The names are changed and updated, the story takes place post World War II instead of World War I. But Boomerang is the story of how the man who eventually became United States Attorney General, Homer Cummings, used his prosecutorial office to prove the INNOCENCE of an arrested murder suspect. How often do you see that happen?

In fact Boomerang is a primer for those people who wonder how the Supreme Court under Earl Warren could render such decisions as Escobedo and Miranda which set a few ground rules about interrogating a suspect. Today poor Arthur Kennedy who plays the veteran accused of murdering a priest in cold blood might have lawyered up and never given the confession in the first place.

Under a different name Cummings is played by Dana Andrews with Jane Wyatt as his wife. Lee J. Cobb and Karl Malden play the investigating police detectives who do a thorough job and apparently have gotten their man. What the crime consisted of was person unknown in the evening hours on one of the town's main streets firing a pistol into the back of the head of a popular clergyman in the town. Several witnesses do see it, but none are close enough to really be sure.

One witness nearly sinks Kennedy, but when Andrews questions Kennedy before the trial and he tells her that waitress Cara Williams is mad because he dumped her, that sets Andrews thinking about his case. His examination of her on the stand is devastating.

The film was directed by Elia Kazan who got the New York Film Critic's Award for this and his work on Gentleman's Agreement. This was a banner year obviously for Mr. Kazan. Boomerang got one Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay for Richard Murphy.

After over 60 years Boomerang holds up very well and should be required viewing for those attorneys who wish to become prosecutors. It ain't all about another notch in the belt.

In Connecticut, a well-known priest is murdered by a man on the street and flees. The politicians and the police are pressed by the society to find the killer, but the Chief of Police Harold F. "Robbie" Robinson (Lee J. Cobb) has no clue despite the witnesses. When the former soldier John Waldron (Arthur Kennedy) that has fought in the World War II is captured in another town, the witnesses identify him as the killer and he is forced by Robbie and his men to sign the confession of murder. The he claims innocence, but everybody believes he is the killer. However the righteous State's Attorney Henry L. Harvey (Dana Andrews) finds inconsistent evidences and decides to investigate against the opposition of the politics and the society.

"Boomerang !" is a film based on a true story about the morality and honesty of a State Attorny that risks his career to prove that a man is innocent and scape goat of a political situation. The plot is engaging and holds the attention of the viewer. It is beautiful to see the story of men like the lead character that faces the Powers That Be to keep his ethic and principles. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Justiceiro" ("The Righteous Man")

"Boomerang!" features an exceptional cast of actors who might not be pretty but who really knew their craft. Think about it...Dana Andrews, Ed Begley, Lee J. Cobb, Karl Malden, Arthur Kennedy and Robert Keith all in one film. You can't help but enjoy watching the film simply so you can get a chance to watch these wonderful but generally unheralded actors exercise their craft. And, with Elia Kazan directing, you can't help but expect excellence.

The film begins with a seemingly senseless murder. A beloved priest is shot in the back of the head, execution-style, on the street of a Connecticut town. The killer, dressed in a trench coat and hat, manages to get away and the town is clamoring for the police to catch him. In fact, the local paper pushes hard, very hard, for the police to act. And, as a result, it seems that the authorities try too hard to catch someone...anyone. The man they eventually catch (Arthur Kennedy) does give an inconsistent story but there really isn't much to connect him to the murder other than several eyewitnesses.

When the District Attorney (Dana Andrews) gets the case, something bothers him. While everyone around him seems pleased about the arrest, he can't get past the fact that the evidence is tenuous--very tenuous. In fact, instead of prosecuting the case as you'd expect, Andrews manages to systematically prove the eyewitnesses were not the least bit reliable. They, too, were in a rush to judgment or had personal reasons to say Kennedy was the killer. And, following his impeachment of the witnesses, he is able to tear apart his own case--proving the defendant could not have been the assailant.

While the idea of a prosecuting attorney working hard in court to DISPROVE his case sounds insane, it is supposedly based on a real case. And it also proves just how horrible eyewitness accounts can be--often VERY unreliable and subject to lots of human error. It has a great point to make AND is quite entertaining and well constructed. Well worth seeing.