User Reviews

The friends of Eddie Coyle is one of the 1970's lost crime/cop movies of it's era which in all fairness deserves better treatment i.e. a nice restoration on DVD done in wide-screen would not go a miss! The biggest draw back of the movie from a box office draw perspective is that lead actor Robert Mitchum's stardom was on the wain by 1973 and his main body of fans would not have liked the character that he played. They would remember him for his roles as a leading ladies man or tough guy roles from his earlier films not an aging crook down on his luck who struggles to support his family. Although a rather sorry character the viewer is not sympathetic to Coyle although he probably doesn't deserve what's coming to him.

Secondly, it's located entirely in the Boston area unlike the more familiar seedy locations of New York, LA or San Francisco that provided many box office hits during the 70's. It moves slowly and does not feature the violence, shoot outs, car chases of the FRENCH CONNECTION, DIRTY HARRY or the later DEATH WISH movies, or a tough talking, wise cracking hero who would save the day by shooting first and asking questions later. Having said all that what makes this a good movie? Well to start with the fact that it's different from the above mentioned movies.

Robert Mitchums sleepy looking demeanor made him very believable as a worn out aging two time loser who can't face the prospect of more jail time was very good in his role. Also in the light of recent revelations about organized crime in the city and law enforcement corruption in the 1970's makes the movie more relevant today. What many people would not know is that the South end of Boston was notorious at this time for organized crime. In addition a large part of the city police dept as well as state law enforcement was riddled with police corruption. To make things even worse the local Boston office of the FBI was allegedly involved, the local media were intimidated and did not report what was going on and the political establishment also turned a blind eye too! This movie portrays this quite well and the fact that the movies conclusion is located at Bostons government center is in itself ironic if not significant.

The Boston underworld in the 1970's was spearheaded by James "whitey" Bulger a notorious convicted felon and local hood, who at some point was involved in all of Bostons seedy shenanigans. Right up until the late 80's Bulger wrecked havoc and even today is still one of the FBI's 10 most wanted. It's worth mentioning that because it provides a decent incite to what went on and thus makes the movie much more believable to those who might not have any knowledge of organized crime in Boston. In fact despite this some now believe that Bulger himself might have been an FBI informer too i.e. playing for both teams while enriching himself!

Yes the movie does move slowly, but it is more than compensated with a pretty reasonable story and a fine list of American character actors who are very believable in their roles. Alex Rocos is good as the lead crook, a baby faced Peter Boyle as an informer and the versatile Richard Jordan playing a bent FBI official top the cast along side Robert Mitchum. There are some great location shots of Boston, it's suburbs and New England in the Autumn. There is also a shot of the old Boston Garden featuring an ice hockey match with the Boston Bruins in their heyday led by the legendary Bobby Orr. For anybody interested to see what Boston looked like in the early 70's with it's greasy spoons and neighbourhood bars check this one out.

Many of the characters here are not likable at all, they are devious, manipulative, self centered and two faced, but I suppose it's true what they say "no honor amongst thieves!" It's not the greatest of films but not all that bad, it's well worth a watch for all of the above!

An ageing small time hood (Robert Mitchem - in the title role) is looking at jail time and wants to cut a deal with the forces of law and order. However this is just one of the many plates that he wants to keep spinning on their wobbly poles.

This is a film that is a bit different. Indeed having seen a million films (or it seems like it) you expect it go off in a different direction, grab hold of the drama and try and pep it up with cheap thrills. The Friends of Eddie Coyle fights against that - throwing away many of the free gifts that comes its way and focus on how a man can paint himself in to a corner.

This is Mitchem's best ever role. Never having been in classic this is the next best thing. The world weariness helps him for this part - you feel that he really has been in the crime business since it was invented and has really seen it all and done it all (as his bar room stories seem to indicate). However for Eddie the party is over. He is like a late Elvis - fat, bloated and living on his old reputation. Hoping that he can play both ends against the middle one last time.

The title has an irony. He really has no friends. He knows that too (because he is not stupid), although he has to make do with people that pretend to be. It is too late for another life and the bills keep having to be paid and food needs to be kept on the table. He is not a master criminal -- more a brave odd-job man.

While this movie hasn't been widely seen (it gets of odd plays on UK TV) a lot of important people have seen it. You can see the Sopranos in some of the scenes where people view crime as a business with death and prison being occupational hazards.

