UNSTACKED DECK

Robert Stack, who did 120 TV episodes (1959-63) of Ness, caught up with the movie in Seattle, where he’s playing a slightly deranged school principal in “Glory Days.”

His review: Costner is an innocent, compared to his own “driven, dead behind the eyes” Ness. But: “Costner’s performance is very good, you can’t complain about his interpretation. It fits this story.

“It’s very effective entertainment--I enjoyed myself. It’s the classic tale of the old cop teaching the rookie the ropes, so it’s nothing like what we did. The film really doesn’t use Oscar Fraley’s book; it’s mythic in style and, as (screenwriter) David Mamet has said, we didn’t tell the truth and neither does he.”

Stack wasn’t invited to make the movie: “I would have been happy to be part of the film but it would have been wrong. It would have been too cute and set up a confusion for the audience. The two projects are totally separate. Do you know the film cost more to make than four seasons of the TV series?”