its mission if you could call it. In organized crime like everything else you have to stay on the cutting edge.

So now Bruce Gordon and the mob are going into narcotics which is most unlikely to be legalized. But they have a problem with their main supplier Luther Adler who is playing games with Frank Nitti. They're down in New Orleans to size up the situation.

Which brings Eliot Ness and The Untouchables down to New Orleans to investigate as well. What everyone is concerned about is two hijacked shipments of uncut heroin.

Luther Adler who on the big and small screen played so many ethnic types that many could forget his origins in the Yiddish theater plays the French cajun boss of New Orleans crime with a good accent. I'm surprised in this Louisiana based story that Huey Long wasn't brought in somehow as he was Senator at the time. Of course that could be because Russell Long was the current Senator and Allen Ellender who was Speaker of the Louisiana house and a Long supporter was the other Senator.

It's always good to see Luther Adler in anything, check this out.

Emile Bouchard is one big idiot!! And, there's an odd plothole in this one...

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 4 May 2016]

I have seen all but perhaps one or two episodes of "The Untouchables" TV show and must say that Emile Bouchard (Luther Adler) is possibly the dumbest bad guy I've seen on the show. Imagine some local mobster trying to play hardball with Nitti and the Chicago mob and then DEMAND a piece of their action?! Insane...the guy is insane!

When the show begins, there's such a shortage of drugs in Chicago that Nitti is nervous...so nervous he personally flies to New Orleans to talk to his contact to find out why the drugs are not forthcoming. Emile Bouchard reminds him that the previous shipment was stolen...but more is coming soon. Well, when soon comes it, too, is stolen! Now Nitti's guys he left behind are beside themselves...if the heroin doesn't come soon they, too, could end up dead. Now here's the rub...soon Bouchard admits to them that he's been stealing his own shipments and the mob will get nothing unless they cut him in for a percentage of their business.

There are two problems with this otherwise enjoyable episode. Luther Adler's Creole accent comes and goes...and while he's usually a fine actor, he's not at his best. Second, and more importantly, why would Bouchard kill two people and stage all this 'stolen drugs' routine when in the end he just admitted to being behind this? Why the ruse...why not just have him demand more at the outset? This didn't really make a lot of sense. The third problem, and it's less a plothole but one of personal weakness and stupidity, why try to shakedown Frank Nitti?! He's gotta know that he'll be assuming room temperature!!

Overall, enjoyable but not the most thought out or intelligently written episode...but I did really enjoy the sequence near the end with Ness in the car cross-examining Bouchard...classic.