Boomerang! (1947)

Boomerang! (1947)

Directed by Elia Kazan

Screenplay by Richard Murphy, based on the article “The Perfect Case” by Fulton Oursler

Runtime: 1 hr, 28 min

One night, a beloved Episcopalian minister is shot on a Connecticut street.  There are many witnesses, but the killer cannot be found.  Tensions run high and the political pressures are on.  This is not a far out scenario; in fact, it actually occurred.  Elia Kazan’s Boomerang! is based on the real-life murder of Bridgeport resident Father Hubert Dahme and the ensuing search for the guilty party.  What Kazan and screenwriter Richard Murphy craft from it is a fascinating study of personal politics and society’s instinct to immediately condemn.

After endless days of tracing down suspects—with only “wearing a dark coat and light hat” to work with—the police force, led by Chief Harold Robinson (Lee J. Cobb) settle on a down-on-his-luck WWII veteran who just recently left town, John Waldron (Arthur Kennedy).  The prosecution is up to state’s attorney Henry Harvey (Dana Andrews).  All of the evidence, from the eyewitness testimony to the forensic analysis to the suspect’s confession, seems to point in one direction, but Harvey has his doubts regarding Waldron’s guilt.

Setting aside that Boomerang! is grounded in actual events, the film is filled with true-to-life drama.  The citizens of the town are outraged, forming their own committees and sending tips on anyone vaguely matching the vague sketch.  At one point a group of the reverend’s friends are damn set on lynching Waldron as he’s brought out of the court building.  The drama is not restricted to the everyday citizen either.  The sitting politicians are feeling the heat, and with an election coming up, the party desperately wants a conviction.

With all this building tension, it’s no surprise that the film’s greatest strength is how it portrays the individual reactions to the events.  It may be useful to compare the arcs of the prosecutor and the police chief.  Andrews’ character certainly has some political ambitions, and like anyone else in town he wants to see justice served and the murderer apprehended.  Meanwhile, Chief Robinson, described as one stubborn goat, remains skeptical of Waldron’s guilt, even as the evidence starts pouring into the station.

Yet it many ways, the changing realities of the situation causes them to switch positions.  Once the bullet has been analyzed and found to match Waldron’s gun, Robinson’s mind is set.  Harvey, though, upon his own investigations into the crime, turns his own skeptical eye on the evidence.  Both Cobb and Andrews are exquisite in their roles, makes both of their characters’ transitions believable in the context of the narrative.  This especially shines through in their multiple conversations; behind the chatter is an air of frustration with each other.

It would be obvious, though, that emotions would be running high.  What Boomerang! remembers—places at the forefront, even—is how the politics, big picture and otherwise, are in play as well.  I’d imagine a temptation to follow the murder mystery aspect of the case all the way down.  It would work, given the strength of the performances, but it would also give the false impression that one man’s guilt is the sole intrigue in the case.  What about the question, “What’s at stake if we can’t convict someone?”

Ultimately, it is this question that Kazan and Murphy focus on.  Murphy writes in ample scenes of local politicians discussing the stakes—elections are in the air, money is on the table, ambitions and reputations could be shattered.  Meanwhile, Kazan stages these encounters beautifully, especially a late night talk between Harvey and a local backer of a recreation center played by Ed Begley, a scene which proves pivotal to Harvey’s character development.  It’s not just a whodunit; there’s a whole other world emerging here.

This is not to imply that the film doesn’t have some problems.  Boomerang! is in the style of a docudrama, with narrations supplying context and off screen goings-on.  It may be too much to ask the filmmakers to abandon an aesthetic, but the result tends to tell rather than show; we can see they’re rounding up everyone wearing the wrong outfit without a full explication.  Also, there’s a clear alternate suspect who Kazan spends far too much time showcasing as an alternate suspect; one scene near the beginning of the film is enough to establish that fact.

I nitpick, however, as the finished work is exceedingly good.  The case which inspired the film was never solved, and while the in-story resolution is a bit more clear-cut, the interpersonal ambiguities certainly remain.  Whose motives are suspect and whose are sincere?  Does anyone have the integrity to set ambition aside and see justice served?  These questions are answered, sure, but to answer them is not a short process.  It requires soul-searching and determination, but the truth is out there somewhere, which is what makes Boomerang! a movie well worth a watch.

Oh, and fun fact: one of the people standing in a line-up is played by…Arthur Miller.