William Spier Movies

In the first episode of a two-part story, Elliot Ness (Robert Stack) is convinced that Al Capone (Neville Brand) is receiving prefential treatment while serving a sentence for tax evasion at the Federal prison in Atlanta. Pulling a few strings, Ness arranges for Big Al to be transferred to a newer, tougher penal institution called Alcatraz. While several of Capone's flunkeys take financial advantage of his absence, there are others who find it advantageous to cook up a scheme to spring "Scarface" from the prison train that is transporting him to "The Rock." The opening scenes in which Capone is seen being pampered by corrupt penitentiary officials resulted in a protest from the Bureau of Prisons, who demanded that the episode be preceded with a disclaimer insisting that it was complete work of fiction. Parts One and Two of "The Big Train" were lated combined into a feature film and released theatrically as Alcatraz Express. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of a two-part story, Capone's second-in-command Frank Nitti (Bruce Gordon) steps up his heretofore unsuccessful efforts to eliminate Anton Cermak (Robert Middleton), the incorruptable mayor of Chicago. Scheduled to appear at a public event in Miami with president-elect Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Cermak would seem to be a sitting duck for Nitti's torpedoes, but Elliot Ness and the Untouchables aren't about to let that happen. Meanwhile, a deranged anarchist named Giuseppe Zangara (Joe Mantell) may well succeed where Nitti has failed--assuming that Cermak is Zangara's intended target. Though historically inaccurate in many respects, this episode paints a vibrant picture of the euphoria surrounding the election of the first anti-Prohibition president in 14 years. Parts One and Two of "The Unhired Assassin" were later combined and released theatrically as the feature film Guns of Zangara. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Elderly Oskar Hovejg (Fay Roope) walks into police headquarters to tell Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) that he has found a box full of stolen silverware in his garage. Somewhat reluctantly, Hovejg further asserts that the items were stolen by his new son-in-law. Meanwhile, an eccentric self-proclaimed journalist named Alma Face (Amzie Strickland), who owns the silverware in question, insists that Hovejg give her the exclusive story on the "big" robbery. As it turns out, Alma is in for quite a surprise (even if the detectives aren't). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this off-beat, tuneful psychological thriller, an ailing pregnant woman is in the hospital when she inadvertently eavesdrops on a conversation between a pianist and his wife. Later, after losing her baby, the woman's husband convinces her to convalesce in a nice country house he has rented. Later she learns that the house is owned by the pianist whose wife died. The poor confused girl then begins believing that she has been possessed by the spirit of the musician's late wife. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide