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Interesting noir from veteran director Dmytryk. Arthur Franz gives a good twitchy, sweaty performance as a sex criminal released from prison for assaulting women, only to be compelled to kill them with a stolen military rifle once free, and silent star Adolphe Menjou is the police officer in charge of stopping Franz's crime spree. As lurid as the subject matter is, the film's approach to it is admirably serious and even-handed, especially when contrasted to that taken by other films about serial killers. For example, Fritz Lang's noir "While the City Sleeps", made around the same time, features a character similar to Franz's as its villian (a disturbed young killer with a mother fixation, who leaves messages for the police urging them to catch him), but its portrayal of the murderer is comically overwrought in comparison. Some of the psychological shorthand used to illustrate Franz's fractured psyche may appear naive to contemporary audiences (stroking his phallic rifle in anticipation to his murders, wincing in pain when he passes a mother slapping her child on the street), but he's a much more realistic and credible criminal than the overheated creations that populate recent films about the same subject (Seven, Hannibal Lecter trilogy, etc). The film's sober and non-sensational tone can be attributed partly to producer Stanley Kramer; the redeeming social message that is commonly found in his films creeps into this one through the character of a police psychologist, who gives a speech about the need to change the laws that deal with sex criminals (not a lot has changed since the time this movie was released - so much for the redeeming social message). Dmytryk's direction is typically stylish (why did it become so turgid later on?), and he makes excellent use of San Francisco locations. The finale, where the police finally close in on the sniper is particularly well done, with one sequence standing out as especially memorable and effective: a construction worker gives the sniper away as he's about to claim another victim, and discovers too late that its a bad idea to cross a psychopath with a long distance rifle, especially when in the not very convenient position of dangling from a smokestack. The cast is strong, and includes a welcome appearance by B-movie fave Marie Windsor, as a bar pianist who ends up as the sniper's first victim. Nominated for an Oscar for best screenplay, "The Sniper" is fairly obscure compared to other noirs and is unavailable on video - it's really worth catching during one of its occaisonal appearances on cable TV.

Almost twenty years before San Francisco was terrorized by another sniper in Dirty Harry, this well received B film from Columbia Pictures painted a far less glamorous picture of a mentally ill individual taking his problems out on the world. Arthur Franz got his career role in The Sniper and a pity it didn't elevate him to stardom although he certainly had a distinguished and long career.

Franz paints us a portrayal of a socially challenged man who just can't get anywhere with the opposite sex. He conceives a pathological hatred of all women and an innocent encounter with a nightclub performer played by Marie Windsor finally triggers him off.

After that Franz is on a rampage, killing women almost at random from various San Francisco rooftops. The film was shot on ___location in San Francisco and The Sniper bears a whole lot of resemblance to The Naked City where Jules Dassin made New York's mean streets as much a star as the human players. Director Edward Dmytryk does the same for San Francisco.

And the cops here are much like Barry Fitzgerald and Don Taylor from that film. Watching the film I wonder how much persuasion it took to get Adolphe Menjou to shave off that famous wax mustache of his, a remnant of fashion from a bygone era. It certainly wouldn't have gone with his role as a homicide cop. But the voice is distinctive and Menjou put it over. Acting as his younger sidekick is Gerald Mohr.

What's ironic in The Sniper is that the whole thing is a desperate cry for help to a world to busy to care. The minor key ending of The Sniper brings that point home quite vividly.

The Sniper is a noir classic, not as glamorous as Dirty Harry Callahan's pursuit of another twisted individual through San Francisco, but a whole lot more realistic.

"High among police problems is that of the sex criminal, responsible last year alone for offences which victimised 31,175 women. Adequate and understanding laws do not exist. Law enforcement is helpless. Here in terms of one case, is the story of a man whose enemy was womankind"

Produced by Stanley Kramer, directed by Edward Dmytryk and photographed by Burnett Guffey. Those three things were enough to make me positively desperate to see this film at the earliest opportunity, what I hadn't counted on, and what a true surprise it was too, was just what a taut and tightly scripted picture it is. Written by Edward and Edna Anhalt, who were academy award nominated for their efforts, The Sniper has an edgy griminess to it that itches away at the skin. It's not that the violence is particularly harsh, because it isn't and it's simply executed, it's that our protagonist Edward 'Eddie' Miller is on the surface a normal every day Joe, someone who may be living in our respective neighbourhoods.

