What it’s about
Robert Mitchum plays burned-out Boston hood Eddie Fingers Coyle, a small-time gun-runner, on the fringes of the Boston mob, who finds himself facing a second prison stint for participating in a botched robbery. Desperate not to go back, he ponders whether to provide determined cop Dave Foley (Jordan) with some timely information on his colleagues. Even though Eddie is stalling for time and in fact hasnt got that much to tell, his friends including bartender/hit-man Dillon (Boyle) and bank robber Jimmy (Rocco) wont be very understanding.
Why we love it
Peter Yatess grim, ultra-realistic crime drama provided Mitchum with his finest late career role. His Eddie confronts a frightening future, but all this hulking shell of a man feels is tired. No one plays world-weary better than Mitchum, and he even nails a Boston accent. On-location shooting at seedy Beantown locales only heightens the films sense of authenticity. Paul Monashs script (adapted from a novel by George V. Higgins) vividly captures the distinctive language of the Boston underworld, and gets delivered with conviction by a uniformly first-rate cast. Friends, meet Eddie Coyle.
Robert Mitchum, Peter Boyle, Richard Jordan, Steven Keats, Alex Rocco, Joe Santos Peter Yates