The Friends of Eddie Coyle

Anybody see the new release (DVD) of Eddie Coyle?

It is great. Has some neat added attractions and it's a great film version of the greatest crime novel ever (IMHO).

Last night I watched the uncut version of Donnie Brasco. Pretty good with the extras.

Charlie, I agree 100% that "Coyle" is the greatest crime novel ever (although Higgins' second novel, "The Digger's Game," is right up there with "Coyle"). I like the film a lot, but, as with nearly all films made from great novels, it doesn't achieve that level of greatness. I and my "Coyle" fan friends loved Mitchum in the title role and Boyle as Dillon, and the rest of the cast was pretty decent.
I watch "Coyle" every time it's on TV, but I read the book at least once a month.

Brother, you couldn't be more on the spot about Digger's Game. Andf I'll raise you one more ... Cogan's Trade. I was asked to write a tribute to Higgins this past November (the 10th anniversary of his death). Here it is: http://therapsheet.blogspot.com/2009/11/three-masterpieces-etched-in-stone.html

I did like the understated style of the Eddie Coyle film, though. You're right though, nothing could match that book. It's what got me started writing more than 30 years ago.

Very fine article, Charlie.

I agree that Cogan ranks third. Among Higgins' other good ones were "The Rat on Fire," "Kennedy for the Defense," and "The Patriot Game." Sadly, most of the rest of his novels fell far short of the first three. He got incredibly self-indulgent with his use of dialog--often substituting endless dialog for action and even plot. Then again, who could match:

"He's listed at Arliss--'night expediter.' But just try finding him there. He works less than Santa Claus."

...or,

"Is that a girl? Or two guys in a girl suit?"
...or,
"You c**tlapper! The worst thing I ever had in my mouth was a cigar."

Yeah, we've discussed Higgins at length, TB. I don't think anyone ever wrote more realistic dialogue than he did in his early novels, save for maybe Richard Price or Elmore Leonard.

I recently purchased the new dvd release of "Eddie Coyle," and Charlie's right, they did a great job with it. I really love the scene at the Bruins game towards the end of the film. It was a dead on depiction of a live sporting event of the times (the early '70s). Mitchum did such a great job in that scene, I've often wondered if he was really drunk or just acting. And Boyle was a terrific actor. He had an understated brilliance about him that was mind-boggling. He could go from cuddly to terrifying in the blink of an eye.

All in all, a very good adaptation of a superior novel.

Yes, some of Higgins could get tedious ... i've often gotten lost 2 pages into a monologue but those were books I think he was fighting himself on. He didn't like being labelled a crime fiction writer. He had major issues with it.

One of my favorites: "Life is hard, man. It's harder when you're stupid."

That Bruins game scene was a classic. How many times you think somebody in a Bruins crowd back in the day yelled out, "Number Four, Bobby Orr!"

Great stuff.

I agree with that. Higgins was an intellectual and, as you know, a former prosecutor. I'm sure it drove him nuts that people identified him more with the criminal characters that he created, than with the academic that he was.

Still, a great writer who died way too young.

Back in the seventies there used to be a 4 o'clock movie on the local Detroit ABC affiliate (Channel 7). I seem to remember seeing "The Friends of Eddie Coyle" there but I don't think I saw the whole thing.

Higgins is the reason I started writing 30+ years ago. That opening line to Eddie Coyle is seared in my brain. For me it was an epiphany; not everything I read had to be torture. Higgins put you in the moment without 3 pages of descriptive narrative. He'll always be THE MASTER to me.

You can plot until you're blue in the face, I'd rather read good dialogue any day of the week. And it better ring true. There's nothing more painful than reading poorly phrased dialogue. A midwestern author trying to write New York patois. It actually makes me cringe. If you have a tin ear, you should get out of the fiction business. Because, in my opinion, nothing is more important than dialogue that rings true.

On the other hand, my wife breaks my shoes about my inability to describe women as having anything but "tight" bodies ...:)

I try to explain to her (Bay Ridge girl) that some Canarsie boys have their own way of speaking. She says I should learn another.

Women ...

cool, Donnie Brasco is way better uncut. did you see how graphic and violent the May 5th murders were, uncut??? you could actually see one of the capo's heads, rip open with the shot gun blast and a piece of Sonny Red's head comes off and slides down like a piece of ham.

I just gave "Cogan's Trade" a re-read to prep myself for the upcoming movie adaptation ("Killing Them Softly"). This time around I realized that the novel was way too long on dialogue. There's almost no narrative at all, which makes it difficult to follow the story.

I think Higgins took the accolades he got as a great writer of dialogue and went a little crazy with them. Meaning that he must have felt compelled to live up to that reputation by going heavy on the chatter. It's really annoying when a charcter talks for two pages and says nothing. It was still a fun read, though.

Re the film: I'm dying to see Gandolfini as the drunken New York hitman.