| Dana Andrews | ... | State's Atty. Henry L. Harvey | |
| Jane Wyatt | ... | Madge Harvey | |
| Lee J. Cobb | ... | Chief Harold F. 'Robbie' Robinson | |
| Cara Williams | ... | Irene Nelson - Waitress at Coney Island Cafe | |
| Arthur Kennedy | ... | John Waldron | |
| Sam Levene | ... | Dave Woods - 'Morning Record' Reporter | |
| Taylor Holmes | ... | T.M. Wade | |
| Robert Keith | ... | Mac McCreery | |
| Ed Begley | ... | Paul Harris | |
| Philip Coolidge | ... | Jim Crossman | |
| rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| E.J. Ballantine | ... | McDonald - 'Morning Record' Editor (uncredited) | |
| Royal Beal | ... | Johnson - Police Ballistics Expert (uncredited) | |
| Wyrley Birch | ... | Father George A. Lambert (uncredited) | |
| Helen Carew | ... | Annie (uncredited) | |
| John Carmody | ... | Thomas Callahan (uncredited) | |
| William Challee | ... | Stone - Harvey's Assistant (uncredited) | |
| Clay Clement | ... | Judge Tate (uncredited) | |
| Mickey Cochran | ... | Bit Role (uncredited) | |
| Isabel Cooper | ... | Church Choir Member (uncredited) | |
| Harry Davis | ... | Reporter (uncredited) | |
| Pat Dillon | ... | Bit Role (uncredited) | |
| James Dobson | ... | Bill - Cub Reporter (uncredited) | |
| Bert Freed | ... | Herron - Man in Alley Mob (uncredited) | |
| Richard Garrick | ... | Graham Rogers - Storekeeper (uncredited) | |
| Walter Greaza | ... | Mayor Swayze (uncredited) | |
| Reed Hadley | ... | Off-Screen Narrator (voice) (uncredited) | |
| Helene Hatch | ... | Catherine Manion - Cashier, Plaza Theatre (uncredited) | |
| Bern Hoffman | ... | Tom (uncredited) | |
| Harry Kadison | ... | Maloney (uncredited) | |
| Joe Kazan | ... | Paul Lukash (uncredited) | |
| Brian Keith | ... | Extra (uncredited) | |
| Barry Kelley | ... | Desk Sgt. Dugan (uncredited) | |
| Mickey Knox | ... | Bit Role (uncredited) | |
| Ben Lackland | ... | Commissioner Thomas Benson James (uncredited) | |
| Harry Landers | ... | Bit Role (uncredited) | |
| Lewis Leverett | ... | Whitney - Harvey's Assistant (uncredited) | |
| Lester Lonergan | ... | Eugene Cary (uncredited) | |
| Alan MacAteer | ... | Herron (uncredited) | |
| Karl Malden | ... | Det. Lt. White (uncredited) | |
| Ida McGuire | ... | Miss Roberts (uncredited) | |
| Arthur Miller | ... | Line-Up Suspect (uncredited) | |
| Anna Minot | ... | Secretary (uncredited) | |
| Paulene Myers | ... | Maid (uncredited) | |
| Coby Neal | ... | Reporter (uncredited) | |
| Frank Overton | ... | Bit Role (uncredited) | |
| Lawrence Paguin | ... | Sheriff (uncredited) | |
| George Petrie | ... | Harry O'Shea - Public Defender (uncredited) | |
| Herbert Ratner | ... | Investigator (uncredited) | |
| Leona Roberts | ... | Mrs. Crossman (uncredited) | |
| Sam Rosen | ... | Bit Role (uncredited) | |
| Anthony Ross | ... | Warren (uncredited) | |
| Dudley Sadler | ... | Dr. William Rainsford (uncredited) | |
| Lucia Backus Seger | ... | Mrs. Lukash - Witness (uncredited) | |
| John Stearns | ... | Rev. Gardiner (uncredited) | |
| Edgar Stehli | ... | Ryan - Coroner (uncredited) | |
| Fred Stewart | ... | Graham (uncredited) | |
| Guy Thomajan | ... | Ronolo Cartucci - Witness (uncredited) | |
Directed by | |||
| Elia Kazan | |||
Writing credits(in alphabetical order) | ||
| Richard Murphy | screenplay | |
| Fulton Oursler | article (as Anthony Abbot) | |
Produced by | |||
| Louis De Rochemont | .... | producer (as Louis de Rochemont) | |
| Darryl F. Zanuck | .... | executive producer (uncredited) | |
Original Music by | |||
| David Buttolph | |||
Cinematography by | |||
| Norbert Brodine | |||
Film Editing by | |||
| Harmon Jones | |||
Art Direction by | |||