This is quite dark and mean, but you are comforted that the people getting hurt or doing the hurting are more or less the same. People caught in the vortex of earning an easy buck and it is far too late to start changing now. Friends is a tough movie and one of the few films I have seen that while steeped in crooks and crime remains fair and moral for every frame.

I'm 42 and I've lived in Boston my whole life. I travel extensively and pay attention to the way people talk. Everywhere. For those of you that are not from here: People from Boston do not talk like the Kennedys. Really. No one except the Kennedys talk like that. OK, William Devane and Martin Sheen do sometimes, but they don't know any better.

Here's the point: Mitchum nails it. He doesn't over-do it (Cliff Claven) and doesn't under do it. Critics claim that Mitchum is good at accents but he really does nail this one - the toughest one: A native Boston accent. That is indicative of the whole movie. Mitchum nails everything. This is his most believable performance. Listen to him in this movie and you could really imagine him as a resident of Quincy. It fits. The bleak, cold hopelessness of the title character's life is played out to its inevitable conclusion. A real classic "not-trying-to-be-film-noir" example of classic film noir.

Signed, The Director's Son (Just Kidding - this is awesome! Watch it!)

I was lucky enough to catch this on video before they pulled in out of release. It was during Mitchum's last hurrah, when he made interesting character studies like "Farewell, My Lovely." This story is a loser's tale, in the same vein as many of Paul Newman's best films, like "The Hustler" and "Nobody's Fool." Some audiences will have a hard time with the nature of the role because they expect a tough guy like Mitchum to kick into gear at any moment, but he never does because it's not that kind of movie. Rumor has it that director Peter Yates is frequently harassed by friends and collegues who have heard of this gem and tried to get their hands on a copy. Let's hope it comes to DVD soon, so we can all relish one of the great stars in one of his last meaty parts.

What a great movie! One of the most realistic stories of the small-time criminal. Robert Mitchuim gives an outstanding performance as Eddie Coyle, a small-time Irish gangster who works both sides of the fence. Richard Jordan in a fine supporting role as a hard-nosed detective out to burst a gang of well-trained bank robbers. Alex Rocco as a no-nonsense bank robber, and Peter Boyle as the stoolie/hit-man.

The movie however is stolen by the late Steven Keats. Keats plays a gun runner who sells machine guns out of the trunk of his sport's car. The friends of Eddie Coyle is extremely well-acted, grittly filmed, and low-key. It has a brutally shocking and surprising ending. An outstanding movie which for some strange reason hasn't found it's way to DVD or video.

Adapted from the novel of the same name by George V. Higgins, director Peter Yates' The Friends of Eddie Coyle takes pride in its authentic depiction of 1970s Boston, where Irish mobsters trade weapons and organise truck hijackings over a diner table. It follows low-level criminal Eddie 'Fingers' Coyle, played by Robert Mitchum, as he faces a lengthy spell in prison for a crime organised by bartender associate Dillon (Peter Boyle). His only hope of avoiding jail time is a recommendation to the District Attorney's office, which may put him good favour with the judge. ATF agent David Foley (Richard Jordan) sees the opportunity to further his own career by promising Eddie he'll put in a good word as long as the career criminal feeds him solid intelligence.

Mitchum is perfect as a man who has grown tired of risking his livelihood for his bosses, having grown old with little to show for it other than some extra knuckles gained from having his hand slammed into a drawer by a rival. Coyle is well-connected and reliable, with a keen eye for a good business deal. Yet as his superiors have grown rich, he still lives in a shabby neighbourhood, saving up any pennies he can. He purchases guns from the wild yet competent young gun-runner Jackie Brown (Steven Keats), but sees an opportunity to prove himself useful to Foley, who actually has more informants within Coyle's underworld than the old man realises. Coyle understands that this is his last chance to escape the world he has become weary of, and spend his remaining years enjoying the sunshine. Yet his information never seems to be enough for Foley, and as the rate of successful arrests rapidly increases, it isn't long until his 'friends' become suspicious.

The Friends of Eddie Coyle could have only been made in the 1970s, when studios in Hollywood were more open to taking risks and allowed writers to tell the story they wanted to tell. This is about as unsentimental and understated as crime dramas get, shot by cinematographer Victor J. Kemper in a loose style more akin to documentary than thriller. The tone is almost nihilistic at times, mirroring the mindset of the majority of the film's shifty characters. It makes for riveting viewing, with Mitchum delivering one of his finest performances in what was already a muscular career. The supporting cast is excellent too, with both Boyle and Keats utterly convincing as bottom-level scumbags, all of whom seem to exist in a state of constant paranoia and aggression. It will leave you incredibly cold, but only the very best crime sagas expose this dangerous world for what it actually is.