This is one of those films that, and I disagree with some of my fellow reviewers on the net, is as relevant today as it was back in 1952. Problems of not recognising psychotic tendencies do still way lay our respective societies, the police and medical staff do still have problems nipping in the bud potential street walking maniacs from being in our midst. Here we get Arthur Franz ("Sands of Iwo Jima" & "The Caine Mutiny") as Miller brilliantly essaying a mind fragmenting by the day, his hatred of women born from some dark place long back in his childhood. Even little girls on the street bring him out in a sweat, as a mother slaps her child, Miller feels the burn on his very own face as well. Some scenes linger once the film has long since finished, a chimney stack shooting or a fair ground sequence as Miller's built up frenzy rises to the surface, all brilliantly put together by Dmytryk and Guffey, with the latter's work in and around San Francisco very impressive. Fleshing out the cast with impacting results is Adolphe Menjou, Gerald Mohr, Marie Windsor, Frank Faylen & Richard Kiley.

It's a fabulous character study that also excellently brings notice to the plight of police procedural matters on a case such as this. No this film isn't some sex maniac shocker that defined a genre, it is however an important film in many ways. The themes that it highlights are not to be ignored, and for 1952 this film to me has to be seen as a landmark of sorts, certainly its influence can be found in many a similar films that followed further on down the line. Finally, because it's largely unseen, it's now available on DVD (excellent print), so hopefully more people can get to see this highly recommended film. A film that may be beautiful to look at, but most assuredly is very very dark in thematics. 8/10

Before one word of dialog is uttered in THE SNIPER, we witness a troubled San Francisco youth, Eddie (Arthur Franz) aim a rifle at a kissing couple. The gun is empty, and Eddie breaks down crying as the unsuspecting couple smooch. From then on, this obscure 1952 classic follows Eddie as he goes on a systematic killing spree. We also follow detecives Adolphe Menjou and Richard Kiley rationalizze the insanity and finally close in on Eddie. This film is rich in classic scenes- Eddie, who we know is uncomfortable with women, confronting sexy Marie Windsor. The suspenseful scene where a smokestack painter points out Eddie, the rooftop sniper. Eddie screams at the man to shut up, but they are clearly a half mile away from each other. All this is done in one deep focus shot. My favorite scene is when the police line up and question local sex offenders (Cop to other cops, pointing to man in line up "This is a tough guy.... with small animals." Classic noir.

THE SNIPER reminds me of a more compact, more personal look at a psycho killer than THE NAKED CITY, which it resembles in style and content.

ARTHUR FRANZ gets his big break here, a starring role in a well-written thriller about a serial killer who wishes he could stop killing, if the police would only catch him. The final scene is a summation of that wish, but almost seems like a letdown after all the build-up to what we presume would be a bloody climax (if directed by someone like today's Martin Scorsese).

Franz's trouble is that he looks too much like any clean-cut, normal, handsome young man and his looks work against the grain of the role. He's intense when he has to be, but lacks the intenseness of a James Dean or even a Dane Clark as the man given to sudden outbursts of temper and a psyche that is screaming for help and attention. He's good, but never manages to be better than his material. Think of what someone like DANIEL CRAIG would do with this role today.

MARIE WINDSOR does a nice job as a glamorous night club pianist who has the young man (who works as an errand boy for the local cleaners) as a sort of friend she trusts. Her walk through an almost deserted looking San Francisco at night, down hilly streets on the way to her workplace, is photographed with noir precision and style, as is most of the film. Neat use of San Francisco's hilly environment is a constant point of interest throughout.

ADOLPHE MENJOU is not quite as colorful as Barry Fitzgerald was in THE NAKED CITY, playing a detective determined to catch the serial killer before he strikes again. MABEL PAIGE does a nice job as Franz's landlady who talks to her black and white cat as though it was her own dear child, and GERALD MOHR is briskly efficient as a psychiatrist who thinks the police are going about their search the wrong way.

Wonderfully photographed in B&W shadowy photography, it's a compact and efficient film noir that is perhaps a little too restrained in dealing with frank subject matter but nevertheless gets its points across with chilling clarity, thanks to a tight script and some good suspenseful footage.

Summing up: Stands on its own as a good thriller from the early '50s.

For much of this film noir, it was almost more of a character study than a crime movie, since there was very little action and only some suspense in the final 10 minutes. However, I'm not complaining. I found the film got better and better as it went along and was an interesting story overall with an excellent cast. When the action did occur- the sniper's shots - they were shocking scenes, shocking in their suddenness.

I appreciated the fact they shot this on the streets in San Francisco, where the story takes place, instead of some Hollywood back-lot. That city, in particular, with its steep streets and bay-windowed houses, is fun to look at in any era. This happens to be very early 1950s. As with many noirs, the photography was notable, too. I liked a number of the camera angles used in this movie.

