MovieChat Forums > The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973) Discussion > Deleted scenes

Deleted scenes

posted 13 years ago by bookrefuge
7 replies | jump to latest

The Criterion DVD includes stills of scenes cut from the movie. In addition to the one of Brown and Foley at the police station (mentioned in my other post below), there are two more I found interesting.
In one cut scene, Scalise (Alex Rocco) beats that pretty girlfriend of his into a pulp. Have to wonder what was going on there. Did she discover he was a bank robber, or did the relationship just turn sour? Maybe the novel has the answer. I’m also thinking maybe Yates felt he might need to show the harsher side of criminals’ character. It’s interesting that Rocco later guested on a Kojak episode, playing a mobster with a reputation for beating up women. It was also interesting reading the Criterion review, which revealed that Rocco actually lived on the fringes of the Boston mob during his own youth—so he must have found these gangster roles easy to fit into.
In another deleted scene, Yates filmed an alternative climax: when the three robbers face “April Fool” at the final bank manager’s house, they decide to shoot it out instead of surrendering. As a matter of fact, I had always wondered if they wouldn’t have done just that. There were undoubtedly more cops outside the house, but from what we can see, Scalise and his friends are outnumbered 5 to 3. Foley is only carrying a handgun, although the other cops are better armed. And while the police do “have the drop” on them, the robbers are pretty well armed themselves. Knowing they would be facing life sentences for their crimes, I can conceive of the robbers deciding to go against the odds and trying to shoot it out.

[–] CrossCountryDriver 13 years ago

Hi and great post!

Yeah I think you'll enjoy the book and it will help to answer some of your questions. I recently read it but have to re-read it a second time to catch a few things I missed -as I kind of read it in a hurry when I had alot of projects going on. You'll enjoy it. Some differences between the book and movie you'll see; such as the way Jackie Brown is busted at the train station, etc. Also, I too wish they would have included the deleted scenes on the DVD under special features. I'd LOVE to see the ones between Foley and Brown at the station! Perhaps one day they will. I was delighted that they even released the DVD to begin with Maybe there'll be more to come.

"This lifes hard man but its harder if you're stupid!" (Steven Keats as Jackie Brown)

[–] bookrefuge 13 years ago

OK, I’ve now read the book too, which reveals why Scalise beat up Wanda. Since it’s not a major spoiler, I’ll mention it--it was basically because she was enraged that he had bragged to Eddie that she didn’t wear (under)pants and “came off like electricity.” She overheard this in the trailer's thin walls. Of course, there is no way of knowing if the film rendered it the same way.

[–] CrossCountryDriver 13 years ago

yeah we'd have to see the deleted scenes to find out if the film rendered it the same way. I hope soon Criterion will consider re-releasing the DVD with deleted scenes! I emailed them on their website and requested it. Perhaps if they get enough emails, they'll do it. I'd love ALL the deleted scenes, especially the ones Jackie Brown - they needed a special features section.

"This lifes hard man but its harder if you're stupid!" (Steven Keats as Jackie Brown)

[–] itchyredness 10 years ago

I just saw it and I thought to myself that she could probably hear what Scalise's crude remark. But when they came out of the room, she was all smiles, so I thought it means she doesn't care or may have even liked that he said it.

[–] trob226 13 years ago

So how did the alternate "April Fool" shootout come out? Betcha the cops won.

[–] bookrefuge 13 years ago

The stills show one bank robber, outdoors, in his ski mask, firing away. The other still shows a dead robber—probably the same one—hunched over a car, surrounded by Dave Foley (Richard Jordan) and other agents. Exactly how Yates played out this discarded scene is not explained.

Incidentally, although the movie has three robbers caught in the house, there was a fourth man driving the car—you can tell if you watch the discussion on the way to the house. Joe Santos is in front on the passenger side, talking to Rocco and the other hood in back, and we never see the driver’s face. Also, when the representative of “the Man” meets Peter Boyle, he lists four men who were caught at the house. The fourth man must have been the driver. Just possibly this is the outdoor robber seen in the stills.

(SPOILER FROM THE BOOK) In the book, the robbers at the house do drop their guns. But another robber, who is waiting at the bank, tries to shoot it out and is killed. It turns out that this robber was “like a son” to “the Man.” “The Man” was extremely upset about this, which is why his agent tells Dillon he wants the hit “tonight”—contrary to caution and the usual protocol.
Interestingly, in the movie, at the first bank job, there were actually 5 hoods involved—3 in the bank, one at the house, and one in the phone booth.

[–] pablo-taylor 12 years ago

I've no doubt Criterion would have included the deleted scenes if it was a real option - do we know that they even exist for sure? With a handful of notable exceptions (The Godfather, The Exorcist, Apocalypse Now etc.), discarded footage from films of this period tends to be just that - discarded.