Peter Yates’s Robert Mitchum vehicle THE FRIENDS OF EDDIE COYLE is an unglamorous picture of a rough way of life and the rough people who live it (on both sides of the law).

With friend of the show and noted crime (movie) enthusiast Matt Clark, we pull back the grimy edges of this unromantic “anti-thriller” to expose the fragile, human narrative at its core — brought to life in part by the cantankerous Peter Boyle, who also lends his name to the trivia segment that closes the episode.

Find Matt…

• At Kino Ventura, a blog about movies


• On Bluesky at kinoventura


• On Letterboxd at kino_ventura


• On Trylove episodes about NIGHT MOVES (1975), THE LAVENDER HILL MOB (1951)

References:

• “The Real World of Crime” by Matt Clark for Perisphere, the Trylon blog


• “A Criminal Reputation: George V. Higgins From Page to Screen” by J.R. Jones for Perisphere, the Trylon blog


• Give to the Trylon’s Film Forever Fund so they never have to increase ticket prices!


• Check the calendar, preview upcoming series, and buy tickets


• Contribute to Perisphere, the Trylon blog

#TheCantankerousPeterBoyle #DCP

Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast, Bluesky at @trylovepodca.st, and email us at trylovepodcast@gmail.com to get in touch!

Show art by Emily Csuy. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music: “The Friends of Eddie Coyle Theme” by Dave Grusin from the THE FRIENDS OF EDDIE COYLE soundtrack.

Timestamps

0:00 - Episode 331: THE FRIENDS OF EDDIE COYLE (1973)

2:58 - The Patented Harry Mackin Summary (not to be confused with The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary, the syndication rights to which are held exclusively and in perpetuity by AG Enterprises, Ltd.)

4:58 - Opening thoughts

10:23 - THE FRIENDS OF EDDIE COYLE as a movie of two modes

22:07 - The banality of working class crime

30:54 - Cynicism and Eddie Coyle's fatal flaw

37:55 - The Cantankerous Peter Boyle

47:56 - Robert Mitchum and the film's written dialogue

56:28 - Coyle's last grasp at the American Dream

1:04:01 - The Junk Drawer

1:13:25 - To All the Loves We've Tried Before: 1973

1:18:20 - Cody's Noteys: The Friends of Peter Boyle (Peter Boyle trivia)