I also appreciated that cast. Arthur Franz is excellent in the lead role of the tormented killer, "Eddie Miller." Eddie knows right from the start that he's a sick man, that he can't help himself and that he needs him. (So, why didn't he turn himself in?) It was fun to see an older and sans-mustached Adolphe Menjou as the police lieutenant, and Humphrey Bogart- lookalike Gerald Mohr as a police sergeant. It was most fun, being a film noir buff, to see Marie Windsor. This "queen of noir," unfortunately, didn't have that big a role in here.

What really struck were some bizarre scenes, things I have never seen in these crime movies on the '30s through '50s. For example, there was an investigation of sniper suspects held at the police building in which three suspects at a time were grilled - in front of about a hundred cops. The grilling was more like taunting and insult-throwing by this sadistic cop in charge, who made fun of each guy. Man, if they tried that today, there would lawsuits up the wazoo (so to speak).

Then there was this James Dean-type teen who was on top of a city building with a rifle, right in the middle of this citywide sniper scare. The cops bravely bring him in without killing him and are yelled at for doing so, since the gun wasn't in serviceable order. Duh! The cops were supposed to just see a guy waving a gun on top of a rooftop and let him go, no questions asked?

A number of things in here stretched credibility, but there were some intelligent aspects, too. "Dr. Richard Kent," played by Richard Kiely, was a case in point. He was the police psychologist and gave strong speeches (the film got a little preachy at times) advocating what should be done with sex-crime offenders, some of it Liberal and some of it Conservative in nature. He made some good points. "Eddie" had sex problems, I guess, but I don't remember it being discussed in the film. Maybe I missed that. The film did miss that aspect: Eddie's background, which triggered all the violence.

The second half of this film is far better, because the killings increase and the suspense starts to mount. As it goes on, we get more of a feel of what motivates Eddie as we see his reactions to people and how he views things they say. I was surprised, frankly, that he didn't shoot his nasty female boss, since he only harmed women. She was the nastiest woman in the film, and nothing happened to her. What was Eddie thinking?

This is a sleeper's sleeper--rarely seen, and difficult to rent on video and even harder to rent on 16mm. An opening letterbox announces "The Sniper" as a study of one man's violence against women. From there on, it does all of that in a highly charged, suspenseful storytelling style. This movie was shot on ___location in San Francisco, and the closing "chase" sequence--odd and highly symbolic concerning what ails the killer--is classic. This writer interviewed the director (Edward Dmytryk) about this and other scenes in "The Sniper", and though the interview was done in 1994 (Dmytryk was 80+ at that time) his artistic recall of "The Sniper" impressed. At that time, he had never been interviewed about that movie since its release. Arthur Franz played the killer, doing a wonderful job. And overall, the writing and acting in "The Sniper" is tight and extremely convincing. The opening shot of "The Sniper" catches you up in the plight of both the public at large, and the killer--and from there, it is quite a ride. Yet "The Sniper" is more than entertainment--it is indeed a classic early study of violence against women (With Richard Kiley playing the psychiatrist). If you can rent this--get it!

Seeing this you'll get an idea of what's in the mind of people who aren't quite raised right.

This is just a beautifully filmed little noir. The San Fransisco scenery is just stunning. A really well put together film about a guy who just doesn't like women who talk down to him. You can see him seething underneath as he slunks away in those instances but you just know that he's gonna pop...and he does.

This one all comes down to getting people help for psychological problems early on in life. Some go through the system and never get what they need in the way of some kinda therapy and they eventually...fall through the cracks. This guy wants the help but it's just not their.

I can't say enough at how well this film looks. Add substance and a really good story and that makes for a worthwhile watch. Give this one a go.

(1952) The Sniper PSYCHOLOGICAL CRIME DRAMA

Because the year in which "The Sniper" was shown, it may have consist an influential impact to serial killers made in the future like "Dirty Harry" and ' "Target" that stars Arthur Franz as the very disturbed Eddie Miller who eventually becomes the Sniper for his loathing of women as a result of rejection and miscommunication. Showing viewers how the system overall had failed him leading to his obvious deterioration.

Am I able to credit a movie because this was the first movie that portrayed a dysfunctional serial killer sniper, a movie that does not have any plot but a police procedure to catch the perpetrator.

