5 Lesser Known Historical Figures Screwed By Hollywood

4. Frank J. Wilson- The Untouchables

How He Was Screwed: If we are to believe Brian De Palma€™s gangster flick then Frank Wilson was a weasly little accountant sent to help Kevin Costner (what is it with Kevin Costner stealing thunder?), resulting in a big gun being thrust upon him and basically playing second fiddle to Costner€™s Elliot Ness. Surely Kevin Costner wouldn€™t trick us again would he? In Reality: Frank Wilson wasn€™t an Untouchable. He wasn€™t part of Elliot Ness€™s crack squad and he wasn€™t a shotgun toting accountant. Okay, he was a former accountant but there was no shotgun. So he didn€™t help Kevin Costner finally get that damned Capone? No he didn€™t, well he did. What I mean is Frank Wilson was very much a part of finally nailing Capone, the key part in fact. Elliot Ness and his Untouchables had nothing to do with the IRS investigation that resulted in Capone€™s eventual conviction, and were merely a distraction from the true investigation. So basically The Untouchables was a combination of Elliot Ness€™s raids on Capone stills/breweries and Frank Wilson€™s Federal Tax Investigation. The only problem with that is that it served to devalue Wilson€™s pivotal role in the most famous gangster investigations of all time, in favour of a more Hollywood friendly hero in Ness.
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