Mitchum has never been better. This is an absolute gem of a film, very underrated and very under appreciated. Peter Boyle is also excellent and the direction superb. I think this film captures Boston and the lives of small time mobsters better than any other film.

Elmore Leonard called the novel upon which the movie is based the best crime novel ever written. The movie does it justice.

British director Peter Yates was very versatile. His varied output ranged from Cliff Richard's musical Summer Holiday, crime classic Bullitt, comedy heist The Hot Rock, teen cycling movie Breaking Away, stage drama The Dresser.

The Friends of Eddie Coyle is a grimy gritty crime drama as well as a character study set in early 1970s working class Boston. It is clear that the film's style influenced both Micheal Mann in movies such as Thief and Heat. As well as Ben Affleck in his directorial effort The Town.

Eddie Coyle (Robert Mitchum) is a truck driver and a small time hood for the Irish mob. He is facing jail time for a truck hijacking and he wants a reduced sentence from ATF agent David Foley (Richard Jordan.) Foley wants Eddie as an informer.

Eddie also supplies arms to some robbers carrying out bank robberies. Eddie gets them from gun runner Jackie Brown (Steven Keats.)

With wife and kids, Eddie does not want to do a long stretch and finds Foley is very demanding. Eddie does not know that Foley has other informants such as Dillon (Peter Boyle) a bartender and who set up the job which landed Eddie in trouble.

Mitchum gives a world weary performance as the hood who has been doing low level crime for years. Eddie tells the story to Jackie Brown about how he had his hand broken once because someone went to jail for a mistake he made.

Mitchum gives a good performance but Keats gives an even better one as Jackie Brown. There is a great scene where he tells a novice gun dealer that life is for a gun runner and even harder if you are stupid.

The title of the film is ironic. Eddie has no friends, he is on his own like the other crooks in the movie. You find and push your own edge to get ahead. Dillon knows that.

The drama works better when it concentrates on the small time crooks as well as the cop who wants to get somewhere. The actual bank robbery scenes with the guns Eddie procured get in the way.

Anyone who does not think Robert Mitchum is a serious actor has never seen The Friends Of Eddie Coyle. All of Mitchum's considerable talents are working here including his fantastic ear for accents. You would think that Mitchum lived in Boston all his life.

Playing the title role in The Friends Of Eddie Coyle, Mitchum so submerges his own personality that you forget in fact you are watching Robert Mitchum and you really think you are seeing the downfall of a man named Eddie Coyle. How he was overlooked for an Oscar nomination here is a mystery.

The film is based on a novel by George V. Higgins who was both a prosecutor and defense attorney in his legal career and saw the system and all the system from both sides of the courtroom. The protagonist Eddie Coyle is a career criminal sliding into middle age and up for a sentencing in a transporting of stolen property charge in neighboring New Hampshire. He's a three time loser already and this would involve a much longer stretch in the joint. So he's looking to deal.

The Friends Of Eddie Coyle rather neatly disposes of the notion that there is honor among thieves. But thieves also don't like being informed on. When Mitchum rats out some old friends for a series of bank robberies where two people were killed, he's sealed his doom.

The obvious comparison to make with this film is the John Ford classic, The Informer. Although Coyle would probably scorn at being compared to a slow lug like Victor McLaglen's Gypo Nolan, in fact he's not a terribly bright man either. He's far down on the criminal food chain so that he is a very disposable man.

Another good performance from this film is that of Steven Keats as a gun runner who Mitchum does business with and decides to rat out when convenient. If he survives in another 25 years Keats will be in the middle aged position that Mitchum is in now with few options in life. Also take note of Peter Boyle as the bartender/criminal, Richard Jordan as a really smarmy cop and Helena Carroll who has a few, but some really well played scenes as Mitchum's long suffering wife.

The film was shot totally on location in the Boston area and I recognized quite a few locations from my travels there. No mention of the Red Sox, but towards the end of the film there are some nice shots of a Boston Bruins hockey game at the old Boston Gardens. Some very interesting comments there about star Bobby Orr and the bright future he has in the world of hockey from a man whose world is about to crumble.

The Friends Of Eddie Coyle is a classic from the Seventies one of the best films Robert Mitchum ever did and not to be missed, especially if one wants to see a different side of old rumple eyes.

