Boomerang! sort of feels like a more dramatic, classic Hollywood take on My Cousin Vinny (minus the comedy). Good performance from Dana Andrews.

Solid drama, supposedly based on a true story. Touches on a lot of big issues, like police brutality, political corruption and media irresponsibility - but I must admit this film didn't really draw me in as much as I expected it to. The pacing is fairly slow and the tone of the film is quite staid and unadventurous. It only really comes to life during two scenes: the interrogation of Waldron in the police cell, and the courtroom finalé.

A pretty good docudrama from Kazan that covers a lot of territory. Police procedural, courtroom drama, political corruption, mob mentality, sensationalist journalism. It manages to juggle the personal stories (mostly revolving around Dana Andrews as a state attorney) and the big picture admirably, and the ensemble performances are all solid, including Lee J. Cobb, Arthur Kennedy, Sam Levene, Ed Begley and Karl Malden. The film doesn't have a whole lot of oomph to it, but it's very watchable.

Although the narration and the real life aspect of the story feel overblown it's a very well made film about the conflicts between justice and politics. The performances are strong and the social commentary is quite good, though it holds a little back. The ending really pushes this up a notch as, despite the cheesy execution, it fits perfectly with the film's themes and doesn't go for the easy out.

One of Kazan's earliest features as a film director is a staid courtroom drama. The film's points about the treatment of suspects--particularly regarding using sleeplessness and relentless questioning to produce a confession--echo enough in modern debates ensuring that the film doesn't seem dated. The film is finally more interesting than gripping. It's sturdy, measured approach to the serious material creating a finished product that surely admirable, but also a little dull.

Perfectly watchable, I suppose this is a decent enough movie, although several things that happen in the courtroom are highly implausible. Supposedly this is based on a true story, but still, the film is rather naive in portraying so matter-of-factly occurances which in real life must have been much more complicated. E.G: I strongly doubt that pistols were carried around inside the courtroom by anyone other than guards.