The Friends of Eddie Coyle

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The Friends of Eddie Coyle

R

1973

1h 40m

Crime

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

98%

Tomatometer

42 Reviews

86%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

Aging Boston gunrunner Eddie Coyle (Robert Mitchum) is looking at several years of jail time for a hold-up if he doesn't funnel information to Dave Foley (Richard Jordan), an ATF agent. Eddie buys some guns from another gunrunner, Jackie Brown (Steven Keats), then gives him up to Foley, but the agent isn't satisfied. Conflicted, Eddie decides to also give up the gang of bank robbers he's been supplying, only to find that Foley already knows about them, and the mob believes Eddie snitched.

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Critics Consensus

The Friends of Eddie Coyle sees Robert Mitchum in transformative late-career mode in a gritty and credible character study.

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Ty Burr

Ty Burr's Watch List (Substack)

05/24/2022

4/4

Mitchum just is. The one-time hero of 1940s film noirs knows he’s working with shades of gray here and that there are no heroes and not really any tough guys, only the successful and the dead.

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G.J. Fleming

Orlando Sentinel

08/24/2021

Thanks to Mitchum's finest job of acting in a long while, a strong story and polished direction, "Eddie Coyle" is a surprisingly interesting character study.

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Elston Brooks

Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com

08/24/2021

Yates has fashioned one of the year's tautest dramas without having to rely on gimmicks like the premier high-speed auto chase that trademarked his earlier "Bullitt."

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

Dec 22

4/5

‘The Friends of Eddie Coyle could have been a commercial classic with a Steve McQueen in the lead, but it’s still pretty good with powder-fresh Mitchum, who really captures the ebbing internal energy of Eddie Coyle in Peter Yates' downbeat thriller…

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Paine Knickerbocker

San Francisco Examiner

08/24/2021

Under Peter Yates' direction, Robert Mitchum -- who in talented hands has always been one of the screen's top actors -- and Peter Boyle are touching, chilling, and excellent.

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revolver.0 8

@Revolver08 Feb 9

boring and overrated

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Merick H

@RT59327164 Nov 22

Great classic crime film...

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Totally Legal A

@RT72405282 Oct 17

Read a book. They made Jackie Brown white which led to Tarantino making one of the worst films of his career. Stick to the script, this is one movie that is only decent when doing so.

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Paul S

@RT07241841 03/25/2024

Worth watching if only for the 70's rundown urban Massachusetts motif. This is a blue collar mob flick. No romanticized wiseguy antics. Just good acting and storytelling.

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Aldo G

@RT54480587 02/03/2024

The walls of the law are caving in on Eddie Coyle (Robert Mitchum), so he chooses to betray his friends. The cast delivers credible performances, and location shooting throughout Boston furthers the credibility. It almost feels like a documentary. Kudos to director Peter Yates.

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Taylor P

@RT15917528 10/08/2023

Good story but couldn't keep me interested enough to finish

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Peter Yates

Director

Robert Mitchum

Eddie "Fingers" Coyle

Peter Boyle

Dillon

Richard Jordan

Dave Foley

Steven Keats

Jackie Brown

Alex Rocco

Jimmy Scalise

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Synopsis

Aging Boston gunrunner Eddie Coyle (Robert Mitchum) is looking at several years of jail time for a hold-up if he doesn't funnel information to Dave Foley (Richard Jordan), an ATF agent. Eddie buys some guns from another gunrunner, Jackie Brown (Steven Keats), then gives him up to Foley, but the agent isn't satisfied. Conflicted, Eddie decides to also give up the gang of bank robbers he's been supplying, only to find that Foley already knows about them, and the mob believes Eddie snitched.

Director: Peter Yates
Producer: Paul Monash
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Rating: R
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 26, 1973, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 15, 2011
Runtime: 1h 40m