Movie review: ‘The Friends of Eddie Coyle’

FloridaGator80
A promotional still photograph from the movie “The Friends of Eddie Coyle.”

One of the underappreciated directors in Hollywood from the 1960s and 1970s is Peter Yates. He did anti-hero cop story that was a huge success (“Bullitt” with Steve McQueen – click here to read my review); he did the coming-of-age thing that was a huge success (“Breaking Away” – click here to read my review); and the crime-caper flick that wasn’t a big success (“The Hot Rock” with Robert Redford – click here to read my review). Well, Yates also did a somewhat post-noir crime drama called “The Friends of Eddie Coyle” and it stars that original Hollywood bad boy and noir legend Robert Mitchum. Yates isn’t as well-remembered as some of his contemporaries, but he’s top-shelf talent as a director.

‘The Friends of Eddie Coyle’
(1973; 102 minutes; rated R; directed by Peter Yates and starring Robert Mitchum, Peter Boyle and Richard Jordan)

A CRIME STORY THROUGH DIALOGUE AND DRAMA

(NOTE: I expanded this review with additional opinion and trivia and the updating of links on Dec. 12, 2025.)

Long before Quentin Tarantino set a standard for criminals and cops talking about themselves and crime, there were films that relied on acting and not just a bunch of CGI special effects that didn’t exist back in the day. “The Friends of Eddie Coyle” starring Robert Mitchum is a great example of the genre and its director, Peter Yates, has a most impressive CV.

“The Friends of Eddie Coyle” is based on the novel of the same name by the late George V. Higgins, whose literary characters did a lot of talking. “The Friends of Eddie Coyle” translates well to the big screen and incorporates just enough “action” to give it the somewhat noir verisimilitude that the novel deserves.

After director Peter Yates, I was especially impressed with the work of both Robert Mitchum, who plays the title role of “Eddie ‘Fingers’ Coyle,” who is a small-time Boston-area mobster, and Steven Keats who plays gun-seller “Jackie Brown” (hey, Quentin, ever hear of a gun seller or “Jackie Brown?” 😊). Both actors do top-of-resume work in this one and if know of their careers or like another supporting actor, Peter Boyle, then you don’t want to miss this one.

However, in the end, it is Yates that brings all this together into a finely paced, watchable film. Most of the bad guys are just mooks going about … well, being mooks and none are super criminals who are really doing something worth watching. You want to because of the story and the actors.

Now, let met take a look at the top of the cast …

  • A promotional still photograph from the movie “The Friends of Eddie Coyle.”

    An Oscar nominee (sadly, not for this one), Mitchum was the the pitch-perfect choice as “Eddie Coyle.” He was the perfect age – 55 during filming – for the character and he all too easily shows his talent through a character who becomes increasingly desperate as the film unfolds. By the time of the climax of the film, he has spun completely into the rabbit hole and the ending is no surprise. Mitchum was named in the top 25 of greatest U.S. actors and all too easily he shows why with “The Friends of Eddie Coyle.” He was nominated for 1945’s “Story of G.I. Joe” and is best remembered for roles in the WWII classic “The Longest Day” (click here to read my review), the original “Cape Fear” and “The Night of the Hunter.” Mitchum, a longtime heavy smoker, died at 79 in 1997 of lung cancer and emphysema.

  • A promotional still photograph from the movie “The Friends of Eddie Coyle.”

    A Primetime Emmy nominee, Keats does a masterful job as gun-seller “Jackie Brown.” I’ve never been much enamored of Keats outside this role as he was awfully whiny as the son-in-law in “Death Wish” with Charles Bronson (click here to read my review) but was OK in a small role in “Turk 182!” (click here for my review). In “The Friends of Eddie Coyle,” he manages to elevate what could have been an also-rank character and should have earned some kind of nomination for his work here. Sadly, Keats died at 49 in 1994 of an apparent suicide.

  • A Golden Globe winner (not for this one), Richard Jordan is smooth, cool and quietly great here. Jordan, who played a serial killer to perfection in “The Mean Season” (you’ll remember it best for Mariel Hemingway’s shower scene), is a cop named “Dave Foley.” He never overplays his character (that was one of this actor’s great traits) and makes sure every scene is worth watching. Jordan was also in “The Hunt for Red October” (click here to read my review) and the iconic sci-fi thriller “Logan’s Run.” He won for the TV mini-series “Captains and the Kings” and had an uncredited role as a man kissing Jane Fonda in “Klute.” Also sadly, Jordan died young(ish) at 56 in 1993 of a brain tumor.
  • A promotional still photograph from the movie “The Friends of Eddie Coyle.”

