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samachson
Reviews
Boomerang! (1947)
Fresh as today's headlines
Boomerang raises questions as fresh as today's headlines. In a death penalty case, how carefully do we examine guilt and innocence -- and how much can we rely on the testimony of witnesses? When we're anxious to see a murder case closed, do we really care whether the accused is guilty, or whether the wrong man might be executed?
This fact-based film is set in a small town. The characters include a murdered priest, a slew of law-abiding eye witnesses, a bright young prosecutor, a police chief anxious to declare that the streets are safe and a stranger without friends or an alibi.
When what first appears to be an open and closed case soon shows cracks, the prosecutor is torn between his ambitions, his loyalties and his morals. An excellent cast and skillful writing overcome Boomerang's slow, deliberate pace.
John and Julie (1955)
A sweet premise, but the heroine is repellent.
In the summer of 1953 the world's attention turned to London, site of the coronation of young Queen Elizabeth. Two English children, transfixed by the spectacle, decide to run away from home and join the throng. Alone, without a plan or a penny, they journey 150 miles by horseback, bicycle, train and car through some of the most beautiful countryside imaginable. The film includes archival footage that conveys the thrilling spectacle of the British Empire united in one of its last great celebrations. Most of the cast turn in capable performances. Peter Sellers shines in a small early role, Moira Lister ably portrays Moira, the prostitute who briefly becomes a surrogate mother, and Sidney James brings life to his role as John's bitter working-class father. The only real sour note? Leslie Dudley, starring as Julie, is a singularly repellent child, continually pouting and crying. A fat, dour, whining brat, Dudley is woefully miscast in a pivotal role that demands sweetness and charm. Watch this film for the pomp and color of a vanished world, and try to imagine how lovely it could have been with young Haley Mills in the role of Julie.