Character Relationship Map: The Untouchables

Characters

• Eliot Ness (played by Kevin Costner) — protagonist

  Federal Prohibition agent tasked with bringing down Al Capone. He assembles a corrupt-free team, refuses bribes, relocates his family under threat, and leads key raids. Ultimately captures Capone's ac...

• Al Capone (played by Robert De Niro) — supporting

  Infamous Chicago gangster controlling the city's illegal liquor trade during Prohibition. He uses violence and bribes to maintain power, threatens Ness' family, and employs Frank Nitti as an enforcer....

• Oscar Wallace (played by Charles Martin Smith) — supporting

  An accountant recruited to join Ness' team. He proposes the strategic shift to tax evasion charges against Capone. He is ambushed and murdered by Frank Nitti in the police station elevator, a pivotal...

• George Stone (played by Andy Garcia) — supporting

  Highly skilled Italian-American police academy trainee recruited for his marksmanship and integrity. Participates in raids, helps capture Capone's accountant at Union Station, and later secures a new...

• Mike (played by Richard Bradford) — supporting

  Police chief Mike Dorsett. A corrupt officer who betrayed Oscar Wallace and George Stone. Under interrogation by Malone, he reveals the hiding location of Capone's accountant, Payne, before the events...

• Payne (played by Jack Kehoe) — supporting

  Al Capone's accountant, Walter Payne. He attempts to flee Chicago by train but is intercepted and captured by Ness and Stone at Union Station. His testimony at Capone's trial is instrumental in securi...

• Nitti (played by Billy Drago) — supporting

  Al Capone's ruthless enforcer. He orchestrates the murders of Wallace and George, attempts to smuggle a weapon into the courtroom, and kills a bailiff before being cornered on the courthouse roof. Nes...

• George (played by Brad Sullivan) — supporting

  A Canadian border liquor shipment bookkeeper captured during a raid. Ness's team persuades him to testify against Capone. He is tragically murdered alongside Oscar Wallace by Frank Nitti in the police...

• Alderman (played by Del Close) — supporting
• Ness' Daughter (played by Kaitlin Montgomery) — cameo
• Reporter (played by Tim Gamble) — cameo

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Ness' Daughter → Eliot Ness (daughter)
• George Stone → Payne (Professional Captor) — Stone directly assists in securing the prosecution's crucial witness.

  George Stone helps Ness capture Payne alive at Union Station after a shootout with Payne's escorts.

• Al Capone → Alderman (Power Political Network Associate) — The alderman helps express Capone's influence beyond the underworld.

  Alderman attempts to bribe Ness to stop investigating Capone, demonstrating political interference in Capone's favor.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Nitti → Eliot Ness (related)
• Nitti → Al Capone (related)
• Al Capone → Eliot Ness (related)
• Mike → George (Conflict Betrayer) — Mike helps place George in danger despite his role as a police chief.

  The plot explicitly states that Mike betrayed Wallace and George before Nitti murdered them.

• Mike → Oscar Wallace (Conflict Betrayer) — Mike's corruption contributes to Wallace's exposure and death.

  Ness realizes that Mike betrayed Wallace and George before they were murdered in the police station.

• George Stone → George (Alliance Fellow Operative) — Their connection is defined by the team's joint anti-Capone operation.

  Stone participates in the wider operation surrounding the Canadian border raid, where George is captured as a bookkeeper witness.

• George Stone → Oscar Wallace (Alliance Fellow Team Member) — Stone shares the team's mission and survives its losses.

  Stone is recruited into the same team as Wallace, and Wallace's murder becomes part of the campaign Stone continues.

• George Stone → Nitti (Conflict Adversary) — Stone helps Ness defeat Nitti and exploit evidence recovered from him.

  Stone accompanies Ness during the pursuit of Nitti's criminal operation and later gives Ness the list taken from Nitti's coat.

• Nitti → Payne (Conflict Escort Threat) — Nitti's criminal organization tries to keep Payne from becoming a witness.

  Gangsters guarding Payne confront Ness and Stone at Union Station while Payne attempts to flee Chicago.

• Nitti → Mike (Unknown Criminal Beneficiary) — The plot places both men on the corrupt side of the investigation.

  Mike's betrayal helps expose Wallace and George to Capone's organization, while Nitti carries out the resulting murders.

• Nitti → George (Conflict Murderer) — George is killed to prevent his testimony against Capone.

  Nitti murders George alongside Wallace in the police station elevator and leaves a taunting message for Ness.

• Nitti → Oscar Wallace (Conflict Murderer) — Nitti removes the accountant driving the tax investigation.

  Nitti, dressed as a policeman, murders Wallace in the police station elevator.

Story Analysis

An incorruptible federal team confronts Capone's criminal and political network, transforming violent losses into a courtroom victory.

Plot Progression

1. Corruption Meets Resolve — Eliot Ness enters Chicago's Prohibition underworld and suffers an initial raid failure because corrupt policemen warn Al Capone. He begins assembling a smaller team of incorruptible officers and speci...
2. The Untouchables Strike — Ness, George Stone, and Oscar Wallace successfully raid a liquor warehouse and gain public attention. Capone responds with a brutal warning, while Wallace identifies tax evasion as the most viable pat...
3. Witnesses Under Fire — Threats against Ness's family force a temporary relocation, but the team intercepts a Canadian liquor shipment and captures George. Nitti then murders George and Wallace, turning the investigation int...
4. The Last Train Out — Mike's betrayal is exposed and a hidden location for Payne is obtained. After Nitti mortally wounds the veteran officer who supplied the train clue, Ness and Stone fight through Union Station to captu...
5. Justice in the Courtroom — Payne testifies while Ness discovers Nitti's connection to the apartment murder and confronts him on the courthouse roof. Ness then defeats Capone's paid jury scheme, leading to Capone's tax-evasion c...