Trivia: Andy Garcia was originally brought in to read for Frank Nitti, but he asked if he could play George Stone instead.
Trivia: As the stroller is going down the stairs in the train station it is a reference to the staircase scene in "Battleship Potemkin" in which a stroller similarly falls down a flight of steps while the horrified mother looks on.
Trivia: Brian De Palma hired Bob Hoskins to play Al Capone believing that his first choice, Robert De Niro, might not be available. When De Niro took the role after all, Hoskins was paid $200,000.
Trivia: Mel Gibson and Harrison Ford turned down the role of Elliot Ness before Kevin Costner was signed.
Trivia: Sir Sean Connery won his only Academy Award for his role as Jim Malone in this movie.
Answer: It's about 50% truth and 50% fiction. Ness, Al Capone, and Frank Nitty are real, of course, but the characters played by Connery, Garcia, and Smith are fictional. Ness started out with 50 candidates for his 'Untouchables' force. This was whittled down to 15 finalists and from that he selected 9 agents (none of which has the same name as the characters played by Connery, Garcia, and Smith). It's true that Capone was convicted for tax evasion. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison, but received an early release because he was in the last stages of syphilis. He died shortly after being released from prison.
raywest ★
Capone lived for 8 years upon his release from prison. The 8 years being slightly longer than the actual prison time he served, which was just over 7 years. He died, having the mental capabilities of a 12-year-old.