John Waldron is on trial for the cold-blooded murder of a small town’s beloved priest. Shifty, nervous and an out-of-towner, he's been identified by six witnesses, his gun deemed to be the murder weapon - he even signed a confession. Plus, from a noir flashback, we know he once argued with the newly departed Father Lambert. Looks like a case of case closed … until District Attorney Henry Harvey, assigned to convict Waldron, stuns the court by announcing he means to prove him innocent, despite outraged denoucements by the mayor, cops, local pols and townsfolk. The revelations that follow are both suspenseful and fun to watch. Like NORTHSIDE 777 made a year later, BOOMERANG is a docu-noir, a noir subset that features actual events dramatized in a documentary style. And like the later film, BOOMERANG, directed by Elia Kazan, is littered with red herrings and familiar noir faces, including Dana Andrews as the crusading D.A.; Arthur Kennedy, the accused; Lee J. Cobb, a crusty police chief, Sam Levene, a cynical reporter; Ed Begley, Sr. a corrupt public works commissioner; and Karl Malden, a tough but earnest gumshoe. Jane Wyatt plays Andrews’ wise, beautiful and supportive wife in what appears to be a dress rehearsal for her role as Margaret in the ‘50s TV classic, “Father Knows Best.”
BOOMERANG (1947)
More red herrings than you can shake a boomerang at
John Waldron is on trial for the cold-blooded murder of a small town’s beloved priest. Shifty, nervous and an out-of-towner, he's been identified by six witnesses, his gun deemed to be the murder weapon - he even signed a confession. Plus, from a noir flashback, we know he once argued with the newly departed Father Lambert. Looks like a case of case closed … until District Attorney Henry Harvey, assigned to convict Waldron, stuns the court by announcing he means to prove him innocent, despite outraged denoucements by the mayor, cops, local pols and townsfolk. The revelations that follow are both suspenseful and fun to watch. Like NORTHSIDE 777 made a year later, BOOMERANG is a docu-noir, a noir subset that features actual events dramatized in a documentary style. And like the later film, BOOMERANG, directed by Elia Kazan, is littered with red herrings and familiar noir faces, including Dana Andrews as the crusading D.A.; Arthur Kennedy, the accused; Lee J. Cobb, a crusty police chief, Sam Levene, a cynical reporter; Ed Begley, Sr. a corrupt public works commissioner; and Karl Malden, a tough but earnest gumshoe. Jane Wyatt plays Andrews’ wise, beautiful and supportive wife in what appears to be a dress rehearsal for her role as Margaret in the ‘50s TV classic, “Father Knows Best.”
