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Boomerang!

Play trailer Poster for Boomerang! 1947 1h 28m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
75% Tomatometer 20 Reviews 64% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
Connecticut prosecutor Henry Harvey (Dana Andrews), faced with a political maelstrom in the wake of the shooting death of a Catholic priest on a city street corner, feels tremendous pressure to prosecute a vagrant ex-soldier whom Police Chief Robinson (Lee J. Cobb) apprehended in connection with the crime. After the vagrant confesses, it looks to be an open and shut case, but Harvey remains unconvinced and chooses to risk his career in order to discover the truth.
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Boomerang!

Critics Reviews

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Variety Staff Variety 11/01/2007
Gripping, real-life melodrama, told in semi-documentary style. Go to Full Review Geoff Andrew Time Out 06/24/2006
The unemphatic presentation of details, the use of locations, and strong performances from a largely non-professional supporting cast, lend the film authenticity and power. Go to Full Review Bosley Crowther New York Times 03/25/2006
2.5/5
Movie-makers should positively remember that a public story is a public trust. Go to Full Review Nell Dodson Russell Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder 12/15/2021
This one, based on a real-life murder trial, keeps up a suspenseful pace for sixty minutes and then falls fiat on Its face. You'll go out of the theatre feeling as if somebody forgot to put the last two reels in the film can. Go to Full Review Jack Moffitt Esquire Magazine 10/07/2020
The picture is a masterpiece of suspense. Dana Andrews gives another fine performance as the ethical prosecutor. Arthur Kennedy is excellent as the prisoner. Lee J. Cobb is splendid as an honest cop, and Sam Levene does outstanding work as a reporter. Go to Full Review Nicholas Bell IONCINEMA.com 09/30/2020
3/5
Fans of Kazan or star Dana Andrews will most likely appreciate Boomerang!, an otherwise middlebrow exploration of corruption in the criminal justice system. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Steve D @RT35616104 06/03/2023 Tells an interesting tale but does nothing to develop its characters. See more 07/16/2022 Though the courtroom scene seems implausible the story is based off a true event about a prosecutor working to exonerate an accused killer at a pre-trial hearing. There's good acting here. Enjoy it. See more Thomas M @TMProofreader 01/27/2019 The best thrilling movie ever made! See more s r @ScottR 09/30/2017 A good courtroom drama that stands up for due process against the tyranny of the mob. See more 05/16/2017 PS. The bit about the faulty firing pin was a bit of a a stretch. Unless the pin was completely missing or broken off, you'd be a fool to pull that stunt. Even then I'd not do it in case the hammer body shattered and fired the primer. See more 01/26/2017 Wish it would have portrayed how he thought about the pieces of evidence as they arrived, instead of the ending court scene, but otherwise not a bad film See more Read all reviews
Boomerang!

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Cast & Crew

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Elia Kazan

Director

Dana Andrews

State's Atty. Henry L. Harvey

Jane Wyatt

Madge Harvey

Lee J. Cobb

Chief Harold F. "Robbie" Robinson

Arthur Kennedy

John Waldron

Cara Williams

Irene Nelson

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Boomerang!

Boomerang! (1947) Boomerang! (1947) Boomerang! (1947) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Connecticut prosecutor Henry Harvey (Dana Andrews), faced with a political maelstrom in the wake of the shooting death of a Catholic priest on a city street corner, feels tremendous pressure to prosecute a vagrant ex-soldier whom Police Chief Robinson (Lee J. Cobb) apprehended in connection with the crime. After the vagrant confesses, it looks to be an open and shut case, but Harvey remains unconvinced and chooses to risk his career in order to discover the truth.
Director
Elia Kazan
Producer
Louis De Rochemont
Screenwriter
Richard Murphy
Distributor
20th Century Fox
Production Co
Twentieth Century Fox
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 5, 1947, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Aug 1, 2012
Runtime
1h 28m