Tema: Film
Tip: Plakat

50 x 35 cm
1 x presavijen

Boomerang! is a 1947 American crime film noir based on the true story of a vagrant who was accused of murder by an incompetent police force, only to be found not guilty through the efforts of the prosecutor. It stars Dana Andrews, Lee J. Cobb, Karl Malden, Arthur Kennedy and Jane Wyatt.

The film was directed by Elia Kazan, based on a 1945 story (written by Fulton Oursler, credited as `Anthony Abbot`) in Reader`s Digest and was shot largely in Stamford, Connecticut after Kazan was denied permission to film in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where the actual events occurred. This semidocumentary also contains voice-overs by Reed Hadley. The film was entered into the 1947 Cannes Film Festival.

Father Lambert (Wyrley Birch), a priest, is shot dead on a Bridgeport, Connecticut street at night. The police, led by Chief Robinson (Lee J. Cobb), fail to immediately find the murderer. It soon becomes a political hot potato, with the police accused of incompetence, and the city`s reform-minded administration comes under attack. Robinson and the prosecutor Henry Harvey (Dana Andrews) come under severe pressure by political leaders to find the killer or bring in outside help.

After strenuous efforts yield nothing, a vagrant ex-serviceman, John Waldron (Arthur Kennedy), is apprehended and identified in a lineup. Pushed by politicians, the press, and the public, the police need someone to bring to trial. Waldron is interrogated for two days by police until, deprived of sleep, he confesses. The evidence seems solid, and a gun in his possession is believed to be the gun that was used in the shooting.

Harvey, however, is not convinced. He questions Waldron, investigates the evidence and the witnesses. Harvey then risks his reputation and incurs the wrath of the police and the public in proposing that the defendant is innocent, while he and his wife (Jane Wyatt) are also being threatened by a businessman named Harris (Ed Begley). In court, even though he is the prosecutor, Harvey lays out the flaws in the case before the judge, and indicates he intends to dismiss the charges. The judge suspects Harvey`s motives; Harvey`s relationship with Chief Robinson is strained; and a mob unsuccessfully attempts to impose their own justice on Waldron.

A sub-plot involving Paul Harris and a property under consideration for sale to the city—at a price Harris desperately needs to keep himself afloat—also has a prominent place in the film. Harris tries to blackmail Harvey by threatening to destroy his wife, a planning committee member, unless he supports the sale and sits idle, allowing Waldron to be convicted.

At a preliminary hearing, Harvey once again presents evidence that would lead to Waldron`s exoneration. When a reporter gets wind of the double-dealing and threatens Harris with exposure, Harris commits suicide in the courtroom.

The film ends with a narration that the murder was never solved, and the real Henry Harvey was Homer Cummings who rose to the position of U.S. Attorney General.