Boomerang! (1947)

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
E.J. Ballantine	...	McDonald - 'Morning Record' Editor (uncredited)
Royal Beal	...	Johnson - Police Ballistics Expert (uncredited)
Wyrley Birch	...	Father George A. Lambert (uncredited)
Helen Carew	...	Annie (uncredited)
John Carmody	...	Thomas Callahan (uncredited)
William Challee	...	Stone - Harvey's Assistant (uncredited)
Clay Clement	...	Judge Tate (uncredited)
Mickey Cochran	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Isabel Cooper	...	Church Choir Member (uncredited)
Harry Davis	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Pat Dillon	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
James Dobson	...	Bill - Cub Reporter (uncredited)
Bert Freed	...	Herron - Man in Alley Mob (uncredited)
Richard Garrick	...	Graham Rogers - Storekeeper (uncredited)
Walter Greaza	...	Mayor Swayze (uncredited)
Reed Hadley	...	Off-Screen Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Helene Hatch	...	Catherine Manion - Cashier, Plaza Theatre (uncredited)
Bern Hoffman	...	Tom (uncredited)
Harry Kadison	...	Maloney (uncredited)
Joe Kazan	...	Paul Lukash (uncredited)
Brian Keith	...	Extra (uncredited)
Barry Kelley	...	Desk Sgt. Dugan (uncredited)
Mickey Knox	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Ben Lackland	...	Commissioner Thomas Benson James (uncredited)
Harry Landers	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Lewis Leverett	...	Whitney - Harvey's Assistant (uncredited)
Lester Lonergan	...	Eugene Cary (uncredited)
Alan MacAteer	...	Herron (uncredited)
Karl Malden	...	Det. Lt. White (uncredited)
Ida McGuire	...	Miss Roberts (uncredited)
Arthur Miller	...	Line-Up Suspect (uncredited)
Anna Minot	...	Secretary (uncredited)
Paulene Myers	...	Maid (uncredited)
Coby Neal	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Frank Overton	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Lawrence Paguin	...	Sheriff (uncredited)
George Petrie	...	Harry O'Shea - Public Defender (uncredited)
Herbert Ratner	...	Investigator (uncredited)
Leona Roberts	...	Mrs. Crossman (uncredited)
Sam Rosen	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Anthony Ross	...	Warren (uncredited)
Dudley Sadler	...	Dr. William Rainsford (uncredited)
Lucia Backus Seger	...	Mrs. Lukash - Witness (uncredited)
John Stearns	...	Rev. Gardiner (uncredited)
Edgar Stehli	...	Ryan - Coroner (uncredited)
Fred Stewart	...	Graham (uncredited)
Guy Thomajan	...	Ronolo Cartucci - Witness (uncredited)

Directed by
Elia Kazan

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Richard Murphy		screenplay
Fulton Oursler		article (as Anthony Abbot)

Produced by
Louis De Rochemont	....	producer (as Louis de Rochemont)
Darryl F. Zanuck	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
David Buttolph

Cinematography by
Norbert Brodine

Film Editing by
Harmon Jones

Art Direction by
Richard Day
Chester Gore

Set Decoration by
Thomas Little

Costume Design by
Kay Nelson

Makeup Department
Ben Nye	....	makeup artist

Art Department
Phil D'Esco	....	associate set decorator

Sound Department
W.D. Flick	....	sound
Roger Heman Sr.	....	sound (as Roger Heman)

Special Effects by
Fred Sersen	....	special photographic effects

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Charles Le Maire	....	wardrobe director

Music Department
Alfred Newman	....	musical director
Edward B. Powell	....	orchestrator (as Edward Powell)

Other crew
Darryl F. Zanuck	....	presenter
Bill Colleran	....	assistant: Louis de Rochemont (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1947) (USA) (theatrical)
• Fox Home Video (video)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)

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:

First film of Barry Kelley

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

About a man of integrity

Elia Kazan's 1947 docudrama Boomerang dramatizes the courage and independence of a Connecticut States Attorney who stood up to political pressure and fought for dismissal of charges against a defendant accused of murder because he wasn't convinced of his guilt. The film (which I first saw as a boy) is based on an actual killing that took place in 1924 in which a popular parish priest was shot on a main street in Bridgeport, Connecticut in full public view. In spite of the public nature of the killing, the murderer escaped and no suspects were immediately apprehended. Using an unseen narrator to provide background information, the film achieves a hard-hitting realism, conveying the feeling that you are watching events as they unfold.

Produced by Louis de Rochemont, well known for films dramatizing real events such as "House on 92nd Street" and "13 Rue Madeline", performances are uniformly excellent, particularly those of Dana Andrews as Henry Harvey, the idealistic States Attorney, Lee J. Cobb as Police Chief Robbie Robinson, Arthur Kennedy as John Waldron, the ex-GI murder suspect, and Ed Begley as the corrupt Commissioner Paul Harris. The film stays fairly close to actual events with the exception that the States Attorney is shown as an unknown lawyer looking to make a name for himself not the nationally known former Mayor and candidate for US Senate.

Boomerang begins with a description of the crime and then in a flashback shows the priest asking his assistant to get help for his unstated problems and threatening to have him confined in a hospital. This thread is left hanging but Kazan tantalizes the viewer, suggesting without offering any evidence that the troubled assistant had a motive to kill the priest. When the investigation stalls, pressure is put on the police to come up with a suspect and Dave Woods (Sam Levene), a local newspaper reporter, runs a series of stories criticizing the City government for its inaction in hopes of achieving political power for the paper's owner.

After innocent people are arrested simply because they wore clothing that resembled what the killer is alleged to have worn the night of the murder, a disheveled veteran, John Waldron (Arthur Kennedy), is arrested in Ohio in possession of a handgun and returned to Connecticut. Several eyewitnesses pick out Waldron as the killer and the bullet is identified as coming from Waldron's gun. When Police Chief Robinson (Lee J. Cobb), finally extracts a confession after grilling Waldron for many hours, the case seems open and shut.

At the preliminary hearing, however, Harvey is guided by the legal code of ethics that the prosecutor's job is not to gain convictions but to see that justice is done and has doubts about the evidence, arguing against a conviction. Most of the film's dramatic moments take place in the courtroom but there is a back story involving municipal corruption, a theme that Kazan would visit again ten years later in "A Face in the Crowd".

The shocking turnaround by the States Attorney does not sit well with party official Paul Harris (Ed Begley) who invested his savings in a corrupt land deal and needs the present government to remain in power to buy that land from him. Fearing economic ruin, he threatens Harvey and insists the prosecutor try to convict Waldron whether or not he is innocent. The prosecutor remains steadfast, however, and the intense courtroom drama keeps us riveted until the surprising outcome is revealed.