Rarely have I seen a more celebrated movie that went over my head more than "The Friends of Eddie Coyle". It's just not a movie I can watch, and I think I've proved that to myself after this third viewing.

The plot is impossible for me to follow. I get that it's about an ageing hood played by Robert Mitchum who wants to buy machine guns. Some of the people he knows are cops, and some are robbers. I couldn't tell any of them apart.

There are maybe two robbery scenes in the movie, but mostly it's just tedious dialogue that makes no impression, like all of the characters and situations. Mitchum isn't really in it that much, but he spends a lot of time meeting guys in booths and at the end he goes to a hockey game.

I have no idea what this movie was even about, or why anyone likes it.

The film is, in every aspect, of high quality. Quality acting from supporting actors as well as stars, a quality script and beautifully directed. It is probably Robert Mitchum's best performance, one in which he is well supported by Richard Jordan and Peter Boyle who give wonderfully low-key performances as the other two main protagonists. It is one of my top ten.

A gritty 1970s crime movie that argues there's no honour among thieves, cops, or maybe just people in general, The Friends of Eddie Coyle is bleak but entertaining. It strikes an interesting balance between feeling grounded/real and fun/stylish. It's about a guy called Eddie Coyle. Despite the title, he doesn't really have any friends, and is continually trying to rat out his criminal associates in order to reduce his sentence. For those in the police force, however, nothing ever seems to be enough, causing Coyle to go further and further out of his depths.

There are some slower moments in the film which keep me from really loving it. But there are also so many great scenes, and I think it's exceptionally well-written and acted throughout. Pacing-wise, it's not perfect, and as far as the visuals are concerned, I don't think it's exceptional. However, the story and characters shine, and everyone's cast well. I did also find the ending a little strange, but it works.

It seems pretty underrated, as far as 1970s crime movies go. Certainly not the most obscure in the world or anything, but probably deserves to have a slightly higher profile than what it does.

Without ever aspiring to the top, Eddie has made a living in organized crime for most of his life. In a way, he's an all-purpose go-getter, available to buy off some stolen guns, drive a hijacked truck, or for the most part make himself handy. Some years ago after a gun trade, the buyers he stocked got pinched. Their friends smashed Eddie's fingers in a drawer. It made sense to him. There is a clear-cut discipline without which it would be frankly absurd to go on doing business. But as the movie opens, Eddie is in a situation, and it looks like he'll have to provoke that discipline.

He's facing a two-year stretch in New Hampshire, and he wants out of it. He doesn't want to leave his wife and kids and see them go on welfare. Deep down, he is simply a small businessman, and genuinely middle class. He assumes perhaps he can make a deal with the state's attorney and have a nice word put in for him up in New Hampshire. This unsentimental potboiler, by director of Bullitt and The Hot Rock, though replete with bank heists, machine guns and hitlists, is as sheer as that. It's not a restless gangster film, it doesn't have a lot of self-evident adventure in it, and it doesn't plough into much violence. Presumably, Paul Monash's screenplay is by no means unfaithful to George Higgins' novel. The movie offers us a guy and seeks our understanding for him. And for me that's extraordinary because Eddie is played by Robert Mitchum, and Mitchum has never been better.

Mitchum has always been a wry beefcake, putting on airs of aloofness. More than half his films have been formulaic action melodramas that might've been better with a more natural actor. Here however, he couldn't be more natural: a tired old man, yet rugged and comfortable with himself, a man who has been shaken too often in life not to appreciate trouble, but who will put himself at risk to defend his own domain. Still though, he doesn't quite upstage Peter Boyle or Steven Keats. The narrative isn't unfolded in the conventional crime movie manner, with incalculable value being given to complexities of plot. Rather, Eddie's catch-22 dawns on him as it dawns on us, and we watch him lock horns with it.

I saw this years ago and didn't remember much of it, but had a chance to catch it recently in a nicely restored print on American Movie Classics. Being an older and more intelligent viewer now, I can appreciate its quality. This is a wonderfully minimalist picture of life among the lower levels, indeed the "underbelly", of the criminal world, a world of desperation, squalid deals, and betrayal. The effectiveness of the understated script can doubtless be attributed to the legendary George V. Higgins. Fine performances all around, and the Boston setting is fun for this Boston boy. It's a counterpart, in a way, to the roughly contemporaneous "The Brinks Job", which was also set and filmed in Boston, but without the leavening - and unrealistic - humor of that movie.