    A Primetime Emmy winner and nine-time nominee, Boyle is also quietly solid as “Dillon,” whose character is the underlying thread to the whole film. Boyle’s only expression in this one is … intensity. His character, from behind a bar or talking to criminals or being an informant to the cops, is … intense. It’s neat work from an actor who did it all in his career. Of course, you remember Boyle best as crotchety “Frank Barone” on TV’s “Everybody Loves Raymond” and he earned seven Emmy nominations for that series. He won surprisingly for an episode of “The X-Files” and was nominated for “Midnight Caller” and “Tail Gunner Joe.” He was also in films as varied as “Taxi Driver,” “Red Heat” with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Mel Brooks’ “Young Frankenstein” with Gene Wilder. He died at 71 in 2006 of multiple myeloma and heart disease – just a year after the end of the run of “Raymond” on TV.

  • Another Primetime Emmy nominee, Joe Santos plays “Artie Van” here and is a very minor player in the film, but he does good work. For the most part, Santos appears as if he’s had too much Valium to show any emotion, but he conveys his character well and that’s a high-water mark for any actor. Santos was nominated for his work on “The Rockford Files” and was in works as varied as HBO’s “The Sopranos” to “The Last Boy Scout” to the forgotten but watchable action flick “Blue Thunder.” Santos died at 84 in 2016 of a heart attack.
A promotional still photograph from the movie “The Friends of Eddie Coyle.”

The only other supporting actor worth mentioning is Alex Rocco as “Jimmy ‘Scal’ Scalise.” He does a nice turn in a small role, while Mitchell Ryan (I liked him better in “Grosse Pointe Blank” – click here to read my review – or “Lethal Weapon”) does the same, but not so much as memorably.

I also enjoy that Mitchum was the perfect age for the character. Too many times, actors play “younger” (doh!), such as Olivia Newton John nearly 28 playing a high schooler in “Grease.” Yet, Mitchum’s age was the perfect extension of the character “Eddie Coyle.” He wasn’t pretending to be something he wasn’t and the man’s talent is a beacon in the film.

Oh, and I noted that Mitchum was an “original Hollywood bad boy” because he was arrested in 1948 for possession of marijuana in a sting set up by cops similar to the early arrest scene in “L.A. Confidential” (click here to read my review of that one). He served a little time, but everything was wiped away on appeal because of the setup by authorities and Mitchum was known to have a bit of a temper to go along with his prodigious talent.

One of the neat little scenes in “The Friends of Eddie Coyle” is at a Boston Bruins ice hockey game where the players aren’t wearing helmets and the goalie is wearing a mask that is more recognizable in film on a guy named “Jason.” Thanks, Mr. Yates, for a few moments of screen time for a tiny slice of visual history.

“The Friends of Eddie Coyle” was outside the top 25 films of 1973 with approximately $1 million in ticket sales, according to Wiki. The No. 1 film of the year was “The Sting” with the Redford-Newman pairing bringing in $156 million, while at No. 2 was the horror classic “The Exorcist” with $128 million and at No. 3 was the rock-n-roll classic “American Graffiti” with $96 million. Here are the films from 1973 that I’ve reviewed:

Assorted cast and film notes (via IMDb.com):

  • Mitchum’s full name was Robert Charles Duran Mitchum; Boyle’s full name was Peter Lawrence Boyle Jr.; Jordan’s middle name was Anson; Keats’ birth name was spelled Stephen Paul Keitz; Rocco’s birth name was Alessandro Federico Petricone Jr. and his nickname was “Bobo;” and Santos’ birth name was Joseph Anthony Minieri.
  • One reason for Yates casting Keats was that he thought the actor looked like the Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger.
  • No sets were used for “The Friends of Eddie Coyle” … it was all shot on location.
  • Jordan went to Harvard and was the grandson of a legendary U.S. federal court justice (Learned Hand).
  • Directly from IMDb.com: “Peter Boyle found it very difficult to draw a glass of tap beer for his part of a bartender. Director Peter Yates arranged for a correctly-filled glass to be available for Boyle below the camera line. Unseen by the camera eye, Boyle then switched glasses …”
  • The scenes at the ice hockey game were shot over two days.
  • Yates chose the bright color of Keats’ Dodge muscle car so it would be immediately visible in any scene. PS – the car had a 383, not the Hemi. I can’t say for sure, but I’d believe it was running the “six-pack” of carbs for the 383 motor.
  • Finally and directly from IMDb.com: “Alex Rocco, who plays bank robber Scalise, was a former member of the notorious The Winter Hill Gang that operated out of Boston, Massachusetts. Moreover, Rocco introduced Robert Mitchum to Howie Winter, who was the second boss of The Winter Hill Gang, to help Mitchum research his role as Eddie Coyle.”

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