One of the latest in the line of welcome Fox Noir DVD releases is the early Elia Kazan film Boomerang, released in 1947. The movie stars Dana Andrews in a true-life crime drama centering on the seemingly senseless murder of an elderly beloved pastor in a small Connecticut town that is right out of a Norman Rockwell painting. The case obviously caused a nationwide sensation, proving that the national news media's obsession with local crime stories is not a recent trend. The film depicts the local politicians as spineless, self-centered rival parties who are obsessed with getting a quick solution to the murder -even if it isn't an accurate one. Andrews is the stalwart district attorney who is just as eager to pressure police chief Lee J. Cobb to find a suspect in the case and arrest him. Under severe pressure, Cobb's men seem to find the guilty party: a drifter (Arthur Kennedy) who is identified in a line-up and who has plenty of circumstantial evidence against him. Andrews agrees to prosecute Kennedy and becomes a local hero for getting the messy case headed toward resolution. However, as the trial begins, he has second thoughts and actually argues for the suspect's innocence. The politicians are predictably outraged by this perceived betrayal and this sets the crux of the story, as Andrews tries to uphold his moral compass in the face of threats to end his career.Â
The movie is interesting in its own right, not to mention the significance of it being one of Kazan's earliest works. Yet, it is by no means a classic and even its status as noir is certainly debatable, as Fox seems to be liberally applying that status to anything shot in black and white. Although Andrews makes a stalwart lead, the real pleasure is the supporting cast with gems of performances by the likes of Lee J. Cobb, Karl Malden, Ed Begley and Arthur Kennedy. Most interesting is the casual brutality of the police during interrogations in the pre-Miranda Rights period. Kennedy's character is sleep-deprived, mentally abused and not even allowed to see an attorney - and this is the treatment being meted out by the good guys. What sets the movie apart from most crime melodramas of its era is the decision to not wrap up every loose end in a tidy bundle. Without giving away crucial storyline information, the screenplay dares to provide an ending that is true-to-life, even if it is somewhat frustrating to the audience. The DVD contains interesting audio commentaries by Alain Silver and James Ursini as well as an original trailer and some production stills and poster gallery.- Lee Pfeiffer
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