Shout Ty, absolutely the best! “ 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.” Higgins & Mitchum, the perfect pairing…
My favorite ‘Boston’ movie captures the dirt and grayness of the city when I was a kid. Everything seemed tired and seedy, including and especially the Garden. I’d pair this with The Verdict to get a sense of what Boston was like before it got prettied up. ‘‘Twas not a friendly place.
That is a great, great movie. One of my favorites. And: it is indeed a Boston crime movie, and has great local color. But the main things are: what a great character study is is (for more than one character). What great acting. Great everything. But would have been great if placed in any other city. Everything about it is good. Great script, cinematography, you name it. I sometimes try to make a list of my favorite movies, but: it always gets way too long (by most people's standards). This one is always on it. A like a lot of the "Boston" crime movies, but if I have to categorize them as that, this one is the gold standard.
All true, Ty, about 'Eddie' being the best Boston movie. Just as it presents a Mitchum who 'just is,' it presents the Boston that 'just was -- the Boston I encountered when I first moved here in 1972 and had a beer in that bar that was in the movie at the corner of Mass Ave and Newbury St. It was a kind of scary place that they didn't have to do over for Hollywood. You felt like you'd better have your wallet in your front pocket, too easy for someone to mark a newbie, bump into you and pop it out your back pocket. You had to watch out, it seems in looking back, just about everywhere in Boston. The town was down in the heels. I don't miss it but I don't regret living through it either. This Boston all comes through in the dark corners of The Friends of Eddie Coyle.
I forgot how good this was. Read the book, loved the movie (Mitchum and Boyle together!), and will now re-watch. Thanks for reminding us all of this grim classic.
I was lucky enough to work with Peter Yates on his last film, "Separate Peace" for Showtime.....we talked about bunch of his films, but mostly Bullit and the car chases.......I wish I had remembered he did Friends of Eddie Coyle, as I was a huge fan of Higgins and that movie.....but Peter Yates did so many great movies - he was a lovely, lovely man - he would call me late in the evening and say, "I've been listening to your score, and I just love it!" - and then hang up! You kill yourself for that kind of director.
There's a great scene in the parking lot of the Dedham Mall, circa 1973, which we drive by every week en route to Whole Foods...wild.
As for the Boston accents (which, it astonishes me, even Matt & Ben and the Wahlbergs are 100% clueless at capturing), it's quite simple: Just watch a week of the Channel 7 News, for the people-on-the-street & first-responder interviews. Those guys should ALL be working as dialect coaches on the side.
Although "The Friends of Eddie Coyle" was essentially a Hollywood production, it plays an unheralded role in the establishment of an independent feature scene in Boston. Local actor Jan Egleson got cast in a bit part in the movie (I believe he can be seen in the scene at the Garden). Egleson had a track record as a stage actor, but this was his first real film experience. He spent his time on set studying how all the moving parts fit together and thought, "Why not?" A few years later, Egleson made "Billy in the Lowlands," a film that proved that indigenous, DIY dramatic filmmaking could spring from New England's rocky and unforgiving soil.
Another point: I can't read that excerpt in Ty's post, with its references to "the Roadrunner" and "Route 128," without thinking of the Massachusetts state song, "Roadrunner." Jonathan Richman wrote that number about this same terrain at about the same time that the film was made. As the movie shows and Richman's song suggests, this was a different Route 128 from the one associated with the first tech boom and bland corporate office blocks.
You mentioned this a few months ago and I watched it for the first time and was totally enthralled. I immediately went out and read the book and, while writing my review of the book, I kept getting confused. Was I remembering the movie or the book? It was that crazy close to it. Just amazing. And even I, who showed up in the area about 10 years after the movie, still saw plenty of the sights.
Shout Ty, absolutely the best! “ 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.” Higgins & Mitchum, the perfect pairing…
My favorite ‘Boston’ movie captures the dirt and grayness of the city when I was a kid. Everything seemed tired and seedy, including and especially the Garden. I’d pair this with The Verdict to get a sense of what Boston was like before it got prettied up. ‘‘Twas not a friendly place.
That is a great, great movie. One of my favorites. And: it is indeed a Boston crime movie, and has great local color. But the main things are: what a great character study is is (for more than one character). What great acting. Great everything. But would have been great if placed in any other city. Everything about it is good. Great script, cinematography, you name it. I sometimes try to make a list of my favorite movies, but: it always gets way too long (by most people's standards). This one is always on it. A like a lot of the "Boston" crime movies, but if I have to categorize them as that, this one is the gold standard.
Wonderful,wonderful,wonderful article. You hit the nail right on the head. The best commentary on the movie that I have ever read.
All true, Ty, about 'Eddie' being the best Boston movie. Just as it presents a Mitchum who 'just is,' it presents the Boston that 'just was -- the Boston I encountered when I first moved here in 1972 and had a beer in that bar that was in the movie at the corner of Mass Ave and Newbury St. It was a kind of scary place that they didn't have to do over for Hollywood. You felt like you'd better have your wallet in your front pocket, too easy for someone to mark a newbie, bump into you and pop it out your back pocket. You had to watch out, it seems in looking back, just about everywhere in Boston. The town was down in the heels. I don't miss it but I don't regret living through it either. This Boston all comes through in the dark corners of The Friends of Eddie Coyle.
I forgot how good this was. Read the book, loved the movie (Mitchum and Boyle together!), and will now re-watch. Thanks for reminding us all of this grim classic.
I was lucky enough to work with Peter Yates on his last film, "Separate Peace" for Showtime.....we talked about bunch of his films, but mostly Bullit and the car chases.......I wish I had remembered he did Friends of Eddie Coyle, as I was a huge fan of Higgins and that movie.....but Peter Yates did so many great movies - he was a lovely, lovely man - he would call me late in the evening and say, "I've been listening to your score, and I just love it!" - and then hang up! You kill yourself for that kind of director.
There's a great scene in the parking lot of the Dedham Mall, circa 1973, which we drive by every week en route to Whole Foods...wild.
As for the Boston accents (which, it astonishes me, even Matt & Ben and the Wahlbergs are 100% clueless at capturing), it's quite simple: Just watch a week of the Channel 7 News, for the people-on-the-street & first-responder interviews. Those guys should ALL be working as dialect coaches on the side.
Although "The Friends of Eddie Coyle" was essentially a Hollywood production, it plays an unheralded role in the establishment of an independent feature scene in Boston. Local actor Jan Egleson got cast in a bit part in the movie (I believe he can be seen in the scene at the Garden). Egleson had a track record as a stage actor, but this was his first real film experience. He spent his time on set studying how all the moving parts fit together and thought, "Why not?" A few years later, Egleson made "Billy in the Lowlands," a film that proved that indigenous, DIY dramatic filmmaking could spring from New England's rocky and unforgiving soil.
Another point: I can't read that excerpt in Ty's post, with its references to "the Roadrunner" and "Route 128," without thinking of the Massachusetts state song, "Roadrunner." Jonathan Richman wrote that number about this same terrain at about the same time that the film was made. As the movie shows and Richman's song suggests, this was a different Route 128 from the one associated with the first tech boom and bland corporate office blocks.
You mentioned this a few months ago and I watched it for the first time and was totally enthralled. I immediately went out and read the book and, while writing my review of the book, I kept getting confused. Was I remembering the movie or the book? It was that crazy close to it. Just amazing. And even I, who showed up in the area about 10 years after the movie, still saw plenty of the sights.
Great movie. Great presentation you gave. Would love to talk more: stephen@stephendrogers.com