In one of the best performances of his legendary career, Robert Mitchum (Night of the Hunter) plays small-time gunrunner Eddie “Fingers” Coyle in an adaptation by Peter Yates (Bullitt) of George V. Higgins’s acclaimed novel, The Friends of Eddie Coyle. World-weary and living hand to mouth, Coyle works on the sidelines of the seedy Boston underworld just to make ends meet. But when he finds himself facing a second stretch of hard time, he’s forced to weigh loyalty to his criminal colleagues against snitching to stay free. Directed with a sharp eye for its gritty locales and an open heart for its less-than-heroic characters, featuring fantastic supporting performances from brilliant character actors including Peter Boyle, Alex Rocco, and Mitchell Ryan, this is one of the true treasures of 1970s Hollywood filmmaking—a suspenseful crime drama in stark, unforgiving daylight.

This screening is being presented in a new DCP courtesy of Paramount Pictures.