Eddie Coyle's "friends"

I've talked on several occasions about movies that show New York City as it was in the early to middle 1970s, in the era just before President Ford told the city to "drop dead", at least if you believe the old newspaper headline. Recently I watched a film that had a similar depiction of a different city, Boston -- well, most of it is the small towns around Boston and not the city itself. But the movie, The Friends of Eddie Coyle, is definitly worth watching.

The movie doesn't actually start off with Eddie Coyle. Instead, it begins with Jimmy Scalise (Alex Rocco) and friends. They're casing a bank in Dedham, MA, south of Boston. Their ultimate goal is to rob the place, showing up at the bank manager's house just before he leaves for work, and holding his family hostage until they can take the money out of the vault. This particular heist goes off more or less without a hitch.

As for Eddie Coyle? He (played by Robert Mitchum) helped the Scalise gang get the guns for this heist. But Eddie is getting on in years, and has problems in his personal life. He's got a wife and kids, and doesn't want to hurt them. But he was arrested some time back for transporting stolen whiskey, and convicted of crossing state lines with it in a federal court up in New Hampshire. He's scheduled to be sentenced soon, and he can't do a multiple-year stint in federal prison. As it is, the kids' classmates are already making fun of them for what their father has done.

Meanwhile, fellow criminal Dillon (Peter Boyle) runs a bar which he doesn't actually own because of his own convictions that prevent him from owning a liquor license. But he and Coyle know all of the same criminal types in Boston's Irish underworld. Dillon actually helped Coyle get the job transporting that whiskey on which Coyle was unfortunately arrested.

With that sentencing coming up, Coyle would like to do something to get a lighter sentence, and goes to federal agent Foley (Richard Jordan) to ask for help. Foley suggests that Coyle rat out the people he's working with. Coyle doesn't want to be a permanent fink, because he knows that that would mean a near-certain death sentence especially if he winds up in prison. Perhaps Foley could get his family into the witness protection program, but that would depend on the judge up in New Hampshire not giving him prison time, and the judge is apparently a harsh sentencer.

Coyle responds by finding out that Jackie Brown (not Pam Grier, but Steven Keats), the man from whom he's been buying guns for the Scalise gang, is going to a commuter rail station to make a sale, and informs Foley of that sale, not telling Foley about his work for the Scalise gang yet. When the feds arrest Brown, he figures out at least part of what's going on. As for the Scalise gang, they have a problem with one of their heists that results in them shooting one of the bank employees, meaning that they're going to have to give up the game or completely change their modus operandi.

Even worse for Coyle is that he finds out the judge isn't going to be satisfied with just handing over Jackie Brown. He might need to rat out the Scalise gang, and with them on his tail, perhaps it might finally be worth it. After all, if they're going to kill him anyway.... But events transpire such that Coyle might not be able to save himself anyway.

From what I read, The Friends of Eddie Coyle was not particularly successful at the box office. And frankly, it's not difficult to see why. The movie isn't quite a character study to the extent that The Wrestler is. But even with the bank robberies, stake-outs, and other crimes, it comes across as a less-than action-filled movie, having the slower pace of a character study. So the movie's not fitting in squarely with either genre makes it something that a commercial audience might have some problems with.

That's a shame, because The Friends of Eddie Coyle is actually a pretty darn good movie. Mitchum gives a fine performance as Coyle, while the plot ultimately comes together at the end. Also, the cinematography and depiction of the Boston area as it was in the early 1970s is extremely evocative. I particularly liked the Friendly's restaurant in the strip mall from an era before the standalone outlets with the distinctive belfry roof. (Most of the restaurants have closed, but some of the buildings stand, used by other businesses; I've always found it interesting recognizing distinctive business outlets repurposed into other things.) Mitchum is also not the only cast member to give a fine performance; most of the supporting actors are good, too.

If you want a good look at a specific time and place, you could do a lot worse than to watch The Friends of Eddie Coyle.