| Richard Day | |||
| Chester Gore | |||
Set Decoration by | |||
| Thomas Little | |||
Costume Design by | |||
| Kay Nelson | |||
Makeup Department | |||
| Ben Nye | .... | makeup artist | |
Art Department | |||
| Phil D'Esco | .... | associate set decorator | |
Sound Department | |||
| W.D. Flick | .... | sound | |
| Roger Heman Sr. | .... | sound (as Roger Heman) | |
Special Effects by | |||
| Fred Sersen | .... | special photographic effects | |
Costume and Wardrobe Department | |||
| Charles Le Maire | .... | wardrobe director | |
Music Department | |||
| Alfred Newman | .... | musical director | |
| Edward B. Powell | .... | orchestrator (as Edward Powell) | |
Other crew | |||
| Darryl F. Zanuck | .... | presenter | |
| Bill Colleran | .... | assistant: Louis de Rochemont (uncredited) | |
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| Call Northside 777 | Anatomy of a Murder | Salvatore Giuliano | Mystic River | Fury |
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| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| News articles | IMDb Crime section | IMDb USA section |
| Add this title to MyMovies |
***SPOILERS*** Based on a Richard Oursler article in Readers Digest about the real life murder of popular Catholic priest Father George A. Lambert, Wyrley Brich, Eli Kazan's "Boomerang!" doesn't go into who murdered Father Lambert, the killer was ever apprehended, but in the story of the Innocent man accused of killing him ex-GI and town drifter John Waldron, Arthur Kennedy. With the murder investigation of Father Lambert going nowhere the local Stamford political machine, run by power-broker T.M Wade( Taylor Holmes), goes full-blast in attacking the city administration of reform Mayor Swayze, Walter Greaza,in hopes of getting it's man elected mayor.
The murder of Father Lambert turns out to be a political football between the two warring political parties instead of a police affair and investigation. After Waldron is arrested in Ohio and sent back to Conn. to stand trial State Prosecutor Henry Harvey, Dana Andrews, is put on the case. Waldron mentally pounded for three straight days by the police not allowing him to sleep breaks down and confesses to the Lambart murder making his conviction a forgone conclusion.
As prosecutor Harvey looks closely at the evidence against Waldon he realizes that the man may very well be innocent. If convicted he'll, Harvey, have to live for the rest of his with the thought that he sent a innocent man to his death. Harvey later finds out that a lot is riding on Waldon's conviction and it has nothing to do with the murder of Father Lambart. A non-conviction will effect the re-election chances of Mayor Swayze. Harvey is also running the risk of destroying a promising political career in state politics, he's already being groomed to be the states governor, by getting Waldon off even if he's innocent.
Well paced and honest film about big city politics with a stellar performance by Dana Andrews who didn't let his career ambitions get in the way of his sense of justice. Also in "Boomerang!" is Jane Wyatt as Prosecutor Harvey's wife Madge. Madge was tricked into an under-the-table deal by the city's Commissioner of Public Works Mac McCreery, Ed Begley, McCreery was terrified that if Mayor Swayze didn't get re-elected and agree, as he promised him, to have the city of Stamford buy his real-estate property it would in the and financially ruin McCreery and possibly land Madge behind bars.
Powerful ending sequence in a Stamford courtroom that has all the drama and tension of that of a very good fictitious movie screenplay but in this case all that happened in the movie also happened in real life.