MovieChat Forums > The Untouchables (1987) Discussion > That last line made me hate Ness

That last line made me hate Ness

posted 16 years ago by SaulGoodman
87 replies | jump to latest

Reporter: Word is they're going to repeal Prohibition. What'll you do then?
Ness: I think I'll have a drink.

So you broke every law in the book, killed dozens of people, endagered the lives of countless innocents, risked the lives of your family, saw two of your friends die, all to enforce a law you didn't care about?

That glib remark made me hate that character. You might say he upholds the law without questioning it, it's not his place to decide which laws to uphold, he's a faithful government servant. Except that he isn't and he does choose which laws to uphold and which to break (including some fairly important ones about murder).

You might say he was justified because he took down Capone, but that is *beep* Capone was only as powerful as he was because of prohibition. That final line makes Ness look like a power mad, unthinking, murderering, contemptable *beep*

[–] SeisCinemaSeis 14 years ago

Actually I think that's a great line. It shows you that Ness wasn't against alcohol "per se", he was just doing his job honestly regardless if he was agree with that particular law or not; unlike almost every other corrupt cop in town.
As the latin saying goes: "Dura lex sed lex".

[–] arksun1 14 years ago

Agreed, its the perfect line to end the movie.

SaulGoodman , I think you've completely misunderstood Ness. His aim was to take down Capone and by any means necessary, especially after reading about the death of that poor kid as he has kids of his own . Because too many innocent people were being killed.

You could argue then hey, maybe Elliot Ness should have spent his time campaigning to make alcohol legal. But even if it had become legal, Capone would have still been a ruthless protection racket running murderer with many fingers in illegal pies, he was already a big crime lord by then.

""That final line makes Ness look like a power mad, unthinking, murderering, contemptable *beep* ""

No it doesn't, your logic is extremely bizarre SaulGoodman.
Ness breaking the law himself was worth the price to pay for getting Capone in jail. When Ness gave that line at the end, Capone was already guilty, he was going to jail, and what better way to help ensure a new Capone doesn't come along to replace him?, by making alcohol legal and controlled by legitimate businessess.

Hell if I was in his shoes I would drink to that!. :)

[–] lylesanford 14 years ago

This happens all the time. It doesn't matter if lawmen like a law or not, and this was famously popular during prohibition. Alcohol was very popular before it was outlawed, among citizens and policemen. Suddenly, it was illegal to drink or possess. Police and federal lawmen were required to abide by the new law. In other words, Ness was only doing his job as a professional would. At th end of the movie, when Ness is told that the stuff may become legal again, he shows a favorable opinion toward booze.

The last line just shows Ness' respect for the law.

[–] Dr_Julius_Strangepork 9 years ago

It was not illegal to possess alcohol during Prohibition. It was illegal to manufacture, transport, or sell it.

[–] fico_of_arboria 14 years ago

I'd say he wasn't a hypocrite; Ness was after Capone, a gangster, murderer, money launderer etc etc and was collating the evidence he could in order to nail him. The most obvious was to target alcohol, as it happens they got him for tax evasion. In every town there are names you go after, and you know what they've done, but it's what you can prove that counts.

[–] MovieAlien 14 years ago

Not sure if this has been mentioned yet, but it should also be worth pointing out that the booze marketed by Capone wasn't real booze but cheap alcohol made to be a whiskey derivative, poison essentially. Capone was correct about his insinuation that Prohibition wouldn't stop people from drinking alcoholic beverages. However, Capone exploited Prohibition by selling his hazardous knock-off beverages, bribing officials to turn the other cheek and placing hits on business owners who didn't buy his product.

Did Ness break laws to get to Capone? Absolutely. But as far as the lesser of two evils go, Ness was a patron saint compared to Capone.

The case against Capone had nothing to do with just breaking the laws of Prohibition. If Capone imported Scottish Whiskey, German lager or French champagne and sold it to private individuals without intimidation or violence, there would be no Ness, Malone, Stone, etc. There was nothing offensive or out of place about Ness' last line.

[–] jarretto101 14 years ago

I thought Capone killing people was pretty bad too. You make it sound as if Ness only wanted Capone because of the alcohol, it may of started off like that but apparently everyone knew he was killing people

[–] dlmedley2003 14 years ago

'You might say he upholds the law without questioning it, it's not his place to decide which laws to uphold, he's a faithful government servant.'

No surprise to me that young people can't see the true beauty of real public service when they voted in a MONSTER like Obama...

Because of Brandy I can never pursue my dreams, have a girlfriend or MI(ly) worship freely...

[–] marktayloruk (2427) 2 years ago

I thought Obama did a good job.

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] msteph2 14 years ago

bad ending line...

I was a professional twice over - an analyst and a therapist. The world's first analrapist

[–] hyf2112 14 years ago

The only person we saw Ness actually kill in cold blood was Nitti, and frankly that was in the heat of the moment. Nitti had a note in his pocket from the MAYOR giving him basically the right to carry and use a gun. There was no way he would've been convicted in that town. All the others killed were in defense of his life or other lives. His order to Stone to shoot the thug holding the bookkeeper was justifiable as a defense shooting. The raids without warrants are another matter. Though the only raids shown in the film were the warehouse, the Post Office, and the bridge meeting. Just because it wasn't actually shown in the movie didn't mean he didn't have warrants. Sure he broke the law, but he did it defending the people of Chicago and taking down one of the most ruthless gangsters in American history. Besides this is a film based on a book. I doubt it is anywhere close to 100% accurate to the real-life events. Personally I enjoyed the last line. He'd put Al Capone away, he'd lost his good friend and mentor, he'd just had a baby. All good reasons to want a good drink!! Personally my biggest beef with the movie was the whole jury-switching scene. Now that just seems completely illegal and laughable.

[–] spaniardo73 14 years ago

His personal opinion of the law was irrelevant. The point was that Capone was killing and intimidating innocent people in order to get rich from the bootlegging of a then illegal substance.

It was easier to chase after Capone and link him to the illegal bootlegging (or the tax evasion) than it was to connect him to the murder of innocents.

His goal was to end Capone.

[–] gomulkaa 14 years ago

The final line was fine and totally appropriate.

It's simple: Eliot Ness swore to uphold the law, which he did unconditionally. He wasn't opposed to the idea of consuming alcohol but rather the breaking of a federal law that was written into the Constitution. Once the law was amended, it was no longer his duty to enforce this.

He was a law enforcement agent, not America's conscience.

[–] bluesman-20 14 years ago

Eliot Ness had been quoted many times saying he saw nothing wrongwith drinking But it was illegal and against the law for people to drink.
Ness was a cop and he upheld the law even in his book he stated that he didn't agree with the law but the people spoke out and wanted it and as a law enforcer he was to enforce those laws his opinion didn't matter.
THAT"S what made Eliot Ness a great Agent his own opinions never entered into matters if it was illegal it was illegal the law was the law.
But once Prohibition was repealed you can bet Ness took advantage of it.

[–] Dr_Julius_Strangepork 9 years ago

I keep seeing this comment in this thread. It was NOT illegal to drink during Prohibition. It was illegal to manufacture, transport, or sell it.