In spite of the ___location shooting, this crime movie (certainly not a film noir) is nothing but typical, boring Stanley Kramer fare with some police procedures, a tendency of the times. It's nothing but a much too long lecture about the necessity of preventing crime by having more psychiatrists than cops and more insane asylum than prisons. It has badly aged and is quite uninteresting actually. THe characters are unbelievable, the cops as well as the preaching psychiatrist. I guess you might call it a liberal movie (though it was the Mc Carthy era) but if you're not a liberal, not a chance to be convinced by the message in the film. The idea is "criminals are human beings too and too often, society refuses to listen to them and our indifference to those suffering souls is the main cause of crime". Add to it that the crowd is cruel and insensitive (that old lady who says "I hope they'll kill him" among others) and the film was made from the point of view of the killer and its quite misogynistic : all women are horrible (he is thus to be forgiven if he kills them) especially Miller's boss. It was a strange idea to revive it on DVD as part of the Columbia Film Noir series (Movies were mostly non-noir except the very modern "Murder by contract" directed by Irving Lerner.

The trouble is Eddie Miller (Arthur Franz) just can't keep himself from shooting women. Plus, he does it from a distance with a sniper's rifle which makes him doubly hard to catch. Today, the sex angle would likely be played up, turning him into a serial rapist. Here, however, his sick motivation looks more like pure rage than sexual desire. Everywhere he goes, he's either humiliated or rejected by women. He's attractive enough (probably too much so to be credible), but he has a personality problem. In short, Eddie simply can't accept himself as a deliveryman; instead, he builds himself up with obvious exaggerations to impress strangers, such that when pretty barfly May Nelson approaches, he ends up offending her with wild stories. Like Psycho's Norman Bates, the problem probably goes all the way back to Mom.

It's certainly a very watchable movie. The San Francisco locations are used to great effect-- the cops surveilling downtown rooftops from on high sets up a marvelous panoramic look at the city. Then too, the smokestack scene with its human fly amounts to pure cinematic magic. A problem in the film lies with too much obviousness where a lighter hand is needed. Thus, when Eddie goes on a little downtown stroll, he doesn't encounter just one woman-caused frustration, but a whole heavy-handed series of them. Too bad, because we get the idea early on that petty annoyances involving women amount to major injuries in Eddie's twisted world. Then there's the let's- hit-you-over-the-head-in-case-you-don't-get-it last scene; it's about as necessary as strip-poker at a nudist colony. Still and all, the movie's heart is in the right place, even if it appears made at times for the slow-witted.

One big benefit for 50's-era fans is cult favorite Marie Windsor in a low-cut evening gown, purring her seductive lines to Eddie even as she exploits him to the hilt. What a great cameo from a really unusual actress.Too bad their scene together comes so early because it's a pip and a movie high point. Speaking of film eras, compare the themes and locations of this movie (1951) with the cinematically similar, Vietnam-era Dirty Harry (1971). Tellingly, the hopeful reformism that Kramer&Co. plead for in Sniper has been replaced by a kind of hopeless vigilantism where Harry (Clint Eastwood) ends up rejecting city hall, killing the sniper, and throwing away his policeman's badge. Mark it down to what you will, but the change-over is pretty stark and startling. Anyway, this little B-film created quite a stir at the time and remains an interesting piece of movie history, well worth thinking about

The Sniper (1952) : Brief Review -

That old-school psycho-killer drama with utter honesty and faithful narration to its main context. The Sniper is actually a very simple script with no intricate or complex theories, despite being a psychoanalytic drama. That's what gives it flow and momentum, which the narration carries throughout the film. It's about a delivery man who has suffered trauma since childhood. He was in jail once and was sent to the psychiatric ward too. He wanted to stay there, but as the sentence was complete, he had to get out in the world where nobody paid attention to him. His doctor is out of town when he needs him the most, and that leads him to a series of murders. He becomes a famous sniper who kills the dames, and the police have no clue about him. In one scene, we see him struggling with himself and wanting to surrender, but the doctors didn't take him seriously. However, we knew by that time that this incident was going to help the police catch him later. That much predictability is fine, I guess. The Sniper also talks about how cops and society's people pave the way for criminals. Should we kill the criminal or the mindset that will live through many future criminals? The Sniper raises this question. I wish they had given an answer too. The film is a pacy ride, with back-to-back scenes taking the story ahead at rapid-fire speed. We don't even get time to understand the mindset and psychological state of mind within this engaging narrative. Arthur Franz delivers a flawless act as a psychologically disturbed criminal with an empathetic nature. Adolphe Menjou is superb too. Edward Dmytryk packs a solid punch of crime noir in spite of having a simple story that lacks thrills. Nevertheless, The Sniper still hits the bull's eye with its maverick storytelling.

RATING - 7/10*

By - #samthebestest.

A serial killer stalks brunettes in San Francisco. It is a rare film of the period in that it is told mostly from the perspective of the killer. Why he kills is explained within the first few minutes with the subtlety of a sledgehammer. His mama was mean to him when he was a child. The reason for his hatred of women is further magnified in exaggerated vignettes where women are mean to him. Typical of producer Kramer, the film is rather preachy in espousing its views on crime and punishment. The gritty San Francisco locales are good, but not enough to overcome the contrived plot. The acting is uneven, with Menjou and Kiley (his second film) coming off best.

