Boomerang! (1947)

The true story of a prosecutor's fight to prove the innocence of a man accused of a notorious murder.

Director:

Elia Kazan

Writers:

Richard Murphy (screenplay), Fulton Oursler (article)

Stars:

Dana Andrews, Jane Wyatt, Lee J. Cobb

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Dana Andrews	...	State's Atty. Henry L. Harvey
Jane Wyatt	...	Madge Harvey
Lee J. Cobb	...	Chief Harold F. 'Robbie' Robinson
Cara Williams	...	Irene Nelson - Waitress at Coney Island Cafe
Arthur Kennedy	...	John Waldron
Sam Levene	...	Dave Woods - 'Morning Record' Reporter
Taylor Holmes	...	T.M. Wade
Robert Keith	...	Mac McCreery
Ed Begley	...	Paul Harris
Philip Coolidge	...	Jim Crossman

Storyline

This dramatization of a factual incident opens in a quiet Connecticut town where a kindly priest is murdered while waiting at a street corner. The citizens are horrified and demand action from the police. All of the witnesses identify John Waldron, a nervous out-of-towner, as the killer. Although Waldron vehemently denies the crime, no one will believe him. District Attorney Henry Harvey is then put on the case and faces political opposition in his attempt to prove Waldron's innocence.

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Plot Keywords:

innocence | murder | veteran | priest | attorney | 

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Taglines:

It comes back at you again and again!

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Genres:

Crime | Film-Noir | Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 April 1947 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Boomerang

Filming Locations:

Connecticut, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Film debut of Ed Begley

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Quotes

Off-Screen Narrator: ...But his everyday work was with the people of his parish, and especially with those who sought his advice and counsel. Since he was a man of God, his labors sometimes led him into the strains and secret places of mens' souls. He was just and forgiving, but he was also a man, and a stern and uncompromising judge of character.
Father George A. Lambert: [Speaking to an anguished-looking middle-aged man] Stop that! Even if I wanted to forgive you, I... I couldn't. It's out of my hands.
[pause]
Father George A. Lambert: Jim, you're a sick man.
Jim Crossman - Killer: But ...
[...]

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Connections

Featured in American Masters: A Letter to Elia (2010)

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Soundtracks

"America, the Beautiful"
(uncredited)
Music by Samuel A. Ward
Played during the opening sequence and at the end

User Reviews

Kazan between A Tree Grows in Brooklyn & On the Waterfront...reason enough to see

Boomerang! (1947)

In some ways this is an intensely well made and satisfying film, and when you have Dana Andrews in the lead role combined with Elia Kazan directing, and throw in first rate character actor Lee J. Cobb, you have something worth watching.

It's nice early Kazan, but it stumbles at times, and never lifts off, never gels. Here's why.

First of all, it's based (very closely) on fact, and sometimes the facts are dramatic but not necessarily good drama. Hamlet, if it were straight documentary truth, would probably shock more and enchant less. And so here, we start with a horrifying crime which takes the viewer quite by surprise. Then, in a continuing voice-over documentary style, we are launched on a huge manhunt. Facts are gathered, suspects suspected, policework unleashed, all acted and congealed very intelligently. A large twist occurs (with something of a stutter, dramatically), and then we are in a different kind of drama, a courtroom battle, with Andrews playing the unlikely role of prosecutor looking for the actual truth in a case rather than a conviction.

And then the court battle ends, and the movie sort of drizzles to a stop. And you might well say (as I did), "How like life." Or something equally unexciting. It's not a like a neo-realist hyper real movie, using amateur actors and so on. No, it's just an adapted true life crime story that might have been something more. For two sides to this coin, I'd first mention Kazan's own "On the Waterfront" which uses a real life kind of scenario but turns it into a dramatic masterpiece. And then some harder hitting reality movie like "The Phenix City Story" (1955) shows what a dramatic version of the truth, unchanged, might look like.

Of course, Kazan and crew are experts, and this is no dud. Andrews, if he is your taste, is in great form, really, within his shifting role. And the supporting cast does wonders, as cops, and as regular people, which this movie is ultimately about. Recommended, yes, but with expectations in line with, uh, reality.