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Greydon Clark's own book "On The Cheap" details the making of each of his films, including this one which was backed by an English producer. Susan Blakely's lead character is institutionalized after a violent murder of her daughter in an elevator has left her seriously traumatized. It's believed that a known serial killer who attacks in elevators is the culprit. Wings Hauser plays her estranged husband who still wants Blakely back despite her asking for a divorce prior to the incident. Richard Masur plays her therapist, and Edward Albert appears as a cop who takes particular interest in the murders-- why was Blakely's character unharmed and only the child killed, against the pattern of the murderer? Blakely is shown as unhinged and convinced that her child is still alive, clearly struggling with what seems like actual appearances and phone calls from her dead child. Is she delusional or is there a more complicated plot afoot?

Clark's work has a certain charm even if it doesn't always work, and he often managed some good performances out of the many stars who ended up in his 20+ features. OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND was shot over fifteen days for $400,000. As a b-movie made in the late 1980s, this one holds up pretty well. The primary cast were all established capable actors and are working above the limited budget of this production, particularly Blakely and Albert who manage some good interplay. Wings Hauser supplies his usual electric, potentially unhinged character performance, and as usual is highly entertaining (he only worked one week on this picture). Masur is reliable as ever and Clark manages a few good twists and solid misdirection as to who is involved and what their motivation is. This is a character-driven story more than a sleazy genre film and it ought to be judged as thus. It does at times feel like a TV movie but for the thriller/neo-noir genre which popular at that time there are far weaker examples.

OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND appears hard to access. It had a very limited release in the US and appears to have been more widely available internationally. I watched it on a Prism/Paramount videotape (the pairing of both companies is unusual) and overall it's was a nice surprise for a efficient low-budget psychological thriller.

The First Deadly Sin is a startlingly incongruent mix of 80s vigilante cop and old fashioned gumshoe thriller. It doesn't make a lot of sense, but there's some tension built up in between the general scenery-chewing of Sinatra and others. One wonders exactly what made Sinatra think this was a good idea- he appears pretty bored throughout the film, perhaps shooting for a Philip Marlowe weariness and falling very short. The overall tone of the movie emphasizes the darkness and bleak surroundings of the city, and admittedly the lighting and tone is very dramatic. Sinatra plays a senior police officer in New York who is just about to finish up the job and retire when a strange random murder appeals to him and he becomes the only cop who sees a pattern. His wife, played by Faye Dunaway, is hospitalized throughout the film and Sinatra's character visits her frequently to try and cheer her up as well as criticize the doctors for not doing enough for her.

The supporting cast fills in lots of gaps here and makes this fit in, albeit very strangely, with the NYC exploitation style that was current at the time. The great Joe Spinell shows up as a doorman, James Whitmore as the coroner, Brenda Vaccaro, Robert Weil, Eddie Jones, Victor Arnold and even a one-second appearance of Bruce Willis in his first film role. We see the horribly typical subtle racism of Jews and Latinos in New York City being displayed by stereotypes, as well as other policemen shown as haggard and corrupt, merely to contrast with Sinatra's "white knight" character. Sinatra is shown as the anachronism within the decay of the city- none of the police seem to be able to make any difference, so it takes Sinatra's illegal activities to reduce the story to a simple good vs. evil struggle. Sinatra is so bizarrely set in the story he dresses up like Bogart with a cocked Fedora and even is shown digging up an old Luger to carry in another scene. We never understand why he is so antiquated or what the point is of contrasting him in 1980 Manhattan.

Too many misshapen ideas clog this film-- for instance, why exactly is Faye Dunaway in the hospital throughout the film? There is an insistence on a religious overtone throughout the film (besides the title, there are crosses displayed everywhere)that is never explained. Anthony Zerbe phones in a quick appearance as a police captain who tries to reel in Sinatra, who is retiring in mere days from decades on the force. If it weren't bad enough that Zerbe appears needlessly drunk in this scene, his character is supposed to be a no-nonsense captain and when Sinatra asks if he can stay on the case, Zerbe basically says "sure, whatever". The two people who break down the murderer's identity are bizarrely the curator of the renowned Arms & Armor wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the wife of the murderer's first victim! Sinatra merely leaves the scene to let them do the work, appropriately showing his seemingly little concern for the plot of this film.

The First Deadly Sin is a very confusing film with more loose ends than a thread factory. Sinatra picked a very odd piece of work to make his last starring role and there must be some interesting story behind what happened with this obviously well-budgeted film. Sinatra was never an amazing actor but this is just a mess.

It is essentially criminal (pun intended) that this neo-noir classic resides in the grey market, with unofficial copies being the best available way to see this film. It's 1973 and we are exposed to the criminal world in the greater Boston area during a relatively desolate autumn. Coyle, played in grand loser style by Mitchum, is running out of time while looking at an inevitable 3-5 year prison stint for bootlegging liquor (an outdated crime if there ever was one). He's an old hood, still wrapped up in doing favors and still in the know, but he's becoming a liability as he scrambles to avoid doing time. Peter Boyle is an associate of his, who runs a bar while also keeping his hands involved in the seamy side of business. Alex Rocco leads a band of bank robbers linked to Coyle who are making headlines as they take out banks left and right and Richard Jordan is a treasury agent who keeps intense links with underground figures who keep him in the know, including Boyle and Mitchum. Steven Keats plays a hotshot gun-dealer in one of his best-ever roles.

Yates makes this an intense film, slowly boiling over but never less than riveting. The locations cannot be overlooked; even if you weren't around in Boston at the time, the vibe is irrepressible. The dour, gray working class environs that the characters operate within still exist in Boston. The film has so many well-placed and subtle Boston area locations that one might easily consider the film not being as effective elsewhere. For Boston natives and residents, there is everything from a gun deal on Memorial Drive, to location shots at the Dorchester and Alewife bowling alleys, to repeated shots of Government Center, the Sharon train station, several old bars believed to be in Jamaica Plain or Downtown, Qunicy residences, South Station diner, and much more. For me, there is no greater classic Boston film from the period- the scene where the lead characters watch Bobby Orr and the Bruins play at the original Boston Garden cinches that.

Also especially notable is the attention to detail, both regionally and in plot. Although filmed in the early 70s, this film amazingly features NO black characters. This cannot be a coincidence- even though a renaissance of black actors was in effect at the time, the point is made that Boston was (is?) a hotbed of racial tension, especially in the pre-busing days. Some carefully placed comments elucidate this: KEATS- "I got some guy asking me for machine guns..." MITCHUM- "What color was he?" KEATS- "He's a nice guy.." Mentions of city districts and Coyle's expatriate Irish wife Sheila also add to the realism. Coyle is barely staying afloat in this world where no one is to be trusted. This classic noir motif works very well here, since it's quickly made obvious whose lives matter and whose don't in this almost airtight crime thriller.

The Friends Of Eddie Coyle is simply one of the best true-to-life films I've ever seen and a movie so well made it's hard to believe it's such a sleeper. Also note the excellent Dave Gruisin score which is also unreleased. One of the absolute best of the 1970s. Meanwhile in Boston today, bank robberies still occur regularly.

Now available from Amazon as a legal download, looks like no one else was eager to touch this classic for DVD release-- that's a real shame. Was also incidentally shown at Cambridge Massachusetts' Brattle Theater late 2007 in a spectacular print.