The Untouchables (TV Series) The Charlie Argos Story (1963) User Reviews

Neat story...but it's also VERY familiar.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 28 March 2016]

"The Charlie Argos Story" is one of the less original stories I've seen from "The Untouchables", as I've seen movies and TV shows with pretty much the same plot. Still, despite the familiarity, it is entertaining and worth seeing.

When the show begins, a mobster is dying and he's asked to see Ness. Charlie Argos knows he won't last much longer and inexplicably asks Ness to be the executor of his will because he knows Ness is so honest. Ness naturally declines...after all, why would a federal agent want to help a jerk? It seems that Charlie wants whoever is the executor to hold off on distributing his fortune and only give it to his long lost son. However, the young man hasn't been seen since going missing in action during WWI...and it's unlikely he'll ever return.

Some of Charlie's 'friends' (including his wife) know that unless they can produce a son, they'll never get a hold of the money. So they go looking for someone to pretend to be the man. However, oddly, the guy they find (Robert Vaughn) is just too good NOT to be the real thing. Is he just a lucky guesser or could be actually be Argos' kid?!

This worked despite being a recycled idea because the story supporting this plot was so strong and engaging. Well worth seeing...especially the ending.

Anastasia Of The Underworld

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 21 May 2012]

Robert Vaughn stars in this episode of The Untouchables which is clearly taken from the film Anastasia. The difference being that the sex roles are reversed and it's a woman Patricia Owens who is looking for the male heir to a criminal empire.

If you saw the film for which Ingrid Bergman won her second Oscar you will recognize Robert Vaughn as the young man whom Owens finds in a soup kitchen to take over the wealth that his dying father Paul Birch left him. Vaughn is part of a syndicate power play to take over the organization that Birch ran. Owens who was Birch's mistress is being squeezed out.

Part of the scheme for Owens just like it was for Yul Brynner is to find an authoritative unimpeachable source. That's longtime family attorney Kent Smith in the Helen Hayes part.

So if you've seen Anastasia you know exactly how this will end. Still it might be worth a look to see how the plot is adapted for The Untouchables.

Keeps You Guessing

[hogwrassler · 10/10 · 11 January 2021]

I just watched this episode on the Heroes & Icons Channel. It starts out as a typical Untouchables episode, but quickly develops into a genuine mystery. Is this guy the real Charlie Argos, or is he a well coached imposter? I changed my mind about him three times during the show. And you have to stick around to the very end and listen to the last two lines spoken by Ness and Rossi to know for sure. Christopher Dark does his usual good job as a ruthless hood. Robert Vaughn is excellent as the titular character and he plays the character as a very dark and disturbed individual. Patricia Owens is absolutely gorgeous and her performance as the girl trying to get her hands on $5 million in bonds, is truly riveting. This is one of the best episodes of the series.