Yeesh, talk about a bleak crime movie. "The Friends of Eddie Coyle" plunges you into the Boston underworld, full of treacherous people, all playing each other for leverage; a genuine pit of snakes (Peter Boyle most of all). And the tone is superbly set right from the beginning: Fall atmosphere, Dave Grusin funk groove score, '70s muscle cars, locations from comfy suburbs to dingy pool halls. The movie has some pacing issues, but it's also got George V. Higgins' killer dialogue to keep things thrumming along. That, and a good cast (fronted by the always impressive Robert Mitchum, the sap who's doing the most maneuvering).

7/10

Robert Mitchum may be one of the most underappreciated actors of "the Golden Age of Hollywood". Few of his classics have made it into the mainstream. His most well-known film is probably "Cape Fear (1962)" - perhaps due to Scorsese's 1991 remake. And we must not forget that this film was carried by another giant; Gregory Peck.

I have seen many Mitchum pictures, but THE FRIENDS OF EDDIE COYLE I had not heard of until a few weeks ago. Mitchum's performance is phenomenal. He doesn't act - he IS his character.

The director (Peter Yates) has done a tremendous job at capturing a specific look and feel that will stay with you for days. The plot is simple, but realistic - and its execution excellent.

THE FRIENDS OF EDDIE COYLE is a rare (anti-)crime film in which crime is not glorified. It is an honest portrayal of crime, loyalty, and betrayal.

A salutary reminder, based on the 1970 novel by George V. Higgins, that in addition to action movies like 'Bullitt' and 'Murphy's War' Peter Yates also directed chamber pieces like 'One-Way Pendulum' and 'The Dresser'.

The ironic use of the plural in the title suggests the ensemble piece that this is. Mitchum is actually offscreen a lot of the time, but when he's on he dominates the screen by deceptively seeming to do the least. Never in any of his other films has he got so much passion and heartbreak into those weary, hooded eyes.

I had to watch the new Criterion DVD release of "The Friends of Eddie Coyle" a couple of times before I could stop comparing it to the novel I've been re-reading for thirty-seven years, and see it clearly. Verdict: excellent, bringing to life the relentless deceptions of everyday life in a criminal context where every 'friend' takes care of himself first, and where there's truly no honour among thieves. The '70s landscape is perfectly filmed, and if the low-key tempo bothers some viewers it may be because their viewing metabolism has been artificially juiced by the quick cuts and big bangs of contemporary action pictures. The methodical unfolding of the bank robberies, the gun-running, and the negotiations with a federal agent to keep out of jail, take place in what feels like real time. When violent action occurs it jars even more because it ends in an instant, with unsuspecting citizens walking or driving past who have no idea that something's been stolen, someone's arrested, someone's dead.

Robert Mitchum's effortlessly modulated performance is a gift to the other actors; his generosity in underplaying Eddie Coyle's dim desperation enhances the power of the characters created by Peter Boyle, Steven Keats, Richard Jordan, Alex Rocco and Joe Santos, and gives the film a rare balance of distinctly different personalities.

One small protest: the novel's been compressed, and the nature of the final betrayal altered. I think the book's plot point works better, and shouldn't have been cut to save five minutes' running time. That's a reader's complaint, though. The film brings to life, unforgettably, the shoddy world of cops and robbers, in one time and place. It's a period masterpiece - thank goodness it's come to life again.

Eddie Coyle (Robert Mitchum) is a small time hood in Boston who is about to be sent to jail. But the cops make a deal with him--if he becomes an informant for them they'll make sure he stays out of jail. However things don't work out quite like Eddie hoped they would.

Dark, gritty and depressing story. It's shot on location in Boston which helps the mood and feel of the movie. Bostonians might get a kick out of seeing what Boston and the suburbs looked like in the 1970s. There's good dialogue and a real feel for what cops and robbers really act like. Also there's a GREAT performance by Mitchum who really took a risk by playing a totally unlikable character. Also good are Richard Jordan and Steven Keats. However this just doesn't work. It's far too quiet and muted (two bank robberies are done in almost total silence). It may be more realistic but it sure isn't that interesting. As I said the dialogue and acting are good but the story is totally ordinary--it's been done before (and since). It all leads to a tragic ending that I saw coming long before we saw it. So, aside from some great acting, dialogue and beautiful Boston scenery this has little to offer. However, Mitchum fans will love this because this has got to be one of his best performances ever. I can only give it a 5.