The Friends of Eddie Coyle is an excellent 19673 film based on a fine 1970 novel by George V. Higgins. It was shown recently on TCM and is on disc as part of the Criterion Collection. The book is largely dialogue and Higgins, a former prosecutor, really understands how his small-time criminals talk and act.
Higgins was a big influence on Elmore Leonard. Remenber Jackie Brown, the Tarantino film based on Leonard’s Rum Punch? Jackie Brown is the name of a character in Eddie Coyle.
His novel Cogan’s Trade was filmed as Killing Them Softly and revived interest in Higgins.
Sad! 