The Empty Chair
- Episode aired Oct 15, 1959
- 52m
IMDb RATING
8.0/10
185
YOUR RATING
With Capone in prison, Frank Nitti tries to grab the open top spot in the empire. But Capone's bookkeeper is giving him a run for his money.With Capone in prison, Frank Nitti tries to grab the open top spot in the empire. But Capone's bookkeeper is giving him a run for his money.With Capone in prison, Frank Nitti tries to grab the open top spot in the empire. But Capone's bookkeeper is giving him a run for his money.
Walter Winchell
- Narrator
- (voice)
Don Anderson
- Policeman
- (archive footage)
- (uncredited)
John Barton
- Passerby on Street
- (uncredited)
Audrey Betz
- Passerby on Street
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaNehemiah Persoff was no stranger to playing gangsters. One of his best-known roles is the crime boss Little Bonaparte in the movie Some Like It Hot (1959).
- GoofsOne of the brewery raids shows the truck with battering ram but the negative has been flipped, as you can see the truck driver and the accompanying sedan have the drivers on the right side of the vehicles. Another raid shows Keenan Wynn in the truck driver's seat, but he was killed in the pilot "The Scarface Mob."
- Quotes
Agent Enrico Rossi: Mr. Ness... I want to do more than testify.
Featured review
Great Start To A Classic TV Series
Not having seen this show in over 40 years and having loved it as a young teen, I couldn't wait for the DVD to finally come out with Season One. I am sorry it's only half of the opening season, but at least it's a start.
This was great to watch, right from the beginning,because, for those like me who have forgotten or for new viewers, it gives us the background of all the major players. We get quick profiles of the men who were called "The Untouchables," beginning with the leader "Elliot Ness," a role that brought a lot of fame to actor Robert Stack.
Stack had already starred in several melodramas in the mid '50s but this TV series really made him a star. His right-hand man on the show, "Enrico Rossi," wasn't on the team right away, as I re-discovered watching this. Rossi (Nicholas Georgiade) was an assistant barber, who witnessed a brutal massacre in his shop and then had "the moxie," as Ness put it, to confront one of the thugs and be willing to testify against Frank Nitti. Ness is so impressed he hires Rossi shortly afterward on a conditional basis.
The opening episode re-unites us with Bruce Gordon as Nitti, "The Enforcer" as he was labeled. He's the chief villain since Al Capone has just been put in jail. We see Nitti try to take charge over the other three major hoods, but is stopped by the much smarter bookkeeper "Jake Guzik" (Nehemiah Persoff), who persuades Nitti and the two others - "Phil D'Andrea and Fur Sammons" - not to make the mistakes Capone made. They'll keep Capone's chair empty (hence the title of this episode) and run things smarter as a group.
Meanwhile, Ness and his boys try to figure out how to get Nitti charged in the murder. That's difficult because the other witness, the head barber, won't testify he saw anything. How can they get Nitti? If not this crime, maybe on tax evasion, or maybe they can start the crooks to mistrust each other. That's the theme for the rest of the program: how to send Nitti and his boys to jail.
It also was fun to see guest star Barbara Nichols who plays "Brandy LaFrance." If that name doesn't suit the roles Barbara played here and in many other TV programs and movies, nothing does.
This was great to watch, right from the beginning,because, for those like me who have forgotten or for new viewers, it gives us the background of all the major players. We get quick profiles of the men who were called "The Untouchables," beginning with the leader "Elliot Ness," a role that brought a lot of fame to actor Robert Stack.
Stack had already starred in several melodramas in the mid '50s but this TV series really made him a star. His right-hand man on the show, "Enrico Rossi," wasn't on the team right away, as I re-discovered watching this. Rossi (Nicholas Georgiade) was an assistant barber, who witnessed a brutal massacre in his shop and then had "the moxie," as Ness put it, to confront one of the thugs and be willing to testify against Frank Nitti. Ness is so impressed he hires Rossi shortly afterward on a conditional basis.
The opening episode re-unites us with Bruce Gordon as Nitti, "The Enforcer" as he was labeled. He's the chief villain since Al Capone has just been put in jail. We see Nitti try to take charge over the other three major hoods, but is stopped by the much smarter bookkeeper "Jake Guzik" (Nehemiah Persoff), who persuades Nitti and the two others - "Phil D'Andrea and Fur Sammons" - not to make the mistakes Capone made. They'll keep Capone's chair empty (hence the title of this episode) and run things smarter as a group.
Meanwhile, Ness and his boys try to figure out how to get Nitti charged in the murder. That's difficult because the other witness, the head barber, won't testify he saw anything. How can they get Nitti? If not this crime, maybe on tax evasion, or maybe they can start the crooks to mistrust each other. That's the theme for the rest of the program: how to send Nitti and his boys to jail.
It also was fun to see guest star Barbara Nichols who plays "Brandy LaFrance." If that name doesn't suit the roles Barbara played here and in many other TV programs and movies, nothing does.
helpful•170
- ccthemovieman-1
- Apr 12, 2007
Details
- Runtime52 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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What is the broadcast (satellite or terrestrial TV) release date of The Empty Chair (1959) in Australia?
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