Boomerang! (1947)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Elia Kazan

Writers:

Richard Murphy (screenplay)
Fulton Oursler (article)

Release Date:

28 April 1947 (Sweden)

Genre:

Crime | Film-Noir | Drama

Tagline:

It comes back at you again and again!

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Attorney | Prosecutor | Priest | Murder | District Attorney

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins

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

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

UK:A (original rating) | Finland:S | USA:Approved (11999, General Audience)

Filming Locations:

Connecticut, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Based on a case of Homer Stille Cummings, as a Connecticut state attorney, who later became the 55th U.S. Attorney General.

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 Father, I...
Father George A. Lambert: We've been through it all before. I can't help you - the sanitarium, perhaps...
Jim Crossman - Killer: No, I won't! If... if people would just...
Father George A. Lambert: It's not people, son; it's you. I told you that before. This time, fortunately, no great harm has been done. But the next time... No, I can't let you go any longer; it's got to be the sanitarium. Have you spoken to your mother about this?
Jim Crossman - Killer: [panicked] You wouldn't tell *her*!
Father George A. Lambert: I haven't spoken to anyone.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in Elia Kazan: A Director's Journey (1995)

Soundtrack:

America, the Beautiful

A solid drama with a strong final court scene and interesting political comment

In a small town in Connecticut, Father Lambert is a pillar of the community and, when a man shoots him dead and runs off the shockwaves are felt far and deep. The political pressure is on when the "people" start appealing to the Mayor to catch the man responsible. As always, the sh*t rolls downhill and State's Attorney Henry Harvey finds himself with a few weeks to avoid taking the blame for the failure to bring someone in. When the police bring back John Waldron from Ohio they break him and he signs a confession. Harvey prepares a strong case despite Waldron maintaining his innocence, meanwhile the political games around the case build.

Based on a true story, this film opens with a narration that "this could happen anywhere" etc in the way that films used to often do. Regardless of where it happened the story is still good. On one level this film is about the murder and it follows the court case of the man charged with the murder. This is interesting for the majority without ever really catching fire but the final 20 minutes in court provide one good scene (maybe not the famous court scene from JFK but it is still engaging to watch Harvey ripping his own case down from the top. Intertwined with this is an enjoyable criticism of political manoeuvring within the idea of "justice"; it isn't as sharp as I would have liked but I was surprised that it was there at all considering the period.

The cast are mostly good but it is Andrews that runs things here. He is a slow starter but he convinces when in a moral mire and works well as he pulls out the stops to producing a zippy and engaging conclusion. Aside from him no other performance really stands out that well – Begley is particularly disappointing as the material deserved more than he delivered. The cast does feature some famous faces including Cobb, Malden and Levene but it is Andrews show as he leads it well.

Overall a good film from Kazan with a solid case at the core while also having enjoyable threads about political game playing (which in fairness was probably stronger than I thought, but I've been into The Wire recently so in this area everything pales by comparison).