Major kudos for the script for not pulling out a Psycho moment. There is no scene where someone from the police would sit everyone down in the room and explain in a blunt fashion what made Edward Miller what he is now and what drew him to killing. Thankfully, the movie only hints at what could've occurred that made him hate women with an almost agonizing fervor.

The story is about the regular hunter and the hunted, where the police just react to Miller's killings while trying to figure out his identity with the most rudimentary criminal profiling techniques from the 1950s.

With very misguided insinuations that apparently petty misdemeanors can't escalate to outright murder without somehow being tracked by the police. If only the boomers knew. What they did know is how to moralize with incredibly obvious soapbox speeches about how many mentally ill people just slip through the cracks of the system and the government would rather shoot them all instead of addressing the bigger issue.

Arthur Franz is doing a proficient job with his character. Others, not so much. Most of the police staff just read their lines in either a monotone or slightly concerned voice, looking at bodies all over 1950s San Francisco.

Most of this film, centering on THE SNIPER sniping female targets, is wonderfully executed... Particularly while centered on the gunman himself, roaming from one hit to the next to the next, led by various dames bringing out the outright dame-hating nasty in him...

Along the way Arthur Franz's titular loner leaves behind subtle clues (liken to real life serial killers) for the law, used only sparingly during the first half; after which we mostly just HEAR about the killings from head cop Adolphe Menjou teamed with psychologist Richard Kiley, dissecting each remaining murder through pulpy discourse...

Well enough acted dialogue that does however interrupt the addictive violence that might have been too much for audiences back then, making THE SNIPER a Film Noir bordering on Exploitation...

And so, when the picture works, it works just fine. An intense Arthur Franz is excellent in the lead, as is the taut, disturbing direction by Edward Dmytryk, both working together like the killer and his weapon.

I saw this long ago and I highly recommend that you seek this out for viewing. Please excuse any lapses of memory. This interesting study of a loner(B Movie actor Arthur Franz gives the performance of his career!) who hates women and is compelled to shoot them. As a manhunt ensues in the city (San Francisco I recall), the victims begin to mount until there is a suspenseful climax. A young Richard Kiley and venerable Adolphe Menjou(who ironically played in some daring dramas like Paths of Glory-yet testified before the House UnAmericans Committee for the blacklists)play the lead detectives.

Suffice it to say that this film not only deals intelligently with a serious subject matter, it ends in such a believable and non-cliched way that I loved this film!

Fritz Lang's M was probably the best of this genre and Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer was pretty impressive for a modern audience. Somewhere in between, The Sniper has its place from a fifties sensibility as a sleeper to be studied by today's more discerning audiences. Indeed, as Marnie is being rediscovered for its merits, The Sniper is a film ahead of its time.

This film is not really about any military situations or traditional sniper plots. It is about a sick man (Arthur Franz) who shoots women as a sexual release. This, of course, is unacceptable behavior, even if you might think one or two of these women deserved some type of punishment. The film points out the helplessness of American society to deal with sicknesses of this type at an early stage, which would prevent more serious crimes years later. The film itself is fairly entertaining, and there really is no protagonist in the film. In the 2020s, this type of behavior is now diagnosed almost immediately in our current PC environment, thus preventing more serious crimes later.

Beginning with sexual assault statistics by men against women (as if only females fell prey to sexual assault!)--which really don't have much to do with the story that follows--"The Sniper" is irrevocably dated, and often so over-heated that it is occasionally funny unintentionally. Co-producers Edward and Edna Anhalt also concocted this melodrama about a disturbed young man (Arthur Franz) in San Francisco, released too soon from the prison mental ward while serving jail time, who gets hostile when he sees displays of sweetheart-affection in public. Worse, he makes women defensive in one-on-one conversation, eventually pegging them as targets to be eliminated; he isn't sexually aggressive, he's a people-hater (though the scenarists curiously lump these two types together). A crack shot with his rifle, Franz secretly pleads for someone to take notice of him, yet bodies begin piling up before police lieutenant Adolphe Menjou puts two and two together. Exceptionally well-made low-budget item has gleaming Burnett Guffey cinematography and some effective moments. The script doesn't do the production justice however, and Franz isn't directed properly (he looks continually unsure of himself). The snippets of chit-chat we hear on the street are amusingly jaded, cynical, and woefully theatrical. Still, the violence depicted was ahead of its time, and is carried off without too much exploitive fervor. ** from ****