written by Fulton Oursler & Richard Murphy
photographed by Norbert Brodine
Stamford CT 1947
After his multiple Academy Award (as unreliable a gauge of worth if ever there was one) nominated and winning, though remarkably accomplished, first film, a Tree grows in Brooklyn, Kazan turned out the negligible, and all but disowned, Sea of Grass. His third film, however, is one of his very best: Boomerang! Set as close as possible to the city where these events actually occurred (the grossly embarrassed officials of Bridgeport CT didn’t allow him to film there,) it details the backroom political deals and the machinations of their makers, who seek to shape the outcome of the trial of a wrongly accused young man for the murder of a beloved local priest. Dana Andrews plays the politically ambitious young district attorney who goes against the advice of his aggressive backers. Ed Begley is a local politcian who has some shady real estate transactions he doesn't want exposed. The acting, as one might expect of a Kazan film, is detailed, subtle and absolutely truthful in its every nuance; and one first sees here certain figures that will reappear throughout the remainder of his long career, such as Lee J Cobb, Karl Malden, Arthur Kennedy and Dana Andrews.
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